State Resources
Arkansas
Free statewide case search, free business and UCC search, and a Freedom of Information Act with a three-day clock and criminal penalties for officials who ignore it. Arkansas is easier to work than its neighbors.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Secretary of State | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State — Business and Commercial Services | Free to search | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Individual licensing boards | Free | By board |
| Property and land records | County circuit clerk and county assessor | Free online in most counties | By county |
| Court records | Arkansas Judiciary — CourtConnect | Free | Yes |
| Criminal records | Arkansas State Police, Identification Bureau | Fee; consent generally required | Consent required |
| Vital records | Department of Health, Vital Records | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | Auditor of State | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State — VoterView | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about Arkansas
The FOIA has criminal penalties attached
Arkansas is one of the very few states where wrongly denying a public record is a misdemeanor, not merely a civil matter.
The Act requires a response within three working days for records not in active use or storage. If the record is immediately available, the answer is immediate.
The criminal provision is rarely prosecuted, but it exists and officials know it does. Citing the three-day deadline in a written request, politely, moves things here in a way it doesn’t in states where the only consequence is an eventual lawsuit.
The residency catch. Arkansas limits the Act to citizens of Arkansas. In practice many agencies answer anyone, but they aren’t obliged to — the same wall Virginia has. Court records, land records and Secretary of State filings are open to everybody regardless.
CourtConnect is genuinely statewide
Arkansas runs one free case search across circuit and district courts, and it works the way you would want: one query, all participating courts, searchable by party name.
Circuit courts handle felonies, civil, domestic relations, probate and juvenile. District courts handle misdemeanors, traffic, small claims and evictions — and because both are in the same system, you aren’t missing the lower tier the way you would in Ohio or South Carolina.
Coverage does vary by court, and a handful publish less than others. If a subject has history in a specific county and CourtConnect is thin, the circuit clerk for that county is the next call.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open corporation search →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free to search
Free entity search returning status, formation date, registered agent and filed documents.
Arkansas requires an annual franchise tax filing, so an entity in good standing has been touched within the year. An entity revoked for non-payment stopped on a date you can use.
UCC filings
Open business services →- Held by
- Secretary of State — Business and Commercial Services
- Cost
- Free to search
UCC financing statements filed centrally with the Secretary of State. A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, and the secured party is usually a lender.
Arkansas is an agricultural filing state — expect equipment, crops, livestock and poultry-house financing to show up in detail.
Professional licenses
- Held by
- Individual licensing boards
- Cost
- Free
No single statewide lookup. Medical, nursing, contractors and cosmetology are each separate boards. Search the specific board.
Property and land records
- Held by
- County circuit clerk and county assessor
- Cost
- Free online in most counties
No statewide property search. The circuit clerk is the recorder in Arkansas and the county assessor holds ownership and value across 75 counties.
Arkansas has ten counties with two county seats each — a historic quirk that means records for the same county can sit in two different courthouses. Pulaski, Benton and Washington are the deepest online.
Court records
Open CourtConnect →- Held by
- Arkansas Judiciary — CourtConnect
- Cost
- Free
Free statewide case search covering circuit and district courts. Criminal, civil, domestic relations, probate, small claims and evictions.
Search by party name. Because both court tiers are in one system, a single search is a genuine statewide sweep — less common than you would think.
Criminal records
Open Identification Bureau →- Held by
- Arkansas State Police, Identification Bureau
- Cost
- Fee; consent generally required
Arkansas State Police handle criminal history record checks. A background check on another person generally requires the subject’s signed, notarized consent.
CourtConnect is free and covers the criminal courts statewide, which for most work answers the question without the consent problem.
Vital records
Open Department of Health →- Held by
- Department of Health, Vital Records
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births and deaths from the state office. Arkansas restricts certified copies to people with a direct interest.
Unclaimed property
Open ClaimItAR →- Held by
- Auditor of State
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. The holder named on a reported item is a confirmed bank, insurer or employer relationship with a last known address.
Voter and resident records
Open VoterView →- Held by
- Secretary of State — VoterView
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup confirming status, county and voting history.
Public records requests in Arkansas
- Statute
- Ark. Code §§ 25-19-101 et seq. (Freedom of Information Act)
- Response deadline
- Immediately if available; three working days otherwise
- Appeal to
- Circuit court
- Appeal window
- No fixed deadline
One of the shortest clocks in the country: records in active use or storage get three working days, and anything immediately available should be produced immediately.
A wrongful denial is a misdemeanor in Arkansas. That’s unusual, and worth a sentence in any written request.
The Act runs to citizens of Arkansas, so an out-of-state requester has no enforceable right — the same limitation Virginia has. Many agencies answer anyway. Court, land and Secretary of State records are open to anyone regardless of residence.
A requester who prevails in circuit court may recover attorney fees where the agency acted arbitrarily or in bad faith.
What Arkansas will not give you
- Agency records, if you aren’t an Arkansan. The FOIA runs to Arkansas citizens. Court and land records are open to everyone.
- Name-based criminal history on a third party. Generally requires notarized consent.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Sealed records. Arkansas sealing is broad and a sealed case leaves the public index.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
Course
The Ultimate FOIA and Public Records Course
Every state page here tells you what the law says. The course shows you how to write the request, what to do when it comes back gutted, and how to appeal without a lawyer — the part that decides whether you actually get the records.
See the FOIA courseRelated
- Missouri — Case.net and MACHS to the north
- Oklahoma — OSCN and the counties it misses
- Virginia — the other citizens-only records law
- UCC filings name the lender
- A FOIA request letter that works
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.