Custody in Arkansas.
The starting point the law actually sets, what the judge has to weigh, and the deadlines that catch people out.
See a different stateArkansas
Yes, and it is a presumption about TIME, not just about decision-making. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101(a)(1)(A)(iv)(a) provides: "In an action concerning an original child custody determination in a divorce or paternity matter, there is a rebuttable presumption that joint custody is in the best interest of the child." Because § 9-13-101(a)(5) defines joint custody as "the approximate and reasonable equal division of time with the child by both parents," this is effectively a presumption of roughly equal time. Subsection (a)(1)(A)(iv)(b) lists exactly four ways it is rebutted: "(1) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that joint custody is not in the best interest of the child; (2) If the parties have reached an agreement on all issues related to custody of the child; (3) If one (1) of the parties does not request sole, primary, or joint custody; or (4) If a rebuttable presumption described in subsection (c) or subsection (d) of this section is established by the evidence." Note the burden: clear and convincing evidence, which is a high bar. And if the presumption IS rebutted, § 9-13-101(b)(3) requires the court to enter a written order with "[f]acts, findings, and conclusions of law concerning the basis for the court's determination" and a parenting time schedule that "[m]aximizes the amount of time that each parent has with the child" consistent with the child's best interest. Separately, § 9-13-101(b)(1)(A)(ii) was amended in 2021 so the circuit court "shall consider awarding joint custody" (it used to say "may").
Use the state’s own words
Arkansas still says "custody" and "visitation," but the statute sorts custody into three buckets: sole custody, primary custody, and joint custody. The word that carries the most weight is "joint custody," because Arkansas defines it by the clock: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101(a)(5) says "'joint custody' means the approximate and reasonable equal division of time with the child by both parents individually as agreed to by the parents or as ordered by the court." A parent who is not granted sole, primary, or joint custody is "entitled to reasonable parenting time" under § 9-13-101(b)(1)(A)(vii)(a). So Arkansas filings use custody, primary custody, joint custody, and parenting time.
How Arkansas decides
Decisions against where the child lives
Arkansas's custody statute does not formally split decision-making from residence the way many states do. Section 9-13-101 speaks of awarding "sole, primary, or joint custody" as a single package, and defines joint custody purely as a division of time, not as a division of decision-making authority. We could not confirm on an official source whether or how Arkansas courts separately label legal versus physical custody, so if that distinction matters in your case, ask your judge's chambers or a local attorney how your circuit words it.
What the judge must weigh
Arkansas does not put a checklist of best-interest factors in the custody statute. Section 9-13-101 tells the court to decide "solely in accordance with the welfare and best interest of the child" and, separately, to consider the child's preference. The detailed factors Arkansas judges actually weigh come from court decisions rather than the code, so there is no statutory list to quote. Plan on presenting evidence about stability, caretaking history, each parent's ability to cooperate, and the child's needs, and ask your attorney which appellate cases your circuit relies on.
What the child wants
Considered, with no minimum age. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101(a)(1)(A)(ii): "In determining the best interest of the child, the court may consider the preferences of the child if the child is of a sufficient age and mental capacity to reason, regardless of chronological age." The phrase "regardless of chronological age" is deliberate. A mature 11-year-old may be heard; an immature 15-year-old may not be. It is never the deciding factor on its own.
Where there has been violence or abuse
Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101(c) and (d) each contain a rebuttable presumption, and Act 604 of 2021 confirms that establishing either one of them by the evidence is enough, on its own, to rebut the joint-custody presumption. We could not read the exact wording of subsections (c) and (d) on an official Arkansas source, so we are not going to paraphrase them. If domestic violence is part of your case, ask your attorney or the circuit clerk for the current text of § 9-13-101(c) and (d), because those two subsections are the ones that change the starting point in your favor.
The paperwork and the people
Moving away
What you must do before you move
We could not confirm a notice period or a distance trigger for this state. That does not mean there is no rule — in several states it comes from court decisions rather than a statute. Get advice before you move, not after.
Later on
Changing the order
Arkansas's general modification standard (a material change in circumstances plus best interest) comes from court decisions rather than § 9-13-101, and we could not confirm it on an official source. One modification rule IS in the statute: Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101(b)(1)(A)(iii) says that if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that one parent "demonstrates a pattern of willfully creating conflict in an attempt to disrupt a current or pending joint-custody arrangement" and the court cannot fix the conflict by order, the court "may deem such behavior as a material change of circumstances and may change a joint custody order to an order of primary custody to the nondisruptive parent." In plain terms: deliberately sabotaging a joint-custody schedule can cost you the joint schedule.
If you were never married
The joint-custody presumption in § 9-13-101(a)(1)(A)(iv)(a) applies "in a divorce or paternity matter," so unmarried parents get the same starting point once paternity is established. That last part is the catch: for a father, the presumption arrives through a paternity case. Until paternity is legally established, there is no custody order to presume anything about. If you are an unmarried father in Arkansas, establishing paternity is step one, not an optional formality.
Two things surprise Arkansas parents. First, Arkansas is one of the few states where the joint-custody presumption really does mean roughly equal time, because the statute defines joint custody as "the approximate and reasonable equal division of time." Second, the bar to move off that starting point is high: clear and convincing evidence, not just "more likely than not." And if a judge does move off it, the judge must write out why and must still build a schedule that "maximizes the amount of time that each parent has with the child." One quieter point worth knowing: if you simply do not ask for sole, primary, or joint custody, the presumption is rebutted by that alone. What you request in your pleadings matters.
What we could not confirm
- We confirmed Arkansas's custody presumption, the statutory definition of joint custody, and the child's-preference language directly from the enacted laws on the General Assembly's site. We could not read the full current text of Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101, because Arkansas's official code is published through a subscription legal database rather than a free state web page. So we cannot state Arkansas's domestic-violence presumptions, relocation rules, custody-evaluation authority, mediation requirements, parenting-plan requirements, or the general modification standard. For those, ask the circuit clerk's office in your county for the current text of § 9-13-101 and your circuit's local rules, or ask an Arkansas family lawyer during a consultation.
- 3 official pages we tried to read refused automated access. We did not try to get around that, so some detail above was read from a different official source — a published court opinion quoting the statute, or the court’s own forms and instructions.
Compare all fifty states
Where 50/50 really is the default, and the twenty-six states where nothing is presumed.
And the money side
How Arkansas calculates child support, and the overnight number that changes it.