How to Run for Assessor, Clerk of Court or Coroner in Louisiana

Louisiana parishes elect an assessor, a clerk of court and a coroner, each for a four-year term, and all three offices are chosen at the fall 2027 elections in most parishes. Candidates for any of the three qualify with the clerk of court in their parish between Tuesday, August 3 and 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 5, 2027. Each office has a qualifying fee of $225, plus a $25 fee for the state's Campaign Sign Recycling Fund (R.S. 18:464(B)), or a candidate may file a nominating petition with 400 signatures instead (R.S. 18:465(C)). The primary is on Saturday, October 9, 2027, and the general election, if needed, is on Saturday, November 20, 2027.

The offices differ in who may run. Assessor and clerk of court candidates must meet a state residency and parish domicile rule. A coroner must be a licensed physician, unless no licensed physician in the parish will accept the office. This guide covers each office and then the steps they share, using the Louisiana Revised Statutes (R.S.), the Louisiana Constitution and the Secretary of State's candidate guides. Confirm the details for your parish with your clerk of court.

For the full picture of the 2027 elections, including the sheriff and the parish governing authority, see our guide to running for local office in Louisiana.

Assessor

What the office is. The constitution provides that "a tax assessor shall be elected by the electors of each parish. His term of office shall be four years. His election, duties, and compensation shall be as provided by law" (La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 24(A)).

Who may run. At the time you file your notice of candidacy, you must have resided in Louisiana for the preceding two years and been actually domiciled in the parish for the preceding year (R.S. 18:451.2).

When it is elected. In the Secretary of State's records for the parishes we checked, the current assessor's term ends on December 31, 2028. Assessors appeared on the 2023 governor's election ballot, for example in Lafayette Parish, and are elected again in 2027. Orleans Parish is different: its assessor "shall be elected at the same time as the municipal officers of New Orleans" (La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 24(B)).

Clerk of court

What the office is. "In each parish a clerk of the district court shall be elected for a term of four years. He shall be ex officio notary public and parish recorder of conveyances, mortgages, and other acts and shall have other duties and powers provided by law" (La. Const. Art. V, Sec. 28(A)). State law also describes the clerk of court as "the chief election officer of the parish" (R.S. 18:401.1(B)). The clerk's office is where local candidates qualify, so a candidate for clerk of court qualifies at the office they are seeking.

Who may run. The same rule as for assessor: two years of residence in Louisiana and one year of actual domicile in the parish, at the time you file (R.S. 18:451.2).

When it is elected. In the parishes we checked, the current clerk's term ends on June 30, 2028, so the next clerk is chosen in fall 2027. Orleans Parish follows its own election schedule, so ask there about its dates.

Coroner

What the office is. "In each parish a coroner shall be elected for a term of four years. He shall be a licensed physician and possess the other qualifications and perform the duties provided by law. The requirement that he be a licensed physician shall be inapplicable in any parish in which no licensed physician will accept the office" (La. Const. Art. V, Sec. 29).

Who may run. The Secretary of State's qualifications chart adds a residency rule: "The coroner shall be a resident of the parish, or a licensed physician who is not a resident of the parish but maintains a full-time medical practice at a principal medical office facility in the parish." It cites R.S. 13:5704 and Act 526 of the 2024 Regular Session, and it notes that St. Tammany Parish has additional qualifications under R.S. 13:5771. If you are not a licensed physician, ask your clerk of court before you plan a campaign, because the exception applies only where no licensed physician will accept the office.

When it is elected. In the parishes we checked, the current coroner's term ends on March 26, 2028, so the next coroner is chosen in fall 2027.

Rules that apply to all three offices

• Registration. Every candidate must be a qualified elector, which means registered to vote. Residency and domicile periods are measured as of the date you qualify (R.S. 18:451).
• Felonies. No one under an order of imprisonment for a felony may qualify (R.S. 18:451). The constitution also bars a person convicted of a felony who has not been pardoned, unless more than five years have passed since the original sentence was completed (La. Const. Art. I, Sec. 10.1, as quoted by the Secretary of State).
• One office at a time. You may not be a candidate for more than one office in the same election, except for membership on a political party committee (R.S. 18:453).
• Tax returns. You certify on the notice of candidacy that you filed federal and state income tax returns for each of the previous five tax years, filed for an extension, or were not required to file (R.S. 18:463(A)(2)).

Step 1: Choose the fee or a nominating petition

You qualify by filing a notice of candidacy "accompanied either by a nominating petition or by the qualifying fee and any additional fee imposed" (R.S. 18:461(A)(1)). A candidate who files a petition pays no fee.

The fee. $225 for each of the three offices, plus the $25 sign recycling fee. A party's state central committee and parish executive committee may each add a fee of up to half the qualifying fee for candidates affiliated with that party (R.S. 18:464(C) and (D)). The Secretary of State's chart, revised in June 2026, lists a $112.50 state central committee fee for Democratic and Republican candidates for these offices, and a $112.50 parish executive committee fee where the parish committee has assessed one. Pay in cash, by certified or cashier's check on a state or national bank or credit union, by a U.S. postal money order, or by a money order issued by a state or national bank or credit union (R.S. 18:464(A)).

The petition. 400 signatures of voters registered to vote on the office, which for these parishwide offices means voters across the parish (R.S. 18:465(C)). Signers may sign no earlier than Monday, April 5, 2027, and you must submit the petition to the registrar of voters by Tuesday, July 6, 2027. The registrar certifies it and returns the original, which you file with your notice of candidacy. Our guide to qualifying by fee or nominating petition covers the form.

Step 2: Qualify, August 3 to 5

Qualifying runs from Tuesday, August 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 5, 2027, at the clerk of court for the parish in which you are registered to vote (R.S. 18:462(B); 18:467; 18:468).

1. Sign the notice of candidacy before a notary or two witnesses (R.S. 18:463(A)(2)(b)). Read every certification, and check with the Louisiana Board of Ethics for any other filings.
2. Choose your ballot name. Your given name, initials or a nickname in quotation marks, with your surname. No title, and no occupational or professional description or abbreviation, which matters for physicians running for coroner (R.S. 18:463(A)(1)(b)).
3. List your party designation as your registration shows: your recognized party's name, "other" or "no party." It cannot be changed after you qualify.
4. Bring a valid Louisiana driver's license or identification card and the fee or your certified petition.
5. File early. A notice counts only if the clerk receives it during qualifying (R.S. 18:466).

A court action objecting to a candidacy must be filed by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 12, 2027, based on R.S. 18:1405(A).

Step 3: Run a parishwide campaign

All three offices are elected parishwide, so your campaign covers every ward and town. Explain plainly what the office does and what you would do in it. Plan your door-to-door work by area, and focus the final weeks on the voter dates: registration closes on Wednesday, September 8 (in person or by mail) and Saturday, September 18 (online), and early voting runs from Saturday, September 25 to Saturday, October 2, Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (R.S. 18:1309). Polls are open on October 9 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Place signs only on private property with the owner's permission. The notice of candidacy includes a certification that you know the prohibitions on signs on a highway right-of-way, publicly owned property or a utility pole (R.S. 18:463(A)(3)). Our guide on running for sheriff in Louisiana has more on organizing a parishwide campaign.

Step 4: Keep supporters informed by text

1. Campaign Verify first. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN (its federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Check that your filing can be viewed online before you request it, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. A $95 request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
2. Registration. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it.
3. Supporters who agreed in writing. Add only people who signed up for campaign texts, with the date recorded in a custom field. Do not add petition signers who did not separately agree.
4. Scheduled reminders. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically.

Hi [First name], it's [Name], candidate for Assessor. Early voting runs Sat, Sept 25 to Sat, Oct 2. Reply STOP to opt out.

100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For rules that apply to any campaign, see our page on political texting.

Learn the office before you file

Spend the months before April learning how the office works in your parish and confirming that you meet its requirements. When you are ready to keep supporters informed by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.