To file for divorce in Arkansas, you submit a Complaint for Divorce along with a summons, a confidential information sheet, and a statistical control card to the circuit clerk in the county where you live, and then you arrange for your spouse to be served. The Arkansas divorce papers must be filed only after at least one spouse has lived in the state for 60 consecutive days, and the court cannot sign a final decree until three full months of residency have passed.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved Getting the paperwork right at the start saves weeks and avoids a case being dismissed over a procedural slip.
Who Can File in Arkansas
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Arkansas for 60 consecutive days before the complaint is filed, and that same person must remain an Arkansas resident for three full months before a final decree can be entered.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved If you have moved recently, count the days carefully. Filing too soon leaves the court without jurisdiction.
Your complaint must also state a legal ground for the divorce. Arkansas recognizes several:
- General indignities: a pattern of behavior by your spouse that made the marriage intolerable.
- 18-month separation: you and your spouse have lived apart continuously for 18 months without cohabiting.
- Adultery committed after the marriage.
- Cruel treatment that endangered your life.
- Habitual drunkenness for at least one year.
- Conviction of a felony or other infamous crime.
- Willful failure to provide basic necessities despite the ability to do so.
The 18-month separation ground is the closest Arkansas comes to a no-fault option and is the easiest to prove, because it does not require showing fault.2Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-301 – Grounds for Divorce Pick the ground you can actually support with evidence, because it goes directly into your complaint.
The Core Forms
The central document is the Complaint for Divorce, sometimes called the Petition. It identifies both spouses, states your grounds, and tells the court what you want for property, debts, alimony, and custody. Everything in the case flows from it.
Alongside the complaint you file:
- A Summons, which gives your spouse formal notice of the lawsuit and a deadline to respond.
- A Confidential Information Sheet with sensitive details like Social Security numbers for both spouses and any minor children. This sheet is kept out of the public record.
- A Statistical Control Card, a short state record-keeping form.
The forms are available on the Arkansas Judiciary website and at the circuit clerk’s office. Arkansas Law Help offers a free interactive packet for simpler cases with no minor children and no significant property to divide.
Be specific when filling the complaint out. Use VIN numbers for vehicles, legal descriptions for real property, and account numbers (or at least the last four digits) for financial accounts. List every debt, joint or individual. Include the date of marriage and the date of separation. Vague descriptions invite disputes and slow the case down.
Uncontested Versus Contested
If you and your spouse agree on everything, you can file an uncontested divorce. In uncontested cases Arkansas does not require corroboration of the grounds, so you do not need an outside witness to back up your reasons for ending the marriage.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-306 – Corroboration Residency still has to be corroborated, but a verified affidavit from a third person is enough. The uncontested path is much faster and cheaper.
If your spouse contests anything, corroboration of the grounds can be waived only if the other spouse agrees to that waiver in writing.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-306 – Corroboration Contested cases also bring discovery requests and motions, and they take substantially longer.
Where You File and What It Costs
You file at the circuit clerk’s office in the county where you live. If you are not an Arkansas resident but your spouse is, you file in the county where your spouse resides.4FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-303 – Venue The default venue is the plaintiff’s county, not whichever courthouse is most convenient.
The filing fee varies by county but generally runs between $165 and $200 depending on local administrative and technology surcharges. When the clerk accepts your documents, they assign a case number and file-stamp everything with the official date and time. That stamp starts the clock on later deadlines.
Many counties use an electronic filing portal: you create an account, upload PDFs, and pay by credit card or electronic check, and the system returns file-stamped copies. If you file on paper, you can get stamped copies at the clerk’s window.
If You Cannot Afford the Fee
You can ask the court to let you proceed in forma pauperis by filing an affidavit under Rule 72 swearing that poverty prevents you from paying, with details about your income, assets, bank accounts, and dependents.5Arkansas Courts. Affidavit in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis A judge reviews it, and a granted waiver covers the filing fee and can also cover sheriff service.
Affidavit of Financial Means
Both spouses must complete and exchange a six-page Affidavit of Financial Means at least three days before any hearing where financial issues are on the table, and the original notarized affidavit must be provided to the court.6Arkansas Courts. Affidavit of Financial Means It covers income from every source, monthly expenses, all assets, and all debts. Gather bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, and retirement account statements before you start.
Treat this form seriously. Deliberately hiding assets or misleading the court on the affidavit can result in contempt, fines, attorney’s fees, and up to six months in jail. Serious violations can be prosecuted as felony perjury, which carries three to ten years in prison.6Arkansas Courts. Affidavit of Financial Means
Serving Your Spouse
After filing, you have to deliver the file-stamped summons and complaint to your spouse. Arkansas does not allow you to hand them over yourself.
Methods of Service
- Sheriff: the county sheriff’s office serves the papers, typically for a fee in the $30 to $50 range.
- Private process server: a licensed server delivers the papers directly, usually at a higher cost than the sheriff.
- Certified mail: you send the papers with restricted delivery and a return receipt. Only your spouse can sign for them. After delivery, you attach the signed return receipt to a Proof of Service affidavit and file it.
Waiver of Service
A cooperative spouse can sign an Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Service, acknowledging notice of the case without agreeing to anything in the complaint. Once that waiver is filed, the 30-day response clock starts and the case moves forward without the cost or delay of formal service. In uncontested divorces, this is the fastest route.
Service by Publication
If you genuinely cannot locate your spouse after a diligent search, you can ask the court for permission to serve by publication. The clerk issues a warning order, and notice is published weekly for at least two consecutive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the county where your spouse was last known to live.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 16-58-130 – Constructive Service, Warning Orders You must file an affidavit of diligent search before the court will allow it.
Proof of Service and the 120-Day Deadline
However service is accomplished, proof must be filed with the clerk. For sheriff or process server delivery, that is a completed affidavit stating the date, time, and location of service. For certified mail, it is the signed return receipt attached to the affidavit. If you fail to get the papers served within 120 days of filing the complaint, the court can dismiss your case without prejudice, either on your spouse’s motion or on its own.8Justia Law. Arkansas Code 16-58-134 – Time Limit for Service You can refile, but you lose the time and money already spent.
What Happens After Service
Your spouse has 30 days to file a written answer with the court. If they signed a waiver of service, the 30 days runs from the date the waiver is filed. That window is their chance to contest the complaint, raise counterclaims, or ask for different terms on property, support, or custody.
If your spouse does nothing in that time, you can ask the court for a default judgment, and the court can grant what you requested because your spouse chose not to appear. A spouse who later shows up can still ask the court to set aside a default within a limited window, so silence is not necessarily permanent.
Even in the smoothest cases, Arkansas requires at least 30 days between the filing date and the final decree, which comes from the gap between the 60-day residency to file and the three months required before a decree.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved Scheduling usually stretches things beyond that floor, even for uncontested cases.
Extra Forms When Children Are Involved
Divorces with minor children need more than the basic complaint. You need a parenting plan or custody agreement that addresses physical custody, visitation schedules, decision-making authority for education and medical care, and holiday arrangements. Arkansas also requires a child support worksheet based on the state’s guidelines, which calculate the obligation from both parents’ incomes. The worksheets are posted on the Arkansas Judiciary website.
The calculation is driven by both parents’ gross incomes and the number of children. The guidelines are a presumptive starting point, and the court can deviate only for documented reasons. Get the income figures right the first time, because a worksheet error changes the support amount and is hard to correct after the decree is entered.
Standing Restraining Orders
In many Arkansas circuits, a standing restraining order automatically takes effect when a domestic relations case is filed. It generally prohibits both spouses from harassing each other, selling or disposing of marital property, and removing children from the court’s jurisdiction. The specifics vary by judicial circuit, so review any orders attached to your case as soon as you file or are served, and ask the clerk whether one applies in your county. Violations can result in contempt of court.