St. John the Baptist Parish Property Records
St. John the Baptist Parish property records are maintained by the Clerk of Court in Edgard, where deeds, mortgages, conveyances, and other land instruments are filed for all real estate in this Mississippi River corridor parish. You can search St. John the Baptist Parish property records online through eClerks LA and Clerk Connect at no charge. Both platforms let you search by name to locate recorded documents. For full copies of deeds or mortgage filings, you will need to contact the Edgard clerk's office directly or use the online portal to access scanned images where available.
St. John the Baptist Parish Quick Facts
St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court
The St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court is at the St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard, Louisiana. The phone is (985) 497-3331. The clerk's website is at stjohnclerk.org. Note: the site returned an HTTP 403 error at the time of our research, so check it again as access may have been restored. Staff can still be reached by phone for record requests.
| Address | St. John Parish Courthouse, Edgard, LA |
|---|---|
| Phone | (985) 497-3331 |
| Website | stjohnclerk.org |
Under La. Civ. Code art. 3338, documents affecting immovable property must be recorded in the parish where the land is located. The St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court is the official keeper of all land records for this parish. Once a deed or mortgage is recorded, it is a public record that any person can search and copy. No reason is required -- you just ask and pay any applicable copy fee.
LaPlace is the largest community in St. John the Baptist Parish. It is an unincorporated area -- it has no separate city government. All property records for LaPlace and the rest of the parish are held at the clerk's office in Edgard. If you own or are researching property in LaPlace, that is where the records are. The clerk handles filings for LaPlace the same as any other part of the parish.
What Property Records Are Kept in St. John the Baptist 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 land record sources for St. John the Baptist Parish.
Conveyance records cover every ownership transfer -- sales, donations, successions, and partition deeds. Mortgage records show loans secured against real property. Both are indexed by grantor and grantee name. Releases and cancellations file when loans are paid off, and those need to be in the public record for a title chain to be clean. Check for both the mortgage and its release when searching any St. John the Baptist title.
The clerk also keeps UCC filings, mineral leases, pipeline and industrial right-of-way agreements, servitude agreements, and subdivision plat maps. St. John the Baptist Parish has significant industrial activity along the River Road corridor. Pipeline servitudes and industrial right-of-way grants are common filings here. If you are buying land near the river, search for those instrument types in addition to deeds and mortgages. A pipeline servitude can seriously limit what you can build or do on a piece of land.
La. Civ. Code art. 3338 requires that all 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. Always record promptly after any closing in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Under La. R.S. 44:411, these records are permanent. The Clerk retains them indefinitely. St. John the Baptist Parish has long, narrow arpent lots running back from the river -- a French colonial land survey system dating to the 1700s and early 1800s. If you are tracing an old riverfront title, you will likely see arpent measurements in older deed legal descriptions. Staff at the Edgard courthouse can help interpret those descriptions.
How to Search St. John the Baptist Parish Property Records
Two online tools handle most remote searching. An in-person visit to Edgard is best for older records or complex title chains that span many decades.
eClerks LA (free index): eClerks LA at eclerksla.com indexes documents filed in many Louisiana parishes including St. John the Baptist. Search free by grantor or grantee name, document type, or date range. The index tells you what exists and when it was filed. Images may require an additional step or subscription. This is a good starting point for any remote search.
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, mortgage, or servitude agreement, this platform provides remote access to those images. Check whether St. John the Baptist Parish is in the current coverage area.
Clerk's website: The clerk's website at stjohnclerk.org may have its own online records search tool when access is restored. Check the site for what is available and any fees that apply to full document access.
In-person search: Visit the St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard during business hours. Bring the property owner's name or the address of the land. Staff can pull index books and search for recorded documents. Older records that predate digital scanning may only be in the physical index books at the courthouse. Call (985) 497-3331 before visiting to confirm hours and current copy fees.
The screenshot below shows the eClerks LA statewide portal, which indexes St. John the Baptist Parish property records and lets you run free name searches from any location.
eClerks LA covers all 64 Louisiana parishes in a single system. Search by name to find document entries, then contact the clerk's office for copies or use any local portal to pull scanned records.
St. John the Baptist Parish Assessor
The St. John the Baptist Parish Assessor's office is at the St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard. For contact details, call the clerk's office at (985) 497-3331 and ask to be connected to the assessor. Both offices share the courthouse building.
| Address | St. John Parish Courthouse, Edgard, LA |
|---|---|
| Phone | (985) 497-3331 (via Clerk's office) |
The assessor values all taxable property under La. Const. art. VII, sec. 18. Residential homestead property is assessed at 10% of fair market value. Commercial and industrial property is assessed at 15%. Public utility property is assessed at 25%. These statewide rates apply in St. John the Baptist Parish.
St. John the Baptist Parish has industrial facilities along the River Road corridor, and those commercial properties are assessed at 15% of fair market value -- the standard rate statewide for commercial and industrial property. If you believe your assessment is wrong, contact the Assessor's office during the annual open book period and ask for an informal review. If that does not resolve the issue, appeal formally to the Louisiana Tax Commission.
The homestead exemption reduces taxable value by $75,000 for owner-occupied primary residences. File once at the Assessor's office when you move in. The exemption stays active each year as long as ownership and occupancy do not change.
Property Taxes in St. John the Baptist Parish
Property taxes in St. John the Baptist Parish are collected by the Sheriff. Bills go out in the fall and are due by December 31 each year. Late payments carry interest and penalties right away.
Unpaid taxes can result in a tax sale. After a tax sale, Louisiana gives the original owner three years to redeem the property by paying all back taxes, interest, and costs. Tax sale certificates are recorded at the Clerk's office and appear in title searches. Always check for them before you close on any St. John the Baptist Parish property.
Under La. R.S. 44:411, tax records are permanent public records. Old assessment rolls and tax sale documents can be inspected at the Clerk's office. They are useful when deed records are unclear or incomplete for a given period in parish history -- particularly for older agricultural tracts near the river where ownership has changed hands many times.
To get copies of St. John the Baptist Parish records, go to the St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard. Call (985) 497-3331 first to confirm hours and fees. Staff can print plain copies or certified copies with the clerk's seal. Certified copies are required for most legal transactions. Plain copies work for general research. Mail requests may be accepted -- call to confirm the procedure and fees before sending anything.
Nearby Parishes
St. John the Baptist Parish sits along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Several parishes border it -- confirm the correct parish before starting your records search.