Public Records in St. Mary Parish
St. Mary Parish public records are maintained by the Clerk of Court in Franklin and include civil court filings, criminal case records, land conveyances, mortgage documents, and marriage licenses for this coastal parish in south Louisiana. Under La. R.S. 44:1 and Louisiana Constitution Article XII, Section 3, any person has the right to access and copy records held by the clerk's office, and this page explains how to search and request those records.
St. Mary Parish Quick Facts
St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court
The Clerk of Court is the official custodian of public records for St. Mary Parish. The office is located at the St. Mary Parish Courthouse, 500 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538. Phone: (337) 828-4100. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, closed on legal holidays. The clerk handles civil and criminal court records, conveyance and mortgage filings, and marriage licenses for the parish.
The 16th Judicial District covers Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes. Civil and criminal cases filed in St. Mary Parish are heard in this multi-parish district, and the clerk in Franklin maintains the official record for all St. Mary Parish proceedings. Staff can help you locate case files if you provide the names of the parties, a case number, or approximate dates. Note that St. Mary Parish's seat of Franklin should not be confused with Franklin Parish, a separate parish in northeast Louisiana whose seat is Winnsboro.
Mail requests are accepted at 500 Main Street, Franklin, LA 70538. Include a description of the records you need, your contact information, any identifying details such as party names or case numbers, and estimated payment for copy fees. The clerk must respond within three business days under Louisiana public records law.
Note: St. Mary Parish is a coastal parish with areas susceptible to flooding. If you need older paper records, call ahead to confirm the current condition and availability of the materials you need.
Online Access to St. Mary Parish Records
The Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority runs the statewide clerks portal at laclerksportal.org, which provides free index access to public records from all 64 Louisiana parishes, including St. Mary. You can search civil, criminal, and property record indexes by party name, case number, or date without creating an account. This is the primary free online resource for St. Mary Parish public records research.
The statewide portal at laclerksportal.org indexes St. Mary Parish court and property filings and provides free search access across all Louisiana parishes.
A portal search can confirm whether a record exists before you make the drive out to Franklin.
The ClerkConnect subscription platform provides remote document access for those who regularly need Louisiana clerk records. eClerks LA also offers access to some Louisiana clerk documents online. For most routine St. Mary Parish public records searches, these tools allow you to work remotely without visiting the Franklin courthouse. Certified copies and records that predate digital indexing still typically require an in-person visit or a mail request.
Court Records in the 16th Judicial District
The 16th Judicial District handles civil and criminal matters for Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary parishes. Cases filed in St. Mary Parish go before this multi-parish district court, and the clerk's office in Franklin maintains the records for all St. Mary Parish proceedings. These filings are public under La. R.S. 44:1 unless a judge has sealed them or a specific statute exempts them.
Civil records include property disputes, contract claims, divorce and custody matters, personal injury suits, and succession proceedings. Criminal records include felony and misdemeanor charges brought in St. Mary Parish. Each case file at the clerk's office contains the original petition or charging document, all pleadings and motions, minute entries from court appearances, and the final judgment or disposition. You can search by name or case number at the clerk's office or through the LCRAA portal.
Juvenile proceedings are sealed under Louisiana law and are not available to the public. Some protective order cases also have restricted access. But these are narrow exceptions. Most court records from the 16th Judicial District's St. Mary Parish docket are open to any person who requests them during business hours.
Property and Land Records
All real property sales, donations, and transfers in St. Mary Parish must be recorded with the Clerk of Court in Franklin to be legally effective against third parties. The conveyance index tracks the chain of ownership for every parcel in the parish. Mortgage records document all liens and encumbrances on property. Both are public records and searchable at the clerk's office or through the LCRAA statewide portal.
St. Mary Parish includes coastal wetlands, oil field areas, and agricultural land with layered property histories. Some of the parish's land records involve complex chains of transfers tied to mineral rights, water access, and multiple generations of family ownership. If you are conducting a title search, especially for property near the coast, in-person research at the Franklin courthouse may be necessary to trace older transactions that predate digital indexing.
For property assessment data and address-based parcel lookups, contact the St. Mary Parish Assessor's Office separately. The assessor maintains records independent of the clerk but can help you identify the right parcel before you search the conveyance index.
Marriage Licenses and Vital Records
Marriage licenses issued in St. Mary Parish are recorded and kept by the Clerk of Court in Franklin. To get a copy, visit the clerk's office during business hours or submit a written request by mail. Provide the names of both parties and the approximate year of the marriage. The clerk will locate the record and provide copies at the standard rate.
Birth and death certificates are handled at the state level by the Louisiana Department of Health. The St. Mary Parish clerk does not issue these documents. For historical vital records, the Louisiana Secretary of State maintains an online index at sos.la.gov covering older birth, death, and marriage records from St. Mary Parish and across Louisiana, which is useful for genealogy and family history research.
Statewide Public Records Tools
Beyond the St. Mary Parish clerk's office, several statewide resources help with Louisiana public records research. The Louisiana Secretary of State at sos.la.gov handles business entity filings, elections data, notary records, and the state archives. Business registrations are searchable through GeauxBiz. Historical documents are accessible through the State Archives at sos.la.gov/historicalresources/.
Louisiana's public records law gives every person broad access rights. La. R.S. 44:1 defines public records broadly, covering documents, writings, and electronic data held by any public body. The Louisiana Constitution's Article XII, Section 3 makes this a constitutional right. Agencies must respond to requests within three business days. Exemptions under La. R.S. 44:4 cover limited categories such as active investigative files, juvenile records, and certain health information. Outside those exemptions, the default is that records are open to the public.
The Louisiana State Archives at sos.la.gov/historicalresources/ hold older historical materials from St. Mary Parish and across Louisiana, including records that predate the modern public records system.
The state archives are a useful resource for genealogy and deep historical research involving St. Mary Parish families and land records.
Nearby Parishes
St. Mary Parish sits in south Louisiana along the Gulf Coast. Neighboring parishes each maintain their own public records through independent Clerks of Court.