How to File an Emergency Ex Parte Order of Custody in Arkansas

To file an ex parte order of protection in Arkansas, take a completed Petition for Order of Protection and sworn Affidavit to your local circuit clerk. A judge reviews your paperwork the same day without notifying the other person, and if your statements show an immediate and present danger of domestic abuse, the judge signs a temporary order on the spot.¹ There is no filing fee, no service fee, and no attorney requirement.²

Who Qualifies for This Order

Arkansas limits orders of protection to abuse by a “family or household member.” The person you need protection from must be one of the following:³

A spouse or former spouse
A parent or child
A blood relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, meaning siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins
An in-law
Someone you currently live with or lived with in the past
Someone you share a child with, whether or not you ever lived together
A current or former dating partner, judged by the length, type, and frequency of the relationship; casual acquaintances and ordinary social contacts do not qualify

The conduct you are reporting also has to fit the statutory definition of domestic abuse: physical harm, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, or sexual conduct that is a crime under Arkansas law.³ If the person harming you is a stranger or falls outside these relationship categories, this form is not the right remedy, and you would need to ask law enforcement about a criminal no-contact order instead.

Where to Get the Forms and What It Costs

Every circuit clerk in Arkansas is required to keep the Petition for Order of Protection and Affidavit on hand.⁴ There is no single statewide packet; some counties use their own version. The Arkansas Judiciary website hosts sample petitions and a fillable Benton County packet you can look at in advance. A parent or advocate can obtain the forms and file on behalf of a minor or someone unable to file for themselves.

Filing costs nothing. Arkansas law bars the court, clerk, and law enforcement from charging you any filing fee or service cost on a domestic abuse petition, and the same rule covers the issuance and service of related warrants and witness subpoenas.²

What to Put in the Petition and Affidavit

The petition asks for identifying information about you and the respondent, meaning the person you need protection from. Give the respondent’s full legal name, current physical address, date of birth, and a physical description including height, weight, hair color, eye color, and identifying marks like tattoos or scars. Add the Social Security number, driver’s license number, and vehicle details if you know them. All of it helps the sheriff locate and identify the right person when serving the order.

The heart of the petition is your sworn account of what happened. Focus on the most recent incident, then include the relevant history. Be specific about the date, time, and location of each event. Describe exactly what the respondent did or said, any injuries you sustained, and whether weapons were involved. If the respondent has access to firearms, say so. The affidavit is signed under oath, and everything in it carries the same legal weight as courtroom testimony, so keep to what you know firsthand and can describe accurately.

Children, the Home, and Workplace

The form includes sections where you can ask the court for temporary custody of minor children and for orders excluding the respondent from your shared home, your workplace, and your children’s school. List each minor child, their date of birth, and where they currently live. If another court already has an active custody or visitation order, a temporary order of protection can still modify those arrangements, and the modification stays in place until the court with original jurisdiction enters a new order.⁵

Pets

Arkansas allows the court to direct the care, custody, and control of any pet owned or kept by either party in the household.⁵ If you are worried the respondent will harm or withhold an animal to control you, ask for pet custody in the petition.

Keeping Your Address Confidential

If listing your home address on court filings would put you at risk, the court can leave your home and business address out of the copy of the final order given to the respondent.⁶ Arkansas also runs a free Address Confidentiality Program through the Department of Finance and Administration. Once you have a valid order of protection, you can apply for a driver’s license or state ID showing a post office box instead of your residential address, and the program adds a “secret word” security feature that prevents unauthorized changes to your record.⁷

Filing and the Same-Day Judge Review

Sign the petition and affidavit in front of the circuit clerk or a notary public, then hand everything to the clerk’s office to file. A judge reviews your paperwork the same day in what the statute calls an ex parte proceeding, meaning the respondent is not there and has no chance to argue. The judge is looking for one thing: whether your sworn statements show an immediate and present danger of domestic abuse.¹ You may be asked to answer questions in person to clarify details. If the judge is satisfied, the temporary ex parte order is signed right away.

The statute also covers one uncommon situation: if the respondent is currently incarcerated but scheduled for release within 30 days, you can file in advance and the court can issue the temporary order before the release date.¹

Service and How Long the Temporary Order Lasts

Once the judge signs, the clerk forwards the order to the local sheriff’s office for personal service on the respondent. The order is not enforceable until the respondent has actually been served. If the respondent violates the terms before receiving the papers, law enforcement cannot arrest for a protection order violation on that basis alone. This is the main bottleneck in the process, and it is out of your hands. If the sheriff cannot find the respondent, tell the clerk so the court can consider alternative service methods.

After service, the temporary order stays in effect until the date of the full hearing.¹ Carry a certified copy on you. Showing law enforcement the order and proof of service gets a faster response if you need to call.

The Full Hearing

The court sets a full hearing within roughly 30 days of the temporary order. You and the respondent both appear, present evidence, and call witnesses. You have to be there. If you do not show up, the temporary protections are dismissed and you start over. The respondent’s absence does not end the case; the judge can go ahead and grant relief based on your testimony alone.

If the judge finds that domestic abuse occurred, the final order can include any combination of the following:⁵

Exclusion of the respondent from the shared home
Stay-away provisions covering your workplace, school, or other specific locations
A no-contact order barring direct or third-party contact except under conditions the judge names
Temporary child custody and a visitation schedule for the duration of the order
Temporary child support or spousal support, enforced like any other support award
Pet custody
Reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party as part of costs
Any other relief the court finds necessary to protect you and your household

A final order can last anywhere from 90 days to 10 years, at the judge’s discretion, with the length usually reflecting how severe the abuse was and how much ongoing threat remains.⁵

If the Respondent Violates the Order

A first violation of an order of protection is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A second violation within five years of a prior conviction becomes a Class D felony.⁶

An officer with probable cause to believe the respondent violated the order can make a warrantless arrest, even if the violation did not happen in the officer’s presence. Arkansas law also prohibits arresting the petitioner for a violation of the order that runs against the respondent, a protection that exists because abusers sometimes try to turn the situation around on the person the order was meant to protect. An Arkansas order of protection is enforceable in every county in the state, so if you relocate you do not need a new order.⁶

1
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-15-206 – Temporary Order
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-15-202 – Filing Fees
3
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-15-103 – Definitions
4
Arkansas Judiciary. Domestic Violence Forms
5
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-15-205 – Relief Generally
6
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-15-207 – Order of Protection – Enforcement – Penalties – Criminal Jurisdiction
7
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Address Confidentiality Program