How to Check for a Warrant in St. Tammany Parish
Every St. Tammany Parish warrant rests in one drawer. It may sit with the 22nd Judicial District Court, the Clerk of Court, the sheriff's criminal records office, or a city, mayor's, or justice court docket. Find the issuing court first. None of these counters shares a single file.
- Ask which court issued the paper.
- Search the Clerk of Court's public case system by name or record number.
- Call the sheriff's criminal records desk about agency-held district court warrant files.
- Contact the city, mayor's, or justice court that set the case.
- Talk with an attorney before acting on anything a search shows.
Note: A no-match result can reflect a sealed case or data the court never received, so treat it as incomplete evidence.
St. Tammany Parish Courts That Issue Warrants
Four court levels issue process in St. Tammany Parish, and each keeps its own file. The 22nd JDC handles felony, misdemeanor, traffic, juvenile, and non-support matters. The City Court of Slidell covers Wards 8 and 9. Four mayor's courts take ordinance and misdemeanor cases, while justice courts sit in Wards 1 through 10.
| Court | What It Handles | Where Warrants Land |
|---|---|---|
| 22nd Judicial District Court | Felony, misdemeanor, traffic, juvenile, non-support | Clerk case file and sheriff agency file |
| City Court of Slidell | Traffic, DWI, adult criminal, felony arrest process | City court file |
| Mayor's courts | City ordinance violations and misdemeanor traffic | City court file and city police |
| Justice courts, Wards 1-10 | Limited civil, eviction, and statutory matters | Ward justice and constable |
The 22nd Judicial District Court posts its divisions and phone lines. A district clerk check in St. Tammany Parish will not catch a Mandeville ordinance ticket.
Checking a 22nd JDC Warrant in the Clerk's Search
For district court matters, the clerk's public case search is where a warrant check starts. Type the name as Last, First, Middle, Suffix, or search by record number. Wildcards help. Three characters plus Smi* widens the last name field, and one character plus J* works after the comma.
| Field | What It Accepts | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search Type | Person Name or Business Name | Two separate paths |
| Record Number | Case or record number | Alternative to a name |
| Date of Birth | Date | Criminal Division only |
| Court Division Type | Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate | Choose Criminal |
| Advanced filters | Party, Case, Judgment, Warrant, Protection Orders | Warrant is one filter |
Only approved viewable information appears, and sealed material may return no match. The Smart Search guide from the St. Tammany Parish clerk lists the filters.
Types of Warrants in St. Tammany Parish
Louisiana draws a line between an arrest warrant and a search warrant. In St. Tammany Parish, a missed appearance can add a bench warrant to the original charge. One case, two orders.
| Warrant Type | How It Arises | Who Issues It |
|---|---|---|
| Arrest warrant | Sworn complaint plus probable-cause finding | Judge or magistrate |
| Bench warrant | Missed court date or broken court obligation | The court with the case |
| Attachment | Failure to appear or pay on a traffic or misdemeanor matter | City or district court |
| Search warrant | Probable cause to search a described place | Judge, on affidavit |
| Fugitive warrant | Process from another jurisdiction served locally | Originating court |
A search warrant is not an arrest record in St. Tammany Parish.
No Parish-Wide Warrant List Is Published
The sheriff's criminal records section houses all warrants the 22nd Judicial District Court issues through the agency. That St. Tammany Parish page lists a records phone line and a request portal. No name search, no download, no roster.
Those figures are the sheriff's FY2022 operating statistics and measure workload, not open warrants. A tip form is not a warrant list either, and a ticket balance is not a status check on any St. Tammany Parish case.
That custody statement is the clearest word on who holds St. Tammany Parish district court warrants. It is why the fallback route runs through the records desk.
What a St. Tammany Parish Warrant Record Shows
State law fixes what an arrest warrant must contain, and the St. Tammany Parish clerk's case file holds the rest. No public field list exists for warrant entries. These are the fields such a record normally carries.
| Warrant or Case Number | Identifies the court file; ask the issuing court for the current format |
|---|---|
| Issuing Court | The court or magistrate that signed the order |
| Subject Name | Name or a reasonably certain description permitted by law |
| Charge or Reason | The offense, or the missed obligation behind an attachment |
| Bond or Bail Type | An amount if set on the warrant, or the bail type the court allows |
| Status | Active, served, or recalled, when the court exposes it |
| Access Restriction | Sealed, juvenile, expunged, or otherwise limited material |
Note: No public status field exists, so a reading from last week may not match the court file today.
What Louisiana Requires in an Arrest Warrant
Every arrest warrant in St. Tammany Parish starts with a sworn complaint. Under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 202, the complainant signs an affidavit describing the offense, and a magistrate must find probable cause before anything issues. Article 203 then dictates the written order itself. It must name the State of Louisiana, show the date and parish of issue, and identify the person by name or a certain description. The offense goes in, along with a command to arrest and book, and the magistrate signs it. In a noncapital case, bail is stated too.
Who Issues and Serves St. Tammany Parish Warrants
Courts issue process; law enforcement serves it. In St. Tammany Parish, the 22nd JDC, the City Court of Slidell, the mayor's courts, and the justice courts each issue their own orders. The sheriff, city police, city marshals, and constables then carry out service within their authority.
Warrant flow: Court issues the order › sheriff, marshal, or constable executes it › the issuing court updates the file on service or recall.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, Criminal Records
P.O. Box 1120
Covington, LA 70434
(985) 809-8242
The two St. Tammany Parish desks answer different questions: the clerk holds the case record, the sheriff holds the warrant file.
St. Tammany Parish Warrant Counters and Phone Lines
Call the right desk before driving to Covington, because each St. Tammany Parish counter handles a different request.
- Clerk of Court Criminal Department: (985) 809-8732
- Clerk of Court main line: (985) 809-8700
- Sheriff's Office criminal records: (985) 809-8242
- 22nd JDC bond court: (985) 809-5399
- Sheriff's Office non-emergency dispatch: (985) 898-2338
The sheriff's contact list shows the same split for St. Tammany Parish, with separate lines for the Covington office, the Slidell administrative complex, and the correctional center.
The clerk's criminal counter sits in the St. Tammany Parish Justice Center basement level by Elevator C. A Slidell annex operates on Old Spanish Trail.
What to Do If You Have a St. Tammany Parish Warrant
An open warrant follows you, and a traffic stop or a court date on another matter can end in arrest on the outstanding order. A lawyer can review the docket, move to recall or quash, schedule an appearance, arrange a walk-in surrender, or post bond. Paying a fine does not itself recall a warrant. Under Article 321, Louisiana allows commercial surety, secured or unsecured personal surety, bail without surety, and cash deposit. The court order controls which options apply to a St. Tammany Parish case.
Important: Talk to a lawyer before turning yourself in. The issuing court controls the bond, the holds, and the timing.
Attachments and Missed Dates in City Court
St. Tammany has its own word for a missed traffic date. The City Court of Slidell traffic page calls a post-date failure to appear or pay an attachment, and treats it as an arrest warrant for failure to appear or contempt. Article 211.1 applies attachments to failures to comply with a misdemeanor summons, including traffic. On certain in-jurisdiction warrants, an officer may issue a summons instead of making an arrest. That is St. Tammany Parish officer discretion, not a right to demand.
- Active or outstanding
- The controlling system does not show the warrant as served or recalled.
- Attachment
- Local term for process issued after a missed traffic or misdemeanor date.
- Bench warrant
- A court-issued arrest order tied to a broken court obligation.
- Recall
- A court or magistrate action that withdraws the warrant.
Public Access to St. Tammany Parish Warrant Records
St. Tammany Parish warrant records are public, but only in part. The Louisiana Public Records Law, La. R.S. Title 44, casts a wide net. It then walls off material tied to pending criminal litigation, confidential sources, investigative files, and pre-conviction arrest records. Two local rules shape any request you make. The clerk's copy form reaches records from 1977 forward; older material goes to the archives. The sheriff releases nothing until production costs are paid and any prior balance is cleared.
Key Rules:
R.S. 44:1 defines what counts as a public record, subject to exceptions.
R.S. 44:32 gives the public a right to inspect records during regular hours and to request copies.
R.S. 44:3 withholds pending-investigation and pre-conviction arrest material.
Code of Criminal Procedure Article 973 makes an expunged record confidential.
St. Tammany Parish Justice Court Warrants
Ten justice court wards sit across St. Tammany Parish. Each has its own justice of the peace and constable, takes limited civil and statutory matters, and issues its own process, including warrants.
- Identify the ward that covers the address or party involved.
- Look up the justice and constable in the state directory.
- Call the ward office and ask whether it holds an order.
- Ask the constable about service records.
The Louisiana attorney general's justice court directory sorts by parish and title. An arrest-warrant-certified filter narrows it further, so you can find the right St. Tammany Parish ward without the directory showing any case result.
Warrant Records by City in St. Tammany Parish
City police make the arrests. City and mayor's courts then issue their own warrants for traffic, ordinance, and failure-to-appear cases. A St. Tammany Parish city warrant often lives only in that city's file, so any warrant check starts with the city agencies themselves.
The official 2020 Census place table ranks St. Tammany Parish places by population, and the five city pages follow that order, largest first.
Slidell Warrant Records
28,781 · City Court of Slidell
Mandeville Warrant Records
13,192 · Mandeville Mayor's Court
Covington Warrant Records
11,564 · Covington Mayor's Court
Abita Springs Warrant Records
2,631 · Mayor's Court and marshal
Pearl River Warrant Records
2,565 · Pearl River Police