Arkansas

Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure

Rule 5.3 – Form of Citation

(a) Every citation shall:

(i) be in writing;
(ii) state the name of the officer issuing it with the title of his office;
(iii) state the date of issuance and the municipality or county where issued;
(iv) specify the name of the accused and the offense alleged;
(v) designate a time, place, and court for the appearance of the accused; and
(vi) except in case of an electronic citation, provide a space for the signature of the accused acknowledging his promise to appear.
(b) Every citation shall inform the accused that failure to appear at the stated time, place, and court may result in his arrest and shall constitute a separate offense for which he may be prosecuted.

Ark. R. Crim. P. 5.3

Reporter’s Notes, 2012 Amendment: Prior to the 2012 amendment, subsection (a)(ii) required the issuing officer to sign a citation. As amended, the subsection requires only that the citation state the name of the issuing officer. This change, as well as addition of the exception clause to subsection (a)(iv), was prompted by Act 908 of 2011, which authorizes the use of electronic citations.