The Criminal Department is responsible for the filing and imaging of bills and pleadings in felony and misdemeanor criminal cases as well as the issuance of notices and preparation of appeals. The minute clerk in this department also keeps court minutes for each case on the Court’s docket.
Criminal Background Searches are available in the department for a fee of $20.00 per name.
Criminal and Traffic fines are paid at the Tensas Parish Sheriff’s Office, 318-766-3954.
Expungements
EXPUNGEMENT PROCEDURES AND CHECKLIST:
Cost at time of filing: (Nonrefundable)
Bureau of Criminal Identification-$250.00.
Tensas Parish Clerk of Court-$200.00
Tensas Parish Sheriff’s Office-$50
Tensas Parish District Attorney’s Office-$50
If DWI have to also add: Dept. of Public Safety-$50
Must all be Separate Money Orders!
GENERAL INFORMATION:
By law, the Clerk of Court shall not provide any legal advice on how to prepare legal documents. You will either need to speak to an attorney or research the Louisiana Law books to determine what information should be included in the motion.
Once a motion is filed with the Clerk of Court, it will be forwarded to a Judge for review, and a hearing date may be set. You and/or your attorney will need to be present in court on that day. The Clerk of Court will mail a notice of the court date, so please include a valid mailing address on the original motion.
If the Judge grants the expungement, you will need to present him/her with the Order for Expungement of Arrest/Conviction Record to sign in open court.
If the expungement is granted, you will need to obtain certified copies of any filings needed. Certified Copies are $2.00 per page plus an additional $5.00 for certification of each copy. Please be sure to obtain an adequate number of copies, as you may be unable to obtain copies once the files have been removed from public record.
The State of Louisiana, The Sixth Judicial District Attorney, and the Tensas Parish Sheriff will be served with a copy of the Judgment, but you will be responsible for serving any other agency with information about your charge on file.
PLEASE ALLOW SIX (6) MONTHS FOR COMPLETION OF AN EXPUNGEMENT.
You must file an expungement for EACH arrest.
For your convenience, forms provided by the Louisiana Supreme Court are available on our website as follows:
These forms may be filled out online and printed, or printed and filled out by hand. Please have your forms prepared in advance to save time and make your visit shorter.
Items to Attach to Motion for Expungement:
$200.00 Money Order payable to Tensas Parish Clerk of Court
$250.00 Money Order payable to Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification/Information
Copy of Motion for Expungement for Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification/Information
$50.00 Money Order payable to Tensas Parish Sheriff
Copy of Motion for Expungement for Tensas Parish Sheriff
$50.00 Money Order payable to Sixth Judicial District Attorney.
Copy of Motion for Expungement for Tensas Parish District Attorney.
Rule to Show Cause
Order (s) (depends of type of expungment)
Criminal Background Check from Tensas Parish Sheriff’s Office dated within the past thirty (30) days. (Fee may be required)
Certified Copy of Bill of Information from the Tensas Parish Clerk of Court’s Office
Certified Copy of Court Minutes from the Tensas Parish Clerk of Court’s Office.
Items that may be required from the Tensas Parish Clerk of Court:
For DWI with granted Article 894: Copy of letter from the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles
Copy of Order waiving the Sex Offender Registration and Notification requirements
Items that may be required from the District Attorney’s Office:
Certification Letter for Fee Waiver (if eligible)
Certification Letter verifying that applicant has no convictions or pending applicable criminal charge in the requisite time periods.
Certification Letter verifying that the charges were refused.
Certification Letter verifying that the applicant did not participate in a Pre-Trial Diversion Program
