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Court Records

Arkansas Court Records

How Arkansas's courts are organized, where their records are kept and how to search them.

Arkansas has a two-level trial court system: circuit courts for serious cases and district courts for minor ones. Most circuit courts and a growing number of district courts use the state's case management system, so a free statewide search will find a large share of Arkansas cases.

Not every court is connected, and documents are not always available online, so a call to the county circuit clerk is still part of many searches.

How Arkansas's courts are organized

Since a 2001 constitutional amendment, Arkansas has had one general jurisdiction trial court, the circuit court, with five subject matter divisions.

Arkansas Supreme Court

Seven justices hear appeals in cases involving the death penalty or life sentences, constitutional questions and other major issues, and review Court of Appeals decisions.

Arkansas Court of Appeals

Twelve judges hear most other appeals from the circuit courts, as well as workers' compensation and unemployment appeals.

Circuit courts

The general jurisdiction trial courts, organized into judicial circuits covering all 75 counties. They have criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations and juvenile divisions. The circuit clerk of each county keeps the records.

District courts

Limited jurisdiction courts that hear misdemeanors, traffic, small claims, smaller civil cases and preliminary felony matters. Some are state district courts and some are local; each keeps its own records.

Searching Arkansas court records online

Arkansas offers a free public case search drawn from the courts that use the state's case management system.

  • Search ARCourtsThe Arkansas Judiciary's free public case search. It covers participating circuit and district courts and the appellate courts, with docket information and some documents.
  • Arkansas Judiciary opinions and docketsPublished opinions from the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
  • Arkansas JudiciaryCourt directories, rules and information on the state's courts.

Getting records from the clerk's office

For circuit court records, contact the elected circuit clerk in the county where the case was filed. The circuit clerk in most counties is also the county recorder, so the same office often holds deeds and other land records. Copies and certified copies are available for a per-page fee.

District court records come from the district court clerk. Probate cases are part of circuit court, but in many counties the county clerk acts as the clerk of the probate division, so ask which office holds the file.

What is public, and what is not

Administrative Order 19 of the Arkansas Supreme Court governs public access to court records. Most records are open, but juvenile, adoption, guardianship and mental health records are confidential, along with personal identifiers like Social Security numbers.

Under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act, many Arkansas convictions and most dismissed or nolle prossed charges can be sealed. A sealed record is treated as though the offense never happened for most purposes, though it remains available to law enforcement and some licensing agencies.

Older and archived records

Older circuit and chancery court records (Arkansas merged its separate chancery courts into circuit courts in 2001) are generally kept by county clerks, often on microfilm. Many historical county court records have been microfilmed by the state archives.

Criminal history and background records

A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.

Arkansas offers a name-based criminal background check to the public through the Arkansas State Police, built from the state's central repository.

Federal court records in Arkansas

Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in Arkansas's state courts. Arkansas is divided into 2 federal judicial districts, and each has its own clerk's office:

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from Arkansas's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Tips for a faster search

  • If a district court case is not in the statewide search, the court may not be on the state system yet. Call the court directly.
  • Ask the circuit clerk whether older chancery or probate records are kept by the circuit clerk or the county clerk in that county.
  • A sealed record will not show up in public searches; that is expected, not an error.
  • Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
  • Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.

Legal help and law libraries

Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:

This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.