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.
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.
Office: Vermilion Parish Homeland Security / Emergency Preparedness – 100 North State Street, Abbeville, LA 70510 | (337) 898-4300 | Fax (337) 898-4310.
Sheriff: Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office – 101 South State Street, Abbeville, LA 70510 (P.O. Box 307) | (337) 898-4409 | Emergency (337) 893-0871 | Fax (337) 740-4510; Sheriff Eddie Langlinais, the 30th sheriff of Vermilion Parish, sworn in 2024, previously with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office; 130 regular deputies, 12 part-time, and 6 reserve deputies. Vermilion Parish Correctional Facility – (337) 898-4424 | Fax (337) 898-0031.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-167 serves Abbeville, the parish seat, in South Louisiana’s Acadiana region, on the Vermilion River near the Gulf coast.
Notes: Vermilion Parish, created in 1844, is named for the Vermilion River and Vermilion Bay. Much of the parish’s southern coastline has eroded significantly in recent decades, especially following major hurricanes.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Vermilion Parish Courthouse – Abbeville, LA, fronted by historic live oaks along Concord Street.
Notes: Abbeville is genuinely famous for its annual Giant Omelette Celebration, held the first weekend of November since 1985 (part of an international “sisterhood” of towns – also in France, Belgium, Canada, and Argentina – that commemorate a legend involving Napoleon and a delicious omelette he was served in the French town of Bessières). Abbeville’s version uses over 5,000 eggs, 52 pounds of butter, 15 pounds of Louisiana crawfish tails, and a 12-foot skillet cooked over an open fire in historic Magdalen Square, then given away free to festival attendees – a genuine, internationally connected culinary tradition unique in Louisiana.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Vermilion Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via louisiana.gov/local-louisiana/vermilion-parish.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Vermilion Parish Library System – confirm current address/phone via the parish library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Historic Magdalen Square in downtown Abbeville, the State Wildlife Refuge (13,000 acres, donated 1911 by Tabasco heir Edward McIlhenny and conservationist Charles Ward), and Palmetto Island State Park are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Giant Omelette Celebration and its international “sisterhood of cities” connection is one of the most distinctive cultural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Vermilion Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via louisiana.gov/local-louisiana/vermilion-parish.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Vermilion Parish Animal Control (Rabies Control) – 11303 Pioneer Road, Kaplan, LA 70548 | (337) 643-3160 | Fax (337) 643-3161; Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-3 PM, Sat 10 AM-2 PM, closed Sunday. ⚠️ A strict rabies-control facility with no public adoption program – reclaims and rescue pulls only.
Animal Aid for Vermilion Area (AAVA) – a 501(c)(3) foster-based rescue established 1995 that pulls animals from the parish’s Kaplan facility for adoption, since it does not adopt directly to the public; volunteer opportunities available Saturdays at the Kaplan facility.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Vermilion Parish Police Jury Public Works – confirm current contact via vppj.org.
NOTES: Vermilion Parish is the third parish in the final (tenth) batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine Giant Omelette Celebration and its international “sisterhood of cities” connection is one of the most distinctive cultural 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 Vermilion Parish County
Vermilion Parish is southwest Louisiana’s most authentic Cajun marsh and cheniere country – Abbeville’s Magdalen Square and Black Pot Festival and the Gulf Coast chenieres that host hundreds of thousands of migratory birds define a parish where Cajun culture and natural heritage coexist with the offshore oil industry.
Abbeville (the parish seat, population ~12,000) serves the parish’s Cajun fishing, agricultural, and oil service communities along the Vermilion River.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Vermilion Parish Assessor at 100 N. State Street, Suite 119, Abbeville, LA 70510, phone 337-893-2837. LA residential assessed at 10% of fair market value; $75,000 homestead exemption.
Courts & Legal
Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court at 100 N. State Street, Abbeville, LA 70510, phone 337-898-1992, 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)
100 N. State St., Abbeville, LA 70510
(337) 898-1992
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Vermilion 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
Vermilion Parish 15th Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court 100 North State Street, Suite 101, Abbeville, LA 70510 (337) 898-1992 Vermilion Parish is on the Gulf Coast in south-central Louisiana, seated in Abbeville. The 15th Judicial District also covers Acadia and Lafayette parishes.
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
100 N. State St., Abbeville, LA 70510
(337) 893-6350
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
100 N. State St., Abbeville, LA 70510
(337) 893-6350
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
100 N. State St., Abbeville, LA 70510
(337) 898-4300
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Vermilion Parish Health Unit
(337) 893-4618
LA DCFS — Acadiana Region
(337) 262-5900
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
Abbeville General Hospital
abbevillegeneral.com (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Vermilion Parish Health Unit – confirm current contact via Louisiana Department of Health regional office listings.
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.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 60,000
Area: 1,539 sq mi (much is water and marsh)
Established: 1844
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Vermilion Parish County residents.
