To file Arkansas divorce papers, 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, after meeting the state’s 60-day residency requirement. The clerk file-stamps everything, assigns a case number, and the case is officially open. From there you serve your spouse, they have 30 days to answer, and the court cannot enter a final decree until at least three months of Arkansas residency have passed.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved
Confirm Residency and Pick a Ground Before You Fill Anything Out
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Arkansas for at least 60 consecutive days before you can file. That same person also has to keep Arkansas residency for three full months before the judge signs the decree.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved File too early and the court has no jurisdiction. Count the days.
Your complaint also has to state a legal ground for divorce. Arkansas recognizes several:
- General indignities: a pattern of behavior 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.
- Felony or other infamous crime conviction.
- Willful failure to provide basic necessities despite the ability to do so.
The 18-month separation ground is Arkansas’s closest thing to a no-fault option and is usually the easiest to prove because it doesn’t require showing fault by either spouse.2Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-301 – Grounds for Divorce Choose the one you can actually back up with evidence, because it goes right into the complaint.
The Forms You Actually File
The Complaint for Divorce, sometimes called the Petition, is the main document. It identifies both spouses, states your ground for divorce, and tells the court what you want ordered about property, debts, alimony, and custody. Every other filing in the case builds from this one.
Alongside the complaint you file:
- Summons: the formal notice telling your spouse a case has been filed and giving them a deadline to respond.
- Confidential Information Sheet: collects Social Security numbers and other sensitive details for both spouses and any minor children. It stays out of the public record.
- Statistical Control Card: a short record-keeping form for the state.
You can get these forms from the Arkansas Judiciary website or directly from your local circuit clerk’s office. Arkansas Law Help publishes a free interactive divorce packet for straightforward cases with no minor children and no significant property to divide.
When you fill out the complaint, be specific. Use VIN numbers for vehicles, legal descriptions for real property, and full account numbers or last-four digits for financial accounts. List every debt, joint or individual. Include the date of the marriage and the date of separation, because both affect how the court classifies property and calculates the length of the marriage. Vague descriptions invite disputes later and slow the case down.
Uncontested Versus Contested
If your spouse agrees to everything, you can file an uncontested divorce. In uncontested cases Arkansas does not require corroboration of your grounds, so you don’t need a witness to back up why the marriage should end.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-306 – Corroboration You still need corroboration of residency, but that comes from a verified affidavit by someone other than you or your spouse.
If your spouse contests anything, the case is contested. Corroboration of your grounds can be waived in a contested case only if the other spouse agrees to it in writing.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-306 – Corroboration Contested cases usually involve additional filings such as discovery requests and motions, and they take considerably longer.
Where and How to File
You file with the circuit clerk in the county where you live. If you don’t live in Arkansas but your spouse does, you file in your spouse’s county.4FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-303 – Venue The default venue is the filing spouse’s county of residence, not whichever county is most convenient.
Filing fees vary by county, generally landing in the $165 to $200 range depending on local administrative and technology surcharges. When the clerk accepts your documents, they assign a case number and file-stamp everything with the date and time. That stamp starts the clock on several deadlines, so keep the stamped copies.
Many Arkansas counties use electronic filing. You create an account on the portal, upload your documents as PDFs, and pay by credit card or electronic check. The system generates file-stamped copies you can download. If you file on paper, you can get stamped copies at the clerk’s window.
If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fee
You can ask the court to let you proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying costs. Under Rule 72 you file an affidavit swearing that poverty prevents you from paying and providing details on your income, assets, bank accounts, and dependents.5Arkansas Courts. Affidavit in Support of Request to Proceed In Forma Pauperis A judge reviews it. If granted, the waiver covers the filing fee and may also cover the cost of sheriff service.
Serving Your Spouse
After filing, the file-stamped summons and complaint have to be delivered to your spouse. Arkansas does not let you hand the papers over yourself. You use one of the approved methods.
Sheriff, Process Server, or Certified Mail
- Sheriff: the county sheriff’s office delivers the papers, generally for $30 to $50.
- Private process server: a licensed individual delivers the papers directly to your spouse. Costs usually run higher than sheriff service.
- Certified mail with restricted delivery and return receipt: only your spouse can sign. You attach the signed receipt to a Proof of Service affidavit and file it.
Waiver of Service
A cooperative spouse can skip formal service by signing an Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Service. Signing acknowledges receiving notice of the case but does not agree with anything in the complaint. Once the waiver is filed, the 30-day response clock starts and the case moves forward without the cost and delay of formal service. This is the fastest route in uncontested divorces.
Service by Publication
If you genuinely can’t 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 the 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.6Justia Law. Arkansas Code 16-58-130 – Constructive Service, Warning Orders You have to file an affidavit showing diligent efforts to find them before the court will approve this method.
Filing Proof of Service and the 120-Day Deadline
Whatever method you use, proof of service has to be filed with the circuit clerk. Sheriff and process server proof is a completed affidavit identifying the date, time, and location of service. For certified mail, the signed return receipt card gets attached to the affidavit. If service isn’t completed within 120 days of filing the complaint, the court can dismiss the case without prejudice on its own or on a motion from your spouse.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 16-58-134 – Time Limit for Service You can refile after a dismissal without prejudice, but you lose the time and money already spent.
Exchange the Affidavit of Financial Means
Both spouses must complete and exchange a six-page Affidavit of Financial Means at least three days before any court hearing where financial issues are on the table. The original notarized affidavit also has to be provided to the court.8Arkansas Courts. Affidavit of Financial Means It covers income from every source, monthly expenses, all assets, and all debts.
Take it seriously. Hiding assets or misleading the court on this affidavit can bring contempt charges, fines, attorney’s fees, and up to six months in jail. Serious violations can be prosecuted as felony perjury, carrying three to ten years in prison.8Arkansas Courts. Affidavit of Financial Means Pull bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, and retirement account statements before you start filling it out.
Extra Forms When You Have Minor Children
Divorces involving minor children require paperwork beyond the basic complaint. You need a parenting plan or custody agreement addressing physical custody, visitation, decision-making authority for education and medical care, and holiday arrangements. Arkansas also requires a child support worksheet based on the state’s child support guidelines, which calculate the obligation from both parents’ incomes. The worksheets are on the Arkansas Judiciary website.
The calculation is driven by both parents’ gross incomes and the number of children. The court treats the guideline number as a presumptive starting point and can deviate only for documented reasons. Get the income figures right the first time. An error in the worksheet changes the support amount and can be difficult to fix after the decree is entered.
Response Deadline and the Minimum Wait
Once served, your spouse has 30 days to file a written answer. If they signed a waiver of service, the 30-day clock starts when 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 30 days, you can ask the court for a default judgment, and the court can grant what you requested in your complaint. A spouse who later appears can ask the court to overturn a default within a limited window, so silence isn’t necessarily permanent.
Regardless of how the response plays out, Arkansas law requires a minimum of 30 days between the filing date and the final decree. That floor comes from the residency math: 60 days before filing and three months before the decree leaves at least a 30-day gap.1FindLaw. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters Which Must Be Proved Even uncontested cases rarely wrap up in exactly 30 days once you factor in scheduling, but that’s the statutory minimum.