Arkansas: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Arkansas has an anti-SLAPP law, but it's built differently from most
other states' versions. The Citizen Participation in Government Act,
enacted in 2005 and unchanged since, makes a truthful privileged
communication or an act in furtherance of free speech or the right to
petition government immune from civil liability outright. It enforces
that immunity through a sworn verification the person suing must file
along with the claim, certifying (among other things) that the claim
isn't actually based on a privileged communication. If a defendant
believes that verification is missing or false, the defendant can move
to strike or dismiss, which stays discovery. There's no fixed filing
deadline for that motion, no statutory right to an immediate appeal, and
fee awards to a prevailing defendant are discretionary rather than
automatic.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Arkansas's anti-SLAPP law is the Citizen Participation in Government Act,
Ark. Code Ann. §§ 16-63-501 to 16-63-508, enacted in 2005. Every section
still traces to that single enacting act — the law hasn't been amended in
over twenty years.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act protects two overlapping categories, both anchored to government
proceedings rather than to a general public-forum concept. A "privileged
communication" covers a communication in, to, or about an issue of public
concern related to a legislative, executive, or judicial proceeding (or
other government-authorized proceeding); a communication made in the
proper discharge of an official duty; a fair and true report of such a
proceeding; an expression of opinion or criticism about such a
proceeding; or any criticism of a public officer's official acts. An "act
in furtherance of" free speech or petition rights covers a statement made
before, to, or in connection with an issue under consideration by such a
proceeding or body. Either way, the communication must not have been made
with knowledge of, or reckless disregard for, its falsity. Unlike broader
modern statutes, Arkansas's Act has no general catch-all for speech made
in a public forum on any matter of public concern that isn't tied to a
government proceeding.

The verification-and-motion procedure

There's no statutory deadline for the defendant to act. Instead, the
burden starts with the plaintiff: the person asserting the claim, and
that person's attorney, must file a sworn verification at the same time
as the pleading, certifying they've read the claim, that it's well
grounded in fact and law, that the underlying act isn't a privileged
communication, and that the claim isn't filed for an improper purpose
like suppressing speech or causing needless delay. If that verification
is missing, the claim must be stricken — unless it's verified within 10
days after the omission is brought to the party's attention. A defendant
who believes the verification is false, or missing, can file a motion to
dismiss or motion to strike. Filing that motion automatically stays
discovery and any pending hearings or motions, and the court must hold a
hearing within 30 days of service unless an emergency requires otherwise.

Burden of proof

Arkansas doesn't use the movant-then-plaintiff, two-step burden-shifting
test found in most other states. Instead, § 16-63-504 makes a privileged
communication or protected act immune from civil liability outright,
provided it wasn't made knowing it was false or with reckless disregard
for the truth. The verification requirement enforces that immunity: a
defendant's motion under § 16-63-506 puts the truthfulness of the
plaintiff's certification — and so the privileged-or-protected status of
the underlying communication — in front of the court.

Attorney's fees

Fee awards aren't automatic. If a claim was verified in violation of §
16-63-505, the court must impose an appropriate sanction on whoever
signed the verification, the represented party, or both — but that
sanction only "may" include dismissal and an order to pay the other
side's reasonable expenses and attorney's fees; it isn't a mandatory fee
award in every case. A defendant can also recover other compensatory
damages, but only with a further showing that the lawsuit was brought to
harass, intimidate, punish, or maliciously inhibit the protected
activity.

Right to appeal

None. The Act contains no interlocutory-appeal provision at all. A party
who loses a motion under this Act has to rely on Arkansas's ordinary,
generally available appellate procedures rather than any special right
created by this statute.

Exemptions

The Act has no separate exemptions or carve-outs section. Its only real
limit is built into the definitions themselves: a statement made with
knowledge of its falsity, or with reckless disregard for whether it was
false, was never a "privileged communication" or protected act to begin
with.

What trips people up

The 10-day period is a cure window, not a filing deadline. The sworn
verification is due at the same time as the claim itself — the 10 days
only kicks in as a grace period after someone points out that the
verification is missing, not as an extra 10 days to file the claim in the
first place.

There's no immediate right to appeal. Unlike most other states'
anti-SLAPP statutes, Arkansas's Act doesn't let a losing party take an
interlocutory appeal — you may have to wait for a final judgment, or rely
on a general appellate procedure like a Rule 54(b) certification, to get
appellate review of a ruling on the motion.

Fee-shifting isn't guaranteed just because you win. A sanction for an
improperly verified claim can include an order to pay costs and fees, but
the statute gives the court discretion over what sanction to impose — it
isn't a mandatory award the way some other states' anti-SLAPP fee
provisions are.

Common questions

Does Arkansas's law cover a negative online review of a local
business? Only if the review is tied to a government proceeding or
official act in the way the statute defines — a general "public forum on
a matter of public interest" catch-all doesn't exist here the way it does
in some other states' broader statutes.

What happens if the person suing me never files the sworn
verification? The claim must be stricken, unless it gets verified
within 10 days after you (or the court) point out that it's missing.

Can I get my attorney's fees back if I win my motion? Possibly, but
it isn't automatic — the court has discretion over whether a sanction for
an improperly verified claim includes an award of fees and costs.

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-63-503 — "(1) 'An act in furtherance of the
  right of free speech or the right to petition government... in
  connection with an issue of public interest or concern' includes...
  any written or oral statement, writing, or petition made: (A) Before or
  to a legislative, executive, or judicial proceeding... or (B) In
  connection with an issue under consideration or review by [such a]
  body... (2)(A) 'Privileged communication' means a communication
  made: (i) In, to, or about an issue of public concern related to any
  [such] proceeding... (C) 'Privileged communication' does not include a
  statement or report made with knowledge that it was false or with
  reckless disregard of whether it was false." Source:
  https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2F&file=1843.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2FR
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-63-504 — "Any person making a privileged
  communication or performing an act in furtherance of the right of free
  speech or the right to petition government... shall be immune from
  civil liability, unless a statement or report was made with knowledge
  that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false."
  Source: https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2F&file=1843.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2FR
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-63-505 — "[T]he party asserting the claim and
  the party's attorney of record, if any, shall be required to file,
  contemporaneously with the pleading containing the claim, a written
  verification under oath certifying that: (1) The party and his or her
  attorney of record... have read the claim; (2) ...the claim is well
  grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law...; (3) The act
  forming the basis for the claim is not a privileged communication; and
  (4) The claim is not asserted for any improper purpose..." Source:
  https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2F&file=1843.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2FR
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-63-506 — "(a) If a claim... is not verified as
  required by § 16-63-505, the claim shall be stricken unless it is
  verified within ten (10) days after the omission is called to the
  attention of the party... (b)(1) If a claim is verified in violation
  of § 16-63-505, the court... shall impose... an appropriate sanction,
  which may include dismissal of the claim and an order to pay... the
  amount of the reasonable expenses incurred because of the filing of
  the claim, including a reasonable attorney's fee." Source:
  https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2F&file=1843.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2FR
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-63-507 — "(a)(1) All discovery and any pending
  hearings or motions... shall be stayed upon the filing of a motion to
  dismiss or a motion to strike under § 16-63-506. (2) A hearing on a
  motion filed under § 16-63-506 shall be conducted not more than thirty
  (30) days after service unless emergency matters before the court
  require a later hearing." Source:
  https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2F&file=1843.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2FR
  (accessed 2026-07-05).