Clearing a criminal record in Arkansas
In Arkansas it is called sealing: sealing does not destroy your records, but they become confidential. Some misdemeanor and felony convictions may be cleared.
Checked against official sources: October 25, 2026. · Free letter and checklist ↓
Can my record be cleared in Arkansas?
Sealing (petition and order to seal; formerly called expungement) — Sealing does not destroy your records, but they become confidential. After a sealing order, the conduct is treated by law as never having happened and you may say the sealed record does not exist, though courts, prosecutors, some employers like criminal justice agencies, and the Arkansas Crime Information Center can still see it.
Arkansas has 5 ways to clear a record. Each covers different records and has its own waiting period.
Sealing of misdemeanor and violation convictions (Ark. Code 16-90-1405)
Misdemeanor and violation convictions
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Most misdemeanors and violations | No waiting period You can file immediately after you finish your sentence and pay restitution, court costs and any license reinstatement fees. | Completion of sentence, including restitution, court costs and any driver's license reinstatement fees |
Class A negligent homicide, battery 3rd degree, indecent exposure, public sexual indecency, sexual assault 4th degree, domestic battering 3rd degree | 5 years You must wait 5 years after finishing your sentence. | Completion of sentence |
Misdemeanor DWI or BWI (5-65-103) | 10 years You must wait until the DWI lookback period has passed. The lookback is 10 years, and the official ACIC petition asks you to confirm it has been more than 10 years since your first DWI or BWI conviction. | Your first DWI/BWI conviction |
- Not eligible
- Traffic offenses (other than parking, weight or vehicle defect) committed in a motor vehicle while you held a commercial driver license or learner's permit
- Limits
- No limit on the number of misdemeanor petitions. After a denial you must wait 90 days (1 year for the 5-year offenses and DWI) to refile.
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-90-1405, 16-90-1413, 16-90-1415(a), 16-90-1419
Source: Official text
Sealing of felony convictions (Ark. Code 16-90-1406)
Nonviolent Class C and D felonies, unclassified felonies, Class A and B drug felonies under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, nonviolent felonies committed under age 18, and (after a wait) violent Class C and D felonies
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Nonviolent Class C or D felony, unclassified felony, Class A/B drug felony, nonviolent felony committed under 18 | No waiting period You can file immediately after you complete your sentence. | Completion of sentence |
Violent Class C or D felony | 5 years You can file 5 years after you complete your sentence. | Completion of sentence |
Felony DWI or BWI | 10 years You must wait until the DWI lookback periods have passed: 10 years for a fourth or fifth offense, and 20 years when the felony was a sixth or later offense. | Your first DWI/BWI offense |
- Not eligible
- Class Y felonies; Class A or B felonies (except drug felonies); manslaughter; unclassified felonies with a maximum over 10 years; felony sex offenses; felonies involving violence listed in Ark. Code 5-4-501(d)(2); felony traffic offenses committed while holding a commercial driver license or learner's permit
- Limits
- You can have no more than one previous felony conviction (felonies from the same criminal episode count as one). After a denial you must wait 1 year to refile.
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-90-1406, 16-90-1407, 16-90-1408, 16-90-1415(b)
Source: Official text
Sealing of arrests, dismissals, nolle prosequi and acquittals (Ark. Code 16-90-1409, 16-90-1410)
Arrests with no charges filed, cases dismissed, nolle prossed, acquitted (except not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect), or where the prosecutor decided not to file charges
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Arrest, no charges filed | 1 year You can petition if no charges were filed within one year of the arrest. | Date of arrest |
Nolle prosequi | 1 year You can petition one year after the nolle prosequi order. | Date of the nolle prosequi order |
Dismissal, acquittal, or decision not to file charges | No waiting period You can petition right away. | Dismissal or acquittal |
- Not eligible
- Acquittals by reason of mental disease or defect
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-90-1409, 16-90-1410, 16-90-1415(d)
Source: Official text
Sealing after a governor's pardon (Ark. Code 16-90-1411)
Convictions pardoned by the Governor, and felonies committed under age 16 with a suspended sentence that were pardoned
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Pardoned conviction | No waiting period When the Governor issues a pardon, the court is notified and seals the conviction; for pardons before July 15, 1991, you file a copy of the pardon with the court. | The pardon |
- Not eligible
- Pardons for offenses against a victim under 18, sex offenses, or offenses causing death or serious physical injury
Law: Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1411
Source: Official text
Dismissal and sealing after a specialty court program (Ark. Code 16-90-1601 to 16-90-1603, Act 691 of 2025)
Cases of people who successfully complete a specialty court program: pre-adjudication probation, drug court, SWIFT probation, DWI/BWI court, mental health court, veterans treatment court, juvenile drug court or family treatment court
| Kind of case | Waiting period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
Successful completion of a specialty court program | No waiting period The specialty court judge may dismiss and seal the case as soon as you complete the program, if the prosecutor recommends it. | Completion of the program |
DWI or BWI case in a specialty court | 10 years A DWI or BWI cannot be dismissed, and sealing cannot be ordered, until the DWI lookback period has passed. | Your first DWI/BWI offense |
- Limits
- The usual limit of one previous felony does not apply to sealing ordered by a specialty court judge.
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-90-1601 to 16-90-1603 (Act 691 of 2025); Ark. Code 16-90-1602(b)(2)
Source: Official text
When can I file? Waiting periods in Arkansas
Pick your kind of case and the date the waiting period runs from. We add the waiting period from the law; nothing else.
How to file in Arkansas
Sealing of misdemeanor and violation convictions (Ark. Code 16-90-1405)
Fill out the ACIC Petition and Order to Seal Misdemeanors and file them with the court where you were sentenced. Serve the prosecutor within 3 days; the prosecutor has 30 days to oppose. The court must seal unless there is clear and convincing evidence it should not.
- Cost
- No filing fee: the clerk may not collect a fee for filing a uniform petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419, as amended by Act 680 of 2019
Sealing of felony convictions (Ark. Code 16-90-1406)
Fill out the ACIC Petition and Order to Seal Felony and file them, notarized, in the circuit court where you were sentenced, and serve the prosecutor within 3 days. The prosecutor has 30 days to oppose; if so, the court may hold a hearing. The court may grant it if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that sealing furthers the interests of justice.
- Cost
- No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419
Sealing of arrests, dismissals, nolle prosequi and acquittals (Ark. Code 16-90-1409, 16-90-1410)
File the ACIC petition and order in the court where the case was dismissed (or, for an arrest, in the county of arrest). The court must grant it unless the state shows it would put the public at risk or not further the interests of justice.
- Cost
- No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419
Sealing after a governor's pardon (Ark. Code 16-90-1411)
Use the ACIC Petition and Order to Seal Records of a Pardoned Offender if the record was not sealed automatically.
- Cost
- No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419
Dismissal and sealing after a specialty court program (Ark. Code 16-90-1601 to 16-90-1603, Act 691 of 2025)
Ask your specialty court team or judge. The judge decides after a recommendation from the prosecutor and a review of your criminal history; sealing follows the usual ACIC uniform order.
- Cost
- No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419
Court self-help
Free help in Arkansas
National help
Free letter and checklist
Letter: ask for a copy of your own record
A request to the state records office (Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), Arkansas Department of Public Safety) with your name, date of birth and mailing address.
Checklist: what to gather before you file
Case numbers, court papers, proof you finished your sentence, forms and fees for Arkansas.
Clearing a record in Arkansas by topic
Sealing of misdemeanor and violation convictions (Ark. Code 16-90-1405) in Arkansas
Which records each remedy covers, who is not eligible and what changes afterwards.
Waiting periods in Arkansas
How long you wait for each kind of case, and a date helper.
How to file in Arkansas
The steps, the cost, fee waivers, the forms and court self-help.
Juvenile records in Arkansas
Juvenile records can be expunged by order of the juvenile court; ACIC publishes a Juvenile Expungement Order form for this purpose.
Pardons in Arkansas
- Who decides
- Governor of Arkansas (after screening and recommendation by the Arkansas Board of Parole)
- How
- Submit the Governor's pardon application. The Board of Parole screens it and may hold a hearing, then recommends to the Governor; if the Governor intends to grant, there is a 30-day public comment period. A granted pardon leads to sealing of most convictions.
Law: Ark. Code Ann. § 16-90-1411
After your record is cleared in Arkansas
After the order to seal, your underlying conduct is deemed never to have occurred, and you may state that it did not occur and that a sealed record does not exist. Sealed records can still be released to you, to criminal justice agencies for jobs with them, to courts after a later conviction, to prosecutors and to ACIC (16-90-1416), and a sealed conviction can still be used in later criminal cases, for habitual offender status and for impeachment.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1417(b)(1)
Get your own record in Arkansas
Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC), Arkansas Department of Public Safety
Pay the $22 non-refundable search fee online by card, then complete and submit the Authorization for Review of Criminal History Information form. ACIC does not do background checks for employers (Arkansas State Police does).
Letter: ask the state records office for a copy of your record
Good to know in Arkansas
- Since Act 680 of 2019, court clerks may not charge a fee to file a petition to seal.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1419
- Most misdemeanors and many nonviolent felonies can be sealed immediately after you finish your sentence, with no waiting period.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1405, 16-90-1406
- ACIC has 30 days to update its records after it receives a sealing order (ACIC).
Changes in 2024–2026
Act 665 of 2025 rewrote the sealing rule for victims of human trafficking. Act 691 of 2025 created a single specialty court sealing law: after you complete a drug, DWI/BWI, mental health, veterans or other specialty court, the judge may dismiss and seal right away with no limit on prior felonies (DWI/BWI only after the lookback period); it repealed Ark. Code 5-4-906.
Law: Ark. Code 16-90-1412; Ark. Code 16-90-1601 to 1603
Questions about clearing a record in Arkansas
What is clearing a record called in Arkansas?
Sealing (petition and order to seal; formerly called expungement). Sealing does not destroy your records, but they become confidential. After a sealing order, the conduct is treated by law as never having happened and you may say the sealed record does not exist, though courts, prosecutors, some employers like criminal justice agencies, and the Arkansas Crime Information Center can still see it.
Can convictions be cleared in Arkansas?
Sealing of misdemeanor and violation convictions: Misdemeanor and violation convictions. Sealing of felony convictions: Nonviolent Class C and D felonies, unclassified felonies, Class A and B drug felonies under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, nonviolent felonies committed under age 18, and (after a wait) violent Class C and D felonies. Sealing of arrests, dismissals, nolle prosequi and acquittals: Arrests with no charges filed, cases dismissed, nolle prossed, acquitted (except not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect), or where the prosecutor decided not to file charges. Sealing after a governor's pardon: Convictions pardoned by the Governor, and felonies committed under age 16 with a suspended sentence that were pardoned. Dismissal and sealing after a specialty court program: Cases of people who successfully complete a specialty court program: pre-adjudication probation, drug court, SWIFT probation, DWI/BWI court, mental health court, veterans treatment court, juvenile drug court or family treatment court.
How long do I have to wait in Arkansas?
Most misdemeanors and violations: No waiting period, counted from completion of sentence, including restitution, court costs and any driver's license reinstatement fees; Class A negligent homicide, battery 3rd degree, indecent exposure, public sexual indecency, sexual assault 4th degree, domestic battering 3rd degree: 5 years, counted from completion of sentence; Misdemeanor DWI or BWI (5-65-103): 10 years, counted from your first DWI/BWI conviction; Nonviolent Class C or D felony, unclassified felony, Class A/B drug felony, nonviolent felony committed under 18: No waiting period, counted from completion of sentence.
How much does it cost to clear a record in Arkansas?
Sealing of misdemeanor and violation convictions: No filing fee: the clerk may not collect a fee for filing a uniform petition to seal. Sealing of felony convictions: No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal. Sealing of arrests, dismissals, nolle prosequi and acquittals: No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal. Sealing after a governor's pardon: No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal. Dismissal and sealing after a specialty court program: No filing fee for a uniform petition to seal.
Can juvenile records be cleared in Arkansas?
Juvenile records can be expunged by order of the juvenile court; ACIC publishes a Juvenile Expungement Order form for this purpose.
What can I say after my record is cleared in Arkansas?
After the order to seal, your underlying conduct is deemed never to have occurred, and you may state that it did not occur and that a sealed record does not exist. Sealed records can still be released to you, to criminal justice agencies for jobs with them, to courts after a later conviction, to prosecutors and to ACIC (16-90-1416), and a sealed conviction can still be used in later criminal cases, for habitual offender status and for impeachment.
How do I get a copy of my criminal record in Arkansas?
Pay the $22 non-refundable search fee online by card, then complete and submit the Authorization for Review of Criminal History Information form. ACIC does not do background checks for employers (Arkansas State Police does).
Where can I get free help in Arkansas?
Legal Aid of Arkansas (Arkansas Law Help) and Arkansas Legal Services Partnership.