Getting Terrebonne Parish Court Records
The Terrebonne Parish Clerk keeps the records of the 32nd Judicial District Court. Bring a case number plus the date of the event or filing you want. For online work, subscribed Cott eSearch may offer a docket or image option. But it is not the official file. eClerksLA can point you to a participating-parish index. Clerk Connect handles civil e-filing, not public record viewing. Official copies come from the clerk's counter. Or submit a written public-record request under Louisiana's public-record law.
- Identify the court, case number, caption or party names, division, document type, and event date.
- Check eSearch coverage and the available product if an online index or image would help locate the record.
- Inspect or order the public record in person through Civil or Criminal Records at the parish clerk's office.
- For a written request, email or mail the clerk with the record description, copy type, delivery choice, and certification request.
- Call the main clerk line for routing, or use the responsible city court or justice court when it owns the case.
Houma City Court and the justice-of-the-peace offices each hold their own records. The parish clerk cannot certify a city or ward file. A full Case Lookup helps you pin down the court and case number first.
Terrebonne Parish Court Records Departments
Civil Records handles civil and probate files. It helps with viewing and copies, indexes civil suits, prints the civil court calendar, and pulls files for hearings and trials. Criminal Records holds felony, misdemeanor, traffic, criminal non-support, and juvenile materials and answers criminal inquiries. Processing, minute-clerk, appeals, and archives functions also live within the office. Send your request to the department that owns the case. Do not treat every courthouse record as one undifferentiated file.
The clerk's public-record request page lists the written-request contacts and fee terms that govern a formal copy request.
Use that public-request route whenever an online docket view fails to show the document you need.
Court Record Types
A Terrebonne Parish court record can be a single docket entry or a full filed document. Ask for the narrowest item that meets your need. One judgment, minute entry, order, or event date routes far more easily than a request for every paper in a case. Civil Records also covers probate materials. Criminal Records takes traffic and juvenile files. The court and the record category decide what may be inspected or copied.
- Docket or index register showing chronological filings, minutes, and settings.
- Minute entry recording a condensed account of court activity.
- Filed pleading, citation, motion, order, judgment, exhibit, or return.
- Civil, probate, succession, or appeal-related case material kept by the clerk.
- Criminal, misdemeanor, traffic, non-support, or juvenile material subject to its access rules.
Note: A transcript is not a minute entry. Route transcripts through the proper court reporter or judicial office.
Terrebonne Parish Docket, File, and Certification
Local court records come in three layers. The docket, index, or minute register is the public navigation layer. It may list the case number, parties, filing or index date, settings, minute descriptions, and disposition. The filed document is the real petition, motion, order, judgment, transcript, exhibit, or return behind an entry. A certified copy is a clerk-authenticated reproduction. That is distinct from a screen view or plain printout.
Cott eSearch draws the line clearly. Its docket-only products include no images. Its image-bearing products do not promise every type of criminal document. The portal also states that the official record stays with the clerk. So check whether an image is available before paying for a subscription. Use the counter or a written request when certification is needed or the image is missing.
The clerk's official fee schedule shows the copy costs before you pick a format.
That fee information separates a plain Terrebonne Parish court record copy from a certified clerk copy.
Inside a Terrebonne Parish Court Record
Contents vary by record type. Together, though, the docket and the file can tell you who filed a matter, where it was assigned, what happened, and which document backs each event. Civil files may include service, motions, notices, hearings, judgments, and post-judgment filings. Criminal files may include charges, appearances, pleadings, minute entries, settings, dispositions, and appeal notices. Do not assume a portal result contains every filed document or protected attachment.
| Case number | The identifier used to route a request and distinguish same-name matters. |
|---|---|
| Court and division | The 32nd JDC assignment or other court custodian responsible for the record. |
| Caption and category | The parties or case style and the civil, criminal, probate, or related file type. |
| Filed and index dates | Dates that may differ because indexing does not always occur on the filing date. |
| Minute or docket history | Chronological entries for filings, settings, rulings, and dispositions. |
| Copy availability | Plain, certified, image, archive, or restricted status as confirmed by the clerk. |
Terrebonne Parish Archives Record Route
Archives began in 2018 to back-scan records, move originals into on-site storage, and manage retention. According to the clerk, originals stay viewable by computer or in original form. That matters when a Terrebonne Parish court record predates the online civil or criminal index. It also matters when a category starts on a different date. Older divorces, wills, and successions can carry index histories. Those histories do not match the newer docket ranges.
Give Archives or the records counter the exact category and date range, not just a name. Ask whether the material has been scanned. Ask whether an original must be pulled, and which department owns the copy request. The clerk publishes no universal turnaround time or ID checklist for ordinary public-record requests. So ask for an estimated completion date on your specific record.
The clerk's Archives Department page explains the back-scanning and original-record process.
When an online index begins too late for your case, Archives gives older Terrebonne Parish court records a route.
Fees and Certified Copies
Confirm the correct rate with the department that holds the record before you pay anything. Fees in Terrebonne Parish are not one flat number. The clerk's public-record request terms break them out. They list a search fee, a copy charge, a certification charge, a large-page charge, shipping, and possible overtime.
The civil and criminal departments add their own charges. These cover things like minute entries and criminal dispositions. A Houma City Court record follows a different path entirely. Price that request with the city court itself, not as a parish-clerk filing.
| Terrebonne Parish clerk item | Fee | Request note |
|---|---|---|
| Plain civil or criminal copy | $1 per page | Public-record copies larger than 8.5 by 14 inches are listed at $5 per page. |
| Certified civil or criminal copy | $5 plus $1 per page | Confirm the department rate before ordering. |
| Public-record search | $10 | Give a case number, caption, court, and date range where possible. |
| Public-record minute entry | $5 each | The criminal department table separately lists a $10 criminal minute rate. |
| Faxed copy | $5 plus $1 per page | Ask whether the requested document can be transmitted by fax. |
Terrebonne Parish Appeal Record and Transcript
Handling an appeal in Terrebonne Parish is its own job, separate from routine copies. The clerk's Appeals Department takes the notice. It assembles copies of the record and forwards the appellate file, with transcripts and exhibits, to the Court of Appeal. Minute clerks produce condensed minutes rather than word-for-word transcripts. So a transcript request goes to the right court reporter, judicial assistant, or judicial administrator. It is not a normal clerk copy order.
No official transcript fee schedule is posted. Price, turnaround, and any required authorization are set by the reporter or the judicial office that holds the recording. Before you ask the clerk for anything, pin down which piece of the court record you actually need: the docket, a minute entry, a filed document, the appeal record, or the transcript. Each one sits with a different office, and the fee can differ too. The Appeals Department explains how the clerk routes records and transcript requests.
The appeals material makes the split clear. A Terrebonne Parish court record comes through the clerk, while a verbatim transcript must be requested through a separate channel.
Sealed Records and Public Access
Louisiana's public-record rules presume that you can see public records a custodian holds. That presumption still bends to a court seal, juvenile confidentiality law, an expungement rule, or a required redaction. Think of the online index as a convenience layer. A confidential record may be missing from it entirely. It may show a restriction or come with no image at all.
If a Terrebonne Parish record is not online, do not assume it is sealed or gone. Ask the responsible clerk for the public docket entry. Ask for the reason for any limit on access.
Key Louisiana access rules:
La. R.S. 44:1 defines public records broadly, including electronic and database materials, subject to statutory exceptions.
La. R.S. 44:31 permits adult inspection, copying, or reproduction of public records and places the access burden on the custodian.
La. R.S. 44:32 requires copy or reproduction procedures and permits reasonable uniform fees.
Terrebonne Parish Written Records Request
A written request for Terrebonne Parish court records works best when it is specific. Give the clerk your name and contact information. Include the case number if you have it, the caption or party names, and the court or division involved. Add the date of the event or document, how many copies you want, and how you would like them delivered. State exactly what form of the court record you need, whether that is a plain copy, certified copy, minute entry, judgment, order, or the complete record. If the item is restricted in some way, include any authorization required. The more precise the docket request, the less guessing the staff has to do.
Send requests for public court records to clerkofcourt@yahoo.com, or mail them to Honorable Jodie P. Burton, Clerk of Court, P.O. Box 1569, Houma, LA 70361-1569. Need help routing a request? Call 985-868-5660. The official request page promises no standard completion time. So ask about the estimated date, confirm the fees, and find out whether the item must be inspected before it can be copied.