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Office: Plaquemines Parish Local Emergency Planning Committee / Homeland Security – coordinated with the Sheriff’s Office; the parish maintains a Hazardous Mitigation Plan and All-Hazard Emergency Operations Plan; evacuees are reunited with sheltered pets at the Belle Chasse Auditorium once evacuation orders lift.
Sheriff: Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office – 8022 Highway 23, Belle Chasse, LA 70037 | Non-emergency (504) 564-2525 or (504) 934-6776 | Fax (504) 433-2656; Sheriff Gerald A. Turlich Jr., in office since 2016; 264 regular deputies plus 33 part-time deputies; operates dedicated Marine and Aviation Divisions given the parish’s extensive waterways. Plaquemines Parish Detention Center – 16801 Highway 15, Davant, LA | (504) 934-7600 | Fax (504) 684-3448.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: LA Highway 23 runs the length of the parish along the Mississippi River’s west bank from Belle Chasse, the parish seat, roughly 80 miles down to Venice, nicknamed “the end of the world” as the southernmost point reachable by road. Plaquemines Parish has the most combined land and water area of any parish in Louisiana.
Notes: Plaquemines Parish, established in 1807, takes its name from the French rendering of a Native word for persimmon, reflecting the persimmon trees once common in the area.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Plaquemines Parish Government Complex – Belle Chasse, LA.
Notes: Fort Jackson, a National Historic Landmark built 1822-1832 on General Andrew Jackson’s recommendation to defend the approach to New Orleans, was the site of a major Civil War battle in 1862, when Union forces defeated Confederate defenders and seized control of the lower Mississippi River. The fort grounds have hosted the Plaquemines Parish Fair and Orange Festival since 1970. Genuinely, Louisiana’s first Mardi Gras celebration took place directly across the river from Fort Jackson. Plaquemines is also the largest crude-oil-producing parish in Louisiana and was the first place in the United States to use a shipping container for foreign cargo trade.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Plaquemines Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via plaqueminesparish.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Plaquemines Parish Library System – confirm current address/phone via plaqueminesparish.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Fort Jackson and its museum/welcome center in Buras, the Delta National Wildlife Refuge near Venice (boat access only), and the annual Plaquemines Parish Fair and Orange Festival celebrating the parish’s citrus heritage are the premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Louisiana’s first Mardi Gras” and Civil War Fort Jackson connections are among the most distinctive historical facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Plaquemines Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via plaqueminesparish.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Plaquemines Parish Animal Control – reporting line (504) 934-6690 or (504) 934-6931 | Email: [email protected]; after-hours/weekend animal emergencies route to the Sheriff’s Office at (504) 564-2525. The parish shelter is operated through a partnership with the Louisiana SPCA – Louisiana SPCA Plaquemines Parish Campus, 455 F. Edward Hebert Boulevard, Belle Chasse, LA 70037 | (504) 934-6931 | Fax (504) 361-1016 | Email: [email protected]; Hours Tue-Sat 10 AM-5 PM, stray intake Wed-Sat 10 AM-5 PM.
PAWS (Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society) – 455A F. Edward Hebert Blvd, Belle Chasse, LA 70037 | (504) 392-1601; a nonprofit rescue and adoption partner.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Plaquemines Parish Public Works – confirm current contact via plaqueminesparish.gov.
NOTES: Plaquemines Parish is the second parish in the seventh batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine “Louisiana’s first Mardi Gras” and Civil War Fort Jackson connections are among the most distinctive historical facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Plaquemines Parish County
Plaquemines Parish is Louisiana’s vanishing delta – on the front line of America’s most severe coastal land loss, the parish is losing ground to subsidence and erosion while its offshore oil and gas industry and fishing communities maintain their presence at the edge of the continent.
Belle Chasse (population ~12,000) is the parish’s largest community and hosts Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. Pointe-à-la-Hache (the parish seat, population ~700) is accessible only by ferry or the west bank road.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Plaquemines Parish Assessor at 301 Main Street, Belle Chasse, LA 70037, phone 504-297-5337. LA residential assessed at 10% of fair market value; $75,000 homestead exemption.
Courts & Legal
Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court at 301 Main Street, Belle Chasse, LA 70037, phone 504-297-5180, handles successions.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURT (Records, Vital Records, Mortgages)
301 Main St., Belle Chasse, LA 70037
(504) 297-5180
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Plaquemines Parish genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
A NOTE ON LOUISIANA LAW: Louisiana is the only U.S. state built on a civil-law tradition (rooted in the Napoleonic Code) rather than English common law. Louisiana doesn’t use the word “probate” – the equivalent process is called a “succession,” and its 64 parishes are the equivalent of counties elsewhere. Community property and separate property rules also work differently here than in common-law states, which can affect what’s actually part of the succession.
Where to go
Plaquemines Parish 25th Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court Government Annex Building, 301 Main Street, Suite 108 (P.O. Box 40), Belle Chasse, LA 70037 (504) 392-4969 Plaquemines Parish was created in 1807, named for the French word for persimmons, stretching along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. Its official seat is Pointe à la Hache, though its largest community and main government offices are in Belle Chasse. Plaquemines is Louisiana’s largest parish by total area, mostly water.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Small Succession Affidavit – under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3421 et seq., available for estates with a gross value of $125,000 or less at the date of death (or of any value if the decedent has been dead more than 20 years). No court proceeding is required. At least two people must sign – typically the surviving spouse (if any) plus one or more heirs, sworn before a notary. If the estate includes immovable property (real estate), the affidavit can’t be recorded until 90 days after the date of death, and it must be recorded with the Clerk of Court/Recorder in every parish where the decedent owned real estate.
Succession Without Administration (“simple possession”) – used when there are no debts to pay and all heirs agree; commonly resolved in 30 to 90 days via a Petition for Possession.
Administered Succession – required when a court-appointed succession representative needs to inventory assets and pay debts before distribution; typically takes 3 to 9 months, longer if contested.
Important: for anything beyond a small succession affidavit, Louisiana courts generally require a licensed Louisiana attorney to represent the succession – self-representation and generic online forms are not accepted the way they are in many other states.
Step 2: filing a regular succession
File a Petition for Possession (simple cases) or a Petition for Administration (if a representative and formal administration are needed) in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death.
The court admits any will and, where needed, appoints an executor (testate) or administrator (intestate), issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
In an administered succession, the representative prepares a sworn descriptive list of assets, pays valid debts, and accounts to the court.
The court issues a Judgment of Possession, which must then be recorded in the parish conveyance/land records and with the parish tax assessor to clear title.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by parish and case type; publication costs apply when legal notices are required.
A full administered succession typically requires attorney representation – flat fees for straightforward matters often run in the low thousands of dollars, more if contested or complex.
A small succession affidavit is far less expensive and, when no real estate is involved, can often be handled without an attorney – though even small errors can cause a bank, title company, or the Louisiana OMV to reject the affidavit.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
301 Main St., Belle Chasse, LA 70037
(504) 934-6500
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
301 Main St., Belle Chasse, LA 70037
(504) 934-6500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
301 Main St., Belle Chasse, LA 70037
(504) 297-5170
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Plaquemines Parish Health Unit
(504) 392-5060
LA DCFS — Metro Region
(504) 838-5300
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
Ochsner Medical Center
ochsner.org (Jefferson Parish — accessible)
Plaquemines Medical Center
(504) area (limited local healthcare)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Plaquemines Parish Health Unit – confirm current contact via Louisiana Department of Health regional office listings.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 25,000
Area: 2,429 sq mi (much is water; Louisiana's largest parish by total area)
Established: 1807
Public Records
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Search public records for Plaquemines Parish County residents.
