{"id":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","slug":"arkansas-av-law","kind":"other","headline":"Arkansas autonomous vehicle law (Act 468 of 2019; Ark. Code 27-51-2001 et seq.)","summary":"Arkansas's autonomous-vehicle statute: Act 468 of 2019 (originating bill HB1561), codified at Arkansas Code 27-51-2001 to 27-51-2006, signed March 14, 2019 with an emergency clause, and amended by Act 619 of 2021 (effective July 28, 2021). It authorizes operation of fully autonomous (SAE Level 4/5) vehicles on Arkansas roads under an AV pilot program with an ArDOT exemption; fully autonomous vehicles may operate without a human driver and may lack traditional controls, subject to insurance, traffic-law compliance, a minimal-risk-condition fail-safe, and a remote operator able to meet accident-reporting duties. This is the enabling law under which Gatik runs driverless Walmart middle-mile in Bentonville. Applies to autonomous vehicles including trucks.","locationId":"b0132a5a-96f7-4586-b11b-a77ae1673ab7","effectiveAt":"2019-03-14T12:00:00.000Z","expiresAt":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","formFactors":["av","truck"],"aliases":["Arkansas AV law","Act 468 of 2019","Ark. Code 27-51-2001","HB1561"],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:18.451Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:43:03.834Z","location":{"id":"b0132a5a-96f7-4586-b11b-a77ae1673ab7","name":"Arkansas","slug":"arkansas","kind":"state","parentLocationId":"aa8b9c05-c836-4021-801f-59801970401e","lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":["AR"],"collisionRisk":"high","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T05:15:34.669Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T05:15:34.669Z"},"derived":{"status":"in_effect"},"sources":[{"id":"ba867967-0920-4362-908f-d7b628158862","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-20/section-27-51-2002/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Ark. Code 27-51-2002 - operation of an autonomous vehicle (codified statute)","sourceName":"Justia (codified statute)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:18.981Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:18.981Z"},{"id":"b8d4aed7-a4eb-460b-b474-4d3074eebc9e","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-20/section-27-51-2001/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Ark. Code 27-51-2001 - definitions (codified statute)","sourceName":"Justia (codified statute)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.058Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.058Z"},{"id":"50c37c48-3771-4652-92f0-b64a36236fda","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-27/subtitle-4/chapter-51/subchapter-20/section-27-51-2006/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Ark. Code 27-51-2006 - liability (codified statute)","sourceName":"Justia (codified statute)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.136Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.136Z"},{"id":"0681382c-4a35-437b-9956-b1bc817cc61c","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-27-transportation/ar-code-sect-27-51-2002/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Ark. Code 27-51-2002 (FindLaw mirror)","sourceName":"FindLaw","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.212Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.212Z"},{"id":"28df21e8-ccf3-43fc-bede-adc9b22223cd","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?measureno=HB1561&ddBienniumSession=2019/2019R","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Arkansas HB1561 (2019) bill detail / Act 468","sourceName":"Arkansas Legislature (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.289Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.289Z"},{"id":"8a8b3074-9b76-4de2-9ce8-e12fc746ff1c","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://legiscan.com/AR/bill/HB1561/2019","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Arkansas HB1561 (2019) bill text","sourceName":"LegiScan","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.370Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.370Z"},{"id":"d4f3f081-1a3a-4b0d-bddd-681f7ddbc3a4","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://ardot.gov/divisions/planning/autonomous-vehicles-program/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Arkansas DOT autonomous vehicles program","sourceName":"Arkansas DOT (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.448Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.448Z"},{"id":"841ca3a6-df90-4271-92db-d4d1593c2782","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://codeofarrules.arkansas.gov/Rules/Rule?levelType=section&titleID=27&chapterID=224&subChapterID=274&partID=1010&subPartID=4553&sectionID=28657","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"27 CAR 115 - ArDOT autonomous-vehicle program rules","sourceName":"Arkansas Code of Rules (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.524Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.524Z"},{"id":"bc0eec61-cbab-4eed-921c-8ba1d3fd7b86","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://www.jhatfieldlaw.com/arkansas-legislators-pave-the-way-for-arkansas-truck-platooning/","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Arkansas legislators pave the way for AV / truck platooning (analysis)","sourceName":"Jason M. Hatfield P.A.","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.602Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.602Z"},{"id":"d692ea8b-0828-4087-b6ff-61fb66127625","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","url":"https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/autonomous-vehicles-legislation-database","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Autonomous Vehicles Legislation Database (50-state tracker)","sourceName":"NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.679Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.679Z"}],"statusEvents":[{"id":"b31606a2-5400-4214-8a5f-69f61c2517fa","regulationId":"7f6bd452-ad7a-4366-b276-a21fdc42a9da","status":"in_effect","reason":"Arkansas AV law in effect since Act 468 of 2019 (signed Mar 14, 2019, emergency clause; amended Act 619 of 2021). Authorizes driverless operation (incl. trucks); basis for Gatik's Bentonville driverless deliveries.","source":"editor:DEPLOY content-agent (Sprint 5b-1 AV-truck state laws)","effectiveAt":"2019-03-14T12:00:00.000Z","createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:37:19.756Z"}]}