Polk County Divorce Decree Records

Polk County divorce decree records are on file at the Circuit Clerk's office in Mena, Arkansas. This page covers how to find and request divorce decree records in Polk County, including the clerk's address and phone, free online case search through CourtConnect, certified copy costs, state residency rules, and supporting resources available to anyone searching 8th Judicial Circuit divorce filings.

Polk County Circuit Clerk

The Polk County Circuit Clerk's office is located at 507 Church Ave., Mena, AR 71953. Phone: (479) 394-8100. The Circuit Clerk oversees all filings in the domestic relations, civil, criminal, and juvenile court divisions. For divorce cases, the domestic relations division is where petitions are filed and decrees are stored. The clerk maintains the complete case file from initial filing through final decree and any subsequent modification proceedings.

A Polk County divorce decree file typically includes the original petition, summons, the defendant's answer, financial affidavits from both parties, any temporary orders entered during the case, and the final signed decree. Post-decree motions for modification of custody, support, or other terms are also filed with and kept by the Circuit Clerk. When you need a certified copy of a divorce decree from Polk County, you contact this office. Certified copies cost $5.00 for the first page and $0.50 per additional page under Arkansas's standard fee schedule.

Copy requests can be made in person at the Church Avenue courthouse or by mail. For mail requests, include both party names (or the case number), the approximate year of filing, a return mailing address, and a check or money order for the fee. If the record runs to multiple pages, the clerk can confirm the exact total before processing.

Online Divorce Decree Case Search

The Arkansas judiciary operates CourtConnect, a free public access portal for circuit court records. You can search Polk County divorce cases by party name or case number without any login. Results include filing dates, case type, docket entries, party names, and case status. Document images are not available through the portal. To get the actual text of a Polk County divorce decree, you need to request a copy from the Circuit Clerk.

CourtConnect supports statewide searches. If you are not certain the case was filed in Polk County, you can search all Arkansas counties by entering the party's name without selecting a specific county. The system returns every match across all 75 counties, letting you pinpoint the correct filing location. This is helpful for cases filed before a person moved to Polk County, or where the parties lived in different areas during the marriage.

CourtConnect gives free public access to Polk County divorce decree case records. Search by party name or case number through the official Arkansas judiciary portal to find filings in the 8th Judicial Circuit.

Divorce Decree Records: Key Details

A divorce decree is the full signed court order that ends a marriage. It is not the same as a divorce certificate. The decree is held by the Polk County Circuit Clerk. It contains all terms the judge ordered or that the parties agreed to: property division, debt allocation, real estate transfer instructions, custody and parenting arrangements, child support, alimony if any, and name restoration if requested. The decree is the document that banks, title companies, retirement plan administrators, and future courts will want to see.

The divorce certificate is a brief summary record held by the Arkansas Department of Health. It shows only names, date, and county. It does not contain the terms of the divorce. It costs $10 per copy and is available for divorces since January 1923. ADH Vital Records is at 4815 W. Markham St., Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. Phone: (501) 661-2336. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM for walk-in service.

Certificates are restricted under state law to parties and certain family members. Divorce decrees at the Circuit Clerk are open public records under § 25-19-105 of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Filing Divorce in Polk County

Arkansas law sets two residency requirements for divorce. The filing spouse must have lived in Arkansas for at least 60 days before filing the petition. Then, the court cannot enter the final decree until one party has been a Polk County resident for at least 90 days. These are separate requirements, and both must be met before the case can conclude.

Arkansas uses fault-based divorce grounds under § 9-12-301. The petition must state a legal ground. Accepted grounds include general indignities making life with the other party intolerable, cruelty (physical or mental), adultery, habitual drunkenness for one year or more, felony conviction, permanent insanity with prior institutionalization, and 18 consecutive months of separation. If both parties agree on all issues and the defendant executes a written waiver of service, proof of grounds is not required at a formal hearing.

New circuit court civil case filing fees are $165.00. Reopening a case costs $50.00. Self-represented filers can find approved Arkansas divorce forms at Arkansas Legal Help. Forms are free, and the site includes step-by-step instructions for domestic relations cases.

Note: Polk County does not have any cities that meet the qualifying population threshold for individual city pages on this site. The courthouse in Mena handles all county filings.

Historical Divorce Records and State Resources

For older Polk County divorce decree records that may not be readily available at the local courthouse, the Arkansas State Archives can help. The Archives provides up to two hours of free remote research per request. Reach them at state.archives@arkansas.gov or (501) 682-6900. Address: One Capitol Mall, Room 2B-215, Little Rock, AR 72201.

FamilySearch indexes some Arkansas circuit court records and is a useful starting point for genealogical research involving older Polk County divorces. For records where the courthouse cannot locate the file, the Archives can identify which collection may hold transferred records from Polk County.

The Arkansas State Archives research page covers available collections and how to request remote research assistance for older Polk County divorce decree records held at the state level.

FOIA and Decree Access Rights

Polk County divorce decrees are public records under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. § 25-19-105 requires custodians of public records to respond to inspection and copy requests within three business days. Fees are set by state statute: $5.00 for the first certified page, $0.50 for each additional page.

Social security numbers and financial account numbers in a case file are redacted before public release. Cases sealed by court order are not publicly accessible. Standard Polk County divorce cases carry no such seal. Any person can request a copy by coming in person or by sending a written request by mail to the Circuit Clerk at 507 Church Ave., Mena, AR 71953.

If a request is denied, the clerk must provide a written explanation citing the specific legal basis. Most standard divorce decree requests in Polk County are granted without issue.

Nearby Counties

Polk County is in western Arkansas along the Oklahoma border. It is part of the 8th Judicial Circuit. Neighboring counties each maintain independent Circuit Clerk offices and their own divorce records. If you are searching for a case that may have been filed in more than one possible county, use CourtConnect's statewide search first.

• Scott County - Waldron
• Sevier County - De Queen
• Montgomery County - Mount Ida
• Howard County - Nashville
• Sebastian County - Fort Smith / Greenwood

Each county runs its own records system. Sebastian County includes Fort Smith, which is a qualifying city with its own page. Polk County divorce records are separate and unconnected to any neighboring county's system.