Art. 972.1 Expungement of records; local courts

If you want to clear or seal your criminal record in Louisiana, this rule explains which courts have the power to do it. The court that handles your expungement request must be the same type of court that had authority over your original case.

This includes district courts, city or parish courts, mayor's courts, traffic courts, juvenile and family courts, and the municipal and traffic courts in New Orleans. Each of these courts can only expunge records for cases that fall within their own jurisdiction. For example, a traffic court can expunge traffic case records, but it cannot expunge records from a juvenile court case.

In short, you need to file your expungement request with the same type of court that originally handled your case. This makes sure the right court, one that is familiar with that type of case, is the one deciding whether your record should be cleared.