Arkansas employers screening job applicants work under two layers of rules: the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which applies in every state, and a smaller set of Arkansas specific statutes that cover state police checks, record sealing, and how occupational licensing boards may weigh a criminal history. This guide walks through both layers and says plainly where Arkansas has not passed a rule, rather than guessing at one.
The federal baseline every Arkansas employer must follow
If an employer orders a background check through a consumer reporting agency, the Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the floor, regardless of state. Before ordering a report, the employer generally must provide a standalone written disclosure and get the applicant’s written authorization. Before taking an adverse action based on the report, the employer generally must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, and then a final adverse action notice after giving the applicant a reasonable chance to respond. These duties come from 15 U.S.C. 1681b.
The FCRA also limits how long certain negative information can be reported. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c, civil suits, civil judgments, arrest records, and most other adverse items that are not criminal convictions generally cannot be reported after seven years. Criminal convictions are not subject to that seven year cap under federal law, so a conviction may be reported further back unless a state law or a sealing order narrows that further. When an employer or its screening vendor instead pulls information directly from public records such as court dockets for employment purposes, 15 U.S.C. 1681k requires either notifying the applicant at the time the information is reported or maintaining strict procedures to keep the information complete and up to date.
A background check will not necessarily show every record that exists, and what shows up depends on the record’s age, the court or agency that holds it, and whether it has been sealed or expunged. Employers should not assume a clean report proves a clean history, and should not assume a report will surface everything either.
EEOC Title VII guidance and individualized assessment
Criminal history screening also sits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces. A blanket policy that excludes every applicant with any criminal record can create a disparate impact claim if it is not job related and consistent with business necessity, because conviction rates differ across groups protected under Title VII. The EEOC’s long standing enforcement guidance on this topic from 2012 was rescinded on October 29, 2026, and its old web address no longer loads, so employers should not rely on that 2012 document as current agency guidance. Employers can instead review the EEOC’s current pages on who is protected from employment discrimination and on prohibited employment policies and practices, and should talk to counsel before adopting a criminal history screening policy that excludes applicants without looking at the job and the record together.
Arkansas State Police criminal background checks
For many caregiving, education, and licensed occupations, Arkansas law directs the employer or the licensing agency to request a state and sometimes a fingerprint based national criminal history check through the Arkansas State Police rather than relying only on a private vendor’s county or multistate database search. These checks are typically tied to a specific statute for the role in question (for example, roles involving children, elderly or vulnerable adults, or certain state licenses), so the trigger is the job category, not a general requirement that applies to every Arkansas employer. Employers hiring into a position that Arkansas law designates as requiring a state police check should confirm the current submission process directly with the agency rather than assuming a standard commercial background check satisfies the statutory requirement.
Record sealing in Arkansas
Arkansas allows many criminal records to be sealed through a petition process under its Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act, originally enacted as Act 1460 of 2013 and since amended. Sealing is not automatic. A person generally has to petition the circuit court, meet eligibility rules that vary by offense type and criminal history, and get a court order before a record is treated as sealed. Once a record is sealed under Arkansas law, a background check report generally should not include it, and an employer should not ask an applicant to disclose a sealed or expunged record. Because eligibility and waiting periods depend on the specific offense and the petitioner’s full record, employers should treat any claim about exactly which records qualify or how quickly sealing can happen as something that varies case by case rather than a fixed rule.
Occupational licensing and criminal history
Arkansas also addressed how state licensing boards weigh a criminal record when reviewing an application, through Act 990 of 2019, which amended the state’s occupational licensing statutes. The practical effect is that a board generally cannot operate a blanket rule disqualifying every applicant with any criminal record; the board is expected to look at whether the specific offense relates to the duties of the license. The details of how an individual board applies that standard vary, so an employer or applicant dealing with a specific Arkansas licensing board (nursing, cosmetology, real estate, and similar regulated occupations each have their own board) should confirm that board’s current criminal history policy directly rather than assuming one statewide rule covers every license.
What Arkansas has not enacted
Arkansas has not passed a statewide ban the box law that restricts when private employers may ask about criminal history on a job application. Some individual Arkansas cities or specific public sector hiring rules may differ, but there is no general private employer ban the box statute at the state level, so employers should say so plainly rather than assume one exists because many other states have adopted one. Arkansas also does not have a single comprehensive statute that broadly mandates or restricts private employer drug testing programs the way a handful of other states do; employers generally set their own written drug testing policy, subject to other federal and state laws such as disability discrimination protections and any industry specific safety rules that apply to the role.
Arkansas employer rules at a glance
| Rule | Arkansas position | Primary source |
|---|---|---|
| Ban the box (private employers) | No statewide law restricting when applications may ask about criminal history | No statute found; confirm with counsel for any local ordinance |
| Lookback period on non-conviction records | Federal seven year limit applies; no separate Arkansas statute extends or shortens it for private employer reports | 15 U.S.C. 1681c |
| Record sealing | Petition based sealing under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act | Act 1460 of 2013 (Ark. Code Ann. 16-90-1401 et seq.) |
| Occupational licensing and criminal history | Boards generally cannot apply a blanket disqualification; must consider relevance to the license | Act 990 of 2019 |
| Fingerprint or state police checks for sensitive roles | Required for specific job categories set by statute, submitted through the state police | Arkansas State Police |
| Private employer drug testing | No single comprehensive statute found mandating or restricting private programs | No statute found; confirm with counsel |
A practical compliance checklist
Before running a background check on an Arkansas applicant, an employer can generally expect to need: a standalone disclosure form separate from the job application, the applicant’s written authorization, a process for pre-adverse and adverse action notices with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, a way to confirm whether a reported record has since been sealed, and, for any role that Arkansas law ties to a state police or fingerprint based check, the correct state specific submission rather than a general commercial search alone. None of this is legal advice for a specific hiring decision, and an employer facing an unusual record, a licensing board question, or a sealed record dispute should get Arkansas counsel involved before acting.
For background on how sealed and expunged records differ and what a report may still show, see Sealed vs Expunged Records: What Each Hides From a Background Check. For a broader look at ban the box and fair chance hiring rules across states, see Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Laws: An Employer Guide. To see how a compliant background check program is built end to end, visit Reveal Background.
Frequently asked questions
Does Arkansas have a ban the box law for private employers?
No. Arkansas has not enacted a statewide law restricting when private employers may ask about criminal history on a job application.
Can a background check report a sealed Arkansas criminal record?
Generally no. Once a record is sealed under Arkansas’s Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act, it is not supposed to appear on a standard background check, though the sealing is granted case by case through a court petition rather than automatically.
How far back can an Arkansas employer look at criminal history?
Federal law generally limits reporting of non-conviction items such as arrests to seven years under 15 U.S.C. 1681c. Convictions are not subject to that federal cap, and Arkansas does not have a separate statute shortening that lookback for private employer reports.
Does Arkansas require fingerprint based background checks for certain jobs?
Yes, for specific job categories set by statute, generally involving children, vulnerable adults, or certain state licenses, where the check is submitted through the Arkansas State Police rather than a standard commercial search alone.
Do Arkansas occupational licensing boards automatically deny a license for any criminal record?
Generally no. Following Act 990 of 2019, boards are expected to consider whether the offense relates to the duties of the license rather than applying a blanket denial, though the details vary by board.
What federal steps must an Arkansas employer follow before and after a background check?
A standalone written disclosure, the applicant’s written authorization, and, if the employer may take an adverse action, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and summary of rights followed by a final adverse action notice, all under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers with a specific hiring, licensing, or sealed record question should talk to Arkansas counsel.
