Find Property Records in Plaquemines Parish

Plaquemines Parish property records are held by the Clerk of Court and the parish assessor, both based in Belle Chasse. Deeds, mortgages, conveyances, mineral leases, and other land instruments covering this long river parish south of New Orleans are searchable online through eClerks LA and the assessor's portal, or in person at the clerk's office. Whether you need to look up a recorded deed, check a mortgage, or verify ownership on a parcel, both offices maintain the core documents for Plaquemines Parish real property research.

Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court

The Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court records all property documents for the parish. The office operates from Belle Chasse, the parish's administrative center. Call (504) 934-6700 to confirm hours and what you need to bring before visiting.

All deeds, mortgage acts, releases, judgment liens, mineral leases, and other instruments affecting real property in Plaquemines Parish are filed here. Under La. Civ. Code art. 3338, recording with the parish clerk is what makes a conveyance or mortgage binding against third parties. Without recording, a document does not appear in a title search and cannot be enforced against a later buyer or creditor who had no notice of it.

The Plaquemines Parish government website below is the main starting point for locating the clerk's office and related parish services. Visit plaqueminesparish.gov for clerk contact details, GIS access, and other parish government resources useful for property research.

The parish site also links to GIS mapping tools that show parcel boundaries across the parish -- useful for a long, narrow jurisdiction that extends all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

What Property Records Are Kept in Plaquemines Parish

Under La. R.S. 44:1, records held by Louisiana public offices are open to any person for inspection. The Clerk's conveyance and mortgage books are the core sources for Plaquemines land records.

Conveyance records cover every ownership transfer -- sales, donations, successions, partition deeds. Mortgage records show loans secured against real property. Both are indexed by grantor and grantee name. The clerk also keeps UCC filings, servitude agreements, and subdivision plat maps.

Mineral and oil and gas leases are very common in Plaquemines Parish. The southern parishes of Louisiana have long been active in petroleum extraction. Pipeline right-of-way agreements and utility corridor grants also appear frequently. Riparian and batture land grants -- relating to land between the levee and the river -- also show up in the historical record and can complicate title searches near the river itself.

La. Civ. Code art. 3338 requires that documents affecting real property be recorded in the parish where the land sits. An unrecorded instrument cannot be enforced against a third party who had no notice of it. For a parish like Plaquemines where land values and mineral rights both matter, prompt recording after any closing is essential.

Under La. R.S. 44:411, these records are permanent. The Clerk retains them indefinitely, which means you can trace ownership history well back into the past by working through the index books at the Belle Chasse courthouse.

How to Search Plaquemines Parish Property Records

Two primary online tools exist for remote searching. An in-person visit handles anything not yet digitized or unavailable online.

eClerks LA (free index): eClerks LA at eclerksla.com indexes documents filed in many Louisiana parishes. Check whether Plaquemines is currently covered and what date ranges are included. The index is free and lets you search by grantor or grantee name without visiting the courthouse. For a parish that can require a long drive to reach, checking the online index first saves a lot of time.

Clerk Connect (subscription): Clerk Connect at clerkconnect.com gives paid access to scanned document images from Louisiana clerk offices. If you need to read the full text of a deed or mineral lease, this is the tool for it. Check whether Plaquemines Parish is included in the current coverage.

In-person search: Visit the clerk's office in Belle Chasse during business hours. Call (504) 934-6700 first to confirm current hours and any identification requirements. Staff can search the grantor/grantee index and pull records. Certified copies carry a per-page fee plus a certification charge. Mail requests may be accepted -- call to confirm the procedure before sending anything.

The Plaquemines Parish Assessor's site at plaqueminesassessor.com offers a property search and a Tax Estimator Tool. Use it to confirm current ownership and get a baseline tax estimate before digging into deed records at the Clerk's office.

Plaquemines Parish Assessor

Sara Taylor serves as the Plaquemines Parish Assessor. Her office is at 106 Avenue G in Belle Chasse. The assessor values all real and personal property in the parish for tax purposes each year.

Assessment ratios are set by La. Const. art. VII, sec. 18. Residential homestead property is assessed at 10% of fair market value. Commercial property sits at 15%. Public utility and service property is assessed at 25%. Wetland and marsh parcels often fall under agricultural or other special classifications that can affect the assessment significantly.

The Plaquemines Parish Assessor website shown below includes a Tax Estimator Tool useful for buyers who want to preview tax bills before closing. Visit plaqueminesassessor.com to search parcel data and use the estimator tool.

The assessor site also provides basic parcel search and contact information for the office in Belle Chasse.

Property Taxes in Plaquemines Parish

The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff collects property taxes. The assessor sets values; the sheriff bills and collects. Tax bills go out in the fall and are due by December 31 each year. Late payments carry interest and penalties.

Unpaid taxes can lead to a tax sale. After a tax sale, the original owner has three years to redeem the property by paying all back taxes, costs, and interest. Tax sale certificates are recorded at the Clerk's office and appear in title searches. Always check for them before closing on any Plaquemines Parish property -- especially on older or rural tracts where tax payment history may be inconsistent.

Under La. R.S. 44:411, tax records are permanent public records. Old assessment rolls and tax sale documents are kept on file and can be inspected. They are useful when deed records are incomplete for a specific time period or when the chain of title passes through an estate or succession.

If you believe your property is over-assessed, contact the Assessor's office during the open book period each year. If that does not resolve it, appeal to the Louisiana Tax Commission. Know the deadlines -- they are firm, and missing them means waiting another full year to contest the value.

Nearby Parishes

Plaquemines Parish's northern end borders Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard. Property near those lines may have documents recorded in more than one clerk's office.