Search Beauregard Parish Court Records
The main Beauregard Parish Court records path starts with the Clerk of Court. The clerk maintains civil and criminal case records for the 36th Judicial District Court and routes online users to two official systems. Civil or criminal case search goes through ClerkConnect. Conveyance, mortgage, marriage, succession/probate, and other recording-style books go through COTT eSearch. Both systems can require account or subscription access, so the local search path also includes phone, mail, fax, and in-person requests through the clerk.
The clerk warns that online records are convenience copies. Official public records for Beauregard Parish are provided through the clerk's office. Some records may have official numbers but may not yet be indexed or released for online viewing. That means a missing portal result can point to a release lag, older book, restricted file, wrong court, or need for a clerk request.
- Identify the record type: civil, criminal, divorce, succession, marriage, land, jail, traffic, warrant, or federal.
- Use the Clerk online-records page to choose ClerkConnect for civil/criminal cases or COTT for recording-style books.
- Check the portal coverage and login requirements before assuming a search can be completed online.
- Contact the clerk for certified copies, older records, unreleased records, or unclear results.
- Use separate Sheriff, OMV, DOC, VINELink, BOP, or PACER routes when the record is not a local court case file.
Beauregard Parish Court System
Beauregard Parish is served by the 36th Judicial District Court, Louisiana's district court for the parish. The court has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in Beauregard Parish. It has two elected divisions: Division A, Chief Judge Martha Ann O'Neal, and Division B, Judge C. Kerry Anderson. The divisions rotate monthly between civil and criminal dockets, and the research did not find exclusive subject-matter divisions for the two judges.
Louisiana's broader court system includes the Louisiana Supreme Court, five courts of appeal, 43 district courts, family and juvenile courts, city courts, parish courts, justice of the peace courts, and mayor's courts. Appeals from Beauregard Parish go to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, then to the Louisiana Supreme Court when review is available. Federal matters are different and use the Western District of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit.
The Louisiana judicial branch page summarizes the statewide court system that includes Beauregard Parish.
The statewide structure helps explain why a local case, appeal, and federal filing may be searched through different record systems.
| Court or Office | Role | Records Route |
|---|---|---|
| 36th Judicial District Court | General trial court for Beauregard Parish | Court information through 36jdc.com; case file through Clerk of Court |
| Beauregard Parish Clerk of Court | Civil, criminal, recording, marriage, succession, and copy services | ClerkConnect, COTT, office, mail, phone, and fax |
| Justice of the Peace or Mayor's Court | Limited local jurisdiction where applicable | Verify from citation, summons, ward, or municipality |
| Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit | Intermediate appellate court | State appellate court route |
| Federal courts | Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appeals | PACER and federal court sites |
Beauregard Parish Court Record Types
Beauregard Parish court records are not one single database. Civil records include ordinary suits, collections, custody, paternity, damage petitions, evictions, executory process, garnishments, mandamus, interventions, reconventional demands, third-party demands, summary judgments, and writs. Criminal records are kept by the clerk after charges are filed and can show pleadings, minutes, hearings, disposition, and sentence. Family and divorce records are civil District Court matters. Succession records are Louisiana probate-style files handled through District Court and the clerk.
Marriage licenses are issued by the Clerk of Court, while jail booking information is held by the Sheriff. Traffic records may involve the Sheriff Civil and Tax Division, the payment vendor, the District Court, or a municipal channel named on the citation. State driver records are separate from court traffic records and are obtained through Louisiana OMV.
The Louisiana State Bar court-structure page explains district, city, justice of the peace, mayor's, and appellate court roles.
That court-structure context is useful when a Beauregard Parish record belongs to a lower court or appeal rather than the local District Court case file.
- Civil and family records: Clerk Civil Department and 36th JDC filings.
- Criminal court records: Clerk Criminal Department after charges are filed.
- Succession and probate records: District Court and Clerk of Court, with some property effects in recording books.
- Marriage records: Clerk marriage-license and recording functions.
- Jail and inmate records: Sheriff roster and jail phone, not the court case file.
- Federal records: PACER, Western District of Louisiana, Bankruptcy Court, and Fifth Circuit.
What Beauregard Parish Court Records Show
A Beauregard Parish court record can show the case number, court and division, filing date, parties, attorneys, pleadings, minutes, exhibits, hearings, disposition, financial entries, and copy or certification history. The exact view depends on the record type and access channel. Civil and criminal case detail was not publicly visible in full without subscription access during research, so field-level content must be tied to clerk department descriptions rather than invented portal screens.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | Clerk-assigned case identifier when visible or provided by the office. |
| Court and division | 36th JDC and, where applicable, Division A or Division B. |
| Parties | Plaintiff/defendant, State/defendant, petitioner/respondent, spouses, decedent, heirs, or representative. |
| Pleadings and motions | Petitions, answers, rules, motions, exceptions, subpoenas, and related filings. |
| Minutes | Official summary of what happened in court, kept and transcribed by clerk staff. |
| Disposition | Judgment, dismissal, plea, conviction, acquittal, sentence, or other outcome. |
| Restrictions | Sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, personal identifier, or confidential material may be absent or redacted. |
Beauregard Parish Public Access Laws
Louisiana public-records law gives broad inspection and copy rights, but court records are still controlled by court rules, clerk procedures, fees, and confidentiality statutes. Louisiana R.S. 44:32 requires a custodian to present public records to an adult requester during regular office hours and allows reasonable copy fees. If record status is questioned, the custodian must give written notice within five business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays.
Louisiana R.S. 13:5992 is also important for criminal court records. It requires district clerks responsible for criminal records to provide public electronic access to criminal minute entries or summaries for cases filed on or after January 1, 2020, through the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority portal. The law does not require full document images and excludes traffic violations.
Louisiana R.S. 44:32 covers public-record inspection and copy duties. Louisiana R.S. 13:5992 covers criminal minute-entry transparency. Code of Criminal Procedure art. 971 and art. 972 explain that expungement removes records from public access but does not destroy them.
Restricted Beauregard Parish Records
Some Beauregard Parish court records are not open in the same way as ordinary civil or criminal filings. Juvenile court records are generally confidential under Louisiana Children's Code article 412, with traffic and other statutory exceptions. Adoption records are confidential under Louisiana Children's Code article 1186. Expunged criminal records are removed from public access but still available to law enforcement and other authorized agencies. Sealed court records remain closed unless a court order allows access.
Personal identifiers, protected addresses, medical information, and confidential family material may be redacted. A practical rule is to use the Clerk of Court or the specific agency custodian when a record is missing online, rather than relying on third-party claims about a sealed or restricted file.
Beauregard Parish Sheriff and Jail Records
The Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office is the local law-enforcement and jail agency. Sheriff Mark Herford is listed in the Louisiana DOC parish office data. The sheriff site lists the main phone as 337-463-3281 or 833-404-1371, the jail phone as 337-460-5520, the Civil Address as 120 South Stewart Street, and the Criminal Division/Jail Address as 412 Bolivar Bishop Drive. The public jail roster has current inmates and 48-hour releases.
Jail roster data is not the same as a court record. A roster profile may show booking number, age, gender, race, address, arresting agency, booking date, and charges. The roster warns that charges and bail amounts can change after court appearances and tells people posting bond to call detention center staff for current bail, charges, and case numbers. The official Beauregard Sheriff's Office LA app store listings were located, but no app-only inmate or active-warrant lookup was confirmed in the research.
The Louisiana DOC Beauregard Parish page lists local offices, including the clerk, district attorney, sheriff, and jail contacts.
That state listing is useful when custody, court, district attorney, and clerk contacts need to be separated by office.
Beauregard Parish Local Offices
The parish seat is DeRidder, and the local government cluster places several public offices near the courthouse area. The Police Jury contact page lists 201 W. 2nd Street, DeRidder, LA 70634, phone 337-463-7019, office fax 337-462-2567, and public works fax 337-221-1030. The resources page lists local officials including Judges Martha O'Neal and Kerry Anderson, District Attorney James R. LeStage, Sheriff Mark Herford, Clerk of Court Brian LeStage, and Tax Assessor Brent Rutherford.
The Beauregard Parish Police Jury resources page identifies local officeholders relevant to court and public-record access.
Those official names help readers distinguish the court, district attorney, sheriff, and clerk roles.
The Police Jury contact page gives parish-government contact information for the DeRidder office cluster.
The Police Jury address is near the courthouse, but it is not the same office as the Clerk of Court or District Court.
Beauregard Parish Marriage and Probate Records
Marriage licenses are issued by the Clerk of Court. The clerk's marriage page states that the license costs $32.50, is paid by cash or local check, and is issued between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Applicants need valid state ID and original birth certificates, and the downloadable questionnaire is required. There is a 24-hour waiting period before the ceremony, and the couple must marry within 30 days.
Probate is best described locally as succession and related civil/probate matters through the 36th JDC and Clerk of Court. There is no separate county probate court in the official sources. Small succession, large succession with or without will, tutorship, interdiction, and adoption deposits are listed in the clerk's fee materials. Adoption records remain confidential.
| Record | Local Route | Key Note |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | Clerk of Court | $32.50, cash or local check; issue hours end at 4:00 p.m. |
| Divorce record | 36th JDC civil case through Clerk | Guided forms exist through court resources. |
| Succession/probate | District Court and Clerk | COTT coverage varies; official copies through Clerk. |
| Judgment of possession | Clerk civil/recording route | May affect conveyance records for immovable property. |
Beauregard Parish Courthouse Contact
The primary courthouse address is 200 West Second Street, DeRidder, Louisiana 70634. The 36th JDC lists the mailing address as P.O. Box 1148, DeRidder, LA 70634-1148, phone 337-463-7993, and fax 337-463-9244. The court's public hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed for lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., and closed holidays. The clerk lists separate office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
36th Judicial District Court
200 West Second Street
DeRidder, LA 70634
337-463-7993
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; lunch closure 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Beauregard Parish Clerk of Court
200 West Second Street
DeRidder, LA 70634
337-463-8595
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Federal Records for Beauregard Parish
Federal cases from Beauregard Parish are not searched through the local clerk. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana covers Beauregard Parish, and the official Lake Charles Division page lists Beauregard with Allen, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, and Vernon Parishes. Bankruptcy cases go through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Federal appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The Western District of Louisiana website is the federal district court source for cases outside the parish court system.
Federal district court records require federal search channels rather than Beauregard Parish Clerk portals.
The Western District of Louisiana Bankruptcy Court handles bankruptcy matters for the federal district.
Bankruptcy records are separate from parish civil suits, even when the debtor or property is in Beauregard Parish.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals handles federal appeals from the Western District of Louisiana.
The Fifth Circuit is relevant only for federal appeals, not appeals from 36th JDC cases to Louisiana's Third Circuit.
Beauregard Parish Federal Case Search
PACER is the federal public-access system for electronic court records. It lets registered users search the court where a case was filed or use a nationwide index. Research notes that PACER charges $0.10 per page, caps many single documents and case-specific reports at $3.00, and waives fees for a quarter when usage is $30 or less. PACER is not used for local Beauregard Parish District Court case records.
The PACER public federal case-record service is the correct route for federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appellate records.
Use PACER when the filing is in federal court, and use the Beauregard Parish Clerk of Court when the filing is in the 36th JDC.
Beauregard Parish Court History
Beauregard Parish was created June 12, 1912, from Calcasieu Parish. The current 36th Judicial District did not always exist. Beauregard was first placed in the Fifteenth Judicial District, moved to the Fourteenth Judicial District in 1921, became part of the Thirtieth Judicial District with Vernon Parish in 1956, and became the Thirty-Sixth Judicial District in 1979 as a single-parish judicial district. The second judgeship was added in 1997.
The original courthouse dates to 1914. A renovation effort began after local officials identified disabled-access and modern court-space problems. Voters approved funding with 69 percent support, and the renovated courthouse resumed business on September 5, 2017. The project preserved original architectural features and restored the main courtroom mural, crest, and stained-glass dome.
The state Beauregard Parish profile identifies the parish seat and official local context.
That parish profile fits the broader record map because most local court and clerk access points are centered in DeRidder.
Beauregard Parish Court Records FAQ
Can Beauregard Parish court records be searched for free? Some official pages can be viewed without charge, but full ClerkConnect or COTT search access can require an account or subscription. Certified copies require clerk fees.
Are online clerk records official? The clerk says online records are a convenience. Official public records are the records provided through the clerk's office.
Where are inmate records searched? Use the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's jail roster for current inmates and 48-hour releases, then call the jail for current bail, charges, and case numbers.
Is there a separate probate court? No separate county probate court was found in official sources. Succession and related probate-style filings run through the District Court and Clerk of Court.