St. Mary Parish Deed Records
St. Mary Parish deed records are maintained by the Clerk of Court in Franklin, Louisiana. All conveyances and mortgage records for property in the parish are filed and indexed at this office. You can search St. Mary Parish deed records online through the eClerks Search portal, which provides viewable document images for conveyance and mortgage records, or visit the Franklin courthouse in person for a complete title search.
St. Mary Parish Quick Facts
St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court
The St. Mary Parish Clerk of Court is located at 500 Main Street, Second Floor, in Franklin. Mailing address: P.O. Drawer 1231, Franklin, LA 70538. Phone: (337) 828-4100. Fax: (337) 828-2509. Email: support@smpclerk.com. The clerk's office is the official recorder for all conveyances and mortgages filed on St. Mary Parish property. The office serves as the Register of Conveyances and Ex-Officio Recorder of Mortgages for the parish and maintains the complete grantor-grantee index for all real property in St. Mary Parish.
St. Mary Parish is in south Louisiana, along the Gulf Coast, with Morgan City as its largest urban center. The parish has a substantial offshore oil and gas industry, which drives significant commercial property activity including marine facility leases, pipeline rights of way, and industrial site transactions. Sugar cane farming is also a major land use in the parish, generating farm conveyances and agricultural easements. The Atchafalaya River delta and extensive wetlands are major geographic features affecting property descriptions and use in the parish.
The clerk's office transitioned to the Antares/eClerks system on November 3, 2025, bringing improved online access to St. Mary Parish deed records. The system provides viewable images for conveyance and mortgage records in addition to the standard index data. Electronic recording is available through eClerks LA. Contact the office at (337) 828-4100 to confirm current hours and access information.
| Address | 500 Main Street, Second Floor, Franklin, LA 70538 |
|---|---|
| Mailing | P.O. Drawer 1231, Franklin, LA 70538 |
| Phone | (337) 828-4100 |
| Fax | (337) 828-2509 |
| support@smpclerk.com | |
| Website | stmaryparishclerkofcourt.com |
Search St. Mary Parish Deed Records Online
St. Mary Parish participates in the eClerks Search portal at lcci.kbisp.com, which provides viewable document images for conveyance and mortgage records. This is a key feature that goes beyond basic index data, letting you see the actual recorded documents online. The system also covers civil suits, criminal records, probate, bonds, chattel mortgages, and incorporations. Contact the clerk's office at (337) 828-4100 or visit the website at stmaryparishclerkofcourt.com for current subscription rates and login details.
The eClerks Search portal provides online access to St. Mary Parish deed records with viewable document images from Franklin.
The free statewide eClerks LA portal at eclerksla.com also covers St. Mary Parish for free name-based index searches. This portal, authorized under La. R.S. 13:754, covers all 64 Louisiana parishes and shows filing dates, document types, and instrument numbers at no cost. Electronic recording for St. Mary Parish is also available through the eClerks platform. The eClerks Alert free service lets you monitor for new filings under your name in St. Mary Parish or any Louisiana parish.
For in-person research, the Franklin courthouse on Main Street maintains the complete archive. For the earliest land records, the Louisiana State Land Office at doa.la.gov holds original patents and tract books. Phone: (225) 342-4570.
St. Mary Parish Recording Fees
Recording fees in St. Mary Parish follow the standard state Act 173 schedule under La. R.S. 13:844: 1-5 pages at $105; 6-25 pages at $205; 26-50 pages at $305; 51-plus pages at $305 plus $5 per additional page. The $5 LCRAA portal fee is included in all recording fees. Documents must have a 2-inch top margin on the first page and 1-inch margins on all other sides.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 3338 requires recording to make documents affecting immovable property effective against third parties. An unrecorded deed in St. Mary 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. Mary Parish archives and are not returned. Request certified copies at the time of filing if you need them.
The St. Mary Parish conveyance index covers acts of sale, cash sales, donations, exchanges, partitions, oil and gas leases, royalty deeds, rights of way, and easements. Given the parish's offshore and coastal oil industry, rights of way, pipeline easements, and marine facility leases are particularly common document types in the conveyance record. The mortgage index holds mortgages, judgments, tax liens, mechanic's liens, and UCC financing statements.
Nearby Parishes
St. Mary Parish borders Terrebonne, Lafourche, Iberia, St. Martin, and Assumption parishes.