Arkansas Real Estate License Requirements

To sell or lease real estate in Arkansas and earn a commission, you must have an Arkansas Real Estate License.

The steps to obtain a AR Real Estate License:

Step #1: Complete the 60-hour Arkansas Real Estate Salesperson Pre-license Course.

Step #2: Apply for your AR real estate salesperson license.

Step #3: Schedule your AR State License Exam.

Step #4: Take and Pass the State Licensing Exam.

Step #5: Submit licensing fee and additional documents.

Step #6: Take 18-hour post-licensing education.

Coming soon

General Requirements

All Arkansas salesperson applicants must have at least reached 18 years old to apply for a real estate license. There are no other basic requirements. If you meet this basic standard, you can receive your salesperson license by following these 6 steps.

Step 1: Take 60-hour Pre-licensing Course

All salesperson applicants must take a 60-hour pre license real estate education. At least 30 of these classroom hours must be in the basic principles of Real Estate. Your coursework must be taken from an Arkansas Real Estate Commission approved school or organization or from an accredited post-secondary school oh, such as a college or university.

Your 60 hours certificate has no expiration date for salesperson applicants.

Step 2: Submit your Arkansas Salesperson Application

After you have successfully completed your pre-licensing course, you must submit an application to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. The AREC will approve your application so that you can schedule your salesperson exam.

Your application documents must include:

  • Proof of age, such as a copy of your driver's license or birth certificate
  • Proof of education requirements, such as original course completion certificate or other documentation
  • FBI fingerprint card

Your application document must be notarized.

All real estate salesperson applicants are required to complete a state and federal criminal background check. The federal criminal background check will require fingerprints on fingerprint cards approved by the AREC. You must get your fingerprints and background check done before the commission will issue an active real estate license.

There is a $22 Arkansas criminal background check fee and a $14.25 FBI criminal background check fee. The Commission advises you to pay all fees, including your $50 application fee, for a total of $86.25 payable to the AREC in a cashier's check or money order. Personal checks will not be accepted.

As long as there are no delays in the completion of your application, the AREC says the usual turnaround time to receive your Certificate of Eligibility is 5 to 10 business work days.

Step 3: Schedule the state licensing exam

The Arkansas Real Estate Commission has contracted with Pearson VUE to administer the state licensing exam. You will receive a Certificate of Examination Eligibility in the mail from the commission. You must have this before you schedule your exam. The certificate is good for only one year.

Online scheduling is the fastest and easiest way to schedule your state exam. The exam fee is $75 and must be paid at the time of reservation using a credit card, debit card, voucher, electronic check.

Find the test center nearest you by going to Pearson VUE test center locator or by looking at the back of the Candidate Information Bulletin.

Woman with laptop.

Step 4: Pass the exam

On exam day, remember to bring with you two forms of identification. One ID must be a government-issued with your photo and signature. In addition, bring your Certificate of Examination Eligibility. Without these, you will not be able to take your exam.

About your Arkansas salesperson licensing exam:

  1. You must pass both sections of the exam with a scaled score of 70.
  2. The general or national portion of the exam has 80 questions.
  3. The state portion of the exam has 30 scored questions.
  4. The exam can have up to 10 pre-test questions which are unscored and not identified. Your answers on these questions do not impact your score.
  5. You have a total of (4) hours to complete the exam.

Refer to the Candidate Information Handbook for specific content outlines and information on the number of questions under each section.

The exam uses a scaled score, which is a way of taking into account variations in question difficulty on the exam. The scores do not represent the number of questions asked or how close you came to passing.

When you pass, you receive a score report and information on how to apply for your license. If you fail, your score report will have a numeric score and diagnostic information about the general section of the exam and how to apply to retake the test. You have six months to retake any failed portion of the exam.

Step 5: Send licensing fee and additional documents

You will have 90 days after passing your state licensing exam to send your licensing fee and other forms to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. The licensing fee is $50 and the Recovery Fund fee is $25, for a total of $75 made payable to the AREC. You must also submit all pages of your score report and a signed post-license requirement notice.

If you fail to send your fees and paperwork within 90 days, you will be required to start the application process over.

Step 6: Post-license education

Once you are an approved new salesperson, you must take 18 classroom hours of post-licensing education within six months of your licensing date. This post-license education requirement is independent of any continuing education requirements. You must take your course hours with an AREC approved course provider.

Congratulations, you are now a licensed Arkansas real estate salesperson!

Man writing on a notepad.

Expand Your Knowledge Base

Get Your Arkansas Real Estate License Online

This is the fastest and most affordable way to get your Arkansas Real Estate License!
Coming Soon