Search Fayetteville Criminal Records

Criminal records in Fayetteville are maintained by Washington County agencies, including the sheriff's office, the Circuit Clerk, and the Fayetteville Police Department. The city is the county seat of Washington County, which means all felony criminal cases from the Fayetteville area go through the Washington County Circuit Court located here. Fayetteville also hosts the University of Arkansas, which has its own police department with full law enforcement authority, adding one more source of criminal record data that's specific to this city.

Washington County Sheriff and Inmate Records

The Washington County Sheriff's Office covers law enforcement for unincorporated areas and works alongside the Fayetteville Police Department within the city. The sheriff's main office is at 1155 West Clydesdale Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Main line: (479) 444-5700. For detention-related inquiries, call (479) 444-5830. The records division is at (479) 444-5785. If you need warrant information, call (479) 444-5800. Criminal division: (479) 444-5720. The Washington County Detention Center at the same address holds people arrested throughout the county, including those booked from Fayetteville Police Department arrests.

Booking records from the Washington County Detention Center include the arrested person's full name, booking photo, date of birth, arrest date, arresting agency, all charges with statute citations, bond amount and type, warrant references, and the associated case number. The county detention center processes bookings for all law enforcement agencies working in Washington County, so records from Fayetteville PD arrests as well as arrests made by the University of Arkansas Police Department will typically appear in county booking data.

For statewide inmate searches covering people held in Arkansas Department of Corrections facilities, use the free ADC Inmate Search. This covers state prisoners sentenced for felony offenses, which is separate from county-level booking records.

The City of Fayetteville's official site at fayetteville-ar.gov includes department directories and public records resources, including police department information for Fayetteville criminal record requests.

Fayetteville Warrant Search

The Fayetteville Police Department runs a public warrant search tool at fayetteville-ar.gov/1335/Warrant-Search. This free tool lets you look up active warrants by name and view basic charge information, warrant numbers, and warrant dates. It's one of the few city-level warrant tools in Arkansas that's publicly accessible online. Not every city or county makes this data available this way, so this is a useful resource specific to Fayetteville.

Active warrants in Fayetteville can originate from the city's district court for misdemeanors and traffic matters, or from the Washington County Circuit Court for felony cases. If you're looking for a warrant from an incident that occurred in an unincorporated part of Washington County, that record would be with the sheriff's office rather than Fayetteville PD. The sheriff's warrants line is (479) 444-5800.

Washington County has 10 District Courts in addition to the Circuit Court. District courts handle misdemeanors, traffic violations, civil matters under $5,000, and preliminary hearings for felony cases. Warrants issued by district courts are enforced by local law enforcement across the county. If you have a warrant from a district court in Washington County, the originating court would have that record.

The Fayetteville warrant search at fayetteville-ar.gov provides free public access to active warrant information including charge details, warrant numbers, and dates for Fayetteville Police Department warrants.

Washington County Circuit Clerk and Court Records

The Washington County Circuit Clerk's office handles all court records for cases filed in Washington County. The office is at 280 North College Avenue, Suite 302, Fayetteville, AR 72701, phone (479) 444-1538. The clerk's office holds felony criminal case files, divorce and custody records, civil cases, probate records, and juvenile case records for the county. Criminal cases from Fayetteville, Springdale, and all other Washington County cities are filed here. Plain copies cost $0.25 per page. Certified copies are $5 per document.

The Fourth Judicial District Court handles all felony criminal cases in Washington County. If someone was arrested in Fayetteville and charged with a felony, that case goes to the Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court, which operates out of this courthouse location. The circuit court has separate divisions for civil, juvenile, drug court, and probate matters. Criminal felony cases are assigned to criminal division judges.

To search court cases before visiting the clerk, use the free CourtConnect system from the Arkansas Judiciary. You can search by name or case number and see docket entries, hearing dates, case status, and attorney information. CourtConnect covers all participating Arkansas circuit and district courts, including those in Washington County. Get the case number from CourtConnect, then contact the clerk's office for document copies.

Washington County's official website at washingtoncountyar.gov has department contact information and resource links for the sheriff, detention center, and circuit clerk. This is the main county government portal for Fayetteville-area criminal record needs.

University of Arkansas Police Department Records

The University of Arkansas Police Department has full law enforcement authority under Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-17-304. UAPD officers have the same powers as municipal, county, and state police. Their jurisdiction covers all University-owned or leased property and areas immediately adjacent to the campus. UAPD connects to NLETS, NCIC, ACIC, and the Arkansas Wireless Information Network, giving them access to the same criminal history databases as any other Arkansas law enforcement agency.

Arrests made by UAPD on or near campus go through the same booking process as other arrests in Washington County. Subjects are typically transported to the Washington County Detention Center. Criminal cases resulting from UAPD arrests are filed in Washington County Circuit Court just like any other Fayetteville-area case. UAPD works alongside the Fayetteville Police Department, Washington County Sheriff, and the Arkansas State Police on joint cases and shared campus-boundary jurisdiction issues.

UAPD incident reports and arrest records are subject to Arkansas FOIA. Requests can be submitted directly to the UAPD or through the University's public records office. For incidents that led to criminal charges, the court file at the Washington County Circuit Clerk is the official record of the case outcome.

FOIA and Public Record Access in Fayetteville

Arkansas FOIA at Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-101 et seq. covers access to criminal records in Fayetteville. Written requests can go to the Fayetteville Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, or the Circuit Clerk. The agency has 24 hours to decide on release. They then have three days to produce the records. Fees are limited to copying costs: $0.25 per page for plain copies, $5 for certified copies.

Felony conviction records, misdemeanor conviction records, and felony arrest records are public under A.C.A. § 12-12-1506(d). Pending felony arrests from the last five years are also accessible without the subject's consent. Records that are off-limits include dismissed charges with no resulting conviction, records sealed under A.C.A. § 16-90-901, juvenile records protected by A.C.A. § 9-27-309, and ongoing investigation files. If your request is denied, the Arkansas Attorney General's Office at 800-482-8982 handles FOIA disputes and can explain your rights.

The VINE victim notification service is available at 1-800-510-0415. You can register to receive automatic alerts about changes in a specific person's custody status. The service is free and runs 24 hours a day.

The Arkansas Crime Information Center sex offender registry can be searched by name or location for registered offenders in the Fayetteville area. The registry shows address, conviction offense, photo, and registration tier.

Background Checks and State Criminal History

For a formal background check on a Fayetteville resident, the Arkansas State Police Online Criminal Background Check System is the official route. The online check costs $22. Mail-in requests using form ASP-122 cost $25. Volunteer groups working with vulnerable populations pay $11. Results can include conviction records for all felonies and misdemeanors, felony arrest records, pending felony charges from the last five years, and sex offender status. Records sealed under state law won't appear. The Identification Bureau is at One State Police Plaza Drive, Little Rock, AR 72209, phone 501-618-8500.

The check pulls from ACIC's statewide criminal history database, which aggregates records from all Arkansas counties. For a Fayetteville resident with cases only in Washington County, the state background check and the circuit clerk's records cover the same core information. The state check is more useful when the person has cases in multiple counties or when you need a standardized certified report rather than raw court file copies.

For county-level context and additional Washington County resources, see the Washington County criminal records page, which covers the full range of county agencies, courthouse details, and access procedures for all cities in Washington County.

Nearby Cities

Washington County cities near Fayetteville share the same county court system and many of the same record access points. Cities in adjacent counties use their own county agencies for criminal records.