Access Little Rock Public Records

Little Rock Public Records Map

Little Rock is both the Arkansas capital and the Pulaski County seat, so records are not held by one office. The Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk keeps land recordings, court-document copies, marriage licensing, DBA filings, voter registration material, notary bonds, contracts, petitions, and other county files. City records such as police reports and some administrative files stay with Little Rock departments. State records, including many certificates and professional licenses, use Arkansas agencies.

Open access has limits. Arkansas law, court rules, and office policies keep sealed cases, juvenile matters, adoption records, protected victim information, some driver data, recent vital certificates, and confidential military discharge filings out of routine web access. The key is which custodian holds the file, whether a public index is enough, and whether an official copy requires proof, a fee, or a narrower request.

Little Rock Real Estate Records

The Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk's Real Estate Department records deeds, mortgages, plats, liens, leases, powers of attorney, notary bonds and certificates, and related instruments. Recording costs $15 for the first page and $5 for each added page. Filings may be made in person, by mail, or by approved e-recording vendors such as BIS free portal, CSC eRecording Solutions, EPN, Indecomm, and Simplifile.

The local split is web versus courthouse. The clerk says records are scanned back to 1819 and many may be reviewed in the research area, where two public computers are available. The public website is limited to 1994-present records, so older title chains still need the research room.

The Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk site links real estate, county records, forms, fees, and copy procedures.

The clerk site matters because it connects the Real Estate Department, County Records, voter registration, marriage licensing, forms, fees, and copy procedures from one official county office.

Little Rock Deed Search Fields

The Pulaski deed portal is more than a name box. It can search standard or full-text names, grantor or grantee, company or person, dates, instrument type, book and page, instrument number, and property fields. A grantor gives an interest in property. A grantee receives it.

For a Little Rock records search tied to property, subdivision and legal-description fields can be as important as the street address. Check business suffixes, trust names, initials, married names, and spelling variants before ordering copies.

Little Rock Court Records Limits

Search ARCourts is the first official path for state court case discovery. It searches public case information from courts using Contexte by participant name, case number, organization, or case description. Results can show parties, judge, filings, charges and dispositions, future events, judgments, and some linked documents.

The myth is that a court portal result equals the complete court file. It does not. Administrative Order 19 limits what appears online, and some case data is sealed, confidential, redacted, or not internet-published. Certified Pulaski County copies cost $5, may be picked up in person or mailed through USPS, and cannot be emailed.

The Arkansas Judiciary Search ARCourts information page documents the transition from Public CourtConnect and the public search model.

Use the portal for case discovery, then use the clerk or court copy process when a certified order, judgment, decree, or file-stamped document is needed.

Little Rock Public Records Offices

The main county counter is the Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk at 401 West Markham Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201, phone 501-340-8500, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. County Records is in room 103, phone 501-340-8766. The Assessor is nearby at 201 South Broadway, Suite 310, phone 501-340-6170.

The Pulaski County Records Department page describes the court-copy process and the limits on email delivery.

That page bridges a case search and a certified copy with the county clerk seal.

Little Rock Vital Records Boundaries

Vital records are not ordinary open records. Arkansas Department of Health Vital Records issues statewide birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates from 4815 West Markham Street in Little Rock. Under the Arkansas Vital Statistics Act, Ark. Code Ann. 20-18-304 and 20-18-305, certified copies are limited to close relatives, authorized representatives, or a person who can show a personal or property right. Birth records are generally treated as confidential for 100 years in genealogy guidance, and death records for 50 years.

ADH lists birth certificates at $12 for the first copy and $10 for each additional copy. Death certificates are $10 first and $8 additional. Marriage and divorce certificates are $10 per copy. A divorce certificate is not a divorce decree; the decree comes from the court and clerk process.

Little Rock Property Records

Property records are strong official name-to-address sources in Pulaski County. ARCountyData says the assessor sponsors a free real-estate search, and the assessor site links records, mapping, and raw data tools. The assessor maintains more than 170,000 taxable real property accounts and more than 180,000 business and personal property accounts.

A parcel is the tax and map unit for land. A situs address is the physical property address, while a mailing address is where notices go. Those can differ when an owner lives elsewhere, a business owns the parcel, or heirs receive mail. PAGIS Land Ownership can search address, intersection, parcel owner, or subdivision name.

Index

A searchable list that points to records, but may not be the official image or full file.

Certified copy

A copy issued by the custodian with a seal or certification, often needed when proof matters.

Custodian

The office legally responsible for keeping and releasing a record.

Exemption

A legal reason a record, field, or image is withheld, sealed, or redacted.

Plat

A recorded map showing lots, blocks, streets, or subdivisions.

Requesting Little Rock Public Records

Arkansas FOIA is the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, Ark. Code Ann. 25-19-101 et seq. The Arkansas Attorney General's FOIA material says public entities generally have up to three business days to provide requested records and may charge actual reproduction costs plus mailing. LRPD adds that a request must be specific enough for the custodian to locate the record with reasonable effort, and if reproduction costs exceed $25, prepayment may be requested.

Use the official index first when one exists. For files that are not posted, Pulaski County Government uses NextRequest, the sheriff has a separate portal, and LRPD maintains its own FOIA instructions. County Records certified-copy requests can use online payment or mail.

1. Identify the custodian. Deeds go to Real Estate, court copies to County Records, city police records to LRPD, certificates to ADH, and general county files to Pulaski County Government.
2. Search the posted index or portal first. A case number, instrument number, party name, date range, or parcel ID helps.
3. Write a narrow request. Include names, dates, address, record type, department, and copy type.
4. Use the office's channel. That may be NextRequest, mail, phone, walk-in counter, or payment portal.
5. Pay approved costs. Expect actual reproduction and mailing costs under FOIA, plus posted certification or certificate fees where they apply.

The Pulaski County Government NextRequest portal shows search and make-request controls.

NextRequest is most useful when the record is not already in a deed, property, court, or certificate system.

LRPD publishes separate FOIA instructions on the Little Rock Police FOIA request page.

The LRPD route is the right channel for police reports and department records that are not court filings or county records.

Little Rock Police Records

LRPD's reports page lists report costs between $5 and $10 and gives the Documents Telephone Reporting Unit at 501-918-4397, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Some police matters later appear in court systems, but the original report request remains a department channel.

The Little Rock Police reports page lists report channels and costs.

When requesting police material, use the report number if known and give dates, locations, names, and the kind of record sought. Specificity helps the custodian locate the file with reasonable effort.

Little Rock Records Privacy Lines

Arkansas and Pulaski County both show why the records system has access limits. The Real Estate Department treats DD-214 military discharges as confidential and releases them only to the veteran, an authorized person, documented surviving heirs, or a veteran service officer with valid photo ID. ADH certificates require eligibility. Courts withhold sealed, juvenile, adoption, protected, and redacted material.

Recent deed filing rules add another boundary. Under Act 752, beginning August 5, 2025, an individual filing a deed must show photo ID, with exemptions for certain professionals and government representatives. Deeds lacking proper ID will be rejected, and ID copies filed by the recorder are sealed.

Recent Little Rock Records Changes

Two current changes affect records access. First, Arkansas Judiciary is moving users from Public CourtConnect to Search ARCourts, with a newer search experience and filtering model. That means older instructions naming CourtConnect may still appear online, while the active state trial-court search path is Search ARCourts.

Second, the Pulaski clerk promotes a free Property Fraud Alert that emails subscribers when a document using a subscribed name is recorded. The alert can monitor personal, business, and trust names, but each county must be subscribed to separately.