Search Union County Bankruptcy Records
Union County bankruptcy records are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas, headquartered in Fort Smith. This page covers how to find those records, contact the circuit clerk in El Dorado, and use PACER to search case filings online.
Union County at a Glance
Federal Bankruptcy Court Serving Union County
Union County is part of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas. All bankruptcy filings from county residents go to the main courthouse at 30 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901. The court phone number is 1-833-853-0345. El Dorado is in the southern part of the state, roughly three hours from Fort Smith, so most filers work with a local attorney or handle paperwork by mail rather than driving to the courthouse.
The Western District uses NextGen CM/ECF for electronic filing. Licensed attorneys must register a PACER account and complete the court's e-filing application before submitting documents. Pro se filers — those without attorneys — must use paper and deliver documents to Fort Smith in person or send them by mail. Non-attorneys are not permitted to file electronically without a specific court order granting that access.
Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 cases from Union County all go through the Fort Smith federal court. The Western District serves a large geographic area, and El Dorado is one of the more distant county seats in the district. For quick case information without using a computer, the Multi-court Voice Case Information System at 1-866-222-8029 is available 24 hours a day and gives basic case data for any federal bankruptcy filing.
The Union County official website provides department contacts, court clerk information, and links to county services in El Dorado.
Union County Circuit Clerk Office
The Union County Circuit Clerk is Cheryl Wilson. The courthouse is at 101 N. Washington St., El Dorado, AR 71730. Phone: (870) 864-1940. The circuit clerk maintains all state-level court records for Union County, covering civil cases, criminal matters, domestic relations filings, and juvenile cases. This office also serves as the recorder of real estate documents, including deeds, mortgages, and judgment liens.
If you need to verify a property lien or judgment recorded in Union County, the circuit clerk's office holds those records. Liens that predate a bankruptcy filing can give a creditor secured claim status in the bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy trustees often review recorded documents in the county as part of their asset review. The circuit clerk can provide certified copies of state court records for a fee. Call (870) 864-1940 to confirm current copy costs and processing times before submitting a request.
State court records from the circuit clerk are not available through PACER. PACER covers only federal bankruptcy cases. The two systems are separate, and each must be searched independently to get a complete picture of legal activity in Union County.
The Union County Circuit Clerk page at the county website covers court records, land recording, and fee information for the El Dorado courthouse.
Union County County Clerk
The Union County Clerk is Mandi Fudge, reachable at (870) 864-1910. The county clerk operates out of the same courthouse at 101 N. Washington St., El Dorado, AR 71730. This office issues marriage licenses, handles voter registration, records DBA certificates, and maintains probate court records for estates, guardianships, and adoptions in Union County.
Probate records can affect bankruptcy proceedings when a debtor has a pending inheritance or estate distribution in Union County. If a person files for bankruptcy while waiting for a probate payout, that pending inheritance is typically considered an asset of the bankruptcy estate and must be disclosed. Trustees may contact the county clerk's probate records to verify the status of any such estate. This is particularly common in Chapter 7 liquidation cases.
How to Search Union County Bankruptcy Records on PACER
PACER is the federal government's online tool for accessing bankruptcy case records. Register at pacer.uscourts.gov for free. Once you have an account, log in and select the Arkansas Western Bankruptcy Court. Search by debtor name, case number, or the last four digits of a Social Security number. The cost is $0.10 per page with a $3.00 cap per document. If your total quarterly charges stay under $30, nothing is billed.
Each search returns the case number, filing date, chapter, current status, assigned judge, and trustee name. Full dockets and all filed documents are available to view and download. For cases that predate the court's electronic filing system, older paper records may need to be requested directly from the Western District. Call the PACER Service Center at (800) 676-6856 on weekdays for account help. To search all federal courts at once, use the PACER Case Locator at pcl.uscourts.gov.
What Union County Bankruptcy Records Contain
A Union County bankruptcy file includes the debtor's name, address, county of residence, and case number. It also lists all creditors with the amounts owed, the chapter filed under, and financial schedules covering real property, personal property, secured debts, unsecured debts, income, and monthly expenses. A statement of financial affairs covers recent employment, financial transactions, and lawsuit history from the two to three years before the petition.
The file also contains trustee reports, creditor and debtor motions, reaffirmation agreements, all court orders, and hearing notices. The case ends with a discharge order or a dismissal. To get certified copies, expect to pay $12 per certification and $0.50 per paper page. Social Security numbers are always shown only as the last four digits in public court records — federal law requires this in all bankruptcy filings.
CourtConnect for Union County State Records
The Arkansas Judiciary's free search portal, CourtConnect, is at caseinfo.arcourts.gov. You can search Union County state circuit court records by party name or case number. The system covers civil, criminal, probate, and domestic relations filings. Some older records may not be in the online database and would need to be requested in person at the El Dorado courthouse.
CourtConnect and PACER are different systems for different courts. CourtConnect covers Arkansas state circuit courts. PACER covers the federal bankruptcy court. A thorough search of Union County records requires checking both. Call the Administrative Office of the Courts at (501) 410-1900 or (866) 823-5778 for CourtConnect help.
Union County District Court
The Union County District Court is a separate state court that handles civil claims under $25,000, misdemeanor criminal cases, and traffic matters. The court's website is at unioncountydc.com and handles fine payments and case lookups for district court matters. District court records are different from both circuit court records and federal bankruptcy records.
District court judgments can sometimes appear as unsecured creditor claims in a bankruptcy case if a creditor obtained a judgment in district court before the bankruptcy petition was filed. In that situation, the judgment amount would be listed as a creditor claim in the federal bankruptcy file. The two court systems are not linked — each must be checked independently.
Nearby Counties in the Western District
Union County is in southern Arkansas. Neighboring counties are also in the Western District and send bankruptcy cases to the Fort Smith courthouse. Nearby counties include: