Arkansas Squatters’ Rights: Adverse Possession and Act 238

In Arkansas, a squatter has no rights simply by occupying your property. The only way a squatter can gain legal ownership is through adverse possession, which requires color of title, payment of property taxes, and open, continuous occupation for at least seven years (fifteen for wild, unimproved land). Short of that, a squatter is an unlawful occupant, and as of 2025 unauthorized squatting is a Class A misdemeanor that lets law enforcement remove the person without a civil eviction lawsuit.

Squatter, Trespasser, or Adverse Possessor

The three terms describe different situations, and the right response depends on which one you’re dealing with.

A trespasser enters property without permission. Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor (a felony in some circumstances) under Arkansas Code 5-39-203.¹

A squatter moves in and stays. Under Act 238 of 2025, refusing to leave a property after the owner asks is now a standalone criminal offense.²

Adverse possession is different. It’s a civil claim in which someone argues they have earned legal title by occupying property under specific conditions for years. It is not something a squatter can casually acquire, and most squatters never come close to satisfying the requirements.

What Adverse Possession Requires in Arkansas

Arkansas Code 18-11-106 sets the statutory requirements, and the statute explicitly preserves the common-law elements courts have long required.³ A claimant must satisfy both.

Color of Title

Color of title is a document that appears to give the claimant ownership but is legally defective. A deed with a forged signature, an improperly executed will, or a procedurally flawed tax sale certificate can all qualify. The document looks legitimate on its face but would not survive a title challenge.

Every pathway to an Arkansas adverse possession claim runs through color of title. Someone cannot walk onto a vacant lot, mow it for seven years, and file a claim. They need a paper trail, even a flawed one.

The Common-Law Elements

Arkansas case law requires possession to be:

Actual. The claimant physically uses the property the way a real owner would.
Open and notorious. The use is visible enough that a reasonable owner would notice it.
Hostile. The claimant occupies without the owner’s permission. A license or lease defeats this.
Exclusive. The claimant possesses the property to the exclusion of the true owner and the public.
Continuous. Possession runs unbroken for the full statutory period. Walking away for a year resets the clock.

Taxes and Time

The claimant must also pay ad valorem property taxes on the land for the statutory period, and the length depends on the type of land:

Improved or enclosed land: seven consecutive years of tax payments under color of title.
Unimproved and unenclosed land: seven consecutive years of tax payments under color of title.
Wild and unimproved land, meaning land never developed or cultivated: fifteen consecutive years of tax payments.³

If the true owner has also been paying property taxes, or made a good-faith effort to pay taxes that were misapplied by the taxing authority, the claimant’s tax payments won’t establish color of title. An attentive, tax-paying owner has a strong statutory defense built in.

Removing a Squatter Under Act 238

Before 2025, squatting was purely a civil matter in Arkansas. Owners had to go through unlawful detainer even when the occupant had no plausible claim. Act 238 changed that by making unlawful squatting a criminal offense.²

A person commits unlawful squatting if they:

Enter or remain in a dwelling or on real property without the owner’s consent,
Have no colorable claim of ownership or legal right to occupy the property, and
Refuse to leave after being asked by the owner or their authorized agent.

Unlawful squatting is a Class A misdemeanor.

The practical change is the removal process. When an owner files a sworn complaint alleging unlawful squatting, provides proof of ownership, and swears the occupant lacks consent, law enforcement can investigate and, on probable cause, arrest the squatter and remove them from the property. That is much faster than a civil eviction, which can take weeks.

Act 238 also builds in affirmative defenses so the law can’t be turned against people who belong on the property. A person can defeat prosecution by showing they are a tenant under a valid lease, a guest of someone with a legal right to occupy, or that they held a good-faith belief in their right to be there. The law separates unauthorized squatters from tenants involved in landlord-tenant disputes.

When You Still Need the Civil Eviction Process

Act 238 does not replace unlawful detainer. Some situations still require the civil route, particularly when the occupant raises a defense that creates ambiguity about their right to be there or when law enforcement declines to arrest.

The process starts with a written notice demanding the occupant leave. Arkansas law requires a three-day notice for tenants who haven’t paid rent.⁴ Holdover tenants and other occupants may require a longer notice period.

If the occupant ignores the notice, the owner files an unlawful detainer complaint in the circuit court of the county where the property sits, along with an affidavit, summons, and notice of intent to issue a writ of possession. The occupant can file an objection and answer, and the court schedules a hearing.

If the court rules for the owner, it issues a writ of possession directing the county sheriff to physically remove the occupant. The sheriff’s department is the only entity authorized to carry out a forced removal. Service and execution fees typically run between $30 and $100 depending on the county.

What Owners Cannot Do

Arkansas prohibits self-help evictions. No matter how obvious the situation seems, an owner cannot change the locks, remove the doors, shut off water or electricity, or otherwise try to force an occupant out without a court order or law enforcement action. These shortcuts are illegal and can create liability for the owner, even against someone with no right to be on the property.

The lawful paths to removing an occupant are the criminal process under Act 238, where law enforcement handles the removal, and the civil unlawful detainer process, where the sheriff executes a writ of possession after a court ruling. A do-it-yourself eviction almost always makes the situation worse.

How to Keep a Squatter From Ever Getting a Claim

Adverse possession claims succeed when owners aren’t paying attention. Most defensive measures come down to staying engaged with the property.

Pay property taxes every year. The statute specifically protects owners who pay or make a good-faith effort to pay. If both you and a would-be claimant are paying, the claimant’s payments won’t establish color of title.
Inspect the property regularly, especially vacant land, rural acreage, and inherited property you don’t live near. An annual visit is the minimum.
Post the property. “No Trespassing” signs are evidence that permission was never granted, which undermines any later claim that the occupant thought they were welcome.
Put any permission in writing. A written license or lease destroys the hostility element. If a neighbor wants to graze cattle on your back acreage, document it and keep a copy.
Act as soon as you find an unauthorized occupant. The seven-year clock only runs while you do nothing. Filing an unlawful detainer action or a criminal complaint under Act 238 interrupts any adverse possession timeline.

The owners who lose adverse possession cases are almost always absentee owners of rural or vacant property who go years without checking on the land, watching their tax records, or responding to signs of occupation. Attention is the defense.

1
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-39-203 – Criminal Trespass
2
Arkansas State Legislature. HB1049 – To Amend Arkansas Law Concerning Criminal Offenses
3
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 18-11-106 – Adverse Possession
4
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 18-60-304 – Actions Constituting Unlawful Detainer