(a) Every indigent person who shall have a cause of action may petition the court in which the action is pending, or in which it is intended to be brought, for leave to prosecute the suit in forma pauperis.
Rule 72.Suits in Forma Pauperis
Last amended January 1, 2019 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 72 lets a person too poor to pay court costs ask the court for permission to sue without prepaying filing fees, using a sworn affidavit of indigency, though the claim must show a colorable basis and cannot be for slander, libel, or malicious prosecution.
Full Text of Rule 72
(b) All such petitions shall be accompanied by an assertion of indigency, verified by a supporting affidavit. The affidavit form is set out below. Any petition not in compliance with this provision will be returned to the petitioner. There shall be attached to the petition a copy of the complaint or proposed complaint.
(c) The court shall make a finding regarding indigency based on the affidavit. In making its determination, the court may consider the current federal poverty guidelines which may be obtained from the Administrative Office of the Courts. If satisfied from the facts alleged that the petitioner has a colorable cause of action, the court may by order allow the petitioner to prosecute the suit in forma pauperis. Every person permitted to proceed in forma pauperis may prosecute the suit without paying filing fees and other fees charged by the clerk and shall not be prevented from prosecuting the suit by reason of being liable for the costs of a former suit brought against the same defendant.
(d) No person shall be permitted to prosecute any action of slander, libel or malicious prosecution in forma pauperis.
(e) The form of the affidavit shall be as follows:
IN THE _________ COURT _________, COUNTY,
ARKANSAS
IN RE PETITION OF _________________
TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS
NO.___
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS
I, ____________, being first duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner in the above entitled case; that in support of my motion to proceed without being required to prepay fees, costs or give security therefor, I state that because of my poverty I am unable to pay the costs of said proceeding or to give security therefor; that I believe I am entitled to redress.
I further swear that the responses which I have made to questions and instructions below are true.
1. Are you presently employed? Yes ___ No___
(a) If the answer is yes, state the amount of your salary or wages per month, and give the name and address of your employer.
(b) If the answer is no, state the date of last employment and the amount of the salary and wages per month which you received.
2. Have you received within the past twelve months any money from any of the following sources?
(a) Business, profession or any form of self-employment? Yes ___ No___
(b) Rent payments, interest or dividends? Yes ___ No___
(c) Pensions, annuities or life insurance payments? Yes___ No___
(d) Gifts or inheritances? Yes ___ No ___
(e) Any other sources? Yes ___ No ___ If the answer to any of the above is yes, describe each source of money and state the amount received from each during the past twelve months.
3. Do you own any cash, or do you have money in a checking or savings account?
Yes ___ No ___
If the answer is yes, state the total amount in each account.
4. Do you own any real estate, stocks, bonds, notes, automobiles or other valuable property (excluding ordinary household furnishings and clothing)?
Yes ___ No ___ If the answer is yes, describe the property and state its approximate value.
5. List the persons who are dependent upon you for support, state your relationship to those persons, and indicate how much you contribute toward their support.
[6. TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF PETITIONER IS INCARCERATED IN THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OR ANY OTHER PENAL INSTITUTION.
Do you have any funds in the inmate welfare funds?
Yes ___ No ___
If the answer is yes, state the total amount in such account and have the certificate found below completed by the authorized officer of the institution.] I understand that false statement or answer to any questions in this affidavit will subject me to penalties for perjury.
______________________________ Signature of Petitioner
STATE OF ___________________
COUNTY OF__________________
Petitioner, ____________, being first duly sworn under oath, presents that he/she has read and subscribed to the above and states that the information therein is true and correct.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this _____ day of _________, 2____.
Notary Public
My commission expires: _________
[(To be completed by authorized officer of penal institution)
CERTIFICATE
I hereby certify that the petitioner herein, _____________, has the sum of $______ on account to his/her credit at the _____________ institution where he/she is confined.
I further certify that petitioner likewise has the following securities to his/her credit according to the records of said institution:
Authorized Officer of Institution]
Amendment History
Amended December 21, 1987, effective March 14, 1988; amended and effective by per curiam order February 23, 2012.; amended October 18, 2018, effective January 1, 2019.
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes: New Rule 72 tracks, with some changes, the former statutory provisions governing suits by indigents. A similar rule was proposed in 1986 but was withdrawn by the Supreme Court prior to its effective date. The former statutes, Ark. Stat. Ann. §§ 27-401, 27-403 to -406 (Repl. 1979), were repealed by Act 208, 75th General Assembly, in 1985. Section 27-402 [Ark. Code Ann. 16-58-133 (1987)], adopted in 1981 to replace an earlier provision, was not repealed; however, it is superseded by this rule, which contains in paragraph (b) the requirements of 27-402. The new rule departs from the former statutes and the rule previously proposed by the Court in two ways. First, the rule does not require that the trial court assign counsel, without fee, for the petitioner. Second, the rule does not include the statutory provision allowing the trial court, in its discretion, to annul the in forma pauperis order in the event of "improper conduct" or "willful or unnecessary delay" on the part of the petitioner. The Rules of Civil Procedure contain adequate sanctions that the court may employ in the event of such misconduct. Rules 73-76. [Reserved.]
Reporter’s Notes, 2019: Subdivision (a) was amended to delete "against another" in the first sentence, which had been a source of confusion to some as to its effect on the scope of the rule.
Plain-English Summary
In forma pauperis status is a waiver, not a subsidy. A person granted leave to proceed under Rule 72 does not pay the clerk's filing fees or other court costs while the case moves forward, and being on the hook for costs from an earlier lawsuit against the same defendant will not block a new one. The waiver reaches the clerk's fees; it does not include a promise of appointed counsel. The Reporter's Notes point out that the rule deliberately dropped an earlier statutory provision letting courts assign a lawyer to indigent petitioners, so a litigant granted pauper status still has to find or do without representation.
To ask for that relief, a petitioner files a petition supported by the affidavit set out in the rule, with a copy of the complaint or proposed complaint attached. The affidavit walks through the petitioner's income, employment history, bank balances, real estate and other property, and any dependents who rely on that person for support; someone confined in a penal institution also has to disclose inmate trust account funds, backed by a certificate from a prison official. A petition filed without that affidavit, or without the attached complaint, gets sent back rather than acted on.
The judge decides indigency from the affidavit itself, and may weigh it against the current federal poverty guidelines, though nothing in the rule ties the court's hands to that figure alone. Before granting leave to sue as a pauper, the court also has to be satisfied the petitioner has a colorable cause of action -- a threshold check against using the fee waiver to file claims with no plausible merit. If those two conditions are met, the case proceeds like any other, minus the up-front costs.
One category of case is off the table regardless of indigency: Rule 72(d) bars slander, libel, and malicious prosecution claims from proceeding in forma pauperis. And because the rule folds in ordinary Rules of Civil Procedure remedies for misconduct, it does not carry forward an older statutory option letting a court revoke pauper status outright for delay or bad behavior during the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to sue in forma pauperis under Rule 72?
It means the court has excused the petitioner from prepaying filing fees and other clerk's costs because of financial hardship. The case still proceeds through the ordinary steps of a civil suit; only the up-front cost obligation changes.
What has to be filed to ask for pauper status?
A petition supported by the sworn affidavit set out in Rule 72(e), plus a copy of the complaint or proposed complaint. A petition missing the affidavit or the attached complaint is returned rather than ruled on.
What kind of information does the affidavit ask for?
Employment status and income, money received from sources like rent, dividends, pensions, gifts, or self-employment over the past twelve months, cash and bank balances, real estate and other valuable property, and dependents who rely on the petitioner for support. An incarcerated petitioner also discloses any inmate trust account balance, verified by prison officials.
Can a judge deny the petition even if the petitioner is poor?
Yes. Indigency alone is not enough. The court also has to find the petitioner has a colorable cause of action before granting leave to proceed without paying costs.
Are any lawsuits excluded from in forma pauperis treatment?
Yes. Rule 72(d) bars slander, libel, and malicious prosecution claims from being brought in forma pauperis, regardless of the petitioner's finances.
Does pauper status come with a court-appointed lawyer?
No. The rule waives fees and costs only. Arkansas dropped an earlier provision that let courts assign counsel to indigent petitioners, so a litigant proceeding in forma pauperis still has to secure representation on their own or proceed without a lawyer.
Does a prior unpaid judgment for costs block a new suit?
No. Rule 72(c) specifically protects a petitioner from being kept out of court because they still owe costs from a former suit against the same defendant.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: in forma pauperisIFP petitionindigency affidavitwaiver of filing feespoverty affidavitpauper petition Arkansasaffidavit of indigency