State records guide
Title research in Louisiana
Facts below are taken from Louisiana statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.
A Louisiana title search runs through the clerk of court, who is the parish recorder of conveyances and mortgages in the 64 parishes. Executory process can enforce a mortgage without a prior judgment. Unpaid taxes now lead to tax lien auctions, and the legal regime for spouses domiciled in the state is community of acquets and gains.
What a Louisiana title search has to account for
| Where deeds are recorded | The clerks of the district courts are, by statute, the parish registers of conveyances and recorders of mortgages ex officio, so the clerk of court of the parish where the immovable property lies keeps its records. Source: La. R.S. 13:751, checked 2026-11-06. |
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| Recording jurisdictions | Louisiana has 64 parishes rather than counties, and each parish has a clerk of court who serves as the parish recorder of conveyances, mortgages and other acts. Orleans Parish has separate clerks for its civil and criminal district courts. Source: Louisiana Legislative Auditor, Louisiana Governmental Audit Guide 200-1040, Clerks of Court, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Mortgage foreclosure process | Executory proceedings let the creditor obtain seizure and sale of the property without previous citation and judgment, to enforce a mortgage or privilege evidenced by an authentic act importing a confession of judgment, and in other cases allowed by law. Source: La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 2631, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Delinquent property tax sales | When ad valorem taxes on immovable property go unpaid, the tax collector notifies the tax debtor and then advertises the tax lien for sale by public auction. The winning bidder receives a tax lien certificate that the collector records in the parish mortgage records; the auction itself does not terminate the owner's ownership or possession until a court judgment is executed. Source: La. R.S. 47:2153, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Terminating a tax lien | The statutory notice tells the owner that the tax lien certificate holder may file suit to enforce the lien through seizure and sale at the expiration of three years from recordation of the certificate, and that once suit is filed the owner has thirty days after being served to pay the debt and extinguish the lien. The notice also states that the tax lien may be extinguished by delivering the termination price to the tax collector. Source: La. R.S. 47:2156, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Marital property system | Louisiana is a community property state. The Civil Code's legal regime is the community of acquets and gains, and it applies to spouses domiciled in Louisiana regardless of where they were domiciled when they married or where the marriage was celebrated. Community property, concurrence and matrimonial agreement rules for Louisiana owners, section by section. Source: La. Civ. Code art. 2334, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Condominium privilege priority | A Louisiana condominium association's privilege for assessments must be preserved by recording a claim of privilege in the parish mortgage records. It is superior to other liens on the unit except privileges, mortgages and encumbrances recorded before the declaration, those recorded before the claim of privilege itself, immovable property taxes and governmental assessments naming the unit, so a first mortgage recorded earlier outranks it. Source: La. R.S. 9:1123.115, checked 2026-11-06. |
Where are Louisiana conveyances and mortgages recorded?
Louisiana records land in parishes, not counties. Section 13:751 makes the clerks of the district courts the parish registers of conveyances and recorders of mortgages ex officio. There are 64 parishes, and the Legislative Auditor's guide notes that Orleans Parish has separate clerks for its civil and criminal district courts.
Civil Code article 3346 sends an instrument creating, establishing or relating to a mortgage or privilege over an immovable to the mortgage records of the parish where the immovable is located, and all other instruments to the conveyance records; under article 3300 a judicial mortgage is created by filing a judgment with the recorder of mortgages. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the parish's records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.
How is a Louisiana mortgage enforced?
Executory process is one route. Code of Civil Procedure article 2631 describes executory proceedings as those used to effect the seizure and sale of property without previous citation and judgment, to enforce a mortgage or privilege evidenced by an authentic act importing a confession of judgment, and in other cases allowed by law. Under article 2293, on seizing immovable property the sheriff files a notice of seizure with the recorder of mortgages of the parish.
Rank among inscriptions does not follow recording dates alone, since taxes and some statutory liens carry their own priority, and an attorney assesses the order. For anyone buying at a sheriff's sale, an auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.
How do delinquent property taxes work in Louisiana now?
The current statutes provide for tax lien auctions, and section 47:2241.1 has redemptions for tax sales held before January 1, 2026 made under the law in effect on December 31, 2025. Under section 47:2153, when ad valorem taxes on immovable property go unpaid, the tax collector notifies the tax debtor, advertises the tax lien for public auction, and records a tax lien certificate in favor of the winning bidder in the parish mortgage records. The auction does not terminate the owner's ownership or possession until a court judgment is executed.
Section 47:2266.1 lets the certificate holder sue to recognize the lien after the later of three years from recordation of the certificate or six months after the notices section 47:2156 requires. Until close of business on the thirtieth day after the last party is served, any person may extinguish the lien by delivering the termination price to the tax collector, and section 47:2155 requires the action to enforce the lien to be brought no later than seven years from the date the certificate is recorded. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office and states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars.
What does community property mean for a Louisiana title?
Louisiana is a community property state. Under Civil Code article 2334, the legal regime of community of acquets and gains applies to spouses domiciled in Louisiana regardless of their domicile at the time of marriage or the place of celebration of the marriage. The Louisiana community property page covers separate property and matrimonial agreements.
The report states the recorded acts, matrimonial agreements and judgments it finds, and an attorney reads the effect. A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes, including a trust or a life estate, and the liens to pay.
Can a Louisiana condominium association outrank a first mortgage?
Not an earlier one. Section 9:1123.115 preserves an association's privilege for assessments by recording a claim of privilege in the parish mortgage records, and the privilege ranks behind privileges, mortgages and encumbrances recorded before the declaration, those recorded before the claim of privilege itself, and immovable property taxes and governmental assessments that name the unit.
Under the same section a recorded claim of privilege preserves the privilege against the condominium parcel for five years from the date of recordation. The report states any recorded claim of privilege it finds, and the bidder's attorney reads its effect.
Which package fits a Louisiana property?
Every package covers Louisiana property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:
- Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
- Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
- Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
- Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
- Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
- Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.
Questions about Louisiana title research
Which office records deeds and mortgages in Louisiana?
The clerk of the district court in each parish, who under section 13:751 is the parish register of conveyances and recorder of mortgages ex officio. Under Civil Code article 3346, instruments relating to a mortgage or privilege go into the mortgage records and all other instruments into the conveyance records. There are 64 parishes, and Orleans Parish has separate civil and criminal district court clerks.
What is executory process in a Louisiana foreclosure?
Executory proceedings seize and sell property without previous citation and judgment, to enforce a mortgage or privilege evidenced by an authentic act importing a confession of judgment, and in other cases allowed by law. An auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.
Does Louisiana sell tax deeds or tax liens?
Tax liens. Section 47:2153 has the tax collector advertise the tax lien for sale by public auction and record a tax lien certificate for the winning bidder in the parish mortgage records, and the auction does not terminate the owner's ownership or possession until a court judgment is executed. Redemptions for tax sales held before January 1, 2026 follow the law in effect on December 31, 2025.
How long does a Louisiana owner have to pay off a tax lien certificate?
Section 47:2266.1 lets the holder sue after the later of three years from recordation of the certificate or six months after the required notices. Until the thirtieth day after the last party is served, any person may extinguish the lien by delivering the termination price to the tax collector. Section 47:2155 requires the enforcement action within seven years of recording.
Which spouses does the Louisiana community regime cover?
Spouses domiciled in Louisiana. Under Civil Code article 2334, the legal regime of community of acquets and gains applies to spouses domiciled in the state regardless of their domicile at the time of marriage or the place where the marriage was celebrated. The report states the recorded acts, matrimonial agreements and judgments it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.
Does a Louisiana condo association lien come ahead of the mortgage?
Not ahead of an earlier one. Section 9:1123.115 preserves a condominium association's privilege by recording a claim of privilege in the parish mortgage records, and it ranks behind privileges, mortgages and encumbrances recorded before the declaration or before the claim, and immovable property taxes and governmental assessments naming the unit. The report states any recorded claim it finds.