Arkansas background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Arkansas employers may run background checks, and the state's own rule is about consent. As of October 2026, an Arkansas State Police (ASP) name-based check is available to an employer only with the candidate's signed written consent, and it shows Arkansas convictions, pending felony arrests from the last five years and sex offender status, not dismissed charges or pending misdemeanors. Sealed records may be denied by the candidate under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013. Long-term care, child care, developmental disabilities providers and schools have mandated checks. Arkansas has no ban-the-box, credit check or salary history law for private employers.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply to every Arkansas hire that uses a screening company and are covered in the FCRA background check process. This page covers what Arkansas law and the State Police add, with each source linked. The wider state picture is on hiring employees in Arkansas.

Does Arkansas have its own background check law?

Not one that adds steps to the federal FCRA for screening companies. We found no Arkansas statute that adds disclosure, adverse action or lookback rules for employment reports, so the federal limits apply: arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years may not be reported for jobs paying under $75,000 a year, and convictions have no time limit (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). What Arkansas does regulate is access to the state's own criminal history, which runs through the State Police, and the sealing of records.

How do Arkansas employers get a State Police background check?

Through the ASP's online Criminal Background Check (CBC) system or a paper form mailed to the ASP Identification Bureau. The system's subscriber agreement describes the legal basis for private employers: Arkansas Code §§ 12-12-1501 through 12-12-1513 allow "the release of Arkansas non-criminal justice background information to persons who have the signed consent of the subject of the record," and the name-based check "is limited to persons with the signed written consent of the subject of the record."

The CBC "How this site works" page sets two categories:

• Category I (Arkansas only). For employers allowed by Arkansas law with the subject's signed consent. You must get the consent before each search and keep it for five years, because releases are subject to ASP audit. FBI checks are not available in this category.
• Category II (Arkansas and FBI). For entities that a state or federal law allows or requires to run a fingerprint-based national check. Consent is still required, kept for three years.

Searches use the candidate's name, date of birth, sex and race, confirmed from a government ID. Over 70% of results return instantly, and a report stays available for only 14 days after you first view it, so print or save it then. The CBC FAQ lists $22 per online Arkansas check ($11 for volunteers), plus an annual subscription fee charged by the system's operator, $13 for the FBI fingerprint check where allowed, and $25 for a mailed request on form ASP-122 with the subject's release signature, as of October 2026.

What does an Arkansas State Police check show?

According to the CBC FAQ, the check releases:

• Arkansas felony and misdemeanor convictions;
• pending Arkansas felony arrests within the last five years (arrested but not yet tried);
• whether the person is a registered sex offender, levels one through four, or is required to register.

It does not include "misdemeanors that are pending in court, arrests that ended in the case being dismissed, nol prossed or being found not guilty and traffic records." The ASP adds that its records are linked by fingerprints from arrests, not by name alone, and that a candidate who says a listed arrest is not theirs can be fingerprinted by a law enforcement officer and compared at no cost; if the arrest is not theirs, it is removed and the requester gets an updated result. Use that route before acting on a disputed match.

What happens to sealed records in Arkansas?

Arkansas uses sealing rather than expungement. The Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013, Act 1460 of 2013, codified at Arkansas Code § 16-90-1401 and following, set out who may petition:

• misdemeanors and violations after the sentence and costs are complete (§ 16-90-1405);
• listed felonies, with special rules for some drug offenses (§§ 16-90-1406 and 16-90-1407), while serious felonies are ineligible (§ 16-90-1408);
• arrests where no charges were filed within one year (§ 16-90-1409), and cases that ended in nolle prosequi, dismissal or acquittal (§ 16-90-1410).

The effect matters for job applications. Under § 16-90-1417(b)(1), once the uniform order is entered, "the person's underlying conduct shall be deemed as a matter of law never to have occurred, and the person may state that the underlying conduct did not occur and that a record of the person that was sealed does not exist." Under § 16-90-1416, the custodian of a sealed record may not disclose it except to the person, a court or prosecutor, the Arkansas Crime Information Center, or a criminal justice agency the person has applied to work for. The CBC FAQ says only "in certain instances" will anyone outside those groups see a sealed record's information.

Practical effect: write conviction questions so they say sealed records need not be disclosed, and do not treat a "no" as dishonest if a sealed matter surfaces from an old court index or a private database.

When can Arkansas employers ask about criminal history?

We found no Arkansas statute that limits when a private employer may ask about criminal history. Local governments cannot add a broad rule either: the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act, Act 137 of 2015 (Arkansas Code § 14-1-403), says a county, city or other political subdivision "shall not adopt or enforce an ordinance, resolution, rule, or policy that creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in state law," except a rule or policy that covers only its own employees.

The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, effective immediately, but federal Title VII still governs how records are used, including its disparate impact provision (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k)). Asking late, about convictions only, and weighing the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case, Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job), remains a sound way to make and document a decision.

Which Arkansas jobs require background checks?

The CBC subscriber agreement lists the access codes the State Police issue for checks that Arkansas law mandates. Among them, as of October 2026:

• Long-term care. Employees or applicants of a long-term care facility or qualifying entity, under Arkansas Code § 20-33-203 and § 20-38-101 and following.
• Developmental disabilities providers. Employees of service providers licensed by the Department of Human Services that care for people with developmental disabilities, under § 20-38-101 and following.
• Child care. Child care facility owners, operators and employees, under § 20-78-602 and §§ 20-38-101 through 20-38-103.
• Schools. Teacher license applicants and renewals and educator preparation students in clinical practice (§ 6-17-410), transfers between educational entities (§ 6-17-411), classified (non-teacher) school employees and substitute teachers (§ 6-17-414), and fiscal officers (§ 6-17-421). Private schools can use the federal Adam Walsh Act route for staff who work with children.
• State agencies. Designated state jobs that care for the elderly, children, people with mental illness or developmental disabilities (§ 21-15-102), and financial or information technology positions (§ 21-15-111).

Where a mandated check includes the FBI fingerprint check, it runs through Category II, and the employer must hold both the candidate's signed consent and the statutory authority. If you are a staffing agency placing workers into these settings, confirm with the client which entity submits the check before the person starts.

Can Arkansas employers check credit or salary history?

We found no Arkansas statute limiting employment credit checks or salary history questions; Arkansas is not among the states in our credit check laws guide or salary history ban states list. A credit report from a screening company follows the federal FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps.

Arkansas background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Arkansas?

1. Get a signed release before any ASP search. The state check is consent-based; keep the signed form for the audit period, five years for Category I.
2. Save the report the day you view it. CBC results disappear 14 days after first viewing.
3. Treat a pending felony arrest carefully. It is not a conviction. Ask the candidate about it, give them a chance to explain, and record the job-related reason for any decision.
4. Fix the conviction question. Say that sealed records need not be disclosed.
5. Resolve disputed matches by fingerprint. Point the candidate to the ASP's free challenge process before you decide.
6. Keep criminal history out of interviews and notes. If a candidate volunteers a record, do not follow up or record it. If you record or transcribe interviews, check Arkansas recording consent rules and remove the passage from notes you share.
7. Put it in a policy. A background check policy that names the checks by role keeps practice consistent. Drug testing is covered in Arkansas drug testing laws, agency licensing in staffing agency licensing in Arkansas, and work authorization in Arkansas E-Verify requirements.