Access St. Mary Parish Tax Records

St. Mary Parish property tax records are managed by the assessor's office in Franklin and searchable through online tools including actDataScout. The parish has about 49,000 residents and includes communities like Morgan City, Berwick, and Patterson along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. You can look up assessed values, search for parcels by owner name or address, and check tax payment details. The assessor handles all real estate, business movable property, and oil and gas equipment records across St. Mary Parish.

St. Mary Parish Assessor's Office

The St. Mary Parish Assessor's Office handles the discovery, listing, and valuing of all property subject to ad valorem taxation in the parish. Jarrod K. Longman is the current assessor. The office covers real estate, business personal property, and oil and gas property and equipment. Staff work to keep assessments fair and equitable for every taxpayer in St. Mary Parish. The main office is in Franklin, the parish seat.

You can reach the office by phone or visit in person during normal business hours. Staff are available to help with assessment questions, homestead exemption applications, and copies of property records. The assessor's website also has basic property search tools and information about how assessments work in St. Mary Parish.

Searching St. Mary Parish Property Tax Records

The St. Mary Parish Assessor's website has a property search tool built into the main site. You can look up parcels by owner name, street address, or parcel number. Results include assessed values, property details, and ownership data. For more detailed assessment roll data, the actDataScout portal covers St. Mary Parish real property records at the parcel level. This tool is used by many Louisiana parishes and is free to search.

A screenshot of the actDataScout portal for St. Mary Parish is shown below.

Enter an owner name or parcel number to pull up assessment data for any property in St. Mary Parish.

The Louisiana Assessors' Association has a statewide directory that lists the St. Mary Parish Assessor along with all other parish assessors in Louisiana. This is a good reference for finding contact details and links to assessor websites across the state. For older records, the State Land Office has tax adjudication documents from 1880 through 1973 available for free download.

St. Mary Parish Oil and Gas Tax Records

St. Mary Parish has a significant oil and gas industry presence that shapes the property tax rolls. Companies operating wells, platforms, pipelines, and processing equipment in the parish must report their assets to the assessor each year. This personal property is assessed annually, unlike real estate which is reappraised on a four-year cycle. Oil and gas equipment is assessed at 15% of fair market value under the Louisiana Constitution, Article VII, Section 18. The value of this equipment can change a lot from year to year based on commodity prices and production levels.

The coastal zone in St. Mary Parish also includes marshland that may be assessed differently than upland property. Properties used for commercial fishing, shrimping, or other water-based industries fall under the personal property rules for equipment and vessels. Morgan City, known as the hub of the offshore oil industry, generates a large share of the parish tax base from these operations. When oil prices drop, the assessed values of industrial property in St. Mary Parish can fall sharply, which affects the total tax revenue for local schools and services.

Note: Industrial tax exemptions under the Louisiana Industrial Tax Exemption Program may reduce the taxable value of qualifying facilities in St. Mary Parish for up to 10 years.

St. Mary Parish Property Tax Assessments

Property in St. Mary Parish is assessed at fair market value. La. R.S. 47:2321 defines that as the price a willing buyer and seller would agree on under normal conditions. Land and homes get the 10% rate. Commercial property is assessed at 15%. Public service properties are assessed at 25%. These rates come from La. Const. Art. VII, Section 18 and are uniform across the state.

Under La. R.S. 47:2331, all real property must be reappraised at least once every four years. The Louisiana Tax Commission sets the cycle. Personal property used in business is reassessed each year. The homestead exemption under La. R.S. 47:1703 reduces the assessed value of owner-occupied homes by $7,500, which equals about $75,000 off market value. Seniors 65 and older may qualify for an assessment freeze under La. R.S. 47:1703.1 if their income is below the annual state threshold. Apply at the assessor's office for both programs.

Paying St. Mary Parish Property Taxes

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office serves as the ex-officio tax collector. Tax bills are mailed toward the end of the year and are due by December 31. You can pay in person at the sheriff's office or by mail. Call (337) 828-1960 for details on how to pay your bill. Unpaid taxes start to accrue interest after January 1. If taxes remain unpaid, the property can be sold at a tax sale.

Under La. R.S. 47:1951, all real property in Louisiana is subject to taxation unless a specific exemption in the state constitution applies. The assessment date is January 1 each year. Your annual tax bill is calculated by multiplying the assessed value of your property by the total millage rate for the taxing districts where the property is located.

Tax Assessment Appeals in St. Mary Parish

If you believe your St. Mary Parish property assessment is wrong, state law gives you the right to appeal. Under La. R.S. 47:1992, the assessment rolls open for public review each year for 15 days. During that period you can file an appeal with the parish Board of Review. Visit the assessor's office first. Staff may be able to correct errors without a formal appeal process.

If the Board of Review does not change your assessment, you have 10 business days to file an appeal with the Louisiana Tax Commission using Form 3103.A. After the Commission decides, judicial review is available within 30 days. All deadlines are strict. Missing any step means you lose the right to challenge your assessment for that year. Keep copies of all documents and track every deadline carefully.

Nearby Parishes

These parishes border St. Mary Parish along the coast and inland waterways. Verify your property is in the correct parish before contacting the assessor's office.