Name-Based Case Searches
Search ARCourts gives you two search modes: Participants and Cases. Pick Participants for a person's name or an organization. Enter the last name first. If the result set is too broad, add the first name and other known facts. The form requires at least one entry before it will run. Names are less exact than case numbers. Before opening a Union County result, verify the court, the case type, and the filing date.
Filters can narrow things further. Use them for filing-date range, case type, docket code, county, and court location. Select Union County yourself rather than assuming a name result is local. The dropdown values are built by the live system. Work from the options it actually presents.
- Open Search ARCourts and select Participants.
- Enter a last name, then add a first or middle name when known.
- Open the advanced controls and select Union County, a date range, or another supported filter.
- Run the search, compare the case headers, and open the result tied to the right court and filing date.
- Review the docket and future events, then contact the proper clerk if an official record is needed.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Optional | Maximum 200 characters |
| Middle Name | Text | Optional | Maximum 200 characters |
| Last Name | Text | Optional | Maximum 200 characters |
| Organization or Case Description | Text | Optional | Maximum 200 characters |
| Date of Birth | Date picker | Advanced, optional | Uses MM/DD/YYYY |
| County | Searchable dropdown | Optional | Select Union |
Union County Docket Search Modes
Participants and Cases are two doors into the same public docket search. Participants works best for a name. It shines when a name or organization is your strongest fact. Cases is more direct once you hold a case or citation number. The official advanced participant-search image shows the name-search form. It also shows how a name search can add dates and other participant fields.
Those extra fields can cut down common-name matches. Even so, check the court and Union County filing details after a result opens.
Use only facts that help locate the case. A validation message means the form needs at least one name, organization, case description, case number, or citation number in the main field. The search button does nothing on an empty form.
Case Number Searches
A case number copied exactly is the narrowest key for a Union County docket search. Search ARCourts shows examples like 10CR-09-100 and LRCR-09-100. Notice how the punctuation, letters, and number groups all matter. There is no one universal Union County pattern. Segments may not mean what you guess, so never rebuild a number from memory. Choose Cases. Type the full identifier into the Case Number or Citation Number field, and search. If nothing comes back, compare each character against the notice or filing. Try the county and court-location filters only after that check. A district citation may be missing for one reason. Not every district court feeds public case information to the statewide system.
The official advanced case-search image lays out the search controls. These cover date, case type, docket code, county, and court location for a more focused lookup.
Treat the image as a map of fields, not a fixed list of dropdown values. Read the live options rather than assuming a code or court location.
Union County Docket Filter Controls
The tune icon opens advanced controls for a Union County docket search. Start Range and End Range take dates in MM/DD/YYYY format. Case Type, Docket Code, County, and Court Location are searchable dropdowns. A participant search can also expose a date-of-birth field. Apply these tools one or two at a time. An overly tight filter can hide the very case you want.
No public glossary pins down every live docket-code or location option. Select the values Search ARCourts actually displays. Clear any doubtful field that blocks a known case number. The date range applies to filing dates. It does not reach every hearing date in the docket.
Modern Union County Docket Search
Public CourtConnect is on its way out. The Arkansas Judiciary announced the first release of Search ARCourts on January 19, 2024. Current court-search materials point to the newer system. Old instructions that stop at Public CourtConnect may land you on a stale interface or skip the current search controls. The official Search ARCourts release announcement records that change in the public access path.
That dated announcement carries real weight. It separates the current Union County lookup route from legacy advice still floating around in older references.
Once results appear, the current interface can filter and sort them. It also offers CSV export and Print controls. A printed result is handy for noting entries, but it is not an official record. The clerk supplies the official or certified version.
Case Search Results Explained
A Union County case result can open from a short row into a deeper case view. According to Search ARCourts, public case information may include parties, the judge, filings, charges and dispositions, future events, judgments, and linked documents. The system schema also supports court, county, location, filing date, status, security indicators, docket sequences, codes, descriptions, and dates.
| Case number | The court identifier used to reopen the same result and contact the clerk. |
|---|---|
| Case title or description | The abbreviated case style or description attached to the proceeding. |
| Court and location | The court, county, and location that identify the filing office. |
| Filed date | The date the court accepted the case or docket item. |
| Status | A system status that must be read with the newest entries and disposition. |
| Docket | Chronological sequences, codes, descriptions, text, types, and filing dates. |
| Future events | Published upcoming dates, times, types, and descriptions, subject to later change. |
| Documents | Linked public filings when available; no blanket image access is promised. |
This field inventory comes from the official system model and its published description. That way it avoids promising that any one case will show every possible field.
Sorting Union County Docket Results
The results screen gives you filters, ascending and descending sorts, a CSV export, and Print. Sorting pulls order out of a long list. A CSV keeps the public rows from your Union County court docket search on your own machine. Neither tool widens access. The export is not an official record.
Before you judge a case by its row, open it. The detail view lays out the filings and events in order. Status only makes sense in that sequence. One later docket entry can change what an earlier label seemed to say.
eFlex and Union County Docket Search
Arkansas eFlex is built for filing, not browsing. Attorneys and approved self-represented filers submit cases there and track their own work. If you just want a Union County docket, an account is not worth the trouble. The public search lives elsewhere, so skip the sign-up. Filing manuals sit in the official eFlex resource library for those who do need them.
For context on where these tools come from, the Arkansas Court Automation Project overview shows how eFlex fits into the state's wider court technology program, which covers filing and case management across Arkansas courts.
That split is the whole story. eFlex feeds filings into court workflow on the inside, while Search ARCourts stays the public path for reading a Union County docket.
| System | Main task | Public lookup role |
|---|---|---|
| Search ARCourts | Find public case data and docket events | Primary free informational search |
| Arkansas eFlex | Submit electronic filings in authorized workflows | Not a general public case search |
| Clerk record | Provide the maintained court file and certification | Official source after a case is located |
Two Ways to Search: County and State
Union County offers no separate county-only public portal. The online route runs through the statewide Search ARCourts system, narrowed with Union County and court-location filters. The local route is the right clerk. The two channels complement each other rather than duplicate. Search ARCourts is quick for discovery; the clerk fills the gaps and keeps the maintained record.
| Search ARCourts | Union County clerk route |
|---|---|
| Statewide public search filtered to Union County | Direct contact with the office that keeps the case |
| Free informational results | Official docket sheets, documents, and certification where available |
| All circuit courts report data; district detail varies | District, Circuit, and Probate offices answer for their own records |
| Best for locating a case and reviewing public events | Best for an omitted item, current confirmation, or official copy |
Circuit matters belong with the Union County Circuit Clerk at 870-864-1940. Probate matters belong with the County or Probate Clerk at 870-864-1910. District traffic, misdemeanor, ordinance, limited civil, and small-claims matters belong with the District Court Clerk at 870-864-1950.
Union County Docket Clerk Map
The word county does not mean one shared records counter. The Circuit Clerk holds Circuit Court criminal, civil, domestic-relations, and juvenile case records. The County or Probate Clerk holds probate, small-estate, guardianship, commitment, and adoption files. The District Court Clerk holds the lower-court traffic, misdemeanor, ordinance, limited civil, and small-claims matters.
Match the case header to that custody map before you call or visit. A probate file does not move to the Circuit Clerk just because Circuit Court has a probate division in Arkansas's statewide structure.
Missing Union County Docket Results
When a District Court search comes back empty, start with the obvious. Check the spelling and the case number. Then loosen any filters that may be too strict. Reapply Union County and the right location with care. If the record still will not appear, call the District Court. Only some Arkansas district courts feed public information to Search ARCourts. The clerk's phone line is thus an essential part of any Union County docket search.
Circuit Court gaps go to the Circuit Clerk. Probate records go to the County or Probate Clerk, not the Circuit Clerk. Ask whether the case exists, whether your identifier is right, and what public docket or document can be released. The court publishes no official online year floor. It publishes no archive process or refresh interval for this data either.
Quick answer: A blank result can reflect coverage, search terms, age, or access rules. It does not prove that Union County has no case.
Which Cases Stay Restricted
Administrative Order 19 governs access to Arkansas court records. It carves out anything made confidential by federal or state law. Court orders and court rules can do the same. It also shields Social Security numbers, specified account and PIN information, and sealed or expunged case data. Qualifying protected addresses and judicial or juror deliberative material are excluded too.
Juvenile records may be confidential under Ark. Code §9-27-309. Ark. Code §§16-90-1401 et seq. governs criminal sealing. A domestic-relations or probate file can hold public docket material. Its sensitive values stay excluded. Filing through eFlex never turns confidential content into public content.
Someone entitled to restricted material may have to show identity, party status, counsel status, or authority under a court order. Union County publishes no local access checklist. Ask the clerk what is required, and request only what the law permits. A compiled-data request to the Administrative Office of the Courts cannot bypass case-level restrictions.
Certifying Union County Docket Results
A Union County docket search result is a navigation record, not a certificate. It tells you the court, the case number, the parties, and the exact docket entry. Search ARCourts itself warns that its print is not official. Need a maintained or certified copy? Write down the case number, court, entry date, and document description. Then contact the correct clerk.
The Circuit Clerk posts copy and certification listings. The page stops short of a full judicial-copy order policy. Ask about availability, page count, and whether you need a plain, certified, or authenticated copy. Ask also about the total fee, accepted payment, identification, and delivery. District and Probate records sit with different custodians. Do not send your request to the Circuit Clerk just because the search result says Union County.
The sequence is simple: Search result → verified case and entry → correct Union County custodian → official or certified record. A linked PDF may answer a reading need, yet only the clerk can authenticate the maintained court record.
Note: Court reporters handle transcripts. A docket entry that notes a hearing holds no spoken testimony.