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Office: St. Martin Parish Public Safety Complex/OHSEP – 4870 N. Main Highway, St. Martinville, LA 70582 | (337) 394-2800 or (337) 394-3071; Support Services Division Commander doubles as OHSEP Director; a dedicated 911 Communications Director oversees the parish’s addressing system (a distinctive local numbering scheme with a new address assigned every 52.8 feet along parish roads).
Sheriff: St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office – 400 St. Martin Street, St. Martinville, LA 70582 (P.O. Box 247) | (337) 394-3071 | Fax (337) 394-5911; Sheriff Becket Breaux, a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice graduate and FBI Academy (Quantico) alumnus; 346 regular deputies plus 51 part-time deputies. St. Martin Parish Correctional Center – 400 St. Martin Street | Booking (337) 394-2566 | Fax (337) 394-2125; a sub-station also serves Stephensville/Lower St. Martin at 3003 Highway 70, Morgan City, LA.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: LA Highway 96 and US-90 serve St. Martinville, the parish seat, on Bayou Teche in the heart of Cajun Country, between New Iberia and Lafayette; Breaux Bridge is another key community, self-proclaimed “Crawfish Capital of the World.”
Notes: St. Martin Parish is named for St. Martin of Tours.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Martin Parish Courthouse – St. Martinville, LA.
Notes: St. Martinville is home to the famous Evangeline Oak, a live oak on Bayou Teche said in local legend – recorded most notably in a 1907 book by Judge Felix Voorhies – to mark the reunion site of Acadian exile lovers Emmeline Labiche and Louis Arceneaux, believed by many to have inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1847 epic poem “Evangeline.” Historians note the story cannot be documented as literal fact, but it remains foundational to Cajun cultural identity; a statue of Evangeline (modeled on actress Dolores del Río, who starred in a 1929 film adaptation) stands beside St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: St. Martin Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stmartinparish.net.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
St. Martin Parish Library System – confirm current address/phone via stmartinparish.net.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Evangeline Oak Park along Bayou Teche, the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site, St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, and Breaux Bridge’s annual Crawfish Festival are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine cultural weight of the Evangeline legend – regardless of its literal historicity – is one of the most emotionally significant heritage facts covered anywhere in this project for understanding Cajun identity.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: St. Martin Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via stmartinparish.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
St. Martin Parish Animal Services Shelter – 1004 Industrial Park Rd, St. Martinville, LA 70582 | (337) 394-1122 or (337) 394-1220 | Email: [email protected]; a professionally managed parish facility; strays held 5 days (dogs) or 3 days (cats) before becoming eligible for adoption; adoptions first-come-first-served. Fees: impoundment $15 (horses/livestock $35), rabies vaccination/tag/license $12 if not current.
St. Martin Humane Society – P.O. Box 64, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517; founded 1999, 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: St. Martin Parish Public Works – confirm current contact via stmartinparish.net.
NOTES: St. Martin Parish is the second parish in the ninth batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine cultural weight of the Evangeline legend is one of the most emotionally significant heritage 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 St. Martin Parish County
St. Martin Parish is the Evangeline Oak and Crawfish Capital – the live oak where Longfellow’s Evangeline waited for her lost love and Breaux Bridge’s annual Crawfish Festival define a Bayou Teche parish of extraordinary Cajun cultural heritage.
St. Martinville (the parish seat, population ~6,000) preserves Acadian memory at the Evangeline Oak and the Acadian Memorial. Breaux Bridge (population ~8,000) draws crawfish lovers from across Louisiana each May.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
St. Martin Parish Assessor at 415 S. Main Street, St. Martinville, LA 70582, phone 337-394-2220. LA residential assessed at 10% of fair market value; $75,000 homestead exemption.
Courts & Legal
St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court at 415 S. Main Street, St. Martinville, LA 70582, phone 337-394-2210, 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)
415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582
(337) 394-2210
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
The 1859 St. Martin Parish Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a significant local landmark, as is St. Martinville’s Evangeline Oak, tied to Longfellow’s poem and the region’s Acadian heritage.
Local societies
No dedicated St. Martin 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
St. Martin Parish 16th Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court 415 St. Martin Street (P.O. Box 308), St. Martinville, LA 70582 (337) 394-2210 St. Martin Parish was founded 1811, named for St. Martin, on Bayou Teche in south-central Louisiana. Its seat, St. Martinville (nicknamed “Petit Paris”), differs from its largest city, Breaux Bridge. The 1859 Greek Revival St. Martin Parish Courthouse, one of only four antebellum courthouses still in use in Louisiana, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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
415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582
(337) 394-3071
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582
(337) 394-3071
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582
(337) 394-2200
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
St. Martin Parish Health Unit
(337) 394-3065
LA DCFS — Acadiana Region
(337) 262-5900
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
Iberia Medical Center
iberiamedicalcenter.com (New Iberia — accessible)
Our Lady of Lourdes (Lafayette)
lourdesrmc.com (accessible for major care)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: St. Martin 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: 52,000
Area: 742 sq mi
Established: 1807
Public Records
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