Evangeline Parish Bankruptcy Records

Evangeline Parish bankruptcy records are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, and residents can search cases online through PACER or visit the Lafayette courthouse at 800 Lafayette Street to access public records in person.

Bankruptcy Court for Evangeline Parish

Evangeline Parish is in the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division. The Lafayette divisional courthouse is at 800 Lafayette Street, Suite 1200, Lafayette, LA 70501. The main phone is (337) 262-6800. The court is open Monday through Friday during standard federal business hours. The Western District's main website at www.lawb.uscourts.gov has local rules, forms, and filing instructions for all divisions in the district.

The Lafayette Division serves eight parishes: Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion. If you live in Evangeline Parish and need to file for bankruptcy, you file at the Lafayette Division courthouse. Attorneys in the district file electronically through CM/ECF. Pro se filers can submit documents in person at the Lafayette clerk's office.

The Western District bankruptcy court site is shown below. It has a case search portal, a fee schedule, and guides for people who file without an attorney. The site is your best starting point for understanding local requirements before you file.

Visit the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Louisiana

Under Fed. R. Bankr. P. 5003, the clerk must maintain a docket for every case. That docket lists every filing, order, and hearing in the case. It is public and searchable through PACER. Once a case is filed, the docket is updated in near real time as new documents come in.

Searching Evangeline Parish Bankruptcy Records

PACER is the primary system for finding Evangeline Parish bankruptcy records online. Register for free at pacer.uscourts.gov. After logging in, search by the debtor's name or case number under the Western District of Louisiana. PACER charges $0.10 per page for documents. If your total for a quarter is under $30, the fee is waived. If you use PACER for research on multiple cases, watch your usage to see if you qualify for the quarterly waiver.

McVCIS is a free phone option for quick case lookups. Call 1-866-222-8029 any time, day or night. The system handles up to five case records per call. McVCIS works well if you just need to know whether a case was filed and what its status is. It does not give you access to filed documents.

Under 11 U.S.C. § 107, bankruptcy records are public. Anyone can look them up. The only protected items are personal data elements covered by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037, including full Social Security numbers, full account numbers, minor children's names, and complete dates of birth.

In-person access is also available at the Lafayette Division office. Public access terminals in the clerk's office let you view dockets and documents without a PACER subscription. Staff can help you navigate the system during business hours. Copies of documents cost $0.50 per page; certified copies are $11 each. A formal record search by staff is $32.

Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court

The Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court handles local state court records, which are separate from federal bankruptcy filings. Randall M. "Randy" Deshotel serves as clerk. Patreace D. McGee is chief deputy. The office is at 200 Court Street, Suite 104, Ville Platte, LA 70586. The mailing address is P.O. Drawer 347, Ville Platte, LA 70586. You can call the clerk at (337) 363-5671 or (337) 363-5780.

The clerk's website is at www.evangelineparishclerkofcourt.com. The screenshot below shows the main page of the clerk's site, where you can find links to records, filing guides, and contact information.

Visit the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court

For research that involves both state and federal records, start with PACER for the federal bankruptcy case and check the parish clerk's office for any related state court actions, property records, or judgments. These two sets of records together can give you a full picture of a debtor's legal and financial history in Evangeline Parish.

Chapter Types and Filing Fees

Filing fees for bankruptcy in Evangeline Parish are set by 28 U.S.C. § 1930. The fee is the same no matter which Louisiana court division you use. Chapter 7 is $338. Chapter 13 is $313. Chapter 11 is $1,738. Chapter 12 is $278. Pay at the time you file your petition. The Western District fee schedule is at lawb.uscourts.gov.

Chapter 7 is the most common type filed by individual debtors. It discharges most unsecured debts after a means test. Chapter 13 lets filers keep assets while repaying debts through a three-to-five year plan. Chapter 11 is mainly for businesses, though individuals with large debts sometimes use it. Chapter 12 is designed for family farmers and fishermen.

If you cannot pay the Chapter 7 fee at once, you can apply for a fee waiver or ask to pay in installments. The court grants waivers to filers whose income is below 150% of the federal poverty line. If the waiver is denied, installment payments are typically allowed. Check the Western District website for the correct form to use with your petition.

eClerks Louisiana for Evangeline Parish Records

Louisiana's eClerks system at eclerksla.com connects you to electronic records from many Louisiana parish clerks. Under La. R.S. 13:754, parish clerks of court must maintain electronic access to their records. eClerks LA brings those records together in one searchable platform, which is useful when you need to check records in more than one parish at the same time.

eClerks LA covers state court records. It does not include federal bankruptcy filings. Use PACER for bankruptcy case searches and eClerks LA for parish-level civil records. Together, the two tools let you research a subject's full court history across both state and federal systems in Louisiana.

Privacy Rules for Filers

All filers in the Western District must follow Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037. Before submitting any document, you must redact Social Security numbers down to the last four digits, financial account numbers to the last four digits, names of minor children to initials only, and dates of birth to the year only. Failure to redact can put sensitive personal data on the public record. The clerk's office does not review documents for redaction before they are filed, so the responsibility falls on the filer or the filer's attorney.

If a document with unredacted personal information ends up in the public record, you or your attorney can file a motion asking the court to restrict access to that document. The court reviews these requests and may order the document removed from public view while a corrected version is substituted. Act quickly if you discover this kind of error.

Cities in Evangeline Parish

Evangeline Parish has no cities with dedicated pages on this site. Ville Platte is the parish seat. Residents use the Western District courthouse in Lafayette for bankruptcy filings.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes border Evangeline and are served by courts in the Western District of Louisiana.