St. Landry Parish Deed Records
St. Landry Parish deed records are maintained by the Clerk of Court in Opelousas, Louisiana. The office holds all conveyances and mortgage records for property in the parish and provides public access during regular business hours. You can search St. Landry Parish deed records through the free eClerks LA statewide portal, or visit the Opelousas courthouse to inspect documents and request certified copies.
St. Landry Parish Quick Facts
St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court
The St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court is located at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse, Court and Landry Streets, Opelousas, LA 70571. Mailing address: P.O. Box 750, Opelousas, LA 70571. Phone: (337) 942-5606. The clerk's office is the official recorder for all conveyances and mortgages filed on St. Landry Parish property and serves as the Register of Conveyances and Ex-Officio Recorder of Mortgages for the parish. The office maintains the complete grantor-grantee index for the full chain of title on all real property in St. Landry Parish.
St. Landry Parish is one of the largest parishes in Louisiana by land area. It is located in the south-central part of the state, north of Lafayette, with Opelousas as the parish seat. The parish has significant agricultural land, including cotton, soybeans, and rice production. It also has oil and gas activity, timber tracts, and a large rural residential population. The diverse land use generates substantial deed recording activity, from farm and ranch conveyances to oil and gas leases and mineral rights assignments.
The St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court website provides contact information and access details for deed records in Opelousas.
| Address | Court and Landry Streets, Opelousas, LA 70571 |
|---|---|
| Mailing | P.O. Box 750, Opelousas, LA 70571 |
| Phone | (337) 942-5606 |
| Website | stlandry.org |
Search St. Landry Parish Deed Records
The free statewide eClerks LA portal at eclerksla.com covers St. Landry Parish for free name-based index searches. This portal, created under La. R.S. 13:754, covers all 64 Louisiana parishes and shows filing dates, document types, and instrument numbers at no cost. Full document images require a paid subscription. The eClerks Alert free service lets you monitor for new filings under your name in St. Landry Parish or any other Louisiana parish.
For in-person research, the Opelousas courthouse at Court and Landry Streets maintains the complete archive of St. Landry Parish deed records. Staff can help with the grantor-grantee index for both older Book and Page records and newer instrument-numbered documents. Contact the clerk's office at (337) 942-5606 before visiting to confirm current hours. Mail requests for certified copies are processed with the correct instrument information and payment enclosed.
For the earliest land records covering St. Landry Parish territory, the Louisiana State Land Office at doa.la.gov holds original state patents and tract books. Phone: (225) 342-4570. St. Landry Parish was settled early in Louisiana's history, and the Opelousas area has some of the oldest recorded land transactions in the state.
St. Landry Parish Recording Fees
St. Landry Parish uses a slightly higher base recording fee schedule effective July 1, 2020, reflecting the parish's authority to add a surcharge above the statewide Act 173 rate. Recording fees are: 1-5 pages at $110; 6-25 pages at $210; 26-50 pages at $310; 51-plus pages at $310 plus $5 per additional page. Cancellations and partial releases cost $60. Maps and plats cost $130. These fees are set under La. R.S. 13:844 and the parish supplemental fee authority.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 3338 requires recording to make documents affecting immovable property effective against third parties. An unrecorded deed in St. Landry Parish cannot be enforced against a later buyer who had no actual notice of the prior transaction. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2742, recorded documents become permanent St. Landry Parish archives and are not returned after filing. Documents must have a 2-inch top margin on the first page and 1-inch margins on all other sides. Request certified copies at the time of filing if needed.
The St. Landry Parish conveyance index covers acts of sale, cash sales, donations, exchanges, partitions, oil and gas leases, royalty deeds, rights of way, and easements. The mortgage index holds mortgages, judgments, tax liens, mechanic's liens, and UCC financing statements. Both indexes must be searched for a complete title examination on any St. Landry Parish property.
Nearby Parishes
St. Landry Parish borders Acadia, Evangeline, Avoyelles, Rapides, Sabine, and Lafayette parishes.