Louisiana Free Public Records Directory

Located in the southeastern region of the U.S., is the state of Louisiana, the 31st largest state in size at 52,378 sq. miles. Louisiana consists of 64 parishes. It is the only state in the U.S. with parishes rather than counties. It is bordered on the north by Arkansas, on the east by Mississippi, on the west by Texas, and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico.

Much of Louisiana was formed by sediment washed down the Mississippi River. There is the uplands region, and the alluvial region along the coast. The alluvial region includes swamp lands, coastal marshlands, beaches and barrier islands. This region lies along the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. The uplands area of more than 25,000 sq. miles consists of higher, hill lands, prairies and woodlands. The southern coast of Louisiana is among the fastest-disappearing area in the world due to a variety of causes.

Louisiana has long, hot, humid summers and short mild winters. Rain is frequent throughout the year, although the summer is slightly wetter than the rest of the year. The lowlands in and around New Orleans is particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones and major hurricanes.

Native Americans inhabited Louisiana for many centuries before the arrival of European explorers. In the late 17th century, French and French Canadian expeditions established a foothold on the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast. With its first settlements, the French laid claim to a vast region of North America and set out to establish a commercial empire and French nation. When the U.S. won its independence from Great Britain in 1783, one of its major concerns was having a European power on its western boundary. The U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France on April 30, 1803, doubling the size of the United States overnight.

On April 30, 1812, Louisiana became the 18th U.S. state. By 1840, the city of New Orleans had the biggest slave market in the U.S., which contributed greatly to the economy of the city and state. New Orleans had become one of the wealthiest cities and the 3rd largest in the nation. Louisiana is strongly influenced by a mixture to French, Spanish, Native American and African American cultures. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other southern state.

The capital of Louisiana is the city of Baton Rouge, and the city of New Orleans with the Orleans Parish, is the largest city with a population of 391,495. Louisiana’s 2016 estimated population of 4,681,666 makes it the 25th most populous state. Tourism, especially in New Orleans, is an important element of the economy. New Orleans, Shreveport and Baton Rouge are home to a thriving film industry. The state’s principal agricultural products include seafood (supplying approximately 90% of the world’s crawfish), cotton, soybeans, cattle, sugarcane, poultry and eggs. Located on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, the Port of South Louisiana, is the largest volume shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest in the world. Louisiana is rich in petroleum and natural gas deposits found both onshore and offshore in state-owned lands.^[1]

The below list of available public records is sorted by category for easy access to the records that you may need.

Abbreviation	LA
Capital	Baton Rouge
Population	4,681,666 (2016 est.)
Area size	52,378 sq. mi.
Demonym	Louisianan
Primary languages spoken	English
Governor	John Bel Edwards
Lieutenant Governor	Billy Nungesser
U.S. Senators	Bill Cassidy, John Neely Kennedy
U.S. House Delegation	5 Republicans, 1 Democrat
Time Zone	Central: UTC -6/-5

*The map and data in the table are from Wikipedia.

Browse by Public Record Category

There are two types of public records; 1) personal public records that document major life milestones such as birth certificates, death certificates, divorce records, and marriage records, etc.; and 2) government records that are made public such as property tax records, recorded land records, voter records, crime data, jail inmate records, and court records. The Freedom of Information Act is a national law that releases government agency public records and makes it possible to view most public records.^[2]

Since there are a multitude of records available, it can be difficult to know how or where to access them. When you are ready to start your search, you’ll find our Public Records Directory website easy to use since all of the records can be searched by federal, state, county, city, town or type of record. The links provided will connect you to the best website for the record search, provide details about the record, or provide contact information for those records without search capabilities.