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How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection in Arkansas

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Written by Hannah Locklear · Fact-checked by George Simons
Last updated on May 15, 2026

Summary: You have 30 days to respond to a Summons for debt collection with a written Answer in Arkansas, and luckily, you don't have to pay a fee to do so. Use SoloSuit to draft and file your Answer in minutes.

Dealing with debt collectors is brutal. It's even worse when you are getting sued by a debt collector. But lucky for you, we wrote this article to ease the pain and even help you to stick it to your debt collector.

Below, we'll cover everything you need to know to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in Arkansas, including state-specific rules, deadlines, fees, and forms.

Let's jump right in.


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Table of Contents

Arkansas deadline to Answer a debt collection Summons

The deadline to respond to a summons for debt in Arkansas is 30 days.

Arkansas civil procedure law outlines the deadline you have to respond to a Summons and Complaint. Ark. Dist. Ct. R. 6(b) states:

“Time for Filing Answer or Reply. A defendant shall file an answer with the clerk of the court within thirty (30) days after the service of the complaint upon the defendant. An answer to a cross-claim and a reply to a counterclaim shall be filed with the clerk of the court within 30 days of the date that the pleading asserting the claim is served. A copy of an answer or reply shall also be served on the opposing party or parties in accordance with Rule 5(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.”

In other words, you have 30 days to respond to a Summons for debt collection in Arkansas. That's right, you only have 30 days to respond once you have received the Summons and Complaint documents.

If you don't respond within that time, you will automatically lose your case by default judgment. And you will most likely have to pay added interest and attorney's fees. That is a strong incentive to respond in time.

Most Arkansas courts count the Answer filed based on the filemark: the date the court receives and processes the document. You should start the process of drafting and filing your response as soon as you are notified of the lawsuit. Using an Answer form can help you speed up the process.

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Arkansas Answer to Summons forms

It can be confusing and challenging for an inexperienced person to know which forms to send to respond to a debt collection Summons. SoloSuit solves this challenge by giving you several options that will help you fill out the correct form.

Use SoloSuit's Answer form to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in Arkansas.

Additionally, Arkansas provides an online program to help you create an Arkansas Online Answer Form. Even though this program helps with Arkansas legal aid forms, it isn't great—complete with faceless attorneys, looming courthouses, and 1980s graphics.

That's why it's easier to use SoloSuit to respond to your debt collection case. You can use our simple service to generate your response in 15 minutes, and we'll even have it reviewed by an attorney and filed for you.

Arkansas courts do not charge an Answer filing fee

In most courts in Arkansas, there is no filing fee to file your Answer document. That may seem unsurprising, but actually many state courts charge a huge filing fee. So count yourself blessed.

That being said, there may be a filing fee to file a counterclaim, motion, or other type of court document into your case. Each court has a fee schedule that outlines said fees. Check with your court clerk to determine how much you need to pay if you

Follow these steps to respond to a debt collection case in Arkansas

You might think you have to hire a lawyer to help you respond to an Arkansas Summons form. But finding an attorney can be stressful, time-consuming, and expensive. You can save yourself the anxiety money by representing yourself in court. Here's how.

The first step to winning your Arkansas debt collection case is to respond with a written Answer document. You're probably wondering what your Answer document needs to include. Ark. Dist. Ct. R. 6(a) outlines exactly what you need to include in your Answer document:

“Contents of Answer. An answer shall be in writing and signed by the defendant or his or her attorney, if any. It shall also state:

(1) the reasons for denial of the relief sought by the plaintiff, including any affirmative defenses and the factual bases therefor;

(2) any affirmative relief sought by the defendant, whether by way of counterclaim, set-off, cross-claim, or third-party claim, the factual bases for such relief, and the names and addresses of other persons needed for determination of the claim for affirmative relief; and

3) the address of the defendant or his or her attorney, if any.”

SoloSuit's Answer form includes all of these requirements, and it only takes about 15 minutes to complete online.

To respond to your debt lawsuit in Arkansas, follow these three steps:

  1. Answer each allegation listed in the Complaint.
  2. Assert your affirmative defenses.
  3. File the Answer with the court, and send a copy to the opposing attorney.

As you can see, these steps mirror the Answer requirements listed in Arkansas laws. Now, let's take a minute to break down each step in detail.

If you don't like reading, check out this video instead:

1. Answer each allegation listed in the Complaint

The Complaint document lists the specific allegations, or claims, that the opposing party is making against you.

The substance of the Answer is a response to the Complaint document. That is why it is called an “Answer,” because you are answering the Complaint. So, you need to respond to every numbered paragraph listed in the Complaint. You shouldn't just say whatever you want in your Answer. Instead, choose from one of these three responses:

  • Admit: this is like saying, “This is true.”
  • Deny: this is like saying, “Prove it.”
  • Deny due to lack of knowledge: this is like saying, “I don't know.”

Select your response and list it in your Answer with the corresponding number.

Many attorneys recommend making a “general denial.” To do this, just deny each paragraph. You can even deny paragraphs that simply say who you are. Each paragraph you deny, the plaintiff needs to prove; so denying a paragraph makes the case more difficult for them win, especially if they don't have enough evidence to prove their claims.

Let's consider an example.

Example: Greg is getting sued by debt collectors in Arkansas. He finds SoloSuit online and uses its services to draft and file his response. In his Answer document, Greg denies all the allegations listed in the Arkansas Complaint.


2. Assert your affirmative defenses

“Assert your affirmative defenses” means make your defense. Once more, making your defense doesn't mean say whatever you want and ramble on about how your doctor charged you extra and you couldn't pay because your wife ran off with your credit card. It means asserting one of several available affirmative defenses.

SoloSuit helps you make the right affirmative defense the right way.

Here are some common affirmative defenses for debt collection cases:

  • The statute of limitations has expired. More on this below.
  • The debt collector harassed you.
  • The creditor broke the contract.
  • You're active duty military.
  • The account with the debt is not your account.
  • The contract was already canceled. Therefore you don't owe the creditor anything.
  • The debt has been paid or excused.
  • The debt has been partially paid.
  • You were a co-signer but were not informed of your rights as a co-signer.

Select the appropriate defenses and add them to your document beneath your responses.

Let's take a look at another example.

Example: Susan is being sued for a credit card debt in Arkansas. After doing some investigating, Susan realizes that the debt account in question has been inactive for almost six years. Since the statute of limitations on credit card debt is only five years in Arkansas, Susan asserts this as an affirmative defense in her Answer document. She uses Solosuit to draft and file her Answer before the deadline. When the debt collectors suing her find out about the statute of limitations being expired, they dismiss the case.


3. File the Answer with the court, and send a copy to the opposing attorney

Believe it or not, a lot of people get this far and then never actually file their Answer. That's why we file for you at SoloSuit. Filing can be a complicated mess. Here's how one SoloSuit fan described it (edited for clarity).

“These companies like Midland Funding just spam e-file hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases, but it is not easy to e-file an answer, you have to set up an account, pay fees, go to notary publics, scan and convert to pdfs etc. I ended up having to buy a printer, print out the document [and] deny on all the grounds . . . My last question is this, DO I MAIL them the stamped filed answer copy or do I HAVE to have someone ELSE mail it and what is the time requirement? I got the answer in to the court, do I have to also mail it to the plaintiff or I have to get someone else to do it and what is the time limit? I got a stamped copy that I filed an answer within the 20 days time. All this stuff is so ridiculous it reminds me of the Vogons from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.”

Indeed, the filing process is ridiculous, which is why many people just have SoloSuit do it for them. In short, here's what you need to do to file your answer.

  • Print two copies of your Answer.
  • Mail one copy to the court.
  • Mail the other copy to the plaintiff's attorney.

The address of the attorney should be in the Summons and Complaint you received in the mail. The address for the court, though, will probably be hard to find. Usually it isn't listed on the Summons and the court mailing address is different from the physical address that shows up on Google. The best and usually only way to find the mailing address of your court is to call them on the phone like it's 1990.

SoloSuit can file your Answer for you in all 50 states.

Settle debt in Arkansas

If you’re having trouble keeping up with payments on your debts — or if you’ve been sued by a debt collector for a past-due balance — settling your debt may be a viable option. This is when you offer to give the collector a one-time payment that’s slightly lower than the total amount you owe. If the collector accepts, you send them the payment, and they consider the debt repaid.

Before pursuing this option, it’s important to understand that settling a debt may negatively impact your credit score. However, that impact will be less than the impact of having a judgment against you. Here’s a quick look at how to settle.


Respond to your lawsuit notice

You don’t have to wait until you’ve been sued to start negotiating a settlement. But many people don’t start to think about settling until they’ve been sued.

If a collector sues you for a debt, you’ll know it — you will get a Complaint and a Summons in the mail. The Complaint lists why you’re being sued, and the Summons informs you of the lawsuit itself.

Even if you intend to settle your debt, you must file an Answer to your lawsuit. Arkansas gives you 30 days to do so. In your Answer, you can respond to the claims against you and offer defenses. If you don’t respond by the deadline, the court will issue a default judgment against you.

Having a default judgment against you is something you should avoid at all costs. When you have one, the collector can garnish your wages or sell your assets to pay your debt.

Get started in minutes with our Answer template!

Start the settlement process with an initial offer

Debt collectors aren’t going to reach out to you to initiate a settlement. That’s up to you. Before you start negotiating, make sure you take the time to assess your finances and determine how much you can realistically pay.

If a debt collector accepts a settlement and you don’t pay as agreed, they’ll just restart the lawsuit. This time, they probably won’t accept if you offer to settle.

It’s usually best to start negotiations by offering to pay at least 60% of the debt. The settlement offer has to be at least somewhat reasonable to the debt collector. If you start with an unrealistically low offer, the collector might think negotiating with you won’t be worth their time.

It may take some back-and-forth to reach an agreement, but sometimes, you can help your case by giving the collector some reasons to consider your proposal. For example, if you have very little income or you have an existing wage garnishment, the collector will know that they’ll have trouble recovering what you owe them. In this case, they may be more likely to accept an offer to settle.

Use SoloSettleto start the debt settlement negotiation process.

Finalize the agreement

Once you and the creditor have agreed on a settlement amount, you’ll probably feel a lot of relief. But you aren’t quite done. Some debt collectors might honor a contract made verbally, but it’s best to protect yourself by getting the agreement in writing.

You can even prepare a basic contract yourself. It should include the following:

  • How much you’ll pay
  • How you’ll pay it
  • When the payment is due

Your contract should also state that the debt collector/creditor waives any right to pursue you for the remaining balance by accepting the contract.

This contract is very important when it comes to protecting yourself and your finances. If you choose to use SoloSettle, we can handle this step for you as well.

To learn more about how to settle your debt in Arkansas, check out these tips from a licensed consumer rights attorney:

Ready to settle your debt? Get started with SoloSettle by SoloSuit today!

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

Arkansas debt collection laws can help you win your case

Any time you’re dealing with debt collectors, it’s important to know your rights. In Arkansas, you’re protected by the FDCPA, a federal law.

Know your rights as a consumer

The FDCPA prohibits collectors from behaving abusively, harassing you, or trying to deceive you. It’s also the law that allows you to send a Debt Validation Letter — and says that if a collector can’t verify a debt, you don’t have to pay it.

Keep the statutes of limitations in mind

It’s wise to make sure you know your rights, but it’s also important to know the statutes of limitations on different debts in Arkansas and what they mean in terms of repayment. Unlike many states, Arkansas has several different statutes of limitations for various types of debt.

The statute of limitations on debt in Arkansas could be your best defense

The statute of limitations is essentially the expiration date on your debt. It is a law that says for how many years a collector can collect on the debt by suing you. Once the deadline has passed, Once the deadline has passed, they no longer have legal ground to sue you for it.

That doesn’t mean that creditors and debt collectors won’t sue you for a debt that is past the statute of limitations. It’s your responsibility to know the statute for your debt and to bring it up in court as a defense in order to get your case dismissed. The judge will not check it for you.

The table below outlines the statute of limitations on different types of debt in Arkansas:

Statute of Limitations on Debt in Arkansas
Debt Type Deadline
Medical 2 years
Oral Contract 3 years
Credit Card 5 years
Student Loan 5 years
Auto Loan 5 years
Personal Loan 5 years
Mortgage 5 years
Judgment 10 years
Source: Ark. Code § 16-56-105, 106, 111, and 114

Now, let’s break down these laws in detail.

Each state has a unique timeline for the statute of limitations on debt. Arkansas law outlines the statute of limitations on debt for the state of Arkansas. Below, we've listed the specific laws regarding Arkansas statute of limitations.

According to Ark. Code § 16-56-106:

“(a) No action shall be brought to recover charges for medical services performed or provided prior to April 1, 1985, by a physician or other medical service provider after the expiration of a period of eighteen (18) months from the date the services were performed or provided.

(b) No action shall be brought to recover charges for medical services performed or provided after March 31, 1985, by a physician or other medical service provider after the expiration of a period of two (2) years from the date the services were performed or provided or from the date of the most recent partial payment for the services, whichever is later.”

In other words, the statute of limitations on medical debt is two years in Arkansas. So, medical providers only have two years from the date of service to sue for an unpaid service, otherwise they won’t have any legal standing in court.

AR Code § 16-56-105 states:

“The following actions shall be commenced within three (3) years after the cause of action accrues:
(1) All actions founded upon any contract, obligation, or liability not under seal and not in writing, excepting such as are brought upon the judgment or decree of some court of record of the United States or of this or some other state;
(2) All actions for arrearages of rent not reserved by some instrument in writing, under seal;
(3) All actions founded on any contract or liability, expressed or implied."

This is a fancy way of saying that all oral contracts, rent, and expressed or implied contracts have a statute of limitations of three years. In other words, you cannot be sued for any of these types of contracts if there has been no activity on the account for more than three years.

AR Code § 16-56-111 states:

“Actions to enforce written obligations, duties, or rights, except those to which § 4-4-111 is applicable, shall be commenced within five (5) years after the cause of action shall accrue.”

Similarly, this law means that any written contracts have a statute of limitations of five years. So, if you have a written contract and you have taken no action on your account associated with that contract for more than five years, the creditor has no legal grounds to sue you.

So, if you had a credit card debt, and the last time you made a payment towards the debt was more than five years ago, and the debt collector tries to sue you for the debt, then the statute of limitations has expired and you need to bring that up as an affirmative defense.

Use the statute of limitations as a defense in your Arkansas debt collection lawsuit.

Statutes of limitations are more complex than they seem at first. For instance, while the statute of limitations on a judgment is 10 years in Arkansas, the creditor or collection agency can petition to renew the judgment when it expires. In most cases, the court will honor the request, and wage garnishments/other collection efforts can continue for another 10 years.

On other types of debt, the statute of limitations is dated from the last payment you made. For example, if you haven’t made a payment on a credit card for four years, the creditor (or a debt collector) only has one more year to file a debt lawsuit against you.

However, if you make a payment, the clock on the statute of limitations will reset, meaning the creditor or collector now has another five years to file a lawsuit against you.


Stop wage garnishment in Arkansas

If you get sued for a debt, you should do everything in your power to avoid having a judgment against you. If there is a judgment against you and you don't pay it, the company you owe the money to might garnish your wages. But there are ways to get out of wage garnishment in Arkansas, which we outline below.

How does wage garnishment work in Arkansas?

Arkansas doesn’t set its own limits on wage garnishment. Instead, it follows federal law. Federally, the most that can be garnished from your wages each week must be the lesser of these two options:

  • 25% of your weekly earnings after taxes
  • Any amount left over after subtracting 30 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25

Even if you have a relatively high income, having that much subtracted from your weekly pay can cause significant financial issues. But unfortunately, once wage garnishment has started, it’s unlikely to stop. The best way to stop wage garnishment is to prevent it from happening.

Prevent wage garnishment before it starts

If you’ve just started falling behind on payments or have just received a letter from a debt collector, you don’t need to worry about wage garnishments happening right away. Several things have to happen before a collector will garnish your wages, and at each step, there’s something you can do to resolve the issue and prevent your wages from being garnished.

Some of the different scenarios you may face include:

  • You Get Multiple Notices of Debt: At any point, you can request validation of the debt and then make payment arrangements if you owe it.
  • You Get Notice of a Lawsuit: You must respond to the lawsuit, but you can offer to settle the debt before it goes to court.
  • The Lawsuit Goes to Court: You can provide evidence that you don’t owe the debt or offer to settle.
  • The Court Rules Against You: You can pay the amount you owe or arrange to do so.
  • Your Wages Are Garnished: If you still don’t pay, that’s when garnishment starts.

If your wages are already being garnished, you probably won’t be able to stop it. However, you can try reaching out to the collector/creditor and offer to settle. The worst that can happen is that they turn down your request.

Each state has at least one government-funded organization that can provide free legal help. Arkansas has a couple. You can find out more about their services, including Arkansas legal services forms and Arkansas legal aid forms, by contacting them using the following information:

Legal Aid of Arkansas, Inc.
714 South Main Street
Jonesboro, AR 72401
(800) 952-9243
www.arlegalservices.org

Center for Arkansas Legal Services
1300 W. 6th Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(800) 950-5817
www.arlegalservices.org

Find debt relief in Arkansas

Debt can start to feel like it’s upending your life. If you want to move toward better financial stability, it’s a good idea to take advantage of any Arkansas debt relief programs you qualify for.

Verify the debt first

If you’ve recently heard from a debt collector, there’s one key step you should take before you start sending out applications: make sure you actually owe the debt. A federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives you the right to ask a debt collector — not an original creditor — to verify the debt.

To do so, you need to send something called a Debt Validation Letter. In that letter, you should make sure to request the following:

  • How much debt you owe
  • The name of the original creditor
  • Proof of a contract between you and the original creditor
  • Proof that the debt collector is authorized to collect the debt

You must send the letter within 30 days of getting a letter from the debt collector. If you miss the deadline, the collector doesn’t have to verify your debt — so you should take extra care to make sure the letter is (1) formatted properly and (2) sent to the right place.

When you use SoloSuit to send a Debt Validation Letter, the process is quick and simple. We’ll format it for you and send it off.

Get started on a Debt Validation Letter with SoloSuit now!

Know your options for resolving the debt

If the collector sends you proper verification, you owe the debt. But if they don’t, you typically aren’t obligated to pay it. If you do owe the debt, or if you have additional debt, you have more options than just paying it outright. For instance, you might consider these options:

  • Applying for a debt consolidation loan
  • Working out a payment plan with the creditor
  • Settling debt with the collector

Filing for bankruptcy is another option, but it’s generally a last resort.

Consider an assistance program

You can also check out some Arkansas programs that might be able to help with your debt, including:

Keep in mind that while these programs don’t directly pay down your debt, they help you supplement your income or save money on other costs. From there, you can pay more toward your debt.

Check the status of your court case in Arkansas

If you’re embroiled in an Arkansas debt lawsuit, you might already know that there’s a lot to keep track of. It’s generally a good idea to keep a close eye on your case’s progress to make sure you don’t miss any important deadlines or hearings. Fortunately, it’s easier to check the status of your court case in Arkansas than in most other states.

Use the public access portal

If you don’t know your case number (or if you do know it and just want to keep an eye on it), you can simply look it up on CourtConnect, the state’s public access portal. It doesn’t provide details on every single type of case, but for debt lawsuits, you can generally get all the details you need.

Search by case number or participant name

If you already know your case number, you can just search for it on CaseConnect. If you don’t have the number, you can access your court records by visiting the site and searching for it.

The search bar’s default setting is to search by case number, but you can choose to search by participants in the drop-down menu. From there, you can search by your name or the plaintiff’s name. If need be, you can filter the search by date range, case type, and more.

Connect with the court

Most counties in Arkansas will have your court records online. But in some counties, getting your records is a bit more complicated. If you can’t find your records online, contact the court the collector used to sue you.

If you aren’t sure, one of these resources should help you find a point of contact in your county court system, and that person might be able to help you find your case:

As you track your court case’s progress, remember that you can still settle debt with a collector when the lawsuit is ongoing. If you get a judgment against you when the lawsuit ends, the collector is very unlikely to settle.

File an Answer in your Arkansas local court

Find your local court below to get started with the process of responding to your Arkansas debt summons:

Sometimes the location of your court isn't clear from the Summons. So we've linked to a list of Arkansas state courts here. This information should be helpful in finding the location of the specific Arkansas court forms for the court in which your case is filed. Use this Arkansas court directory to find your courthouse and court clerk's phone number.

Key Takeaways

Congrats! You made it to the end of the article. So, we whipped up some takeaways just for you.

  • You have 30 days to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in Arkansas.
  • Use an Answer form to respond to your lawsuit in minutes.
  • Arkansas courts do not charge an Answer filing fee.
  • Your Answer document should focus on responding to the allegations listed in the Complaint and asserting your affirmative defenses.
  • You should file your Answer with the court and send a copy to the opposing attorney.
  • SoloSuit can help you draft and file your Answer in Arkansas.

Good Luck!





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