Start with the Arkansas system that actually holds the record you need
Arkansas criminal-record research is split among several government systems. Search ARCourts provides public court case information, ARCH provides a public name-based Arkansas criminal-history search, the Arkansas State Police operates consent-based and legally authorized background checks, ACIC maintains the state’s computerized criminal-history system, and the Department of Corrections provides custody and supervision resources.
Arkansas criminal records are spread across different agencies
A person can appear in a court system, local jail database and criminal-history repository at the same time, but those records answer different questions. Start by identifying what you are actually trying to learn.
Court case
Search filed charges, parties, judges, docket activity, dispositions, judgments and some public court documents.
Public criminal history
A paid public name-based search of specified Arkansas conviction, felony-arrest and sex-offender information.
Authorized background check
Used when the requester has signed consent or a law requires or authorizes the particular background check.
Your underlying criminal history
ACIC maintains the Computerized Criminal History system and provides a process for an individual to review and challenge their own information.
Arrest or local jail record
Recent arrest, booking and county-jail information usually originates with the law-enforcement or detention agency.
State prison / supervision
Use Arkansas DOC and VINE for correctional custody, release and supervision information.
How to search Arkansas criminal court cases online
The Arkansas Judiciary is moving public users from the older Public CourtConnect interface to Search ARCourts, the state’s newer public case-information portal.
Search ARCourts provides public information from courts using Arkansas’s Contexte case-management system.
Open Search ARCourtsChoose Cases or Participants
If you know the case or citation number, use the case search. If you know the defendant’s name, use the Participants search.
Enter the strongest identifier available
A case number or citation number generally gives cleaner results than a common name.
Narrow the results
Advanced Search can filter by filing dates, case type, county, docket code and court location.
Open the correct case
Compare the participant, court, county and case details before assuming a similarly named person is the defendant you want.
Review charges and dispositions
Check the final result of each charge rather than stopping at the original allegation.
Open available public documents
Some public case filings are linked directly from Search ARCourts. Availability varies by court and record.
Arkansas name-search behavior can help narrow difficult cases
Arkansas Judiciary’s Search ARCourts guidance provides several useful search behaviors that are easy to overlook.
Exact first/last-name behavior
Very short first- or last-name entries are treated as exact searches.
Exact or partial matching
Entering at least three characters can return exact and partial name matches.
Alias names can appear
Participant search can return alias names associated with public case information.
Not every Arkansas court publishes the same amount of information online
Search ARCourts covers Arkansas courts using the Contexte system, but online depth varies.
- All circuit courts provide statistical case information required by Administrative Order 8
- Most circuit courts provide additional case information through Contexte
- Some district courts publish case information through Search ARCourts
- Some public case documents are linked online
- Confidential information is excluded under Arkansas Supreme Court rules
- A missing online document can still require contact with the filing court
What Search ARCourts can tell you about a criminal case
| Case information | What it helps answer | Important caution |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | Who is involved in the case. | Verify identity; names can be shared. |
| Judge | Which judicial officer is assigned. | A judge assignment says nothing about guilt. |
| Charges | What criminal offenses were alleged. | A charge is not a conviction. |
| Filings / docket entries | How the case has progressed. | Read later entries for changes or dismissals. |
| Future events | Upcoming public hearings or court activity. | Schedules can change. |
| Disposition | How a charge was resolved. | Different counts in one case can end differently. |
| Judgment | Final court action where applicable. | Review the complete case history when accuracy matters. |
When you need the actual criminal court document
Search ARCourts links to some public filings, but it is not a guarantee that every public complaint, order, sentencing record or historical document is available remotely.
Arkansas Judiciary maintains an official Circuit Clerks Directory with addresses and telephone numbers for all Arkansas counties.
ARCH is Arkansas’s public criminal-history search
Arkansas Criminal History (ARCH) is an official State of Arkansas service designed to let the general public request specified Arkansas criminal-history information.
Unlike the consent-based Arkansas State Police CBC system, ARCH does not require the written consent of the person being searched.
Open Arkansas Criminal History (ARCH)$24 per search
The charge is non-refundable even if the search does not identify a subject.
Name-based only
ARCH is not fingerprint verification and cannot guarantee identity from a name match alone.
Arkansas only
Federal criminal history and criminal records from other states are not included.
Information required for an ARCH search
- subject’s legal first name
- subject’s legal last name
- sex
- complete date of birth
- payment information
- email address for the transaction/result link
ARCH states that the person being searched must be over age 18 to be included in the public system.
What an ARCH result currently includes
ARCH is intentionally narrower than a law-enforcement criminal-history record.
- Arkansas felony convictions
- Arkansas misdemeanor convictions
- open Arkansas felony arrests less than 3 years old
- registered sex-offender status for Levels 1–4
- whether the person is required to register as a sex offender
- Arkansas information only
What ARCH does not show
- juvenile records
- dismissed arrests or charges
- unresolved misdemeanor arrests
- felony arrests more than 3 years old
- charges resulting in a not-guilty finding
- active warrants
- sealed arrests or convictions
- pardoned convictions
- criminal records from other states
- federal criminal history
- traffic citation or arrest history
- arrests where the subject was not fingerprinted
How to interpret the three possible ARCH results
Subject identified with criminal history
The system matched the information and found criminal-history information that ARCH is legally permitted to disclose.
Subject identified without criminal history
ARCH identified the person but did not return criminal history within the categories disclosed through ARCH.
No subject identified
The supplied identifying information did not produce an identifiable subject in the databases searched by ARCH.
Arkansas State Police also operates a separate background-check system
Arkansas State Police distinguishes between a general public ARCH search and its Online Criminal Background Check System.
Use the ASP CBC route when:
- you have the subject’s signed written consent
- state law requires the background check
- you are an authorized entity performing a permitted check
- a licensing or employment process directs you to the ASP system
| Check | Current published price | Important condition |
|---|---|---|
| Online Arkansas name-based check | $22 | Authorized/signed-consent system. |
| Volunteer Arkansas name-based check | $11 | Applies to qualifying volunteer checks. |
| Mail-in Arkansas background check | $25 | Uses the appropriate ASP-122 request form. |
| National/FBI component | Verify before payment | Only available when state/federal law authorizes the fingerprint-based check. |
ARCH and the ASP consent-based background check are not interchangeable
| Feature | ARCH public search | ASP CBC system |
|---|---|---|
| Subject consent | Not required | Signed consent or statutory authorization generally required |
| Online state fee | $24 | $22 |
| Search type | Name-based | State name-based; fingerprint-based national checks when legally authorized |
| Arkansas convictions | Felony and misdemeanor convictions | Felony and misdemeanor conviction information |
| Pending/open felony arrests | Open felony arrests less than 3 years old | ASP CBC FAQ describes pending felony arrests within the last 5 years |
| National/FBI record | No | Only for specifically authorized fingerprint-based checks |
How to review your own Arkansas criminal-history record
If your goal is to see and challenge the criminal-history information maintained through the Arkansas Crime Information Center, ACIC provides an Authorization for Review of Criminal History Information.
Arkansas law allows the subject of the record, the person’s attorney, or another person specifically authorized in writing to review the record after positive verification of identity.
Download the ACIC authorization form
Use the current Authorization for Review of Criminal History Information.
Enter identifying information
The form requests details such as name, date of birth, race, sex, previous names and contact information.
Sign the form before a notary
The current ACIC form includes a notary acknowledgment section.
Send the request to ACIC
Follow ACIC’s current mailing or fax instructions on the official form.
322 S. Main Street, Suite 615
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone:
501-682-2222
Fax listed on current review form: 501-682-2269
What to do if your Arkansas criminal history is inaccurate
ACIC says that when a person believes their criminal-history record is inaccurate, the underlying court documentation may need to be corrected or transmitted to ACIC.
Arkansas arrest and booking records are usually local
There is no single unrestricted statewide public booking-photo or county-jail roster that replaces every Arkansas sheriff or police database.
For a recent arrest, the practical workflow is:
Identify the arresting agency
Determine whether the arrest was made by a city police department, county sheriff, Arkansas State Police or another agency.
Identify the county of custody
If the person is being held locally, search the relevant county sheriff or detention-center resource.
Use Arkansas VINE when appropriate
VINE can provide participating county-jail custody information and court-event data.
Check the court case separately
A jail booking explains custody; Search ARCourts is the better source for following the filed criminal prosecution.
ARCH does not show active warrants
Arkansas’s official ARCH FAQ expressly states that active warrants are not included in an ARCH criminal-history result.
Warrant information is generally tied to the responsible court and law-enforcement agency. If you know the county, start with the relevant circuit/district court and sheriff’s office.
Search Arkansas state-prison inmates through the Department of Corrections
The Arkansas Division of Correction provides an official Inmate Population Information Search.
DOC says users can search by multiple criteria, including:
- name / identifying information
- criminal history
- offense category
- county
- facility
- ADC-related identifiers where available
Arkansas VINE combines custody, court and supervision information
Arkansas VINE is particularly useful when you are trying to follow the status of a person moving through custody or community supervision.
| Data source | Arkansas DOC published update schedule |
|---|---|
| Participating county-jail data | Every 15 minutes |
| Department of Corrections data | Every hour |
| Court information | Once per day |
| Probation / parole / post-release supervision | Once per day |
Arkansas DOC says VINE searches can use one or more of the following:
- name
- offender or booking number
- case number
- ADC number
- probation/parole/post-release PID number
Available information can include custody status, location, scheduled release date, supervision information and upcoming court-event information.
Arkansas VINE InformationArkansas sex-offender information uses a separate public system
The Arkansas Crime Information Center administers public sex-offender information under the Arkansas Sex Offender Registration Act.
ARCH also indicates whether the subject of an ARCH search is a registered sex offender at Levels 1 through 4 or is required to register, but the dedicated ACIC sex-offender resource is the better starting point when sex-offender information is the actual search intent.
Arkansas Sex Offender InformationJuvenile information is not part of an ordinary ARCH public result
ARCH specifically excludes juvenile records from its public criminal-history results. Court access to juvenile matters can also be restricted under Arkansas law and Arkansas Supreme Court public-access rules.
Sealed Arkansas criminal records follow a separate legal process
Arkansas primarily uses the language “sealing” for many forms of criminal-record relief. ACIC maintains official petition and order forms for several categories of cases.
Examples currently listed by ACIC include:
- qualifying felony convictions
- qualifying misdemeanor convictions
- DWI / boating-while-intoxicated matters where eligible
- certain controlled-substance convictions
- nolle prosequi dispositions
- dismissals
- judgments of acquittal
- charges that were never filed
- qualifying arrests
- certain pardoned records
- first-offender Act 346 cases
- certain drug-court and veterans-treatment-court matters
Identify the correct sealing category
Arkansas uses different petition/order forms depending on the underlying disposition and legal authority.
Complete the applicable Petition and Order to Seal
Use the official ACIC forms or the process directed by the sentencing court.
File with the court where you were sentenced
ACIC instructs users to take the Petition and Order to the sentencing court for further instructions.
Wait for the signed order to reach ACIC
After the judge approves and the clerk files the Order to Seal, the clerk forwards it to ACIC.
Criminal cases can continue into the Arkansas appellate courts
A circuit-court criminal judgment can be appealed to Arkansas’s appellate courts. Search ARCourts was developed to improve public access to circuit, district and appellate case information, while Arkansas Judiciary separately publishes Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions.
Intermediate appellate review
Many Arkansas appeals are decided by the Court of Appeals under the Supreme Court’s jurisdictional rules.
Highest state court
Certain criminal matters and other cases within Supreme Court jurisdiction are handled directly or on review.
Arkansas appellate opinions issued after February 14, 2009 are officially published electronically through the Arkansas Judiciary.
Little Rock, AR 72201
Questions about appellate dockets, schedules and appellate-record copies can be directed to the Clerk of the Courts through the Arkansas Judiciary.
Arkansas FOIA does not make ACIC/NCIC criminal-history data public
Arkansas State Police accepts Freedom of Information Act requests for qualifying agency records, but that does not mean the restricted ACIC/NCIC criminal-history system is open through FOIA.
ACIC’s current public FAQ states that information obtained from ACIC/NCIC is not available through an Arkansas FOIA request.
Use the responsible government agency
For a qualifying police or administrative record, contact the agency that created or maintains it and follow that agency’s records-request process.
Use ARCH / ASP / ACIC
State criminal-history access is controlled by specific Arkansas criminal-history laws and services, not by treating ACIC/NCIC as a public FOIA database.
Arkansas state searches do not include federal criminal cases
ARCH expressly excludes federal criminal history and records from other states. Federal court prosecutions are maintained separately.
PACER
Use PACER to locate public federal district and appellate court cases.
Open PACER case-search guidanceIdentity History Summary
Individuals can request their own fingerprint-based FBI Identity History Summary.
FBI Identity History SummaryArkansas State Police criminal-background-check location
Identification / State Police headquarters
One State Police Plaza DriveLittle Rock, AR 72209
Main ASP phone:
501-618-8000
Identification Bureau background-check questions:
501-618-8500
Use the official online or mail instructions for the type of background check you need. Arkansas State Police states that civil-applicant fingerprinting services are no longer performed at ASP Headquarters, so do not travel there solely expecting walk-in civil fingerprinting.
Arkansas search tips that prevent the most common mistakes
Use Search ARCourts and ARCH together
They answer different questions. A public court case can exist even when the narrower ARCH result does not show it.
Use the legal name in ARCH
Nicknames and incorrect birth dates can prevent a subject from being identified.
Remember the $24 fee is non-refundable
ARCH charges for the search even when no subject is identified.
Common name? Slow down before buying extra matches
ARCH can return several candidates. Use race or ZIP code when available to narrow them before purchasing additional results.
Fingerprints are the strongest identity check
ARCH itself warns that a name-based result cannot definitively establish identity without fingerprint verification.
Active warrant? Do not use ARCH
Active warrants are specifically excluded from ARCH results. Contact the responsible court or law-enforcement agency.
Recent county jail case? Try VINE
Arkansas DOC says participating county-jail information transfers to VINE every 15 minutes.
Missing conviction? Check the sentencing court
ARCH warns that incomplete court disposition reporting can cause a conviction to be missing from criminal history.
Sealed record? Use the court and ACIC process
Sealed arrests and convictions do not appear in ordinary ARCH public results.
Employment and licensing background checks require the correct authorized process
A public ARCH search should not automatically be substituted for a background check required by an Arkansas licensing board, employer, volunteer program or federal/state statute.
Arkansas State Police explains that qualifying national/FBI criminal-background checks are fingerprint-based and available only when the requesting entity has specific legal authorization.
Common questions about Arkansas criminal-record searches
1. Is there a free Arkansas criminal court case search?
Yes. Search ARCourts provides public Arkansas court case information online without an ordinary per-search criminal-case lookup fee. Coverage and document availability vary by court.
2. Can I search Arkansas court cases by a person’s name?
Yes. Search ARCourts includes a Participants search using first, middle and last name, as well as case-number and citation-number search options.
3. How much does an ARCH criminal-history search cost?
ARCH currently charges $24 per search. The fee is non-refundable even if no subject is identified. Additional candidate results selected from the same search can generate additional $24 charges.
4. Do I need someone’s permission to search ARCH?
No. ARCH was created to provide specified Arkansas criminal-history information to the public without requiring the subject’s written consent. Consent-based or legally mandated searches use the separate Arkansas State Police background-check process.
5. Does ARCH show every Arkansas arrest?
No. ARCH currently includes open Arkansas felony arrests less than three years old, but excludes unresolved misdemeanor arrests, older felony arrests, dismissed charges, not-guilty cases and several other categories.
6. Does ARCH show active Arkansas warrants?
No. The official ARCH service specifically lists active warrants among the information that will not appear in an ARCH result.
7. Does an Arkansas criminal-history search include other states or federal records?
ARCH covers Arkansas criminal-history information only. It does not provide other-state or federal criminal-history records.
8. How can I review my own complete Arkansas criminal-history information?
ACIC provides an Authorization for Review of Criminal History Information process for the subject of the record, the subject’s attorney or another specifically authorized person.
9. Where can I search Arkansas inmates?
Use the Arkansas Department of Corrections Online Services Center for state inmate information. Arkansas VINE can also provide participating county-jail, DOC, court and supervision information.
10. Do sealed Arkansas convictions appear in ARCH?
No. ARCH states that sealed arrests and convictions are excluded from ordinary public results. Arkansas provides separate court and ACIC procedures for qualifying record sealing.
Official Arkansas sources for current record-access rules
- Arkansas Judiciary — Search ARCourts
- Search ARCourts — Case Search
- Arkansas Judiciary — Search ARCourts Navigation Tips
- Arkansas Judiciary — Circuit Clerks Directory
- Arkansas Criminal History — ARCH
- Arkansas State Police — Criminal Background Checks
- Arkansas State Police — Online Criminal Background Check System
- Arkansas Crime Information Center — Criminal History Review and Sealing Forms
- Arkansas Crime Information Center — Access FAQ
- Arkansas Department of Corrections — Online Services Center
- Arkansas Department of Corrections — Arkansas VINE
- Arkansas Crime Information Center — Sex Offender Information
- Arkansas Judiciary — Supreme Court and Court of Appeals