Louisiana Public Records
(sponsored by Archives.com)
The Louisiana Public Records Law (Title 44) provides definitions and exemptions for what constitutes public records, who may access them and what the agency's responsibilities are for holding and providing records that are requested. Louisiana law defines a “public record” as “all books, records, writings, accounts, letters and letter books, maps, drawings, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, memoranda, and papers, and all copies, duplicates, photographs, including microfilm, or other reproductions thereof, or any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including information contained in electronic data processing equipment, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed, or retained for use in the conduct, transaction, or performance of any business, transaction, work, duty, or function which was conducted, transacted, or performed by or under the authority of the constitution or laws of this state, or by or under the authority of any ordinance, regulation, mandate, or order of any public body or concerning the receipt or payment of any money received or paid by or under the authority of the constitution or the laws of this state.”
Public records exempt from disclosure are those that federal, state or local law prohibits the Louisiana state Agencies from disclosing or permits them to decline to disclose. A complete listing of applicable exemptions appears in La. R.S. 44:4.1.
Exemptions include records whose disclosure would constitute an invasion of personal privacy, hinder or otherwise obstruct ongoing investigations, or provide for unsafe circumstances for either the state or its citizens. Included in this are any records that would provide the requester with information pertaining to personal contact, finance, fingerprint, photograph, medical and scholastic to any party other than themselves or their legal ward. Also restricted are records pertaining to the location and specifics of wells.
Public Records Requests should be made with the appropriate offices and can be rendered either in person or by mail. A list of agencies and public records contact info can be found below. Each county will be listed out on it's own page; the county directory is to the left.
Brief History of STATE
~15,000 BC to 1500's Indigenous peoples moved into the area and evolved their societies from the Paleolithic peoples to the Neo-Indian types.
Influenced by the Caddo, Plaquemine and Mississippian cultures of earlier times, the modern native peoples of Louisiana included:
Adai, Alabama, Apalachee, Atakapa, Avoyel, Bayogoula, Biloxi, Caddo, Chatot, Chawasha, Chitimacha, Choctaw, Houma, Koasati, Koroa, Mugulasha, Muskogee, Natchez, Okelousa, Opelousa, Ouachita, Pascagoula, Quapaw, Quinipissa, Souchitioni, Tangipahoa, Tawasa, Washa and Yatasi.
Early European exploration in the form of Spanish expeditions.
1519 - Alvarez de Pineda discovers mouth of the Mississippi
1541 - Hernando de Soto explores the Mississippi River
French Exploration of the Mississippi leads to France's claim on the region.
1673 - Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet reach the Mississippi River - and confirm that it flows into the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Pacific Ocean.
1682 - Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, claims the territory for Louis XIV of France, for whom Louisiana is named.
Fast Facts:
- Capital City:
- Biggest City:
- Population:
- State Bird:
- State Flower:
- State Tree:
- Nickname:
- Baton Rouge
- New Orleans, Baton Rouge
- 4,410,796
- Eastern Brown Pelican
- Magnolia
- Bald Cypress
- The Pelican State
Louisiana Government Info
Louisiana Office of Vital Records and Statistics - Birth Records
3851 Essen Lane
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
State Archivist and Director: (225) 922-1200
LOUISIANA STATE AGENCIES
FULL LIST
Box 94062
(900 North Third Street)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
Phone: 225-342-6945
Louisiana Senate
- Current Senators
- Senate Archives
- Senate Communication Office - serves public information, media relations, and citizen education roles
Post Office Box 94183
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
(225) 342-2040
Clerk of Court
400 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504)310-2300Court Public Information Officer
400 Royal Street, Suite 1190
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 310-2588Judicial Administrator's Office
400 Royal Street Suite 1190
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 310-2550Law Library of Louisiana
400 Royal Street, Second Floor
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 310-2400
Louisiana Secretary of State
P.O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125Twelve United Plaza
8585 Archives Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Louisiana State Police
7919 Independence Blvd
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Telephone: 1-800-858-0551
ON THIS PAGE
LA MENU
- County List
- County Map
- Coming Soon....
- Court Records
- Genealogy Records
- Military Records
- Jail/Prison Records
- Sex Offenders
- Vital Records
RESOURCES
- Find Cities in a County
- LA Most Wanted Criminals and Fugitives - Ancestorhunt.com
LA COUNTIES
- Acadia
- Allen
- Ascension
- Assumption
- Avoyelles
- Beauregard
- Bienville
- Bossier
- Caddo
- Calcasieu
- Caldwell
- Cameron
- Catahoula
- Claiborne
- Concordia
- Desoto
- East Baton Rouge
- East Carroll
- East Feliciana
- Evangeline
- Franklin
- Grant
- Iberia
- Iberville
- Jackson
- Jefferson Davis
- Jefferson
- La Salle
- Lafayette
- Lafourche
- Lincoln
- Livingston
- Madison
- Morehouse
- Natchitoches
- Orleans
- Ouachita
- Plaquemines
- Pointe Coupee
- Rapides
- Red River
- Richland
- Sabine
- St. Bernard
- St. Charles
- St. Helena
- St. James
- St. John the Baptist
- St. Landry
- St. Martin
- St. Mary
- St. Tammany
- Tangipahoa
- Tensas
- Terrebonne
- Union
- Vermilion
- Vernon
- Washington
- Webster
- West Baton Rouge
- West Carroll
- West Feliciana
- Winn