# Arkansas FOIA Enforcement and Custodian Response Procedure Arkansas FOIA does not prescribe an internal administrative appeal that a requester must exhaust. A requester may ask a custodian to reconsider, but that correspondence is voluntary; the statutory enforcement route is a suit in circuit court. ## Custodian response and access timing - Section 25-19-105 requires reasonable access to existing, nonexempt public records and production of reasonably segregable nonexempt portions. The familiar three-working-day period is not a universal response deadline: it applies when a record is in active use or storage and the custodian certifies that fact in writing and sets a time within three working days when it will be available. Requested copies must be furnished in a medium in which the record is readily available or readily convertible with the custodian's existing software. (primary public record, [Ark. Code Ann. section 25-19-105](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/media.ark.org/ark-code-ann-25-19-105-2025-2026-annotated-laws.md)) - Section 25-19-109 separately permits, but does not require, a custodian to summarize, compile, or tailor electronic data or provide it in a format to which it is not readily convertible. If the custodian agrees, the statute permits specified personnel charges after the first two hours. (primary public record, [Arkansas FOIA Handbook, 21st edition](../../web%20archive/2026-07-20/healthy.arkansas.gov/arkansas-foia-handbook-21st-edition-2025.md)) ## Reconsideration and judicial enforcement A letter asking the custodian to revisit a denial can create a useful record, but it is not a statutory prerequisite. Section 25-19-107 permits a citizen denied FOIA rights to seek mandamus or injunctive relief in circuit court, and directs that the petition be heard within seven days. The public body asserting an exemption bears the burden of establishing it, and the court decides whether the exemption applies. (primary public record, [Arkansas FOIA Handbook, 21st edition](../../web%20archive/2026-07-20/healthy.arkansas.gov/arkansas-foia-handbook-21st-edition-2025.md)); (web research 2026-08-10, [Gannett River States Publishing Co. v. Arkansas Industrial Development Commission](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/app.midpage.ai/gannett-river-states-publishing-co-v-arkansas-industrial-development-commission-799-s-w-2d-543-ark-1990.md)); (web research 2026-08-10, [Thomas v. Hall](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/app.midpage.ai/thomas-v-hall-399-s-w-3d-387-ark-2012.md)) ## Fees The current section 25-19-107 fee text turns on whether the plaintiff obtained a significant or material portion of the relief sought and on the statute's present exceptions. Older decisions construing a "substantially prevailed" and "substantially justified" formulation are historical context, not a substitute for the amended text. (primary public record, [Arkansas FOIA Handbook, 21st edition](../../web%20archive/2026-07-20/healthy.arkansas.gov/arkansas-foia-handbook-21st-edition-2025.md)); (web research 2026-08-10, [Harris v. City of Fort Smith](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/app.midpage.ai/harris-v-city-of-fort-smith-234-s-w-3d-875-ark-2006.md)) ## Limits This page maps procedure, not the merits of any particular exemption. Technical ability to redact or export data is relevant to format and segregability, but it does not by itself establish that every field is legally nonexempt or that a custom record must be created.