Arkansas Notice of Appeal
Arkansas counts the thirty days from entry of the judgment itself, and a district court or small-claims appeal skips the notice of appeal altogether in favor of a certified docket sheet filed directly with the circuit clerk.
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Introduction
In Arkansas, a notice of appeal from a final civil judgment must be filed within 30 days from the entry of the judgment, decree, or order appealed from, not from service of any notice of entry: Arkansas has no service trigger for this deadline (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 4(a)). A timely motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a motion to amend the court's findings or make additional findings, a motion for new trial, or any other motion to vacate, alter, or amend the judgment, filed no later than 10 days after entry, extends the time for every party: the notice of appeal is then due within 30 days of the order disposing of the last such motion, and if the circuit court neither grants nor denies the motion within 30 days of its filing, the motion is deemed denied by operation of law on the 30th day and the 30-day clock runs from there (Rule 4(b)(1)). The deadline does not stay open after that: Rule 4(b)(3) allows only a narrow extension tied to a party's failure to receive notice of the judgment, under the conditions and time limits in the rule's current text; the extension is discretionary, not automatic, and Arkansas courts have denied it where the moving party failed to monitor the docket with reasonable diligence. The notice is filed with the clerk of the circuit court that entered the judgment, never with the appellate court (Rule 3(a)), and it must state whether the appeal goes to the Arkansas Court of Appeals or the Arkansas Supreme Court. A district court or small-claims judgment does not use this notice-of-appeal process at all: instead the appellant files a certified copy of the district court's docket sheet or record, plus a certified copy of the claim form or complaint, with the circuit clerk within 30 days, and that filing itself opens a new circuit-court case for a full trial de novo, described below. Filing the notice does not by itself stop the other side from collecting on the judgment; only a supersedeas bond does that, capped at $25,000,000 (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 8). An appeal to the Arkansas Court of Appeals or Supreme Court reviews the circuit court record for legal error; it is not a new trial. Criminal, administrative-agency, federal-court, and interlocutory appeals follow separate procedures and are not covered here. Attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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The notice of appeal is due 30 days from entry of the judgment, decree, or order appealed from, not from service of any notice of entry (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 4(a)). A timely motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, to amend the court's findings, for new trial, or any other motion to vacate, alter, or amend the judgment, filed no later than 10 days after entry, extends the deadline for every party until 30 days after that motion is decided, or deemed denied on the 30th day if the circuit court never rules (Rule 4(b)(1)).
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The deadline is generally not extendable. Rule 4(b)(3) allows only a narrow, discretionary extension, tied to a party's failure to receive notice of the judgment and set by the rule's own conditions and time limits, so read the current text of Rule 4(b)(3) before relying on it; Arkansas courts have denied this extension where the moving party did not monitor the docket with reasonable diligence.
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File the notice with the clerk of the circuit court that entered the judgment, never with the appellate court (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 3(a)). The notice must state whether the appeal goes to the Arkansas Court of Appeals or the Arkansas Supreme Court, and, if the Supreme Court, which jurisdictional subdivision of Rule 1-2(a) applies.
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Rule 3(e) requires the notice to specify the party taking the appeal, designate the judgment or order, or the part of it, appealed from, designate the contents of the record on appeal, and, if oral testimony is designated, state that the appellant ordered the transcript and made financial arrangements with the court reporter under Ark. Code Ann. Section 16-13-510(c), and, unless the appeal is from an appealable interlocutory order, state that the appellant abandons any pending but unresolved claim. Copies must be served on every other party by a method requiring a signed receipt, such as certified mail; a party wanting to cross-appeal has 10 days after receiving the notice, but never less than 30 days from entry, to file a notice of cross-appeal (Rule 4(a)).
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Filing generally costs $165 for a paper record or $185 for an electronic record, paid to the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals to lodge the record, plus a separate fee to initiate the appeal at the circuit court itself; confirm the current fees with the clerk. Rule 72 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure lets a circuit court permit an indigent party to appeal without paying the circuit-clerk fee.
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No cost bond is required to perfect the appeal itself. But filing the notice does not by itself stop the other side from collecting on the judgment: only a supersedeas bond does that, capped at $25,000,000, issued by the circuit clerk before the record is lodged or by the appellate clerk after (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 8). After filing, the record must be lodged with the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court within 90 days of the first notice of appeal unless the circuit court extends the time, but never beyond 7 months from the date of judgment; interlocutory appeals involving injunctions or receiverships get only 30 days to lodge the record (Rule 5).
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A district court or small-claims judgment is not appealed by notice of appeal at all. The appellant instead files, with the circuit clerk within 30 days of the docket entry awarding judgment, a certified copy of the district court's docket sheet or record and a certified copy of the claim form or complaint; neither a notice of appeal nor an order granting leave to appeal is required, and that filing commences a new circuit-court case for a full trial de novo, not a review of the district court record (Ark. Dist. Ct. R. 9).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Notice of Appeal in Arkansas, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Notice of Appeal guide walks through them.
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Arkansas Requirements for Notice of Appeal
30-Day Deadline Runs From Entry, Not Service
The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days from entry of the judgment, decree, or order appealed from; Arkansas has no service-of-notice-of-entry trigger for this deadline (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 4(a)).
Timely Post-Trial Motions Extend the Deadline
A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, to amend findings, for new trial, or any other motion to vacate, alter, or amend the judgment, filed no later than 10 days after entry, extends the deadline for every party until 30 days after that motion is decided, or deemed denied on the 30th day (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 4(b)(1)).
Narrow Rule 4(b)(3) Extension of Time
The circuit court may grant only a narrow, discretionary extension tied to a party's failure to receive notice of the judgment, under the conditions and time limits in the rule's current text; courts have denied it for lack of reasonable diligence (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 4(b)(3)).
Filed With the Circuit Clerk, Not the Appellate Court
The notice is filed with the clerk of the circuit court that entered the judgment, never the appellate court, and must state whether the appeal goes to the Arkansas Court of Appeals or the Arkansas Supreme Court (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 3(a)).
Rule 3(e) Contents and Service on Other Parties
The notice must specify the appealing party, designate the judgment or order appealed from, designate the record's contents, state that the appellant abandons any pending but unresolved claim (unless appealing an appealable interlocutory order), and be served on every other party by a method requiring a signed receipt (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 3(e)); a cross-appeal notice is due within 10 days of receiving the appellant's notice, but never less than 30 days from entry (Rule 4(a)).
Lodging Fees and an Indigency Fee Waiver
Lodging the record costs $165 for a paper record or $185 for an electronic record, paid to the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; confirm the current fees with the clerk. Rule 72 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure lets a circuit court waive the circuit-clerk fee for an indigent party.
No Stay Unless a Supersedeas Bond Is Posted
Filing the notice does not by itself stop enforcement of the judgment. Only a supersedeas bond does, capped at $25,000,000, issued by the circuit clerk before the record is lodged or the appellate clerk after (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 8).
Record Lodged Within 90 Days, Capped at 7 Months
The record must be lodged with the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court within 90 days of the first notice of appeal unless the circuit court extends the time, but never beyond 7 months from the date of judgment; interlocutory appeals involving injunctions or receiverships get only 30 days (Ark. R. App. P., Civil Rule 5).
District Court and Small-Claims Appeals Skip the Notice
A district court or small-claims judgment is appealed by filing a certified docket sheet or record and a certified claim form or complaint with the circuit clerk within 30 days of the docket entry awarding judgment, not by a notice of appeal, opening a new circuit-court case for a trial de novo (Ark. Dist. Ct. R. 9).