Arkansas Probation and Parole: Eligibility, Conditions, and Violations

Arkansas probation and parole are two different ways of serving a felony sentence in the community: probation is imposed by a judge in place of prison, while parole is granted by the Post-Prison Transfer Board after you’ve served part of a prison term. Both are supervised day-to-day by a community supervision officer with the Division of Community Correction (DCC), and both come with written conditions that, if broken, can lead to sanctions or a return to prison.¹

Which One You’re On Matters

Probation is a sentencing option. The judge suspends your sentence and places you in the community under conditions, and the sentencing court keeps authority over your case. Any revocation goes back before that same judge.² Your probation term cannot last longer than the maximum prison sentence allowed for your offense.³

Parole is a release mechanism. After you’ve served the required portion of a prison sentence, the Post-Prison Transfer Board can grant parole if it decides you can return to the community without a public-safety risk.⁴ While on parole you remain in the legal custody of the releasing agency, and the Board — not a judge — holds authority over your case. Arkansas also uses a closely related category called post-release supervision, which follows the same general framework under its own statutes.⁵

When You Become Eligible for Parole

Meeting the minimum time makes you eligible for consideration; it does not guarantee release. The Board evaluates each case individually and considers risk-needs assessment results before voting. Minimums, with credit for good-time allowances, are:⁶

First offender age 21 or older: one-third of the sentence, or one-half if the fact-finder determined a deadly weapon was used.
First offender under 21: eligible any time after commitment.
Second offender or Class Y felony: one-half of the sentence.
Third offender: three-quarters of the sentence.
Fourth offender: not eligible for parole, though good-time credits still apply.
Life sentence: not eligible unless the Governor commutes the sentence to a term of years.

Standard Conditions and Reporting

Your officer will give you a written statement of conditions at the start of your term and tell you that failing to comply puts your liberty at risk.⁷ Specific conditions are set by the sentencing court for probation or by the Post-Prison Transfer Board for parole, but the standard set typically includes:

Maintaining full-time lawful employment, generally at least 30 hours per week, or being enrolled in school or vocational training. Your officer can grant exceptions.
Notifying your officer at least ten days before changing where or with whom you live, and reporting an unexpected change within 72 hours.
Submitting to random drug and alcohol testing.
Not knowingly associating with other convicted felons or co-defendants without your officer’s permission.
Not leaving the judicial district (probation) or the state (parole) without advance permission.
Reporting any arrest or law enforcement contact within 72 hours.
Paying all court-ordered fines, fees, and restitution.

The court or the Board can add special conditions such as substance abuse treatment, a curfew, or electronic monitoring. Your officer can visit your home or workplace at any time and confiscate contraband in plain view, and can request or issue a warrant if there’s reason to believe you’ve violated a condition.

After release from incarceration, plan to report to your assigned officer for intake within 24 hours or by the next working day.⁸ Confirm the exact time and location before you leave the facility. Missing that first check-in is one of the fastest ways to open a violation file.

Supervision Fees

Arkansas charges $35 a month to every person on probation, parole, or post-release supervision. The Board of Corrections can adjust the fee by up to 20%, but it cannot exceed $50 per month and cannot be raised more than once every two calendar years.⁹ That’s on top of any court-ordered fines, restitution, and costs, and electronic monitoring or specialty drug testing programs can carry their own costs. Falling behind can itself become a violation, so raise any hardship with your officer before you miss a payment.

What Happens When You Violate

Officers group violations into two buckets. Technical violations include things like missing an appointment, failing a drug test, or moving without permission. New criminal offenses are treated more seriously. The distinction matters because Arkansas channels most technical violations through a system of intermediate sanctions before anyone files for full revocation.

Intermediate Sanctions

The DCC keeps an intermediate sanctions grid that assigns point values to common violations and guides officers toward a proportionate response. Positive behavior — completing education, workforce development, or community service — earns points that offset violations.⁷ Available sanctions include community service, increased substance abuse screening and treatment, increased monitoring including electronic monitoring and home confinement, and short-term incarceration of up to 7 days in a county or regional jail or up to 90 days in a Division of Correction or Division of Community Correction facility.

Incarceration as an intermediate sanction cannot be used more than six times on the same person. If accumulated jail time from intermediate sanctions exceeds 30 days in a county facility or 360 days in a state facility, the officer must recommend full revocation instead.⁷

Probation follows a similar graduated approach. A person on probation can be confined for a violation without full revocation. After being confined twice for technical or serious violations, or six times total, the state can seek full revocation on the next violation.¹⁰ The state can also skip the graduated approach and seek immediate revocation if it proves by a preponderance of the evidence that you’re engaging in behavior that threatens the community.

Probation Revocation Hearings

If a formal revocation petition is filed, you’re entitled to two hearings. First, a preliminary hearing to determine whether there’s reasonable cause to believe you violated a condition. Second, a full revocation hearing before the sentencing court, which must happen within 60 days of your arrest.²

At both hearings, you have the right to hear the evidence against you and challenge it, present your own evidence and witnesses, be represented by an attorney, and confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses unless the court makes a specific finding of good cause to restrict that right. The court can admit letters, affidavits, and documents that wouldn’t be admissible at trial. The standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence. If the court finds a violation, it can extend your probation, modify your conditions, or revoke your suspended sentence and send you to prison.²

Parole and Post-Release Revocation Hearings

Parole and post-release revocation moves faster. The hearing must be scheduled within 7 days of your arrest and conducted within 14 days, excluding weekends, holidays, and delays from natural disasters. When the hearing happens within that 14-day window, no separate preliminary hearing is required.¹¹

You must receive written notice at least 72 hours in advance stating the date, time, location, and specific violations alleged. You have the right to hear the evidence, present a defense, call witnesses, and confront the state’s witnesses. One important difference from probation: you can hire an attorney, but the state is not required to appoint one if you can’t afford counsel.¹¹ You can file a motion for appointment of counsel with the hearing examiner, but appointment isn’t guaranteed.¹² The examiner decides by a preponderance of the evidence whether you inexcusably failed to comply. If revocation is ordered, you can appeal.

When Graduated Sanctions Don’t Apply

Some situations bypass the sanctions grid. If the Post-Prison Transfer Board determines that a parolee has been charged with a violent felony or a felony requiring sex offender registration, the Board must issue an arrest warrant and the parolee must be detained pending a mandatory revocation hearing.¹³ If you’re convicted of, plead guilty to, or plead no contest to any felony while on parole and receive a new prison sentence, the Board can revoke your parole without a hearing at all.

Getting Off Supervision Early

Arkansas has an earned-discharge mechanism for felony sentences entered on or after July 27, 2011, provided the offense qualifies under the earned-discharge statutes. If you accumulate enough days through a combination of time served and earned credits to equal the total days in your sentence, the DCC calculates a discharge date and notifies both the prosecuting attorney and the Post-Prison Transfer Board at least 45 days beforehand.¹⁴

Either the prosecutor or the Board has 30 days to file a written objection. If an objection is filed, the DCC suspends the discharge and you can petition the sentencing court for a review hearing, which must be held within 14 days. If no objection is filed within the 30-day window, you can petition the court to discharge you immediately.¹⁴ Not every sentence qualifies; if you’re unsure, your officer or the DCC can calculate whether you’ve accrued sufficient earned-time credits.

Moving Out of State

Moving out of Arkansas while on supervision goes through the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS). Transfer is a privilege, not a right, and requires cooperation between Arkansas as the sending state and the state you plan to move to as the receiving state.¹⁵

A mandatory transfer applies when Arkansas approves your request, you have more than 90 days remaining on supervision, you’re in substantial compliance with your conditions, and you have a qualifying reason such as family residence or employment. When those criteria are met, the receiving state generally must accept your case. A discretionary transfer applies when you don’t meet all of the mandatory criteria but both states agree the move supports your success and public safety.¹⁵ The application fee in Arkansas is $100.¹⁶ The process takes time because the receiving state must investigate your proposed living arrangements and supervision plan, so start the conversation with your officer well before your intended move.

Voting After a Felony Conviction

You cannot vote in Arkansas while you’re still on probation or parole for a felony. Your voting rights are restored only after you’ve been fully discharged from supervision, satisfied all terms of imprisonment, and paid all applicable court costs, fines, restitution, and supervision fees. Once those conditions are met, you must provide proof of completion to the voter registration department of your county clerk’s office and submit a new voter registration application. The governing authority is Amendment 51 to the Arkansas Constitution.

1
Arkansas Department of Corrections. About Us – Division of Community Correction
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-307 – Probation Generally – Revocation Hearings
3
Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-306 – Time Period Generally
4
Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-701 – Authority to Grant and Parameters of Parole
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Arkansas Department of Corrections. Parole and Post-Release Supervision Process
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Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-607 – Parole Eligibility
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Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-1907 – Post-Release Supervision
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Arkansas General Assembly. Parole Process
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Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-104 – Supervision Fee
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FindLaw. Arkansas Code 16-93-308 – Probation Generally – Revocation Hearings
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Arkansas General Assembly. Revocation of Parole and Post-Release Supervision Rule
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Arkansas Department of Corrections. FAQs – Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board
13
Justia. Arkansas Code 16-93-705 – Revocation
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Code of Arkansas Rules. 16 CAR 23-602 – Early Discharge of Supervision
15
Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. Starting the Transfer Process
16
Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. Fees