Are Autopsy Reports Public in Arkansas? (2026)

Arkansas autopsy reports are not public records. They are privileged and confidential under Arkansas Code 12-12-312, so the general public cannot pull a copy. The legal next of kin, representing counsel, or an insurance company may request one from the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory using a request signed by the legal next of kin, and before the laboratory releases a report it must obtain authorization from the prosecuting attorney or a court order.

Are Autopsy Reports Public in Arkansas?

No. Arkansas autopsy reports are not public records. The reports produced by the State Medical Examiner are privileged and confidential under Arkansas Code 12-12-312, which means a member of the general public cannot request a copy the way they might request a court filing or a property record.

Access is limited to a defined group: the legal next of kin, representing counsel, and insurance companies, plus official investigating agencies. The coroner, the investigating agency, and the prosecutor automatically receive a copy on every case.

This is different from many states that treat the final autopsy report as an open record after the investigation closes. In Arkansas, the confidentiality rule stays in place, so identity and relationship matter when you ask for a copy.

For a national overview of how states handle this, see Are Autopsies Public Records?.

Who Performs Autopsies in Arkansas?

Arkansas uses a county coroner system combined with a centralized State Medical Examiner. Each county has an elected coroner who investigates deaths locally, but the medical autopsy itself is performed by the State Medical Examiner's Section inside the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory (ASCL), part of the Department of Public Safety.

Not every death is autopsied. Arkansas Code 12-12-315 sets out the deaths that must be reported to the county coroner, the prosecuting attorney, and local law enforcement, including deaths that are violent, accidental, drug related, sudden and unexplained, or that occur in custody.

When a death falls into one of those categories, Arkansas Code 12-12-318 gives the State Crime Laboratory authority to examine it, either because the Director of the State Crime Laboratory or the staff deems it necessary or at the request of the county coroner, the prosecuting attorney, the county sheriff, the chief of police, the Director of the Division of Arkansas State Police or a designee, or the Board of Corrections or the Director of the Division of Correction or a designee where the person was in that division's custody at the time of death. The statute also states that deputies of those elected officers have no authority to request a postmortem examination.

Permission from the next of kin is not required in those circumstances. The ASCL receives more than 1,500 referrals a year, and roughly 1,200 of those undergo a complete autopsy.

When an Autopsy Happens

Typical cases include trauma deaths, motor vehicle and industrial accidents, suspected homicides, suicides, deaths in custody, and sudden unexplained deaths. Deaths involving apparent drug, alcohol, or poison toxicity are also routinely submitted for postmortem examination.

Who Can Request an Arkansas Autopsy Report?

The legal next of kin can request an Arkansas autopsy report, and so can representing counsel and an insurance company. The general public cannot.

All three routes run through the same document. The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory releases a copy on a request signed by the legal next of kin, submitted on the ASCL Postmortem Examination Report Request Form. That signature is the gatekeeping step that keeps these reports out of general circulation. The current form does not ask for notarization.

A second gate applies to every release, not only to criminal cases. The form states that before the report is released, the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory must obtain authorization from the prosecuting attorney of the county where the incident occurred, or a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

The statute is somewhat more permissive than the form. Arkansas Code 12-12-312(a)(1)(A)(iv) allows the laboratory to communicate with the decedent's next of kin without that prior authorization in cases where the cause and manner of death are not criminal in nature. Plan around what the form requires, and ask the office how your specific case will be handled.

How to Get an Autopsy or Toxicology Report in Arkansas

To get a copy, complete the ASCL Postmortem Examination Report Request Form and have it signed by the legal next of kin. Requests from next of kin are provided at no charge. A request from representing counsel or an insurance company carries a $50.00 fee, and the laboratory instructs requesters not to send payment until it has received authorization to release the report and has reached out to them.

The form directs requests to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, Attn: ME Family Liaison, 3 Natural Resources Drive, Little Rock AR 72205, or by email to ASCL.Autopsy.Request@dps.arkansas.gov. You can call the Medical Examiner's Section at 501-227-5936 to confirm the case status and exactly what your specific case requires before you send anything.

The report you receive includes the investigation findings, the medical findings, toxicology results, and an "opinion" page that explains the cause and manner of death. Toxicology is part of that complete report rather than a separate public filing.

Pending Cases and Processing Time

Plan ahead on timing. The ASCL asks families to allow a minimum of three months for the final examination autopsy report, because that window covers the toxicology testing and other lab and investigative work.

Remember the authorization step as well. Until the laboratory has the prosecuting attorney's authorization or a court order, it will hold the report.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules, fees, and processing times can change. Confirm the current requirements directly with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory Medical Examiner's Section before you submit a request.

Autopsy Report vs Death Certificate in Arkansas

The autopsy report and the death certificate are two different documents. The death certificate is the official record that a death occurred, registered with the county and the Arkansas Department of Health Bureau of Vital Records. It carries the cause and manner of death on a single line, and it can be marked "Pending" while the Medical Examiner finishes the case.

The autopsy report is the detailed forensic document behind that line. It walks through the investigation, the medical findings, toxicology, and the Medical Examiner's reasoning. When the Medical Examiner reaches a final ruling, a supplemental death certificate updates the cause and manner of death at Vital Records.

For death certificate requests and eligibility, see the Arkansas Death Records guide. You can also compare other states through the Death Records by State hub.

Sources

This page draws on the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory Postmortem Examination Report Request Form (ME-FORM-14) and Medical Examiner Services brochure, the State Medical Examiner section page, Arkansas Code Title 12, and CDC public health law resources.