Louisiana Expungement, Sealing & Court Record Removal

Louisiana's Expungement Law - What It Is and What It Isn't

Louisiana's expungement framework is governed by La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 through art. 985. Unlike states that physically destroy records upon expungement, Louisiana expungement is a restriction order - it directs law enforcement agencies, the clerk of court, and other governmental entities to treat the record as confidential and not disclose it to the public.

When expungement is granted in Louisiana:

• The clerk of court seals the record from public access
• Law enforcement agencies are directed to treat the record as confidential
• You may generally deny the arrest or conviction in civilian employment and licensing contexts
• The Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (BCII) is directed to update its records

What expungement does not do is remove the record from third-party websites. Data brokers, legal aggregators, and Google that indexed your case from Louisiana's public court records - accessible through louisiana.gov and individual parish clerk portals - before the expungement order was entered are unaffected by that order.

Who Is Eligible for Expungement in Louisiana?

Louisiana's expungement eligibility rules differ by the outcome of the charge and whether the resulting record is an arrest or a conviction. For more information, visit the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Arrests Without Conviction - La. C.Cr.P. art. 976

If you were arrested but not convicted (charges were dropped, you were acquitted, or prosecution was refused), you may petition for expungement of the arrest record. For felony arrests, there is a five-year waiting period unless the district attorney consents or the charge was refused within 60 days. For misdemeanor arrests, the waiting period is three years. No waiting period applies if you were found not guilty at trial.

Misdemeanor Conviction Expungement - La. C.Cr.P. art. 977

Misdemeanor conviction records may be expunged five years after sentence completion (including probation), provided you have no subsequent convictions. The offense must not be a sex crime, crime of violence, or offense involving a minor victim.

Felony Conviction Expungement - La. C.Cr.P. art. 978

Certain felony convictions may be expunged five years after sentence completion, including parole and probation. Eligibility requires that the offense is not a crime of violence (as defined in La. R.S. 14:2(B)), a sex offense, an offense involving a minor victim, or a major drug trafficking offense. You must have no subsequent convictions. The process requires filing a motion to expunge in the district court of the parish where the conviction occurred, with a $550 filing fee.

Why Louisiana Court Records Persist Online After Expungement

Louisiana's expungement order directs government agencies to restrict access - but it has no binding effect on private websites, commercial databases, or Google. Understanding each source helps identify what can realistically be addressed. For more information, visit the Louisiana Legislature.

Parish Clerk Portals and louisiana.gov

Louisiana court records are maintained at the parish level. Many parishes provide online docket access through their individual clerk of court websites. Statewide access is also available through the Louisiana Supreme Court's eLAFiche system and louisiana.gov court record portals. After expungement, the clerk of court should restrict the record from the public portal - but processing delays vary by parish, and third-party sites that previously indexed those portals retain cached data independently. Learn more about expungement vs. record sealing on our blog.

Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (BCII)

The BCII maintains Louisiana's statewide criminal history database. Upon entry of an expungement order, the BCII is directed to restrict the record from public dissemination. Private employers running background checks through the BCII's online system should no longer see the record. However, background check companies that maintain their own databases from prior scrapes of public records are not automatically updated. Learn more about court record removal on our blog.

CourtListener and Legal Aggregators

CourtListener indexes Louisiana appellate opinions from the Louisiana Courts of Appeal and Louisiana Supreme Court. Trial court records are generally not indexed at this level, but if your case generated an appellate decision, that opinion may persist independently. Expungement of the trial court record does not affect published appellate opinions citing your case. Learn more about background check reports on our blog.

Data Broker Sites

Commercial data brokers - Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruthFinder, and dozens of others - index public court records and compile criminal history profiles. Louisiana's expungement order does not require these companies to update or remove your profile. Each must be individually contacted with opt-out requests, and documentation of the expungement order is often required.

How to Remove Louisiana Court Records from Google and Data Broker Sites

After obtaining expungement, these steps address your online footprint. The process requires individual action for each source - no single submission reaches all platforms simultaneously.

1. 1
   Obtain certified copies of the expungement order
   Request multiple certified copies from the district court clerk in the parish where the expungement was granted. Louisiana's process involves service on multiple agencies, and you will need certified copies when submitting to data brokers, background check companies, and other third parties that require documentation.
2. 2
   Confirm the parish clerk portal has restricted the case
   Search your parish's online court portal and any statewide portals (louisiana.gov, eLAFiche) for your name and case number. If the record still appears several weeks after expungement, follow up directly with the clerk of court to confirm the restriction has been applied and identify any processing issues.
3. 3
   Confirm the BCII has updated the criminal history record
   Contact the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information to verify the expunged record has been restricted in the state criminal history database. This is the database used for employment and licensing background checks in Louisiana. The court's expungement order should have been forwarded automatically, but proactive confirmation ensures no processing gap.
4. 4
   Audit all URLs showing your record in Google
   Search Google for your full name combined with the parish name, charge type, and year. Document every URL - including parish court portals, CourtListener, Justia, data broker profiles, news archives, and any mugshot sites. This list becomes your removal work queue.
5. 5
   Submit opt-out requests to data brokers
   Submit opt-out requests to Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruthFinder, PeopleFinder, Whitepages, and all other aggregators showing your record. Include your certified expungement order where required. Set calendar reminders to re-check each site at 90-day intervals as profiles can be repopulated from secondary data sources. See our detailed guide on removing court records from Spokeo and similar platforms.
6. 6
   Use Google's Personal Information Removal Tool
   Once source pages have been restricted or removed, submit Google Personal Information Removal Tool requests for any URLs still appearing in search results that reference the expunged record. Use the outdated content removal tool at removals.google.com for pages that have already been de-indexed at the source but remain cached in Google.

Attorney vs. Reputation Management: Which Do You Need in Louisiana?

Louisiana's expungement process is more procedurally complex than many other states - the adversarial motion practice, mandatory service requirements, and potential for DA objection mean legal representation genuinely helps. But the online removal piece is a separate discipline.

When a Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Is Essential

See our guide on how to get a record expunged for a comprehensive overview of the petition process across states.

• You need to file a motion to expunge in Louisiana district court - the mandatory service, notice, and potential hearing require navigating procedural rules
• The district attorney has filed an objection to your expungement motion and a contradictory hearing has been set
• Your eligibility is uncertain given the complex list of excluded offenses under Louisiana law
• You have convictions in multiple parishes and need to coordinate expungement petitions across jurisdictions

When Reputation Management Is the Right Tool

• Your expungement order is in hand, but the record still surfaces on Google, background check sites, or news archives
• Your offense is ineligible for expungement, but you need to suppress what employers and the public find online
• A mugshot site, news archive, or legal aggregator is publishing your record and not responding to individual removal requests
• You need systematic opt-outs across all major data broker platforms and ongoing monitoring