Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure

Arkansas rules for serving a summons and complaint are in the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, mainly Rule 4. Who can work as a private process server is set by Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 20, which lets circuit courts appoint qualified adults to serve process.

Arkansas has no statewide process server license. Instead, a private server needs a court order of appointment for each county where they serve. This page covers who can serve, appointment, service methods and proof of service.

Disclaimer: Laws change, and this page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Check the current Arkansas court rules and administrative orders on the Arkansas Judiciary site, or ask an attorney before relying on it.

Arkansas process servers

• Become a process server in Arkansas
• Hire a process server in Arkansas

Quick facts: process serving in Arkansas

• Who can serve: The sheriff or a deputy of the county where service is made (unless the sheriff is a party), a person appointed under Administrative Order No. 20, a person authorized by the law of the place outside Arkansas where service is made, or, for mail or commercial delivery service, the plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney (Rule 4(c)(2)).
• Licensing: No state license. Private servers must be appointed by a circuit court order for the county (Administrative Order No. 20).
• Deadline to serve: 120 days after the complaint is filed, unless the court extends it for good cause. Otherwise the case is dismissed without prejudice as to that defendant (Rule 4(i)).
• Substituted service: Leave the papers with a member of the defendant's family who is at least 18, at a place where the defendant lives (Rule 4(f)(1)).
• Proof of service: File proof with the clerk within the time the defendant has to respond. If anyone other than a sheriff or deputy serves, the certificate of service must be sworn (Rule 4(d)).
• Time to respond: 30 days after service, or 60 days for a defendant held in an Arkansas jail or prison (Rule 12(a); official summons form).

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Arkansas process server appointment

Arkansas doesn't license process servers. Under Administrative Order No. 20, the administrative judge of a judicial district, or a circuit judge they designate, can appoint a person to serve process. An appointment covers every division of circuit court and every district court in the county. Rule 4(c)(2)(B) lets a person appointed by the court where the case is filed, or by a court in the county where service is made, serve the summons.

To be appointed, you must:

• Be at least 18 and a U.S. citizen
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent
• Have no conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, or for any crime involving dishonesty or false statement
• Hold a valid driver's license from any U.S. state
• Show you're familiar with the documents you'll serve

A judicial district can add its own qualifications if all of its circuit judges agree. You apply to the circuit clerk with a petition and affidavit using the Arkansas Judiciary forms. In a district with several counties, one application can ask for appointment in more than one county. Appointments last for a set term of up to three years and can be renewed.

When serving, you must carry a certified copy of your appointment order and your driver's license, and show them on request (appointment order form). A judge can revoke an appointment for a false return of service, improper service or other good cause.

For a step-by-step guide, see Become a Process Server in Arkansas.

How to serve a summons in Arkansas

"Process" in Arkansas means the summons and a copy of the complaint, served together (Rule 4(c)(1)). The rest of this section refers to Rule 4 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Personal service: Rule 4(f)(1)

Deliver the process to the defendant personally. If the defendant refuses to take it after you make your purpose clear, you can leave the papers in close proximity to the defendant. You can also deliver the process to an agent authorized by appointment or by law to accept service for the defendant.

Service at the home: Rule 4(f)(1)

You can leave the process with any member of the defendant's family who is at least 18, at a place where the defendant lives. Arkansas limits this to family members. Leaving papers with an unrelated roommate or adult isn't covered by the rule.

Minors, incapacitated and incarcerated people: Rule 4(f)(2) to (4)

• Minors: Serve a parent or guardian. If there is none in Arkansas, serve an adult who has care of the minor or lives with them.
• Incapacitated people: Serve both the person and their guardian or conservator.
• People in jail or prison: Serve the facility's administrator, who must deliver the papers to the defendant. A copy also goes to the defendant by first-class mail marked "legal mail" and, unless the court directs otherwise, to their spouse. A 2026 amendment also allows service on the person in charge of the facility at the time, or that person's on-site agent, secretary or assistant, because administrators were often hard to reach. Check the current rule for its effective date.

Certified mail: Rule 4(g)(1)(A)

The plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney can serve by certified mail, return receipt requested, with delivery restricted to the named addressee or their authorized agent. A registered agent of a corporation or other organization can be served by certified mail without restricted delivery.

A default judgment can't be based on mail service unless the record has a signed return receipt, a USPS Form 3811 completed under the postal procedures in place at the time (added in 2021, 2021 Ark. 68), or proof that the defendant refused the mail. Failing to pick up mail is not a refusal. If the mail is refused, the sender must promptly send the defendant a copy by first-class mail with a notice that the case will go forward.

First-class mail with acknowledgment: Rule 4(g)(1)(B)

Process can be sent by first-class mail with two copies of a notice and acknowledgment form and a prepaid return envelope. If no signed acknowledgment comes back within 20 days, service must be made another way. Unless there's good cause, the court will make a defendant who doesn't return the acknowledgment pay the cost of service.

Commercial delivery: Rule 4(g)(2)

The plaintiff or plaintiff's attorney can use a commercial delivery company that gets signatures, keeps permanent delivery records and has been approved by the circuit court where the case is filed or where service is made. The defendant or their agent must sign.

Warning order (publication): Rule 4(g)(3)

If the defendant's identity or whereabouts is still unknown after diligent inquiry, the clerk can issue a warning order on the plaintiff's affidavit. It's published once a week for two weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and mailed with the complaint to the defendant's last known address by certified mail. The defendant has 30 days from first publication to appear. For a plaintiff allowed to proceed as an indigent, the clerk can post the warning order at the courthouse for 30 days instead. See What is service by publication?

Service by court order: Rule 4(g)(4)

If you show by affidavit that service can't be made by the methods above despite diligent effort, the court can order any method, or mix of methods, reasonably calculated to let the defendant know about the case. The rule doesn't list electronic service, but it doesn't rule it out, so email or other methods depend on what the judge orders.

Service outside Arkansas: Rule 4(h)

When Arkansas law allows service outside the state, you can serve by personal delivery the same way as in Arkansas, by any method allowed in the place where service is made, by mail or commercial delivery under Rule 4(g), through a letter rogatory or treaty such as the Hague Service Convention, or by court order after diligent effort fails. The 120-day deadline doesn't apply to service in another country (Rule 4(i)(3)).

Sunday service: Ark. Code § 16-58-106

A summons or subpoena can't be served on Sunday unless the officer, or someone in an affidavit, believes it can't be served after the holiday. Writs of attachment, delivery of property and execution can be served on any day.

Substantial compliance: Rule 4(k)

Arkansas courts have long required strict compliance with service rules. Under Rule 4(k), an error in process or service is disregarded if the court finds the serving party substantially complied with Rule 4 and the defendant got actual notice and filed a timely answer. Don't count on it. Follow the rule exactly.

Serving businesses and other entities

• Corporations (Rule 4(f)(5)): Serve the registered agent or the agent's secretary or assistant, any officer or their secretary or assistant, a managing or general agent, or anyone authorized by appointment or law.
• LLCs (Rule 4(f)(6)): Serve the registered agent, a manager (if manager-managed), a member (if member-managed or there are no managers), a managing or general agent, or their secretary or assistant.
• Partnerships (Rule 4(f)(7)): Serve any general partner, the registered agent, a managing or general agent, or their secretary or assistant.
• No registered agent (Ark. Code § 4-20-113): If an entity has no registered agent or the agent can't be found with reasonable diligence, mail the papers by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the entity's governors at its principal office, as listed in its latest annual report. If that's not possible, deliver them to the manager, clerk or other person in charge of a regular place of business. The Secretary of State stopped accepting service for registered entities on September 1, 2007, except under the long-arm statutes (Secretary of State notice).
• Government (Rule 4(f)(11) to (17)): Serve a city through its mayor, city manager, city administrator or city clerk; a county through the county judge, county administrator or county clerk; and a school district through the board president or superintendent. A state agency is served through its chief executive officer, director or chair. Serving a public officer in their official capacity also requires mailing a copy to the entity's official, and to the Attorney General for a state officer.

Look up registered agents and principal offices with the Arkansas Secretary of State business search.

Serving a subpoena in Arkansas

A subpoena can be served anywhere in Arkansas by the sheriff or a deputy of the county, or by anyone 18 or older who isn't a party. Deliver a copy to the witness. A sheriff can serve a trial subpoena by phone if the trial is in the witness's home county, and an attorney of record can serve by restricted-delivery mail (Rule 45(c)).

• Timing: Serve at least 2 days before a trial or hearing, and at least 5 business days before a deposition, unless the court allows less (Rule 45(d) and (e)).
• Witness fee: Tender $30 per day plus $0.25 per mile from the witness's home with the subpoena.
• Distance: A deposition witness can be required to attend within 100 miles of where they live, work or do business in person, or at another place the court sets.

Proof of service: Rule 4(d)

The person who serves the papers files proof of service with the clerk within the time the defendant has to respond. Filing late doesn't make the service invalid.

• Proof can be made on the certificate of service that's part of the official summons form.
• If anyone other than a sheriff or deputy serves, the certificate must be sworn. The official form includes a notary block for this.
• For mail or commercial delivery, attach the return receipt, envelope, affidavit, acknowledgment or other record Rule 4(g) requires.
• For a warning order, file the newspaper's affidavit of publication or the clerk's statement of posting.

Hire an Arkansas process server

Browse all Arkansas process servers on ServeNow.

More Arkansas resources

• Become a Process Server in Arkansas
• Courts in Arkansas
• Arkansas court rules and administrative orders (Arkansas Judiciary)
• Official form of summons (Arkansas Judiciary)
• Arkansas Secretary of State service of process notice

This page is a general overview of Arkansas law, not legal advice. Laws change. Check the current rules or talk to an attorney about your case.