Hurt at work in Arkansas? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Report the injury to your employer or supervisor immediately, on the Commission's Form AR-N and to the person or place your employer has named. File your claim within 2 years.
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $953 a week in 2026.
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In Arkansas, temporary total disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you are in your healing period and cannot earn wages because of a work injury. Your employer's insurance company (or a self-insured employer) handles the claim, and disputes are decided by an Administrative Law Judge of the Workers' Compensation Commission.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for Arkansas
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in Arkansas's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in Arkansas
- Tell your employer
Report the injury to your employer or supervisor immediately, on the Commission's Form AR-N and to the person or place your employer has named.
- File your claim
- 2 years
- Waiting period
Disability benefits are not paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability, starting the day after the injury, and the time off must be at the direction of your approved doctor.
Weekly benefit in Arkansas
- What it pays
- Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $953 a week in 2026
- Minimum
- $20 a week in 2026
- Minimum rule
The minimum weekly benefit is $20.00.
- Applies to
- Injuries or death on or after January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026
Law: Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-501(b); AWCC Advisory 2000-1
Source: labor.arkansas.gov
Who is your doctor in Arkansas?
- Who chooses
- Your employer or its insurer chooses
- Network
- Certified managed care organization (MCO), if your employer has one
Your employer or its insurance carrier has the right to choose the doctor who treats you. If the employer uses a certified managed care organization (MCO), it picks your first primary care physician from that MCO. In an emergency, get emergency treatment. Treatment by a doctor who was not selected under these rules (except emergency care) may be at your own expense.
Ask the carrier or employer first; it should answer within 5 business days. If it says no, you can petition the Commission one time only for a change of physician. With an MCO, the new doctor must be in that MCO or be your regular treating physician (one who kept your records and treated you regularly before the injury). Change-of-physician requests cannot be approved by phone. Your 'regular treating physician' is one who keeps your medical records and treated you regularly before the injury.
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-9-508, 11-9-514; AWCC Rule 099.33
Source: labor.arkansas.gov
Who is covered in Arkansas
- Size of employer
Most employers in Arkansas with three or more employees must have workers' compensation insurance. There are exceptions to the three-or-more rule, so some employers with fewer than three employees are also required to have coverage.
- Not covered
- Some businesses with two or fewer employees
- Agricultural farm labor
- Domestic help
- Employment by nonprofit religious, charitable or relief organizations
- Railroad and maritime workers and others covered only by federal law
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer was required to have coverage but had no insurance and was not approved to self-insure, you may still file a claim with the Commission, or file a civil lawsuit against the employer in circuit court.
Source: labor.arkansas.gov
If your claim is denied or delayed in Arkansas
- First step
Call the Commission's Legal Advisor Division (free, 1-800-250-2511) if you are not represented by an attorney. A Legal Advisor can explain your rights and can arrange a preliminary conference or mediation with your employer's representative.
Fired or punished for filing in Arkansas
An employer may not willfully discriminate against you in hiring, job tenure or any term or condition of work because you claimed workers' compensation benefits, and may not obstruct or impede the filing of a claim.
- The law
- Ark. Code Ann. § 11-9-107
- What you may get
The Workers' Compensation Commission can fine the employer up to $10,000, and the employer may also be guilty of a Class D felony. Separately, an employer that refuses without reasonable cause to return you to work may have to pay the difference between your average weekly wage and your benefits for up to 1 year. The law does not allow a separate lawsuit for damages for this kind of retaliation.
- Where to file
Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission
Law: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-9-107(a)(1), (c), (e); Ark. Code Ann. §§ 11-9-505(a)
Source: opinions.arcourts.gov
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Arkansas
Attorney fees in workers' compensation cases are not valid unless approved by the Commission. In contested cases, half of the attorney's fee is paid by the employer or carrier and half by you out of the compensation awarded, so under normal circumstances you owe no fee unless you are awarded benefits.
Arkansas also pays temporary partial disability, permanent partial disability based on an impairment rating, wage-loss disability, permanent total disability, vocational rehabilitation, death benefits to dependents and mileage for medical travel.
Free help in Arkansas
State agency
Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission (AWCC), Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Phone
- 1-800-622-4472
- Address
- 324 Spring Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 (mail: P.O. Box 950, Little Rock, AR 72203-0950)
Free help
Good to know in Arkansas
- Benefits are rounded to the nearest whole dollar, and the 2026 maximum is $953.00 a week (AWCC Advisory 2000-1).
- Most injuries must be caused by a specific incident identifiable by time and place; rapid repetitive motion injuries (such as carpal tunnel), gradual-onset back injuries and hearing loss are covered only if the work is the major cause (more than 50%).
- A mental injury must be caused by a physical injury (except for victims of a violent crime), and disability benefits for it are limited to 26 weeks.
Changes in 2024–2026
For injuries in 2026 the TTD maximum is $953.00 a week; the Commission announced $991.00 for injuries on or after January 1, 2027 (Advisory 2000-1 update of October 1, 2026). The $20.00 minimum is unchanged.
Questions about workers' comp in Arkansas
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Arkansas?
A claim for initial benefits is barred unless you file it with the Workers' Compensation Commission within 2 years from the date of the injury.
How much does workers' comp pay in Arkansas?
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $953 a week in 2026.
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Arkansas?
Your employer or its insurance carrier has the right to choose the doctor who treats you. If the employer uses a certified managed care organization (MCO), it picks your first primary care physician from that MCO. In an emergency, get emergency treatment.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in Arkansas?
An employer may not willfully discriminate against you in hiring, job tenure or any term or condition of work because you claimed workers' compensation benefits, and may not obstruct or impede the filing of a claim.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Arkansas?
Call the Commission's Legal Advisor Division (free, 1-800-250-2511) if you are not represented by an attorney.
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Nearby states
Sources
- AWCC: Basic Facts
- AWCC: Questions & Answers brochure (rev. 06-14)
- AWCC Advisory 2000-1 update (Oct. 1, 2026): weekly rates and history of maximums
- AWCC Form AR-N, Employee's Notice of Injury
- AWCC Form AR-N (Spanish)
- AWCC Form AR-C, Claim for Compensation
- AWCC Form AR-C (Spanish)
- AWCC Form AR-P, posting notice
- AWCC forms page
- AWCC ALJ opinion, Jackson (H208573, Jan. 5, 2026), quoting § 11-9-702(a)(1)
- Arkansas Supreme Court, Lambert v.