How it works in Arkansas

The steps

1. Request your record

   Complete and submit your application to request an official copy of your criminal history record.

   Record request fee: $24.00 — Breakdown: $20 search + $2 INA processing + $2 credit-card processing. Mandatory employer/consent-based background checks are $22.00 on the same page.

2. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

3. Request certified documents

   Collect certified copies of relevant documents. These include a copy of the disposition of the case from the clerk of court that handled the original case and the arrest record from the arresting agency. If you had probation or parole, had to take classes, had to pay fees, or had any other obligations, you also need certified proof that you completed the requirements.

   Certified copy fee: $5.00

4. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

5. Prepare your petition

   Complete the petition based on the type of charge and outcome you are seeking. Note Arkansas' timing restrictions: certain arrest records require one year to pass; a case the prosecutor dropped by nolle prosequi waits one year; a dismissal, an acquittal (unless for mental disease or defect) or a case never charged has no wait; certain misdemeanor driving or boating while intoxicated convictions wait until the lookback period in section 5-65-111 has passed; six listed misdemeanors — negligent homicide as a Class A misdemeanor, battery in the third degree, indecent exposure, public sexual indecency, sexual assault in the fourth degree, and domestic battering in the third degree — require five years; and certain felony convictions require five years.

6. Finalize your petition

   Take the completed petition from Step 5, the documents collected in Step 3, and the background check from Step 1, and put them together in a complete package. Double-check every file in the package is the original and ensure you have a copy of the complete package for your personal file.

7. File your sealing petition

   File the petition with the court that handled the case.

   Filing fee: None — Arkansas law bars court clerks from charging a fee to file the uniform petition to seal (Ark. Code § 16-90-1419).

8. Work with the court

   After the court confirms it has received your filing, watch for the next instructions — typically a hearing notice or a request for additional documents. Respond promptly to anything the court asks for, and prepare for the hearing.

9. Receive the court's order

   Once the judge rules, the court issues a uniform order either granting or denying your petition. Review the order's terms carefully — they spell out exactly which records are covered. Keep a certified copy for your own files.

10. Verify the record update

    Arkansas law directs the Arkansas Crime Information Center and the original arresting agency to update or remove the records covered by the order. If a background-check provider later produces an outdated report, your certified copy of the order is your authoritative reference. Under Ark. Code § 16-90-1417, once the court enters the uniform order your underlying conduct is treated as never having occurred, and you may state that it did not occur and that the sealed record does not exist. The sealed conviction can still be used for the purposes the statute lists — a criminal case, offender status under the former section 5-64-413, habitual-offender status, impeachment under the Arkansas Rules of Evidence, healthcare professional licensure by a state agency or board, a disclosure Rule 17, 18 or 19 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure requires, and law enforcement certification by the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training — and sealing does not give back a firearm right lost to a felony conviction.

If you have to mail anything, keep a copy of whatever you send and use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.