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Filing for divorce in Arkansas

What you file, where you file, what it costs, and the rules that catch people out. Compiled from Arkansas court and statute sources.

How to read these entries.

This is general legal information compiled from state court websites, state statutes, and official self-help materials. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone.

Why we publish it. Most people meet the family law system once, at the worst moment of their life, knowing nothing about it. That gap is where people get overcharged and poorly served. This page exists so you can walk in already knowing roughly how your state works, ask sharper questions, and recognize when an answer does not sound right. It is here to help you hold your attorney to a standard, not to replace what they do.

Talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. That is the normal path, not a fallback for when something goes wrong. Nothing here can account for the facts of your marriage, your finances, or your children, and those facts are usually what determines the outcome. Many states also have free legal aid and court self-help centers, and we link to them by state.

Verify before you rely on anything. Every entry cites its source. Follow that citation to the official state site and confirm it still says what we say it says, and that it applies to your situation. Filing fees, form numbers, e-filing rules, and local standing orders change frequently, and a form number that was right last year can get your filing rejected today.

The same state can treat you very differently depending on whether your spouse agrees, whether you have minor children, whether you file jointly or alone, and which county or judge hears it. Waiting periods run from filing in some states and from service in others. Deadlines described here as fixed are the statutory default, and a judge may still have narrow discretion in an emergency.

If you are in danger, do not wait on any of these timelines. An order of protection is a separate and much faster process than a divorce, and it does not depend on any waiting period described on this page.

Your roadmap
What you file
Complaint for Divorce, plus three copies
Domestic Relations Cover Sheet, required by Administrative Order No. 8
Confidential Information Sheet, if you have children
Summons, issued by the clerk after filing
Entry of Appearance and Waiver of Service, notarized, if your spouse cooperates
Resident Witness Affidavit, corroborating your physical presence in Arkansas
Affidavit of Financial Means, exchanged at least three days before any financial hearing
Decree of Divorce with any property settlement agreement and parenting plan, plus an in forma pauperis petition if needed
Where you fileCircuit Court Clerk in the county where either spouse lives. Arkansas also offers eFlex e-filing.
What it costs$165 uniform across all 75 counties, or about $185 to e-file. Waivable.
The sequence
1. Confirm the two-stage residency rule: 60 days before you file, and three full months before the judge can sign the decree.
2. Line up a corroborating witness, someone over 18 who can personally attest to your residency. Arkansas will not take your word alone.
3. File the complaint, cover sheet, and three copies with the Circuit Court Clerk, then ask the clerk to issue the summons.
4. Serve your spouse within 120 days, or have them sign a notarized Entry of Appearance and Waiver. They then have 30 days to answer.
5. Exchange Affidavits of Financial Means.
6. After the 30-day wait, request a hearing date. Some judges will grant an uncontested divorce by affidavit with no hearing if you and your witness file sworn depositions.
Courts have no general power to shorten the 30-day waiting period. If you are in danger, an order of protection is a separate and much faster process that does not depend on this clock, and you do not have to wait on the divorce to ask for one. Note that a letter agreeing to the divorce is not a legally sufficient Answer. Since Act 604 of 2021, Arkansas applies a rebuttable presumption that joint custody is in the child's best interest, which either parent can overcome with evidence.
Court forms

Arkansas files a Complaint for Divorce with a Domestic Relations Cover Sheet in the county Circuit Court. The $165 filing fee can be waived for low-income filers. Most agreed couples file on the "general indignities" ground to avoid the 18-month separation.

Arkansas Legal Services: divorce helpFree divorce forms and plain-language guides for self-represented Arkansans.
Arkansas Judiciary (arcourts.gov)Official court information and Circuit Court filing details by county.
State rules and gotchas

The only pure no-fault ground needs 18 months apart, one of the longest waits anywhere Verified Jul 2026

Arkansas's sole no-fault ground requires living separate and apart for 18 continuous months without cohabitation, and any resumption of intimacy resets the clock. Most couples avoid that by filing on the fault ground of "general indignities," which needs no separation and works as Arkansas's practical stand-in for irreconcilable differences.

Source: Ark. Code Section 9-12-301. Confirm the current rule with the court before relying on it.

You cannot get divorced on your word alone; a witness must corroborate Verified Jul 2026

Arkansas requires a corroborating witness to confirm your residency, and in contested cases, your grounds too. Uncontested cases waive corroboration of the grounds, but never of residency. Residency itself is two-stage: 60 days in Arkansas before filing, and three full months before the decree can enter.

Source: Ark. Code Sections 9-12-306 and 9-12-307. Confirm with the court.

A covenant marriage doubles the separation to two years Verified Jul 2026

Arkansas is one of only three states with covenant marriage. If you signed one, the no-fault separation period stretches to two years and the fault grounds are more limited, on top of required counseling. Property, meanwhile, starts from a presumption of an equal 50/50 split.

Source: Ark. Code Sections 9-11-808 and 9-12-315. Confirm with the court.

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