Ouachita Parish Civil Docket Searches
Civil records for the Fourth Judicial District Court run through the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court. Its Clerk Connect Civil Inquiry handles the online side. The live Ouachita inquiry needs a subscription and a login. It is not a statewide public civil search. For a current case register, begin with the clerk's records information. For a date or courtroom, turn to the separate 4JDC Civil Docket materials.
Gather your details first. You want the issuing court, division, case number or year, caption, rough filing range, and the document title. Those facts separate a specific request from a broad research question. A specific request might be a petition, service record, motion, order, judgment, or appeal entry. When online inquiry is out of reach, the clerk's counter and the public-records request route still work.
- Confirm that the case belongs to Fourth Judicial District Court rather than a city court or justice-of-the-peace court.
- Open Clerk Connect Civil Inquiry through the clerk's current-records route when an account is available.
- Use the case number or the portal's appropriate party, date, or attorney search controls.
- Read the matching register for filings and events, then use the public weekly docket for the scheduled setting.
- Request a specific public document or a certified copy from the clerk when official proof is needed.
Ouachita Civil Inquiry Search Fields
The public Civil Inquiry landing page shows no working search form before login. Its public component does reveal the labels that structure a civil docket search: Show Caption, Search Type, Suit Kind, Suit Cause when applicable, From Date, To Date, Last Name or Suit Number, First Name or Suit Number, Attorney Name or Barroll Number, Search, Clear, and Items Per Page. Dropdown options are not rendered publicly. Confirm those through the active service or the clerk.
Result columns cover suit number, plaintiff, and defendant. Caption, date filed, cause, and details also appear. Live case results and document images are not an open public resource here. The Ouachita Civil Inquiry entry point shows the account-based access route.
The login screen makes one thing plain. A public schedule and a paid case inquiry are separate channels. Clerk Connect also hosts the Ouachita civil e-filing route. E-filing is not a public docket search.
Local rules say an electronic filing becomes official on acceptance. Filing runs around the clock except during maintenance or system failures. The clerk may reject an inadequate advance deposit or a nonconforming filing. A reason is given. An authenticated filing account and a public-record request therefore serve different purposes.
Civil Dockets: What They Show
A civil case register can carry the case number, filing date, court or division, caption, petition, service or citation, answer, motions, opposition, orders, continuances, pretrial events, trial, judgment, appeal, and document links. The weekly civil PDF is narrower. It lists a date, time, case, caption, courtroom or special location, and judge. It is not a full document or financial record.
| Case number and division | The case identifier and court section needed to match the file. |
|---|---|
| Petition and service | The initiating pleading and formal citation or service events that may appear in the register. |
| Answer and motions | Responsive pleadings, requests for rulings, opposition, and later orders. |
| Setting history | Pretrial, hearing, trial, continuance, and other events that show a case's procedural path. |
| Judgment and appeal | Later outcome and appellate-routing entries, which should be confirmed from the filed record when proof is required. |
The Clerk Connect civil component displays the available search and result labels.
Search labels help you narrow a case. Still, the clerk or portal record remains the source for the case-level register and document images.
Ouachita Civil Docket Filing Fees
The clerk's current civil fee data sorts filing types apart. An original petition with one defendant is listed at $300. A petition with rule runs $350. A petition with a temporary restraining order runs $400. A rule or other service proceeding with one service is listed at $225. A Clerk's docket suit of $5,000 or less with one defendant also sits at $300. Each additional service costs $85. Check the current fee endpoint before you file.
| Original petition, one defendant | $300 |
|---|---|
| Petition with rule | $350 |
| Petition with TRO | $400 |
| Name change | $350 |
| Interdiction | $500 |
The official Ouachita civil fee schedule is the local source for these categories.
Filing charges, a Clerk Connect print charge, and the cost of a certified copy are three distinct amounts. Treat them separately, not as one fee.
What Cases Fill the Civil Docket
Ouachita's civil calendar uses matter labels. They are more specific than a broad case-type list. Those labels help a reader recognize what kind of event is being scheduled. A calendar line is still not the complete file. Note one wrinkle. A Clerk's docket or small-claims form is a Fourth Judicial District Court filing form. It is not the same route as a justice-of-the-peace small-claims case.
- Divorce and custody Article 3945 settings.
- Motions, including MSJ-style shorthand for a motion for summary judgment.
- Bench or trial settings and pretrial activity.
- Protective Order Court and hearing-officer conference entries.
- Clerk's docket suits, which use the local small-claims form and its stated evidence, appeal, and transfer rules.
The local Clerk's docket form asks for the plaintiff and defendant, their addresses and phones, the amount and reason for action, a signature, and supporting contracts, bills, receipts, or other documents. It states that ordinary evidence rules do not apply. It also describes a ten-day option for written transfer to regular civil court after receipt of the petition.
Ouachita Civil Docket Pink Slips
Family civil scheduling adds a coordination layer. The Fourth JDC pink slip records prior hearing-officer conference dates and the assigned officer. It also lists a realistic time estimate, videoconference capability, and custody status. Related matters and contact certification are recorded too. It asks for two available dates for all counsel or self-represented litigants. Those dates must fall within the following 90 days. Treat it as a coordination form, not a guaranteed hearing setting.
The form also asks that opposing counsel or the other party be contacted at least three business days, or 72 hours, before it is sent. An HOC is a hearing-officer conference. The weekly docket can flag an HOC, a suite, or a remote notation. The hearing officer and court still confirm the actual date and location.
Hearings on the Civil Docket
The 4JDC weekly Civil Docket works as a scheduling tool. One entry might point to a divorce setting, a motion, an MSJ-style item, a custody matter, or a bench or trial date. You may also spot a protective-order court, a hearing-officer conference, or a VIA ZOOM marker. Each line gives the date, time, case, caption, courtroom, and judge. That is enough to find a scheduled hearing. Need the petition, order, or judgment behind the entry? Go to the clerk or the gated inquiry service.
A reset or continuance can still move that setting. Confirm any civil court date with the responsible court, the clerk, the judge's office, or the hearing officer. Do not trust an older PDF. The Ouachita Parish court schedule walks through the separate calendar channels. It also covers what each setting field means.
Ouachita Civil Dockets and City Courts
Not every Ouachita Parish civil case belongs to the Fourth Judicial District Court. Monroe City Court and West Monroe City Court each keep their own civil dockets. A case filed there stays there. Monroe's official civil pages describe limited jurisdiction covering Wards 3 and 10. Its stated dollar limits conflict. The filings page says civil suits up to $30,000, while the civil page says $25,000. Check the exact cap with the Monroe clerk before choosing where to file.
West Monroe's civil clerk takes filings, judgments, evictions, garnishments, and other city-court civil matters. Call (318) 396-2767. The city posts no civil docket search form. Its cases do not appear in 4JDC Clerk Connect. A justice-of-the-peace matter runs through yet another court and clerk.
Who Can See Civil Dockets
Civil dockets are public, with limits. Sealed filings, protective-order material, private identifiers, and anything a court order or exception covers stay restricted. A weekly calendar listing a case does not make every attachment public, so a docket entry alone proves little about the underlying documents. When a record is limited, ask for an existing register or a particular document. Also ask about a redacted version or inspection-only access.
Key Rules:
La. C.C.P. art. 253: the clerk receives and retains filings, including electronic filings, subject to the same substantive access limits as paper records.
La. R.S. 44:31: provides for examination and copying of public records, subject to exceptions.
La. R.S. 44:32: addresses inspection, copy procedures, and reasonable fees.
Ouachita Civil Docket Documents
When you need the civil record behind a docket entry, spell out the court, division, case number, date range, and record type. Say which document you want and whether you need inspection, a copy, or certification. The clerk's public-records form accepts requests by email at danab@opcoc.la.gov, by fax at (318) 327-1426, or by mail to Dana Benson, Clerk of Court, P.O. Box 1862, Monroe, Louisiana 71201. Staff collect the records and review them. They redact if needed, page-number them, then quote copying costs.
Viewing during regular office hours costs nothing, per the form. For copies, the fees list sets plain pages at $1 each. Conformed copies run $5 plus the copy charge. Certified copies run $10 plus the copy charge. Certificates cost $30. Those options answer a different question than a paid Clerk Connect printout or a civil filing fee.
Louisiana offers no public statewide civil case search. The District Court Reporting System is restricted. Supreme Court CDX serves counsel filings, not public inquiry. So a Fourth Judicial District Court case runs through Civil Inquiry, the clerk counter or records-request form, or the 4JDC calendar materials, depending on whether you need a register, a document, or a setting.