If our Arkansas county lost its print newspaper, can we publish required legal notices online or just post in public places?
Plain-English summary
Senator Caldwell's office asked the AG to apply the framework from Op. 2021-065 (Little River County) to Woodruff County. Woodruff County (population 7,620) lost its last printed newspaper in December 2020. Now there are no printed newspapers that circulate in the county. There is one large Arkansas newspaper that is found only online in Woodruff County.
The AG enclosed Op. 2021-065 as a companion. The interpretive framework was the same:
- Williamson v. Nixon (1933) provides the substance test for "newspaper of general circulation."
- Ark. Code Ann. § 16-3-105 provides the mechanical "legal newspaper" criteria.
- Online-only publications most likely do not satisfy either definition (the "legal newspaper" definition requires a second-class mailing privilege online papers cannot meet).
- Counties may, under Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution and Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-801, designate a county website as a "public place" for posting notices, but acceptance is fact-dependent in any specific challenge.
The new wrinkle for Woodruff County was that the AG could give a definitive answer on Questions 1 and 2: Woodruff County has neither a newspaper of general circulation nor a legal newspaper. The reason was the factual record. Op. 2021-065 had declined to make the same call for Little River County because that county at least had print papers in some distribution (the Little River Post and the Texarkana Gazette), even if marginal. Woodruff County had no print papers at all post-December 2020. The only paper available in the county was online-only, which under Op. 2021-065's tilt-against-online analysis does not constitute a newspaper of general circulation.
The practical consequence: Woodruff County must use the statutory posting fallback. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-104(b), county-government notices must be posted in three public places designated by ordinance. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-3-101, legal notices must be posted in five "most public places" in the county.
Questions 3 and 4 (online newspapers and county-website designation) were referred to Op. 2021-065. The AG did not repeat the analysis but incorporated it.
What this means for you
Woodruff County officials, county judges, and the county quorum court
Until a print newspaper of general circulation reappears in Woodruff County, you are operating under the statutory posting fallback. Two practical steps:
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Adopt or update an ordinance designating three "public places" in the county for county-government notices under § 14-14-104(b). Typical designations are the courthouse, a county-owned office building, and a community-traffic location like a post office. Document the rationale: foot traffic, public access, and visibility.
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For § 16-3-101 legal notices (which include foreclosure notices, certain ordinance publications, and similar matters), post in five "most public places" in the county. The same factual record (foot traffic, public access) governs.
The county website can be designated as a "public place" by ordinance, but pair it with traditional posting until the legislature provides clearer authority. Document evidence of public familiarity with the county website as a notice channel.
If a print paper resumes circulation in Woodruff County, the analysis flips back to the Williamson v. Nixon substance test for that paper.
County attorneys advising counties without print newspapers
Op. 2021-067 is the cleanest authority for the proposition that a county with no print newspaper at all is in the statutory-posting fallback. Op. 2021-065 supplies the legal framework. Together they give defensible cover for going to the public-place posting route. Memo your file with the factual record (no print circulation) and the statutory citations.
Process servers, foreclosure publishers, and litigants
If your case requires § 16-3-101 publication and the case is in or affects Woodruff County, the print-newspaper option is unavailable on this record. Work with the county clerk to identify the five designated public places and post there. Document the posting (photographs, notarized affidavits) to defend against later challenges. Online-only options remain risky.
Process servers and litigants statewide
This opinion sets a real precedent: a county with no print circulation can lawfully proceed under the statutory posting fallback rather than struggling to make an online publication fit. If you serve or publish in another rural Arkansas county that has lost its print newspaper, you have a basis to argue the same conclusion applies on parallel facts.
Newspaper publishers serving rural Arkansas counties
The opinion emphasizes the legal value of maintaining at least minimal print distribution in covered counties. As soon as print distribution stops in a county, the county loses access to newspaper-publication compliance for many statutorily required notices, defaulting to the posting route. There is a real public-service and arguably commercial value in maintaining even small print runs in counties at risk of going dark.
Common questions
Does Woodruff County have a newspaper of general circulation?
No. The AG concluded that on the facts presented (no print papers circulating in the county since December 2020, and only one online-only Arkansas paper available), Woodruff County has neither a newspaper of general circulation nor a legal newspaper.
What does Woodruff County do for required notices now?
Under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-104(b), county-government notices must be posted in three public places designated by ordinance. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-3-101, legal notices must be posted in five "most public places" in the county.
Why did the AG give a definitive answer here but not in the Little River County opinion?
Little River County still had print papers (Little River Post and Texarkana Gazette) circulating in the county, even if marginally. Whether either qualified as a newspaper of general circulation was a fact question the AG could not resolve. Woodruff County had no print papers circulating at all post-December 2020, so the AG could conclude on these facts that no qualifying newspaper existed.
Could the online-only Arkansas paper that reaches Woodruff County qualify?
The AG did not say categorically no, but the analysis from Op. 2021-065 tilts strongly against online-only publications. The "legal newspaper" definition requires a second-class mailing privilege, which online-only papers cannot meet. Other state AGs (South Carolina 2015, Ohio 2008) reached the same conclusion under similar statutes.
Can Woodruff County designate a county website as one of the public places?
Qualifiedly yes. Op. 2021-065's analysis applies. The quorum court may by ordinance designate the website under Amendment 55 and § 14-14-801, but a court reviewing the designation in a specific challenge would weigh whether the public has meaningful access to the website. Pairing website posting with physical public-place posting reduces risk.
What if a print newspaper resumes circulation in Woodruff County?
The analysis would flip back to the Williamson v. Nixon substance test for that paper: does it carry "the record of events occurring of general interest to the public as a whole"? If yes, it qualifies as a newspaper of general circulation; if it also meets the § 16-3-105 mechanical criteria (fixed title, second-class mailing privilege, twelve months of publication, paid distribution, etc.), it qualifies as a "legal newspaper" too.
Background and statutory framework
Statutory notice requirements (same as Op. 2021-065):
- Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-104(b) (county-government notices; three-public-place fallback)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 16-3-101 et seq. (legal notices; five-public-place fallback)
- Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-14-105; 14-14-905; 14-14-917; 14-16-105; 14-16-106; 14-21-102; 14-22-101; 22-9-203; 26-36-203; 26-37-102; 26-37-107
Companion opinion:
- Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-065 (incorporated by reference; framework for "newspaper of general circulation," "legal newspaper," online publications, and county-website-as-public-place).
Citations
- Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-14-104; 14-14-105; 14-14-905; 14-14-917; 14-16-105; 14-16-106; 14-21-102; 14-22-101; 16-3-101 et seq.; 22-9-203; 26-36-203; 26-37-102; 26-37-107
- Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-065
Source
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.
STATE OF ARKANSAS
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Opinion No. 2021-067
July 11, 2022
The Honorable Ronald Caldwell
State Senator
120 CR 393
Wynne, AR 72396
Dear Senator Caldwell:
This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding posting of public notices. You have provided the following background information:
A county government must publish required notices in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-14-104; 14-14-105; 14-14-905; 14-14-917; 14-16-105; 14-16-106; 14-21-102; 14-22-101; 22-9-203; 26-36-203; 26-37-102; and 26-37-107.
In the absence of a newspaper of general circulation, county officials have a duty to post the required publication in three (3) public places. See Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-104(b), which provides: "[w]here no newspaper of general circulation exists in a county, publication may be made by posting in three (3) public places which have been designated by ordinance."
Arkansas law also requires legal notices to be published in a legal newspaper of general circulation. These requirements include actions such as property foreclosures and new county ordinances. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-3-101 et seq. provides that if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county, the publication shall be made by posting five (5) written notices [in] the most public places in the county.
Woodruff County has a population of 7,620. Woodruff County lost its last printed newspaper in December of 2020. Now there are no printed newspapers that circulate in the county. There is a large newspaper in Arkansas, which is online. However, that newspaper is found only online in Woodruff County.
With this background in mind, you have asked the following questions:
1) Whether there is a newspaper of general circulation in Woodruff County for purposes of publications required by counties under Ark. Code §§ 14-14-104; 14-14-105; 14-14-905; 14-14-917; 14-16-105; 14-16-106; 14-21-102; 14-22-101; 22-9-203; 26-36-203; 26-37-102; and 26-37-107?
2) Whether there is a newspaper of general circulation in Woodruff County for purposes of legal notices in court such as required under Ark Code § 16-3-101 et seq.?
3) Can a county official or litigant rely upon online newspapers for required publications under the foregoing laws?
a) Due to the digitization of newspapers online, do online newspaper publications count as circulation of a newspaper of general circulation?
4) Could a county by ordinance identify a county website or county affiliated website as a public location for purposes of posting in public places under Ark Code § 14-14-[104]?
a) Could a county by ordinance identify a county website or county affiliated website as a public location for purposes of posting in public places under Ark Code § 16-3-101 et seq.?
RESPONSE
Regarding questions 3 and 4, I have addressed them in Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-065, a copy of which is enclosed for your convenience. With respect to questions 1 and 2 however, while Opinion 2021-065 did not provide a definitive answer whether the county referenced therein had either a "newspaper of general circulation" or a "legal newspaper" as defined by statute, under the facts as you have presented, it is clear that Woodruff County has neither a newspaper of general circulation nor a legal newspaper.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General