Arkansas Laws on Landlocked Property: Petition, Viewers, and Easement

Under Arkansas laws on landlocked property, an owner with no route to a public road or navigable waterway can petition the county court for a private road easement across a neighbor’s land. The process runs through Arkansas Code §§ 27-66-401 through 27-66-405. You give the neighbor written notice, wait 20 days, file a petition if they refuse, go through a court-supervised inspection by three viewers, deposit estimated costs, and then argue the case at an evidentiary hearing. If the court grants the easement, the road can be no wider than 50 feet and attaches permanently to your parcel.¹

When the Statute Applies

Section 27-66-401 is available only when your land has no access at all to a public road or a navigable waterway. It is a court process, not a self-help remedy, and it protects the neighbor’s property at every stage.

One boundary matters up front: a county court cannot grant an easement that crosses a railroad right-of-way. If the only route to a public road runs across railroad tracks, this statute will not help, and you would need to look at other legal options.²

Written Notice and the Neighbor’s Refusal

Before filing anything, send the neighboring landowner written notice at least 20 days before you apply to court. The notice must state the specific dollar amount you are offering to pay for the road. Attach a copy of that notice to your petition when you file. This step gives the neighbor a real chance to negotiate a private agreement before any lawsuit.¹

Filing the Petition

The petition must show three things with specificity: that you gave the required 20-day written notice, that the neighbor refused to grant access, and that you have no legal right to cross the neighbor’s land or otherwise reach a public road. Attach any abstracts, deeds, or plats the petition references. Vague allegations will not survive the court’s initial review.¹

After filing, you must serve the neighbor with a summons, the petition and exhibits, and the court’s notice of preliminary hearing. Service follows the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure. If personal service is not possible, the statute allows publication once per week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at your expense. If no such newspaper exists, posting at the county courthouse satisfies the requirement.¹

The Preliminary Hearing and Appointment of Viewers

The court sets a preliminary hearing that cannot happen sooner than 60 days after you file the petition. At that hearing, the court checks whether service was proper and whether the petition sufficiently alleges notice, refusal, and lack of access. If the petition falls short, the court can dismiss without prejudice, and you can refile after fixing the defects.¹

If the petition passes, the court appoints three viewers to inspect the property. Each party gets at least 10 business days to submit up to three potential viewers. The court picks one from your list, one from the neighbor’s list, and one of its own choosing. That balance is meant to keep the inspection team from feeling stacked against either side.¹

The Viewers’ Report and How Damages Are Measured

The three viewers examine the route you proposed along with any alternatives they consider more appropriate. If a majority concludes the easement is necessary, they must select the path that causes the least harm to the neighbor’s land. Their written report, filed under oath with the county clerk, describes the exact route, identifies affected land and owners, and estimates each owner’s damages.³

Damages are measured as the difference in the neighbor’s land value immediately before and immediately after the easement is ordered. It is not just the value of the strip the road occupies; it also captures the impact on the remaining property. After the report is filed, each party has at least 10 business days to respond in writing, either stipulating to the findings or disputing them. The damage figure is often the central fight later in the case.³

The Court Deposit

Before the case can proceed to an evidentiary hearing, the court issues a preliminary order requiring you to deposit funds into the court registry covering estimated costs. That deposit generally includes:

Viewers’ fees and expenses, including surveyors, chain carriers, and markers they use
The cost of a professional survey to mark the route
Estimated damages, including loss of property value for the area taken, loss of exclusive use, and harm to the neighbor’s remaining property
Notice and publication costs, if service by newspaper was required

If you fail to make the deposit, the court can dismiss the case without prejudice, and you would have one year to refile. The amount can be substantial depending on the length of the proposed road and the value of the land.¹

The Evidentiary Hearing and the Final Order

The evidentiary hearing can go forward once three conditions are met: at least 60 days have passed since filing, you have complied with the court’s preliminary orders, and you have deposited the required funds. Both sides can present evidence, call witnesses, and cross-examine. The viewers’ report is central but not conclusive.⁴

If the court finds the road is necessary, it enters an order establishing the easement, describing the exact route, and setting the width at no more than 50 feet. The order also fixes the final damages owed to each affected landowner. The easement is appurtenant to your land, meaning it permanently attaches to your parcel and transfers automatically if you sell. The neighbor keeps ownership of the underlying land but cannot block the road. Excess deposit funds come back to you after the final order; if costs and damages exceed the deposit, the court can order more.⁴

Who Pays Attorney’s Fees

If the neighbor substantially prevails on the disputed issues, the court must award the neighbor reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The court weighs “substantial” success across four factors: the necessity of the road, the route chosen, the width, and the damages award. So even if the court grants an easement, you can still owe the neighbor’s legal fees if the court sides with the neighbor on most of the contested specifics.⁴

The fee-shifting rule is a real deterrent. If you have any alternative access, or if your proposed route is unreasonably disruptive when a better path exists, pushing the petition could cost you more than the easement itself.

What You Can Do With the Easement

The easement is limited to travel access. The road exists so you can reach your property, not for other uses beyond what the court order specifies. The neighbor keeps ownership of the ground beneath the road and can use it in any way that does not block your passage.

Maintenance falls on you as the easement holder. Any improvements must stay within the width and scope of use in the court order. Widening the road, paving it when the order does not authorize paving, or using it for purposes beyond ingress and egress can expose you to liability.⁴

Penalty for Blocking an Established Road

Arkansas treats obstruction seriously. Blocking a road created under this statute, whether by felling trees, placing barriers, or otherwise making it impassable, is a Class C misdemeanor. On top of the criminal charge, the person who blocks it owes a $100 forfeiture for every day the obstruction remains after they are notified to remove it. That daily figure adds up quickly and is designed to discourage self-help by a neighbor who disagrees with the order.⁵

Appealing to Circuit Court

Either party can appeal the county court’s decision to the circuit court. Under Arkansas Code § 16-13-201, circuit courts have appellate jurisdiction over final orders from county courts in civil cases. The appeal is tried de novo, so the circuit court reviews the facts and the law from scratch rather than only checking for legal error. The losing party gets a genuine second chance to present the case.⁶

If the county court determines during the proceedings that circuit court jurisdiction applies to the matter, it may stay or dismiss the case without prejudice, with refiling allowed within one year.⁴

Alternatives Outside the Statute

The statutory petition is not the only route. Arkansas courts also recognize two common-law easements that can apply to landlocked parcels.

Easement by Necessity

An easement by necessity can arise when a single tract is divided, and the division leaves one parcel without road access. The key requirement is that the landlocked parcel and the neighboring parcel were once under common ownership. If your parcel was carved out of a larger property and the seller kept the portion with road frontage, you may have an implied easement by necessity across the seller’s retained land. It exists by operation of law from the moment the severance creates the landlocked condition, though you may still need a court to formally recognize it if the neighbor disputes it.

Prescriptive Easement

A prescriptive easement is acquired through long, continuous use of someone else’s land without permission. The use must be open and obvious, adverse to the owner’s interests, and uninterrupted for the statutory period. Arkansas follows the common-law standard of seven years of continuous adverse use. Any period of use with the neighbor’s permission resets the clock. If you have been crossing a neighbor’s land openly and without permission for years, talk to an attorney about whether your use meets the threshold before filing the statutory petition, because a prescriptive easement would not require you to pay damages.

1
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-66-401 – Establishment
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-66-405 – Limitation of Authority
3
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-66-402 – Duty of Viewers
4
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-66-403 – Court Order
5
Justia. Arkansas Code 27-66-404 – Penalty for Obstructing
6
Justia. Arkansas Code 16-13-201 – Jurisdiction