Tensas Parish Criminal Court Records

Criminal court records in Tensas Parish are filed with the 6th Judicial District Court Clerk of Court in St. Joseph, Louisiana. The Clerk's office holds felony and misdemeanor case filings, bills of information, court minutes, and appeal documents going back to 1843. Tensas is the least populated parish in Louisiana, and access to records is primarily in person, though some online resources exist for basic case index searches.

Clerk of Court Contact and Hours

The Tensas Parish Clerk of Court is Christina "Christy" Lee. The office is at 201 Hancock Street, Courthouse Square, Saint Joseph, LA 71366. Mailing address: P.O. Box 78, Saint Joseph, LA 71366. Phone: (318) 766-3921. Fax: (318) 766-3926. Email: christy@tensasclerk.org. The website is at tensasclerk.org.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The office is closed on all state holidays plus Mardi Gras, Good Friday, and All Saints' Day. Plan your visit or mail request around those closures. Staff are available by phone during business hours to answer questions before you make a trip.

For criminal matters, contact Deputy Clerk Lucille Pipes directly at Lucille@tensasclerk.org. For traffic matters, contact Deputy Clerk Faye Kenedy at fayeken@tensasclerk.org. Routing your request to the right deputy saves time and gets a faster response.

What Records the Clerk Holds

The Tensas Parish Clerk holds felony and misdemeanor case files for the 6th Judicial District. The 6th JDC is shared with East Carroll and Madison Parishes. Court Administrator Sandra Bishop can be reached at (318) 574-2635 for district court administrative questions.

Records held by the Clerk include bills of information, pleadings, court minutes, appeal preparation documents, and case disposition records. Original records date back to 1843, making Tensas one of the parishes with the longest historical archives in the state. Many older records exist only in paper form.

Felony records are kept permanently under La. R.S. 44:36. Misdemeanor records have a minimum 10-year retention period. Traffic records are kept for at least 3 years. These are statewide minimums. Tensas retains many records well beyond the required periods given the age of its archive.

Fees and How to Request Records

A criminal background search costs $20 per name. Certified copies are $2 per page plus a $5 certification fee per document. Mail requests should go to P.O. Box 78, Saint Joseph, LA 71366. Include the subject's full legal name, date of birth, and the type of record needed. Enclose payment by check or money order.

In-person requests are handled at the Courthouse Square office. Bring valid ID. Staff can search by name or case number. If you have a case number, include it in your request. That speeds up the search considerably, especially for older records that may not be digitized.

Expungement fees in Tensas Parish follow the statewide structure: $200 to the Clerk, $250 to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, $50 to the District Attorney, and $50 to the Sheriff. The total minimum is $550. The office estimates up to 6 months for expungement completion. You must file a separate expungement petition for each individual arrest. One petition does not cover multiple arrests.

Online Search Options

Tensas Parish has limited online access for criminal records. The Clerk's website at tensasclerk.org provides forms and general information but does not host a searchable criminal case database. Most searches require an in-person visit or a written request.

The eClerks LA portal covers Tensas Parish. It provides free index-level access to criminal records statewide across all 64 parishes. You can confirm whether a case exists and get basic filing details before paying for copies or making a trip to St. Joseph.

The Tensas Parish Clerk of Court website contains forms, fee schedules, and procedural information for records requests.

Review the site before contacting the office to understand what documents and fees apply to your request.

For multi-parish searches, Clerk Connect offers a subscription service. It covers several parishes and can be useful if you need to search across parish lines.

Statewide Criminal Record Resources

The Louisiana State Police background check system is at ibc.dps.louisiana.gov. A name search costs $31. Louisiana is a "closed record" state under La. R.S. 15:587, which limits what the LSP database returns to the public. This check is different from a court record search and may not show all case details.

The Department of Corrections maintains a free offender search by name. It shows DOC-supervised individuals and is useful for checking current custody or supervision status. The Louisiana sex offender registry is also free and searchable online.

The eClerks LA portal is the most accessible free tool for checking Tensas Parish criminal case indexes without an in-person visit.

Use this portal first to narrow down what records exist before committing to a formal request or an in-person visit to St. Joseph.

Federal cases involving Tensas Parish defendants are in the Western District of Louisiana. Use PACER to search federal court records. Charges are $0.10 per page, capped at $3 per document.

Sheriff and District Attorney Contacts

The Tensas Parish Sheriff's Office handles arrests and can provide arrest record information not held by the Clerk. Mailing address: P.O. Box 138, St. Joseph, LA 71366. Phone: (318) 766-3499. Arrest records from the Sheriff may be separate from the court case files held by the Clerk of Court.

The District Attorney's office for the 6th JDC is headed by James E. Paxton. Phone: (318) 766-4719. The DA handles felony prosecutions and can confirm whether charges were filed or dismissed in cases where court records are unclear. The DA's office is closed to walk-in requests for record copies but can answer questions by phone.

Public Records Law

La. R.S. 44:1 defines public records in Louisiana. La. R.S. 44:32(A) requires that public records be given to any adult who requests them. Court records are generally public unless sealed by a judge or restricted by statute. Juvenile records are confidential and not open to the public without a court order. Mental health records and certain victim information are also restricted.

If the Clerk denies a records request, the reason must be given in writing. You have the right to challenge a denial under Louisiana public records law. The Louisiana Supreme Court provides guidance at lasc.org for questions about court access and procedures.

Cities in Tensas Parish

Tensas Parish is the least populated parish in Louisiana. St. Joseph is the parish seat and largest community. No cities in Tensas Parish meet the population threshold for a dedicated records page. All criminal records are handled directly by the Clerk of Court in St. Joseph.

Nearby Parishes

Tensas Parish borders several northeastern Louisiana parishes, each with its own clerk and court system for criminal records.