Access Tensas Parish Clerk Records

Tensas Parish Clerk of Court Office

Tensas Parish has a unified Clerk of Court. Louisiana does not use a split county-clerk and district-clerk structure here, so the same Clerk's Office handles district-court filings and many parish record functions. The current Clerk is Christina "Christy" C. Lee, listed on the official Clerk homepage and community page. The office states that it is self-supporting, with salaries and expenses paid from statutory fees collected for recording, certified copies, and services tied to civil, probate, and criminal proceedings.

The Clerk's Office is located in the Tensas Parish Courthouse at 201 Hancock Street, Courthouse Square, Saint Joseph, Louisiana 71366. Mail goes to P.O. Box 78, Saint Joseph, Louisiana 71366. The general phone is 318-766-3921, and the fax is 318-766-3926. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with listed holiday closures on the official site. Marriage applicants are told to arrive no later than 4:00 p.m. because of processing time.

The manifest image for the Clerk page comes from the official Tensas Parish Clerk of Court homepage, the main local source for office hours, contacts, record history, and record-search navigation.

The homepage is especially important because it states that original Tensas Parish records date back to 1843 and that older documents have been microfilmed.

Tensas Parish Clerk Record Duties

The Clerk handles court filings and records for the Sixth Judicial District Court in Tensas Parish. The office also handles land and mortgage records, UCC filings, certified copies, marriage licenses, jury administration, election-related records, criminal background searches available through the criminal department, and traffic or criminal payment routing. Departmental contacts listed in the research include Kristen Sloane, Deputy Clerk; Cecil Evans, Deputy Clerk for Civil; Lucille Pipes, Deputy Clerk for Criminal; and Faye Kenedy, Deputy Clerk for Traffic.

• Civil filings, including new suits, rules, motions, appeals, successions, tutorships, and certified civil copies.
• Criminal filings, including bills, pleadings, notices, appeals, minutes, criminal copies, and background search requests.
• Marriage licenses and certified marriage-license copies.
• Land, mortgage, lien, conveyance, UCC, and recorded-document copy functions.
• Jury administration, including jury summons support and Jury Commission duties.
• Traffic contact routing and fine-payment direction to the Tensas Parish Sheriff's Office when required.

Tensas Parish Clerk Records Since 1843

The Clerk's record history is unusually specific. The office states that original records date back to 1843, the year Tensas Parish was created from the northern part of Concordia Parish. Older documents have been microfilmed, and the office is working toward digital images for public convenience. That history explains why some Tensas Parish Clerk records may be visible through modern systems while others require staff help, counter review, microfilm retrieval, or a more detailed written request.

For older civil, probate, marriage, land, and court records, requesters should give full names, variant spellings, approximate years, record type, and any known docket, instrument, marriage, or book/page number. The Clerk may be able to identify a record that is not in a public online index, but broad historical searches can take more time. A certified copy can also take longer when the record is old, fragile, or stored in a format that requires staff handling.

Note: Older records may exist even when a modern online search does not return a match.

Tensas Parish Clerk COTT eSearch

The main online channel is the Tensas Parish Clerk COTT eSearch portal, linked by the Clerk as "Record Search." It is not a fully open, no-login public case search. The public login page says online access requires a subscription and covers land records and civil case records that are on the Clerk's computers. The login page does not promise online access to every criminal, probate, traffic, marriage, or older file, so the counter and direct request channels remain important.

Published COTT rates include one day or 24 hours for $25, one month or 30 days for $50, and one year or 365 days for $600, plus $1 per page to print. Printing costs have a service fee of $0.30 plus 3% per credit-card transaction. COTT terms prohibit automated scraping, service-bureau use, and unauthorized redistribution. The terms also say records may display as incomplete or not verified until fully recorded, indexed, verified, and released.

Request Tensas Parish Certified Copies

Certified copies are used when a plain photocopy is not enough. A court, agency, bank, title office, employer, or another parish may require a clerk-certified record under seal. The Clerk can issue certified copies of eligible court records and recorded documents unless access is restricted by law or court order. A request should be precise because copy cost, certification cost, and search time depend on the record type.

1. Identify the record type, such as civil judgment, criminal minutes, marriage license, recorded document, succession judgment, or court minutes.
2. Provide the case number, instrument number, party names, record date, and department if known.
3. State whether a plain copy or certified copy is required, and how many copies are needed.
4. Use the Clerk's in-person, mail, phone, fax, or departmental email channels to confirm the fee and delivery method.
5. Pay the copy and certification fees required for that record type before relying on the copy for official use.

Tensas Parish Clerk Request Fields

No universal public request form was located for every Clerk record type. The best practical record request includes enough detail for staff to identify the file and quote copy costs. This is especially important for Tensas Parish Clerk records that may be older, microfilmed, not fully digitized, or held in different departments. A request for criminal records should go to the criminal department, while traffic questions should identify the citation or case number if known.

Tensas Parish Clerk Fee Table

The Clerk's fee schedule is detailed because the office is funded through statutory fees rather than taxpayer-dollar operations. The table below focuses on the record and copy charges most relevant to Clerk users, plus common filing deposits. Always confirm a current total before filing because service counts, page counts, exhibits, witness fees, fax filings, and certifications can change the amount due.

Tensas Parish Clerk Forms

The Clerk's forms page is limited but useful. It includes cancellation and fee-change form links rather than a full self-help library for every civil or family case. The Sixth Judicial District Court also has an orders and forms page, which is relevant when the form belongs to the court rather than the Clerk's recording office. Users should match the form to the type of filing and ask the Clerk which office receives it.

• Clerk forms page for cancellation and fee-change forms linked by the local Clerk.
• Sixth Judicial District orders and forms page for court-related orders and local district forms.
• Criminal department materials for expungement checklists and required certified records.
• Jury forms for juror excuse or age exemption issues returned to the Clerk when applicable.

The manifest image assigned from the Clerk's jury-service page highlights the Clerk's role outside ordinary copy work.

Jury service is a Clerk function because summonses are issued through the Clerk, served by the Sheriff's Office, and tied to the court's second-floor courtroom schedule.

Tensas Parish Clerk Jury Role

The Clerk is part of the local Jury Commission. The Clerk's jury page says registered voters of Tensas Parish are placed into the Clerk's computer throughout the year, and the computer randomly selects names after an order from the District Judge. Jury summonses are issued by the Clerk and served by the Tensas Parish Sheriff's Office. Only a judge can excuse jurors. A person summoned for jury duty should follow the Clerk's instructions, including calling the night before and reporting to the second-floor courtroom if the appearance has not been cancelled.

Juror qualifications include United States and Louisiana citizenship, residence in Tensas Parish for at least one year, age 18 or older, ability to read, write, and speak English, no disqualifying mental or physical infirmity, and no felony indictment or felony conviction without pardon. Personal exemptions include being over age 70 or having served on a civil, petit, or grand jury during the past two years. The Clerk's jury page also covers dress, arrival time, compensation, mileage, and courtroom behavior.

The related manifest image from the Sixth Judicial District forms page shows how Clerk functions and district-court procedures intersect.

Some records begin at the Clerk's counter, while others depend on the District Court's forms, orders, and case management process.

Tensas Parish Clerk Legal Advice Limits

The Clerk states that staff are trained professionals but are prohibited from giving legal advice. That distinction is important. Staff can receive filings, provide copy and certification procedures, identify published fees, point to official forms, and explain office routing. They cannot choose claims, draft pleadings, advise whether to file for divorce or succession, interpret the effect of a judgment, decide whether a criminal expungement is available, or tell a party how to argue a case.

For court-file questions, the Clerk is the right record custodian. For prosecution decisions, the Sixth Judicial District Attorney is separate. For appointed defense in qualifying criminal cases, District 6 Public Defender is separate. For sheriff records, jail questions, warrants, and fine-payment routing, the Tensas Parish Sheriff's Office may be the custodian or payment office. Clear routing helps avoid asking the Clerk for a record or legal decision that another office controls.