What Are Arkansas Traffic Court Records?

Arkansas traffic court records consist of records generated during the legal proceedings arising from motor vehicle code violations as well as violations of state traffic laws and local ordinances. This includes case files, evidence reports, and other records. Records related to the processing of moving and non-moving violations also fall under this category.

Are Arkansas Traffic Court Records Public Records?

Records generated from traffic courts are categorized as public records except when restricted by a court or the law. Records created from the proceedings of “courts of public record” in Arkansas are classified as public information under public access to information law. They are subject to access by members of the general public.

Getting a Traffic Ticket in Arkansas

An Arkansas traffic ticket, otherwise known as a Uniform Traffic Ticket and Complaint, is a notice issued by a law enforcement officer to a motorist or road user for Arkansas traffic infractions and violations of the state’s motor vehicle code, statutes, and ordinance. It is a representation of the officer’s observations of the alleged incident. The officer may complete the ticket before being issued to the offender. The ticket may indicate the date, time, and location where the ticket was issued. The ticket may contain the offender's full name, address, and other relevant bio-data. The offender’s driver’s license information may also be listed on the ticket, along with the description of the vehicle involved in the violation. The officer may list the offense (including section and statute number) the offender is being accused of and indicate if a court appearance is required with the date, time, and location for the appearance. The offender may sign before receiving a copy of the ticket as an assurance of responding to the ticket or appearing in court. The officer may also sign and indicate his ID and agency on the ticket.

Traffic violations in Arkansas can either be civil infractions or misdemeanors. Civil infractions can result in fines and demerit points upon conviction. Misdemeanors come with fines and demerits upon conviction and the possibility of jail time. Fines, surcharges, and court fees tend to vary by violation and district court. If the fine amount is not noted on the ticket, contact the listed court for details or check on the court’s website and search the database by full name and driver’s license number or date of birth or case type. Under the Case event schedule of the results, an event notice indicating Plea & Arraignment means a court appearance is not required, while a notice for mandatory court necessitates a mandatory court appearance. A mandatory court appearance is required if the citation has 3 or more moving violations or 4 or more violations listed on it.

Arkansas employs a points-based system to monitor driver’s records. If an offender is convicted of a traffic violation, points may accrue on the offender’s record based on the type of violation. If a driver accumulates 10–13 points, the driver may receive a warning letter from the Arkansas Driver Services Division. Accumulating 14–17 points may result in a 3-month suspension, 18–23 points may result in a 6-month suspension, while 24+ points may result in a 12-month suspension. Convictions for moving traffic violations may be reported to the Arkansas Driver Services and may show up on your driving record.

Traffic violations are classified as either moving or non-moving violations. Non-moving offenses are violations of motor vehicle equipment or documentation and are committed as a result of damaged vehicle equipment or by a vehicle that is not in motion, i.e., stationary or parked. Moving violations are committed by vehicles in motion. There are non-moving violations that can be committed by vehicles in motion, such as a failure to wear a seatbelt; however, these kinds of violations are not reported to the Arkansas Drivers Services Division and thus may not accrue on your driving record, nor lead to a license suspension.

What to Do When You Get a Traffic Ticket in Arkansas?

Upon receiving a traffic citation in Arkansas, you are expected to respond to the ticket by the date indicated on the ticket. You can decide to either

• Plead Guilty & pay the traffic ticket
• Plead Not-Guilty & contest the ticket.

Paying the ticket may be considered a Guilty or No Contest plea. If the offense does not carry a mandatory court appearance, the ticket can be paid online, by mail or in-person.

• Online: Ticket can be paid using the Arkansas e-Traffic program website or the website of the court which the case was assigned to. This can be accessed from the Arkansas state District Courts website. Not all courts offer this option, so verification should be made to ensure the court assigned your case does. This option requires a major credit card and the citation number and may incur a transaction fee.
• Mail: Payment by mail may require the mailing of a copy of the citation or simply providing sufficient information, including driver’s license number, citation number, case number or full name, current address, and a daytime phone number, where questions by the court can be made. The mail should be sent to the District Court where the case was assigned.
• In-Person: Payments can be made in person at the Office of the Court’s Clerk of the District Court, where the case was assigned. Cashier checks and money orders should be made payable to the appropriate District Courts. Some courts utilize drop-boxes for out-of-hours payments.

If the ticket was not issued for a major offense, the judge may allow the completion of a defensive driving course to offset the ticket. The defendant may need to be eligible for this option, and if so, the court may provide information on approved schools, time limits, and any additional costs.

Contesting a Traffic Ticket in Arkansas

Contesting the ticket may be seen as a Not-guilty plea and a choice to exercise your right to trial. There might be slight variations in the process, depending on the court the case was assigned to. Some counties enable the Court’s Clerk to set a trial date when a response is made and a Not-Guilty plea is entered before the court date. If this is not possible, then the offender should appear on the scheduled court date for arraignment, after which a trial date may be set. The defendant may be expected to defend him/herself, though it is advisable to retain the services of an attorney by this point.

What to Expect in an Arkansas Traffic Court

At the trial, the defendant may be allowed to call witnesses, enter evidence, and question the law enforcement representative. Upon completion of the trial, a verdict may be rendered by the judge. If the judge renders a guilty verdict, the defendant has been convicted of the charges and may be liable for the fines and have demerit points added to their driving record. Additional charges and costs may accrue as a result of the trial. If the judge renders a Not Guilty verdict, then the charges may be dismissed, and no fines or demerit points are accruable to the defendant, and he/she may be freed. There might still be court costs accruable as a result of the trial.

Failure to respond to an Arkansas traffic citation by the scheduled date indicated on the ticket may result in added repercussions, including a license suspension and an arrest warrant being issued against the defaulter.

How Do I Find Arkansas Traffic Court Records?

Traffic court records can be gotten from the Clerk’s office of the court where the case in question was heard. Requests can be made online using the Court’s website or in-person, by visiting the office of the court and filing the request physically.

Additionally, publicly available records are accessible from some third-party websites.* These websites offer the benefit of not being limited by geographical record availability and can often serve as a starting point when researching specific or multiple records. To find a record using the search engines on these sites, interested parties may be required to provide:

• The name of someone involved, providing it is not a juvenile
• The assumed location of the record in question, such as a city, county, or state name

Third-party sites are not government-sponsored websites; record availability may differ from official channels.

What Information is Required to Obtain Arkansas Traffic Court Records?

The most pertinent information required to obtain an Arkansas traffic court record is the full name on the record and the case number for the record. The person requesting the record may also need to provide a state-approved and valid form of identification to receive the record. Court costs may be applicable when requesting court records, especially if the requestor requires copies of the record.

Are all Traffic Violations Handled the Same Way in Arkansas?

Traffic violations in Arkansas may be handled the same way, irrespective of the nature of the violation. Fines and penalties may vary, depending on the nature of the violation, but the processes involved in responding and handling a citation for a traffic violation may remain the same in some cases and be based on the nature of the response i.e. Guilty responses may follow the same processes and Not Guilty pleas may follow the same processes.

Can Arkansas Traffic Records be Sealed or Expunged?

In Arkansas, defendants may apply for misdemeanor expungement, to seal records, whether the outcome was a guilty verdict or a not guilty verdict, or if the charges were dropped. Most misdemeanors are eligible for expungement on completion of the sentence. This includes after release from jail, end of probation, full payment of the fines, charges or restitution owed. A petition for expungement can be filed once this has elapsed. If the petition is denied, 90 days should pass before another petition can be re-filed.

A DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) charge should have elapsed by 5 years before a petition for expungement can be filed. If the petition is denied, 1 year should elapse before the petition can be re-filed.

A misdemeanor traffic offense is ineligible for expungement if a Commercial Driver’s License was involved in the incident, or if at the time of filing for expungement a similar charge was pending for the same violation being petitioned for. A petitioner is not eligible to file for expungement if he/she still has an open case against them.

How Does One End Up in a Arkansas Traffic Court?

One may end up in an Arkansas traffic court when a ticket is issued for a traffic violation by a law enforcement officer and the offense being cited for, requires a mandatory court appearance to respond. One may also end up in traffic court if one wishes to plead Not Guilty and contest the charges by trial in court.

Which Courts in Arkansas Have Jurisdiction to Hear Traffic Violation Matters?

Traffic violations and related matters, in Arkansas, are heard in District Court. District Courts are courts that exercise territorial jurisdiction within judicial districts. They are served by full-time judges and have subject matter jurisdiction over traffic violations, misdemeanors and violations of state law and local ordinances, where the amount in controversy is not above $25,000.

How to Prepare for Traffic Court in Arkansas

To prepare for traffic court in Arkansas, begin by familiarizing yourself with the state's traffic statutes. Arkansas has unique rules regarding driver's license points and license suspensions for accumulating specific numbers of points within a specified time frame. Additionally, in some Arkansas counties, traffic court proceedings may include opportunities for mediation or alternative dispute resolution to resolve the case without a formal trial.