Find Bossier Parish Bankruptcy Records
Bossier Parish bankruptcy records are federal court documents held by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division. You can search these records online through PACER, call the automated case line any time of day, or visit the Tom Stagg U.S. Courthouse in Shreveport to find case filings, creditor schedules, and discharge orders for Bossier Parish debtors.
Bossier Parish Quick Facts
Federal Bankruptcy Court for Bossier Parish
Bossier Parish is served by the Shreveport Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Louisiana. The courthouse is the Tom Stagg U.S. Courthouse at 300 Fannin Street, Suite 2201, Shreveport, LA 71101. Phone is (318) 676-4267. Chief Judge is the Honorable John S. Hodge. The Shreveport office is fully staffed, unlike some other Western District locations.
The Shreveport Division covers Bossier Parish along with seven other north Louisiana parishes: Bienville, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Red River, Sabine, and Webster. All bankruptcy petitions from Bossier Parish go through this courthouse. Given Bossier Parish's location directly across from Shreveport, the court is relatively close for most parish residents.
The court's website at lawb.uscourts.gov has local rules, forms, and general guidance. Electronic filing goes through ecf.lawb.uscourts.gov. The forms page has petitions, schedules, and statements of financial affairs. Visit the court locations page for driving directions to the Shreveport courthouse.
The Shreveport office accepts cash, money orders, and cashier's checks. This is a wider range of payment options than some other divisions in the Western District offer. Always call ahead at (318) 676-4267 to confirm procedures before visiting.
The Western District of Louisiana Bankruptcy Court website is the official source for forms, rules, and case management for Bossier Parish.
The Western District site includes judge rosters, local rules, and the ECF login portal for Bossier Parish electronic filers.
Bossier Parish Clerk of Court
The Bossier Parish Clerk of Court is a state-level office in Benton. The clerk is Jill Sessions. This office handles state civil and criminal court records, mortgages, conveyances, and related parish-level filings. It does not maintain federal bankruptcy case files. If you need Bossier Parish bankruptcy records, PACER or the Shreveport Division courthouse are the right places to look.
| Clerk | Jill Sessions |
|---|---|
| Address | 204 Burt Boulevard, Benton, LA 71006 |
| Mailing | P.O. Box 430, Benton, LA 71006 |
| Phone | (318) 965-2336 |
| Fax | (318) 965-2713 |
| Website | bossierclerk.com |
The Bossier Parish Clerk's office can be relevant to bankruptcy research even though it doesn't hold federal case files. Civil judgments and mortgage liens recorded in Bossier Parish before a bankruptcy petition show up as debts listed in federal schedules. After a discharge, lien releases may be recorded back at the Benton clerk's office. Checking both the federal and state records gives a fuller picture.
Visit the Bossier Parish Clerk of Court website for access to state civil, property, and criminal records maintained in Benton.
The Bossier Parish Clerk website provides online access to civil dockets, mortgage records, and conveyance filings that can complement a federal bankruptcy records search.
The ClerkConnect portal is another way to access Bossier Parish state court records online without visiting the Benton office in person.
ClerkConnect offers online access to Bossier Parish civil and property records maintained by the state clerk's office.
ClerkConnect lets you search Bossier Parish state court records remotely, which can help you find civil judgments that appear as debts in a federal bankruptcy schedule.
Note: Bossier Parish bankruptcy records are federal documents held at the Shreveport Division courthouse. The parish clerk's office and ClerkConnect cover only state-level records.
How to Search Bossier Parish Bankruptcy Records
The fastest way to find Bossier Parish bankruptcy records is through PACER. Registration is free at pacer.uscourts.gov. Log in, select the Western District of Louisiana, and search by debtor name, case number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number. PACER charges $0.10 per page to view documents, but quarterly charges under $30 are waived automatically.
Don't know which court has the case? Use the PACER Case Locator. It searches across all federal courts at once and returns case numbers, filing dates, and chapter types. From those results you can navigate to the Western District to pull the full docket and file.
For quick case status without a PACER login, call McVCIS at 1-866-222-8029. It's free and available all day and night. Each call lets you search up to five records by name or case number. You'll hear basic case info including chapter type, filing date, and whether the case is open or closed.
Older paper records that aren't in the electronic system require a call to the Shreveport Division at (318) 676-4267. Court staff searches cost $32.00. Certified copies are $11.00 per document. Plain paper copies are $0.50 per page.
Bankruptcy Filing Fees in Bossier Parish
Bankruptcy filing fees are set by 28 U.S.C. § 1930 and apply uniformly in all federal courts. Bossier Parish cases filed at the Shreveport Division use these rates: Chapter 7 costs $338, Chapter 13 is $313, Chapter 11 is $1,738, and Chapter 12 is $278.
The Shreveport courthouse accepts cash, money orders, and cashier's checks. Bossier Parish filers have more payment flexibility here than at some other Western District divisions that accept only money orders or cashier's checks. Still, confirm payment methods when you call the clerk at (318) 676-4267.
If paying the full fee is a hardship, Chapter 7 filers can apply for an installment plan or a fee waiver. Income must fall below federal poverty guidelines to qualify for a waiver. The application is available from the clerk or on the Western District's forms page. Approval is not automatic and the court decides on a case-by-case basis.
What Bossier Parish Bankruptcy Records Contain
Under 11 U.S.C. § 107, bankruptcy records are public. A typical Bossier Parish case file includes the petition, asset and liability schedules, a creditor matrix, any motions filed by either party, court notices, and the final discharge or dismissal order. All of these can be viewed through PACER once electronically filed.
Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037 protects personal information. Social Security numbers appear as only the last four digits. Financial account numbers are also limited to the last four digits. Birth dates show only the year. Filers bear responsibility for making these redactions before submitting any document. The clerk does not screen or edit documents before adding them to the public docket.
Every Bossier Parish bankruptcy case has a docket maintained under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003. The docket logs every filing and order in chronological order. It's a quick way to understand a case without opening every document. PACER charges just $0.10 to view a docket, making it one of the lowest-cost starting points for research.
Additional Resources
The eClerks LA portal launched in 2015 under La. R.S. 13:754. It covers Louisiana state court records and is useful for finding civil judgments and property records in Bossier Parish that may relate to debts in a federal bankruptcy case. It doesn't include the federal bankruptcy filings themselves.
The Louisiana Supreme Court website has a statewide attorney directory for finding lawyers licensed in Louisiana. If you need a bankruptcy attorney familiar with the Western District's Shreveport Division, start there. The Western District's FAQ page also has plain-language answers to common questions from people filing without legal help.
Legal aid organizations in the Shreveport and Bossier City area may offer free consultations or limited assistance for low-income Bossier Parish residents considering bankruptcy. Contact the clerk's office at (318) 676-4267 or check the Western District website for information about self-help resources available through the court.
Cities in Bossier Parish
Bossier City is the largest city in Bossier Parish and has a dedicated page on this site.
Other communities in Bossier Parish include Benton, Plain Dealing, and Haughton. All Bossier Parish residents file and access bankruptcy records through the Shreveport Division of the Western District of Louisiana.
Nearby Parishes
These parishes are close to Bossier and are also served by the Western District of Louisiana for bankruptcy filings.