Arkansas Warrant Search: How to Check If You Have a Warrant (2026)

Arkansas does not have one website where you can search your own name and see every active warrant in the state. Warrant records are created and held at the county level, by whichever Sheriff's Office and Circuit Clerk handled the case, so checking your own status usually means combining a statewide court case search with a call or visit to a specific county. This guide also flags a popular Arkansas tool that a lot of people mistake for a warrant search but genuinely is not one.

Information last verified on 2026-07-15. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Arrest Warrants vs. Bench Warrants in Arkansas

An arrest warrant is issued after police present a judge with evidence establishing probable cause that you committed a crime, and it authorizes officers to take you into custody wherever you're found. A bench warrant, the more common everyday situation, is issued directly by a judge, usually because someone missed a court date, failed to pay a court-ordered fine, or violated a term of probation. Bench warrants typically don't trigger an active manhunt; they sit on file until the person is encountered another way, often a traffic stop.

Both are different from a search warrant, which authorizes police to search a specific place, like a home or vehicle, and has nothing to do with whether a warrant exists for a person. If you're trying to find out whether you personally have a warrant, you're asking about an arrest or bench warrant, not a search warrant.

How to Check for a Warrant in Arkansas

Search ARCourts: Arkansas's Free Statewide Case Search

Search ARCourts, at caseinfo.arcourts.gov, is the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts' official case-lookup tool, replacing the older Public CourtConnect system. It's free and lets you search by a party's name or case number across Arkansas's circuit, district, and appellate courts. District-court coverage varies by which case management system a particular court uses, so a clean result in one court doesn't guarantee coverage everywhere you might have a case. Search ARCourts isn't itself a dedicated "warrant list," but if you're a named defendant on an open case, especially one where you missed a hearing, that will typically show up here.

County Sheriff and Circuit Clerk (Usually Free)

Arkansas has 75 counties, each with its own Sheriff's Office responsible for serving its own warrants, and no requirement that a county post them online. Several counties do publish free, searchable warrant lists on the Sheriff's Office website, including Washington, Benton, Sebastian, Faulkner, and Saline counties. Washington County's, for example, notes that a recent change in a warrant's status may not be reflected right away.

If your county doesn't have an online tool, call or visit the Sheriff's Office warrant division, or the Circuit Clerk's office, for the county where you live or believe a charge could have been filed, with your full legal name and date of birth ready. The Arkansas Sheriffs' Association publishes a statewide sheriff directory, useful for finding the right office, though it's a directory, not a search tool.

ARCH Is a Background Check, Not a Warrant Search

The Arkansas Crime Information Center runs ARCH, short for Arkansas Criminal History, and its name leads a lot of people to assume it's the state's official warrant database. It is not. ARCH is a paid product, established under Act 1185 of 2015, charging a non-refundable $24 per name search, plus $24 for each extra result viewed. A report returns Arkansas felony and misdemeanor convictions, open Arkansas felony arrests under three years old, and sex-offender registration status. Its own published scope specifically excludes active warrants, along with juvenile records, dismissed charges, older felony arrests, sealed convictions, out-of-state records, and traffic violations.

Watch out: Don't pay $24 for an ARCH report expecting to learn whether you have an active warrant. ARCH is a criminal-history background check, and its own list of exclusions specifically leaves out active warrants. Search ARCourts and your county Sheriff's Office are the tools that actually answer that question.

Warrant Phone Scams Are a Real, Current Problem

The Federal Trade Commission and multiple U.S. District Courts have issued active, ongoing warnings about a phone scam in which a caller impersonates a sheriff's deputy, court officer, or U.S. Marshal, claims you missed jury duty or have an active warrant, and demands immediate payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a payment app to avoid arrest. Scammers can spoof caller ID so the number appears to come from a real courthouse or sheriff's office, and some already have your name and address to sound more convincing.

Real Arkansas law enforcement does not call demanding immediate payment to cancel a warrant, and does not text or email you an arrest warrant. If a warrant is genuinely active, contact typically comes in person or by mail. If you get a call like this, hang up, do not call the number back, and independently look up the phone number for your county Sheriff's Office or Circuit Clerk yourself to verify.

Paid background-check and people-search websites are generally legal, but unnecessary for checking your own warrant status. In September 2023, the FTC fined two major background-check companies $5.8 million for marketing reports as highly accurate while doing little to verify the underlying data. Search ARCourts, your county Sheriff's Office, or the Circuit Clerk pull from the same records, just faster, often free, and more current.

What to Do If You Have a Warrant

An active Arkansas warrant is a reason to have a criminal defense attorney plan your next step in a free consultation before you take one (attorney advertising). Walking into a Sheriff's Office or courthouse unrepresented is rarely the best first move.

An attorney can often file a motion to quash or recall the warrant, particularly for a bench warrant tied to a missed court date, if there's a documentable reason like illness or a scheduling breakdown, sometimes without you needing to appear in person right away. When a warrant can't simply be quashed, attorneys sometimes arrange a scheduled, voluntary surrender coordinated with the court, treated more favorably than an unplanned arrest during a traffic stop.

Warrants generally do not expire. An Arkansas arrest or bench warrant typically stays active indefinitely until you're arrested, you surrender, or a judge formally quashes it. Waiting rarely helps and can make things worse, since the warrant can surface unexpectedly, most commonly during a routine traffic stop.

Related articles

• Warrant Search by State
• Arkansas DUI Laws
• Arkansas Expungement Laws

Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws, fees, and court procedures change, and warrant-search tools and their coverage can change without notice. If you believe you have an active warrant in Arkansas, consult a licensed Arkansas criminal defense attorney about your specific situation before taking any action.

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Last updated: 2026-07-15.

More Arkansas Laws

• Arkansas DUI Laws
• Arkansas Expungement Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free way to check for a warrant in Arkansas?

Yes. Search ARCourts (caseinfo.arcourts.gov) is a free statewide case search by name or case number, and contacting your county Sheriff's Office or Circuit Clerk directly is also typically free. A few counties, including Washington and Benton counties, also post free online warrant lists.

Does ARCH show whether I have an active warrant?

No. ARCH, run by the Arkansas Crime Information Center, is a paid criminal-history background check that costs $24 per name search. Its own published list of exclusions specifically leaves out active warrants, along with several other record types.

Does Search ARCourts show active warrants directly?

Not as a dedicated warrant list. It shows whether you're a named party on an open Arkansas court case, which will often reflect a bench warrant tied to a missed hearing, but coverage varies by court, especially at the district-court level.

Which Arkansas counties have their own online warrant search?

Several counties publish free warrant search tools directly on their Sheriff's Office websites, including Washington, Benton, Sebastian, Faulkner, and Saline counties. Not every county offers one, so check your specific county's Sheriff's Office site first.

Do warrants expire in Arkansas?

No. Arrest and bench warrants generally remain active indefinitely until you're arrested, you surrender, or a judge formally quashes or recalls the warrant.

Someone called saying I have a warrant and demanded payment to cancel it. Is that real?

Almost certainly not. This matches a well-documented scam pattern the FTC and federal courts have repeatedly warned about. Real law enforcement does not call demanding immediate payment to cancel a warrant. Hang up and verify independently using a phone number you look up yourself.

What should I do first if I find out I have a warrant in Arkansas?

Contact a criminal defense attorney before contacting law enforcement or the court yourself. An attorney can evaluate whether a motion to quash is realistic and can often arrange a scheduled surrender instead of risking an unplanned arrest.

Can I use this to check if someone else has a warrant?

This guide is written for checking your own warrant status. Using warrant-search tools to screen another person, such as a tenant or employee, raises separate legal considerations under federal background-check law.