Access Conway Dissolution of Marriage Records

Conway residents file dissolution of marriage cases at the Faulkner County Circuit Court, which is the official repository for all divorce decrees and related documents in the city. This page covers how to search those records, who to contact, and what online tools are available for Faulkner County cases.

Faulkner County Circuit Court: Where Conway Cases Are Filed

Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, which means the Circuit Clerk's office is right in the city. The Circuit Clerk is Nancy Eastham. Her office is at 724 Locust Ave., Conway, AR 72034. Phone: (501) 450-4911. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Since Conway is the county seat, you do not need to travel to another city to file or pick up records.

Faulkner County moved to electronic filing on June 1, 2016. Cases filed after that date can be searched and accessed through the state's digital systems more easily. The clerk's office has also scanned records going back to 2000, so cases from the last 25+ years are available digitally. Cases before 2000 may be on paper and require in-person or mail requests to access.

The clerk handles dissolution of marriage along with other civil family matters. The case file includes the initial petition, service documents, any court orders, financial disclosures if filed, and the final decree. When you need a certified copy of a decree -- for a name change, a mortgage application, or other legal purposes -- the clerk can provide one for a fee. Call ahead to confirm the current rate and what ID or information you will need to bring.

Search Conway Dissolution of Marriage Cases Online

Arkansas CourtConnect at caseinfo.arcourts.gov covers Faulkner County Circuit Court. Search is free and open to the public. Look up a case by full name or case number. The system returns the case type, filing date, judge, current status, and docket entries. You can check whether a dissolution case was filed, when it was filed, and what happened at each hearing.

The Faulkner County divorce records page at faulknerrecords.us/divorce-records provides additional search information specific to the county. Check that resource for any local tools or indexes beyond what CourtConnect shows.

CourtConnect and related digital tools typically cover cases from the mid-1990s onward. For cases before that, the clerk's office at 724 Locust Ave. is the right starting point. The staff can tell you what records exist for older cases and how to request them. Some older records are on microfilm or in physical files and require an in-person visit or a mail request with enough detail to locate the right file.

Conway City Clerk: Not Where Court Records Are Kept

The Conway City Clerk/Treasurer is Denise Hurd. Her office can be reached at 501-450-6105. The city clerk manages Conway's official city records: ordinances, council minutes, city contracts, and similar municipal documents. Dissolution of marriage records are not held at the city clerk's office.

This is a point of confusion for many people. Conway city hall and the Faulkner County courthouse are both in Conway, and since Conway is the county seat, they are relatively close to each other. But they are separate offices with separate functions. The city clerk handles local government records; the circuit clerk handles court records. For dissolution cases, go to the Faulkner County Circuit Clerk at 724 Locust Ave., not the city clerk's office.

The screenshot below shows the Conway City Clerk page. It shows the services the city manages, which do not include dissolution of marriage records. Visit conwayarkansas.gov/city-clerk/ for city record information.

The Conway City Clerk handles municipal records only. Dissolution of marriage case records are at the Faulkner County Circuit Clerk at 724 Locust Ave., Conway, (501) 450-4911.

Faulkner County Circuit Clerk

The Faulkner County Circuit Clerk maintains all dissolution of marriage records for Conway and the rest of the county. The screenshot below shows the clerk's page on the Faulkner County website. It covers contact information, office hours, and details on how to request records.

The clerk's office at 724 Locust Ave. accepts walk-in visits Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Electronic filing has been in use since June 2016, and scanned records go back to 2000.

Arkansas Dissolution Law and Conway Filers

Arkansas requires you to state grounds for dissolution of marriage. The state does not have a plain no-fault option. The most common grounds used are general indignities under Ark. Code Ann. § 9-12-301(b)(3)(C) and 18-month continuous separation under § 9-12-301(b)(5). General indignities applies to a wide range of conduct. If both parties have simply been apart for 18 months and are not fighting about much, the separation ground is cleaner to use.

Residency is required. One spouse must have been an Arkansas resident for at least 60 days before filing and must still be a resident when the petition is filed (§ 9-12-303). After the other party is served, a 30-day waiting period must pass before the court can enter a final decree (§ 9-12-307(a)(1)(B)). This applies whether the case is contested or not. Even a fully agreed case must wait out the 30 days.

Faulkner County's move to electronic filing in 2016 means newer cases process more efficiently. But the 30-day post-service wait still applies regardless of how the case is filed. For free legal guidance, AR Law Help covers Arkansas dissolution law in plain terms. The Center for Arkansas Legal Services at (501) 376-3423 serves the Conway area and may provide direct help to eligible residents.

Arkansas Department of Health Records

The Arkansas Department of Health keeps a statewide divorce index going back to 1923. The ADH is located in Little Rock at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. Phone: (800) 462-0599. ADH records confirm that a divorce occurred and list the names, dates, and counties. They do not contain the full decree. If you need a certified copy of the actual court order, contact the Faulkner County Circuit Clerk. If you just need confirmation a divorce happened, ADH may be sufficient.

Conway is about 30 minutes from the Little Rock ADH office. If you need both a vital record confirmation and a certified court copy, you may be able to handle both in one trip to Little Rock -- stopping at the ADH office and then the Pulaski County records area if needed. But most Faulkner County cases are resolved through the Conway courthouse without needing to go to Little Rock at all.

Other Arkansas Cities and Dissolution Records

Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County and the only qualifying city in the county for this site. For records from other parts of the state, each county has its own circuit clerk. Use the CourtConnect portal or the county pages on this site to find the right office.