The 81^st General Assembly of the State of Arkansas passed Act 989 of 1997 entitled, “Sex and Child Offender Registration Act of 1997.” This legislation has been amended on several occasions including; Act 1353 of 1999; Acts 1740 and 1743 of 2001 (which renamed the Act to read “Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997”; Act 21 of the 2^nd Extraordinary Session of the 84^th General Assembly in 2000; Act 4 of the First Extraordinary Session of 2006; Act 394 of 2007; Act 1023 of 2011 and Act 286 of 2011. Act 172 of 2013 amended Arkansas law to require those persons adjudicated delinquent of a sex offense from another jurisdiction who move to Arkansas or otherwise live, work or attend school or other training program in Arkansas to register as a sex offender in Arkansas. Act 505 of 2013 and Act 508 of 2013 amended Arkansas law to change certain name designations and enacted noncontroversial sections of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

Current code section references for adult offenders and offenders adjudicated delinquent in another state who have moved to Arkansas are A.C.A. §§ 12-12-901 through927. Assessment and registration requirements for juveniles adjudicated as a sex offenders in an Arkansas Juvenile Court are governed by A.C.A § 9-27-356. The intent of these various Acts is to provide local law enforcement with information that allows them to conduct the appropriate level of community notification, which will allow the people of Arkansas a better opportunity to protect themselves from victimization by individuals who have previously engaged in criminal sexual behavior.