Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-901 (2026)

Research References

ALR.

State Statutes or Ordinances Requiring Persons Previously Convicted of Crime to Register with Authorities as Applied to Juvenile Offenders — Duty to Register, Requirements for Registration, and Procedural Matters. 38 A.L.R.6th 1.

State Statutes or Ordinances Requiring Persons Previously Convicted of Crime to Register with Authorities as Applied to Juvenile Offenders — Expungement, Stay or Deferral, Exceptions, Exemptions, and Waiver. 39 A.L.R.6th 577.

Court's Duty to Advise Sex Offender as to Sex Offender Registration Consequences or Other Restrictions Arising from Plea of Guilty, or to Determine that Offender Is Advised Thereof. 41 A.L.R.6th 141.

Application of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000), and Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531, 159 L. Ed. 2d 403, 6 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 619 (2004), to Sex Offender Registration Statutes. 51 A.L.R.6th 139.

Validity and Applicability of State Requirement That Person Convicted or Indicted of Sex Offenses Be Subject to Electronic Location Monitoring, Including Use of Satellite or Global Positioning System. 57 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity of State Sex Offender Registration Laws Under Ex Post Facto Prohibitions. 63 A.L.R.6th 351.

Validity, Construction and Application of State Sex Offender Registration Statutes Concerning Level of Classification — General Principles, Evidentiary Matters, and Assistance of Counsel. 64 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity, Construction, and Application of State Sex Offender Registration Statutes Concerning Level of Classification — Initial Classification Determination. 65 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity, Construction, and Application of State Sex Offender Registration Statutes Concerning Level of Classification — Claims for Downward Departure. 66 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity, Construction, and Application of State Sex Offender Registration Statutes Concerning Level of Classification — Claims Challenging Upward Departure. 67 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity, Construction, and Application of State Sex Offender Statutes Prohibiting Use of Computers and Internet as Conditions of Probation or Sentence. 89 A.L.R.6th 261.

Validity of State Sex Offender Registration Laws Under Equal Protection Guarantees. 93 A.L.R.6th 1.

Validity, Construction, and Application of Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 16901 et seq., its Enforcement Provision, 18 U.S.C. § 2250, and Associated Regulations. 30 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 213.

Ark. L. Rev.

Loe, Arkansas Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Laws: An Ex Post Facto Violation? Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-12-901 — 12-12-920 and Snyder v. State of Arkansas, 53 Ark. L. Rev. 175.

U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.

Survey of Legislation, 2001 Arkansas General Assembly, Law Enforcement and Emergency Management, 24 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 501.

Case Notes

Constitutionality.

The Sex and Child Offender Registration Act of 1997, §§ 12-12-901 — 12-12-920, is essentially regulatory and non-punitive in nature; therefore, it cannot be considered a violation of the ex post facto clauses of the United States or Arkansas Constitutions. Kellar v. Fayetteville Police Dep't, 339 Ark. 274, 5 S.W.3d 402 (1999).

In General.

Where defendant was convicted of a sex offense and registered as a sex offender in another state, and while living in Arkansas for five years he was convicted of breaking and entering and felony theft of property and was given suspended sentences, but all the while he failed to register as a sex offender as required by § 12-12-905(a)(2) of the Sex Offender Registration Act, § 12-12-901 et seq., his failure to register or report a change of address was a Class D felony, and the state met its burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant violated a condition of his suspended sentences. Williams v. State, 351 Ark. 229, 91 S.W.3d 68 (2002).

Reduction of sex offender's risk assessment was appropriate pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., because defendant's answers during his assessment interview appeared to have been consistent with documents assembled for the interview; additionally, no incidents were cited where defendant's answers differed from documents assembled for the interview. Ark. Dep't of Corr. Sex Offender Screening & Risk Assessment v. Claybaugh, 93 Ark. App. 11, 216 S.W.3d 134 (2005).

Applicability.

Sentencing court had authority to order the registration of a defendant as a sexual offender because the defendant's crime of public sexual indecency was classified as a sexual offense, under § 5-14-111, and because § 12-12-903(13)(B)(ii) did not restrict the sentencing court's authority to order registration for a person's conviction as a sex offender for a sexual offense neither enumerated in § 12-12-903(13)(A)(i) nor included under the provisions of § 12-12-903(13)(B)(ii). Fountain v. State, 103 Ark. App. 15, 285 S.W.3d 706 (2008).

Illustrative Cases.

Appellant failed to state a claim for habeas corpus relief, because the trial court had to enter an amended judgment requiring him to register as a child or sexual offender under the Arkansas Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., when he entered a plea of guilty to false imprisonment, theft of property, and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child. Justus v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 149 (2013).

Sentence.

Circuit court did not err in revoking the suspended sentence defendant received for failure to comply with the reporting requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., because the circuit court's finding that defendant failed to report his address was not clearly erroneous; defendant's parole officer visited the location on consecutive days and did not see defendant there. Wicks v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 499, 375 S.W.3d 769 (2010).

Circuit court did not err by denying defendant's motion to dismiss the state's petition to revoke the suspended sentence he received for failure to comply with the reporting requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., because defendant did not receive an illegal sentence; by pleading guilty, defendant admitted that he was required to register as a sex offender under the Act by virtue of his conviction for rape in California, and that defendant could have asserted a defense to the charge did not call into question the circuit court's authority to preside over the criminal matter, to accept his plea of guilty, and to sentence appellant accordingly. Wicks v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 499, 375 S.W.3d 769 (2010).

Circuit court did not have jurisdiction to entertain defendant's motion to dismiss the state's petition to revoke the suspended sentence he received for failure to comply with the reporting requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., because defendant failed to pursue postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1 within ninety days of the date of the entry of judgment; thus, he was barred from challenging his plea and conviction during a revocation proceeding. Wicks v. State, 2010 Ark. App. 499, 375 S.W.3d 769 (2010).

Cited: Morrison v. State, 2009 Ark. App. 681, 374 S.W.3d 8 (2009).