Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Louisiana · Greater New Orleans Northshore · #251 Most Populous Parish in the US
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
New Orleans's most affluent suburban parish across Lake Pontchartrain - from Covington's charming downtown and Mandeville's lakefront communities to Slidell's I-10 corridor, the Abita Springs craft beer legacy, and the Honey Island Swamp's wilderness at the Pearl River. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for St. Tammany Parish residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
St. Tammany Parish County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: St. Tammany Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness – coordinates parish-wide hurricane preparation; maintains a list of Electric Dependent Shelters via Health and Human Services (985-898-3074); municipality-specific emergency updates available for Covington, Mandeville, and Slidell.
Sheriff: St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office – 701 North Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70433 (P.O. Box 1120) | Non-emergency (985) 898-2338 or (985) 809-8200 | Fax (985) 809-8285; the office, formed in 1812, has 732 regular deputies plus 65 reserve deputies, one of the largest sheriff’s offices in Louisiana, serving the state’s 4th most populous parish (headquartered administratively in Covington, though STPSO’s largest coverage area centers around Slidell). ⚠️ Leadership note: longtime Sheriff Randy Smith (in office since 2016) resigned in June 2026 as part of a plea deal after pleading guilty to second-degree battery and disturbing the peace stemming from a May 2026 altercation at a Madisonville-area restaurant. Chief Deputy Bret Ibert was named Interim Sheriff and is expected to serve through a special election scheduled for November 3, 2026, to fill the remainder of the term; qualifying for candidates ran August 5-7, 2026. St. Tammany Parish Jail – 1200 Champagne Street, Covington, LA | (985) 898-2320 | Fax (985) 898-2716.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. ⚠️ Given the ongoing leadership transition, families should confirm current Sheriff’s Office contacts and any procedural changes directly.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-12 and I-59 serve Covington, the parish seat, on Louisiana’s Northshore across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans; Slidell is the parish’s largest city.
Notes: St. Tammany Parish, established October 27, 1810, is named for legendary Native American Chief Tamanend (Tammany), a Lenape leader.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Tammany Parish Justice Center – 701 N. Columbia St, Covington, LA.
Notes: St. Tammany Parish is a heavily wooded, lake-adjacent “Northshore” region known for its distinct piney character relative to South Louisiana’s bayou country, and has long marketed itself around health/wellness heritage tied to the historic springs at Abita Springs.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: St. Tammany Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stpgov.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
St. Tammany Parish Library System – confirm current address/phone via stpgov.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Abita Springs (home to Abita Brewing Company), the Tammany Trace rails-to-trails bike path, Fontainebleau State Park, and the historic downtown districts of Covington and Mandeville are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: St. Tammany’s Northshore identity and its Abita Springs heritage are distinctive regional facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: St. Tammany Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via stpgov.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
St. Tammany Parish Department of Animal Services – 31078 Highway 36, Lacombe, LA 70445 | (985) 809-0183 | Email: [email protected]; a lifesaving, open-admission government shelter serving the entire parish. Hours: Mon-Sat 10 AM-4 PM, closed Sunday. Adoption fees: $75 (dogs), $60 (cats), spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated. Low-cost spay/neuter vouchers available ($60 dog/$15 cat, limit 4 per household). ⚠️ The shelter has periodically declared capacity emergencies (“Mayday” status), exceeding 215 dogs against a 120-dog design capacity in a documented 2025 incident, prompting waived adoption fees and urgent community pleas for adopters/fosters.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: St. Tammany Parish Public Works – confirm current contact via stpgov.org.
NOTES: St. Tammany Parish is the fourth parish in the ninth batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The recent Sheriff’s Office leadership transition (Smith’s June 2026 resignation, Ibert’s interim tenure, and the pending November 2026 special election) is directly relevant for families navigating this parish’s justice system and should be monitored for updates. 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. Tammany Parish County
St. Tammany Parish is Louisiana’s third most populous parish and the 251st most populous county-equivalent in the United States, covering 1,124 square miles of the Northshore – the communities north of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans. It is consistently Louisiana’s fastest-growing and most affluent parish, driven by decades of migration from the New Orleans metro’s urban core.
Covington (the parish seat, population ~10,000) is the Northshore’s governmental and cultural center – a charming small city with a historic downtown of galleries, restaurants, and specialty shops along Boston Street and New Hampshire Street. Covington’s arts scene and quality of life have made it a destination community for professionals and retirees relocating from New Orleans proper.
Mandeville (population ~13,000) sits on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain – a city defined by its lakefront promenade, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway’s northern terminus (the Causeway is the longest bridge over water in the world at 24 miles, connecting Mandeville to Metairie/New Orleans), and residential neighborhoods that have attracted significant post-Katrina resettlement. Mandeville’s Fontainebleau State Park on the lake shore provides significant recreational resources.
Slidell (population ~30,000) anchors the parish’s eastern communities along I-10 near the Mississippi border – a larger, more commercially developed community serving as the eastern gateway to New Orleans and a significant employer hub with healthcare, retail, and logistics operations.
Abita Springs (population ~2,500) is home to the Abita Brewing Company – one of the South’s pioneering craft breweries (founded 1986) whose Abita Amber and Turbodog beers helped define Louisiana craft beer culture. The springs for which the town is named historically served as a health resort and are now preserved as a small community attraction.
Madisonville is a small community on the Tchefuncte River mouth – a boating and fishing community with a charming waterfront and one of Louisiana’s most scenic small marinas.
Honey Island Swamp – one of America’s least-altered river swamps, in the eastern parish along the Pearl River and West Pearl River – is a significant ecological resource and ecotourism destination, home to alligators, ibises, herons, and the legendary “Honey Island Swamp Monster” of Louisiana folklore.
Hurricane Katrina (2005) transformed St. Tammany Parish demographically – the parish received enormous influxes of evacuees from New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, many of whom never returned to the south shore. This migration accelerated growth patterns already underway and permanently altered the parish’s scale and character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Louisiana assesses residential property at 10% of fair market value – among the lowest assessment ratios in the country. The St. Tammany Parish Assessor at 701 N. Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70433, phone 985-809-8180, determines assessed values.
The appeal process: File with the St. Tammany Parish Assessor during the open rolls period (typically August) for informal review. If dissatisfied, appeal to the St. Tammany Parish Board of Review, then to the Louisiana Tax Commission in Baton Rouge.
Homestead exemption: Louisiana’s homestead exemption exempts the first $75,000 of assessed value (equivalent to $750,000 of market value at 10% ratio) for owner-occupied primary residences – effectively eliminating parish property tax for many Northshore homeowners with modest market values.
Louisiana civil law: Louisiana operates under civil law (derived from French and Spanish law). Estate planning – including forced heirship provisions protecting children’s inheritance rights – differs significantly from common law states. Consult a Louisiana attorney for any estate with significant assets.
OWNWELL CTA: St. Tammany Parish Assessor open rolls in August. Louisiana homestead exemption: first $75,000 assessed value exempt. Post-Katrina growth driving consistent Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville appreciation. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
St. Tammany Parish Assessor open rolls in August. Louisiana homestead exemption: first $75,000 assessed value exempt. Post-Katrina growth driving consistent Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville appreciation. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
District Court (Probate/Succession): The St. Tammany Parish District Court – 22nd Judicial District at 701 N. Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70433, phone 985-809-8700, handles successions (probate), estate administration, and civil and criminal matters.
Clerk of Court: The St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court maintains conveyance records (deeds), mortgage records (liens), and all court records. Louisiana maintains separate conveyance and mortgage indices. Records searchable online.
Senior Services
The St. Tammany Parish Council on Aging at 705 N. Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70433, phone 985-892-0377, serves the parish’s growing senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, transportation, and benefits counseling. Ochsner Health System and Lakeview Regional Medical Center provide significant geriatric care on the Northshore.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across St. Tammany Parish - from Covington and Mandeville to Slidell, Abita Springs, and Madisonville.
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)
701 N. Columbia St., Covington, LA 70433
(985) 809-8700
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
St. Tammany Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
No dedicated St. Tammany Parish genealogical society was confirmed in available directories, though the St. Tammany Parish Library serves as a strong local resource.
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. Tammany Parish 22nd Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court St. Tammany Justice Center, 701 North Columbia Street (P.O. Box 1090), Covington, LA 70433 (mail: 70434) (985) 809-8700 St. Tammany Parish is north of Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana, seated in Covington, one of the state’s fastest-growing and most populous parishes. A satellite office is also located in Slidell (520 Old Spanish Trail).
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
300 Brownswitch Rd., Slidell, LA 70458
(985) 898-2338
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
300 Brownswitch Rd., Slidell, LA 70458
(985) 898-2338
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
701 N. Columbia St., Covington, LA 70433
(985) 809-8180
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
St. Tammany Parish Health Unit
(985) 809-1050
LA DCFS — Capital Region
(225) 342-4086
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
St. Tammany Health System
stph.org (Covington — quality regional hospital; major Northshore anchor)
Office: St. Tammany Parish Department of Health and Human Services – (985) 898-3074.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Recommended for Louisiana
Ownwell
Property tax appeal service. Contingency fee - no savings, no charge.
