Does the salesperson 60 count as the broker 60?

No. Live Education page: 45 of the broker 60 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course, completed within 36 months immediately preceding the date they apply to take the broker exam. Salesperson 60 (30 principles) is not this 60, and salesperson post-license hours do not count toward broker post-license.

Live new-applicant page: 24 months active as a salesperson or broker within the previous 48 months. Written-request waiver if the applicant has held an active broker license not less than 18 months, or 24 months of real-estate-related experience AREC accepts (written history for review).

Is the broker exam the same two papers as salesperson?

No. Pearson unified Real Estate Broker, 120 scored + 10 pretest, scaled 70, $75. One paper. Cannot be divided into portions for reexamination. 24-hour wait. File within 90 days.

What does the upgrade filing cost?

Live FAQ: currently active salesperson returns current license and pocket card, files successful score report, $70 license fee, signed post-license notice, within 90 days. Examination application is a separate $50 to AREC. Pearson is a separate $75.

When can I become Principal or Executive Broker?

Live FAQ: finish the 30-hour broker post-license first. Temporary Broker cannot move to Executive or Principal until that course is done.

Arkansas Broker License Requirements

Required education: 60 hours of which 45 must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course (within 36 months)
Exam fee: $75
Published fees: $50
Typical timeline: 24 months active is the long pole

What to know first

An Arkansas broker license is not a second 60-hour salesperson blob. ACA § 17-42-303 wants 60 hours of real estate education of which 45 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course, completed within the 36 months immediately preceding the date of application, plus 24 months of active salesperson or broker licensure within the previous 48 months. Upon written request AREC may waive experience for someone who has held an active broker license at least 18 months, or accept 24 months of real-estate-related work inside the same 48-month window. The salesperson 60 (30 principles) is not this 60.

Pearson delivers a unified broker examination — one paper, 120 scored items plus 10 pretest on the December 1, 2025 outline, passing scaled 70, $75. It is not the salesperson general-plus-state split. Fail it and you retake the whole paper after 24 hours. File with AREC within 90 days of passing. New brokers complete a 30-hour AREC post-license course within six months of issuance unless they want Executive or Principal Broker status, in which case that post-license must be finished before requesting the upgrade. Missouri broker hours and Oklahoma broker grids will not post as the 45-hour AREC Broker Pre-License Course.

Licensing authority

Arkansas Real Estate Commission

A unit of the Department of Labor and Licensing that qualifies examinees, issues salesperson and broker licenses, runs the Recovery Fund, and investigates complaints. Live new-applicant page (fetched 2026-09-02): 60 classroom hours of which 30 must be basic principles; AREC Authorization to Test before Pearson; file within 90 days of passing. Live FAQ: $50 license + $25 Recovery Fund on original salesperson filing; 18-hour post-license within six months; renewal $60 salesperson / $80 broker before September 30. Residents must not fingerprint until AREC emails them; then pay $36.25 background fee to Arkansas State Police online (live AREC news posts).

612 South Summit Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-4740 · (501) 683-8010

Official website

Your path to the license

Follow these steps in order. Deadlines and affiliation requirements can make a passed exam unusable if they are missed.

Document 24 months active in the previous 48

Or petition AREC in writing for a statutory waiver path.
Complete 60 hours including the 45-hour AREC Broker Pre-License Course

Inside 36 months of application. Salesperson 60 is not this 60.
AREC application, fingerprints after email, Pearson unified $75

Scaled 70. One paper.
File within 90 days; 30-hour post-license within six months

Finish post-license before requesting Executive or Principal Broker status.

Education and eligibility

Minimum age: 18 years old
Identification: A Social Security number is required. An ITIN is not confirmed as a substitute.
Residency and identification: 24 months active salesperson or broker within the previous 48 months, or a written AREC waiver (18 months as an active broker, or 24 months of real-estate-related experience AREC accepts). Nonresidents submit license histories.
Qualifying education: ACA § 17-42-303: 60 hours, 45 of them the AREC Broker Pre-License Course, completed within 36 months immediately preceding the application date. The salesperson 60 (30 principles) is not this course. AREC-licensed school, accredited postsecondary, or a sister-jurisdiction school AREC deems equivalent.
Education or filing deadline: 36 months on the broker education. 90 days from passing to file. One-year Pearson authorization.
Character review: Same fingerprint-plus-disclosure review as salespersons.
Background process: State and federal criminal background check after AREC authorization to print.
Experience: 24 months active salesperson or broker within the previous 48 months (ACA § 17-42-303 / Reg 4.1), with waivers AREC may grant in writing.
Broker affiliation: An Arkansas broker license is what lets you serve as a principal or executive broker. Post-license (30 hours) must be finished before requesting Executive or Principal Broker status.

Documents to prepare

Broker experience form / license history covering 24 months in 48
Certificate for 60 hours including 45-hour AREC Broker Pre-License Course (≤36 months)
Pearson unified broker passing score (scaled 70)
Filing inside 90 days

The licensing exam

Pearson unified Real Estate Broker, $75, scaled 70. December 1, 2025 outline: 120 scored + 10 pretest covering Commission duties including Recovery Fund (4%), statutory licensure (10%), other Arkansas statutory including timeshares and auctions (6%), federal law (10%), broker operations and trust accounts (18%), agency (12%), property characteristics (10%), valuation (5%), contracts/financing/settlement (15%), property management (10%). One paper — not a split retake. 24-hour wait. File within 90 days.

Pearson VUE unified Real Estate Broker after AREC Authorization to Test, $75 · Fee: $75

Part	Questions	Minutes	Pass
Unified Real Estate Broker	120	—	120 scored + 10 pretest; scaled 70; $75. One paper — not a salesperson-style split. Outline effective December 1, 2025: Commission duties including Recovery Fund (4%); statutory licensure (10%); other Arkansas statutory including timeshares and auctions (6%); federal law (10%); broker operations and trust accounts (18%); agency (12%); property characteristics (10%); valuation (5%); contracts/financing/settlement (15%); property management (10%). Minutes: live handbook overview prints two to four hours for the appointment and does not print a broker-only cell — this hub will not invent 240.

Entire paper. 24-hour wait. $75. One-year authorization. File within 90 days of passing.

What to study

AREC Broker Pre-License Course (45 hours)

AREC-developed / approved provider

Named statutory course. Not a generic national broker blob.
Pearson unified broker outline (December 1, 2025)

Pearson / AREC

120 scored. Trust accounts and supervision are the usual fails.

Application costs

These are commission or testing-vendor amounts we can cite. School tuition and optional preparation products are private-market prices.

Fee	Amount
Application	$50
Examination	$75
Initial license	$70
Renewal (every year)	$80

Live FAQ (fetched 2026-09-02): currently active salesperson upgrading files successful score report, returns current license and pocket card, license fee $70, signed post-license notice, within 90 days. AREC examination application $50 (nonresident-not-sitting path has been printed at $180 — confirm live). Pearson unified $75. Renewal $80 before September 30; $30 late penalty after. Recovery Fund assessment on original broker filing: confirm the live dollar on the passing score report rather than inventing a salesperson $25 clone.

Commission	Arkansas Real Estate Commission (501) 683-8010 Ark. Code Ann. § 17-42-101 et seq. (Real Estate License Law, including § 17-42-303 education and § 17-42-307 post-license/CE); Commission Regulations 4.1, 4.2(d), 6.2, 11.5. Live AREC new-applicant page, FAQ, and Education page fetched 2026-09-02. Pearson VUE Arkansas Real Estate and Property Management Candidate Handbook #090400 (rev06/2026) fetched 2026-09-02.
Pre-licensing	60 hours of which 45 must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course (within 36 months) ACA § 17-42-303: 60 hours, 45 of them the AREC Broker Pre-License Course, completed within 36 months immediately preceding the application date. The salesperson 60 (30 principles) is not this course. AREC-licensed school, accredited postsecondary, or a sister-jurisdiction school AREC deems equivalent. 36 months on the broker education. 90 days from passing to file. One-year Pearson authorization.
Sponsoring broker	An Arkansas broker license is what lets you serve as a principal or executive broker. Post-license (30 hours) must be finished before requesting Executive or Principal Broker status.
Fingerprints	Same state and federal criminal background check as salespersons. Do not fingerprint until AREC emails you.
CE / renewal	Same 7-hour annual CE as salespersons for active renewal. The 30-hour broker post-license is original education, due within six months of broker issuance, and required before Executive or Principal Broker status (live FAQ). Salesperson post-license hours do not count toward broker post-license. Live FAQ: $30 broker penalty after September 30.
Recovery fund	Same Recovery Fund. Original broker filing still collects the fund fee AREC prints on the passing score report. Confirm the live dollar rather than inventing a broker-specific assessment the FAQ stated for salespersons as $25.

Mistakes that delay applicants

Treating salesperson 60 as the broker 60

45 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course within 36 months of application. Exam-prep is not that course.
Letting broker education age past 36 months

Clock is the date they apply to take the broker exam, not the sitting date.
Requesting Principal Broker status before the 30-hour post-license

Live FAQ: finish it first. Credit will not be given if the course is taken before the broker license issues.
Treating the unified broker paper as a split retake

Handbook: one-part comprehensive examination. Fail it and you retake the whole paper after 24 hours at $75.
Counting salesperson post-license toward broker post-license

Live FAQ: they are separate courses. The 18-hour salesperson post-license cannot be used toward the 30-hour broker post-license.
Missing the 90-day upgrade fuse

Same calendar-day fuse as salesperson. Sitting becomes null; you reapply as an original.

Reciprocity and recognition

Partner / path	Accepted exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity is published for this credential.

Experience earned in another jurisdiction needs an official license history. Education waivers, if any, are AREC products. The 45-hour Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course is original Arkansas education.

Renewal and staying active

Same 7-hour annual CE as salespersons for active renewal. The 30-hour broker post-license is original education, due within six months of broker issuance, and required before Executive or Principal Broker status (live FAQ). Salesperson post-license hours do not count toward broker post-license.

Late renewal: Live FAQ: $30 broker penalty after September 30.

Applicant checklist

24 months active in previous 48 (or AREC waiver)
60 hours including 45-hour AREC Broker Pre-License Course ≤36 months
Pearson unified scaled 70 ($75)
File within 90 days
30-hour post-license within six months

How Arkansas is different

Louisiana and Mississippi brokers sit their own hour-and-experience grids. Missouri broker is a different statute on a 48+MREP salesperson base. Arkansas broker is 24 months in 48 plus 45 hours of the named AREC Broker Pre-License Course inside a 60-hour total, unified Pearson scaled 70, 90-day fuse, 30-hour post-license.

Frequently asked questions

Does the salesperson 60 count as the broker 60?: No. Live Education page: 45 of the broker 60 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course, completed within 36 months immediately preceding the date they apply to take the broker exam. Salesperson 60 (30 principles) is not this 60, and salesperson post-license hours do not count toward broker post-license.
How much experience?: Live new-applicant page: 24 months active as a salesperson or broker within the previous 48 months. Written-request waiver if the applicant has held an active broker license not less than 18 months, or 24 months of real-estate-related experience AREC accepts (written history for review).
Is the broker exam the same two papers as salesperson?: No. Pearson unified Real Estate Broker, 120 scored + 10 pretest, scaled 70, $75. One paper. Cannot be divided into portions for reexamination. 24-hour wait. File within 90 days.
What does the upgrade filing cost?: Live FAQ: currently active salesperson returns current license and pocket card, files successful score report, $70 license fee, signed post-license notice, within 90 days. Examination application is a separate $50 to AREC. Pearson is a separate $75.
When can I become Principal or Executive Broker?: Live FAQ: finish the 30-hour broker post-license first. Temporary Broker cannot move to Executive or Principal until that course is done.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-02 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-01