St. Tammany Parish Bankruptcy Records
St. Tammany Parish bankruptcy records are federal court documents held by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. All cases from the parish, whether filed by individuals or businesses, go through that court. The public can access most records through federal online tools, a free phone line, or by contacting the New Orleans courthouse directly.
St. Tammany Parish Quick Facts
Federal Bankruptcy Court for St. Tammany Parish
St. Tammany Parish falls under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The courthouse is at 500 Poydras Street, Suite B-601, New Orleans, LA 70130. The phone is (504) 589-7878. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Eastern District covers thirteen parishes: Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Washington.
The court handles all chapter types. Chapter 7 is a liquidation process that discharges eligible unsecured debts and typically wraps up in three to five months. Chapter 13 lets individuals with regular income keep their property while repaying debt over a three-to-five-year plan. Chapter 11 is for businesses and high-debt individuals. Chapter 12 covers family farmers and fishermen. St. Tammany Parish filers use the same New Orleans court as the rest of the Eastern District parishes.
Attorneys file through the ECF system. Self-represented filers bring paperwork to the New Orleans clerk's window. The court accepts money orders and cashier's checks from individual filers. Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted at the filing window. The court's website at laeb.uscourts.gov has local rules, forms, and ECF access. The McVCIS line at 1-866-222-8029 gives free, automated case status information 24 hours a day.
| Address | 500 Poydras Street, Suite B-601, New Orleans, LA 70130 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (504) 589-7878 |
| Website | laeb.uscourts.gov |
| ECF Filing | ecf.laeb.uscourts.gov |
| McVCIS | 1-866-222-8029 |
The Eastern District court site provides local rules, forms, ECF access, and case search links for all St. Tammany Parish bankruptcy filings.
Searching St. Tammany Parish Bankruptcy Records on PACER
PACER is the federal government's public access portal for court records. You can sign up for free at pacer.uscourts.gov. Viewing documents costs $0.10 per page, but quarterly bills under $30 are waived, making PACER free for most casual users. Use the PACER Case Locator and filter to the Eastern District of Louisiana. Search by debtor name, last four digits of a Social Security number, case number, or date range to find St. Tammany Parish records.
A full PACER docket shows the complete filing history of a case: the petition, all schedules, the creditor matrix, trustee reports, every court order, hearing notices, and the final discharge or dismissal order. All of these are public records under 11 U.S.C. § 107. Sensitive data is redacted per Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9037. Full Social Security numbers, complete financial account numbers, and names of minor children do not appear in the public docket.
For paper copies, plain copies cost $0.50 per page. Certified copies are $11.00 per document. A formal record search runs $32.00. Request them at the New Orleans courthouse in person or by mail. Mail requests need the case number, a description of documents, and a money order or cashier's check payable to Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Call ahead at (504) 589-7878 to confirm processing times.
St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court
The St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court in Covington handles civil, criminal, and property records at the parish level. Bankruptcy records are federal documents and are not kept here. However, if you need to check whether a judgment lien was recorded against property in St. Tammany Parish before or after a bankruptcy, this clerk's office is the right place to look. These state-level records are separate from the federal bankruptcy case files in New Orleans.
Visit the St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court
The St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court website has online search tools for civil and property records that may relate to bankruptcy filings in the parish.
| Clerk | Jessica Brewster |
|---|---|
| Address | 701 N. Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70434 |
| Mailing | P.O. Box 1090, Covington, LA 70434 |
| Phone | (985) 809-8700 |
| Fax | (985) 809-8712 |
| Website | sttammanyclerk.org |
The eClerks LA portal, created under La. R.S. 13:754 and live since 2015, provides statewide online access to parish civil and property records. It is a useful complement to PACER when you need to check local court filings tied to a St. Tammany Parish bankruptcy case.
Bankruptcy Chapters Filed in St. Tammany Parish
Chapter 7 is the most common filing among St. Tammany Parish residents. It is a liquidation process. A trustee reviews assets and pays creditors from non-exempt property. Most cases are "no asset" cases, meaning the debtor's property is fully exempt and creditors receive nothing from liquidation. Filing fees are set by 28 U.S.C. § 1930. Chapter 7 costs $338. The process typically takes three to five months from filing to discharge.
Chapter 13 is the other common option. It is a repayment plan lasting three to five years. The filing fee is $313. You must have regular income. Chapter 13 is often used by homeowners behind on mortgage payments. The automatic stay stops foreclosure the moment you file, and the plan lets you catch up on arrears over time. Complete the plan and any remaining eligible unsecured debt is discharged at the end.
Chapter 11 handles business reorganizations and high-debt individual cases. It costs $1,738 to file and is more involved than other chapters. Chapter 12 is for family farmers and fishermen and costs $278. All chapter filings create an automatic stay on collection actions, which stops garnishments, foreclosures, and repossessions immediately upon filing.
Legal Resources for St. Tammany Parish
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services covers St. Tammany Parish and provides free civil legal help to income-qualifying residents. The Eastern District's website also has a self-help section for pro se filers. For private attorney referrals, the Louisiana State Bar Association has a lawyer referral service. Many bankruptcy attorneys in the Covington and Slidell areas offer free initial consultations.
Filing without an attorney is allowed. Mistakes in pro se cases can lead to case dismissal, loss of the automatic stay, or denial of discharge. At minimum, a brief consultation with a licensed bankruptcy attorney is a good idea before you decide how to proceed. Chapter 7 attorney fees in St. Tammany Parish are often affordable. Chapter 13 attorney fees are typically built into the plan payments over time.
Cities in St. Tammany Parish
Slidell is the largest city in St. Tammany Parish and has its own bankruptcy records page on this site. Other communities in the parish include Covington, Mandeville, and Madisonville, but those do not have dedicated pages on this site. For bankruptcy records tied to any address in St. Tammany Parish, search PACER with the Eastern District of Louisiana filter.
Slidell residents can find specific filing information at the Slidell bankruptcy records page.
Nearby Parishes
These neighboring parishes have dedicated bankruptcy records pages. Most are in the Eastern District of Louisiana.