Does Arkansas issue a salesperson license?

Yes. The official entry title is salesperson. Brokers are a separate 60-hour path of which 45 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course within 36 months of application, plus 24 months active in the previous 48.

How many pre-license hours?

Live new-applicant page (fetched 2026-09-02): 60 classroom hours, of which 30 must be in the basic principles of real estate (ACA § 17-42-303 / Reg 4.1). Live FAQ: the 60-hour salesperson certificate has no expiration; broker education dies at 36 months.

Can I apply to AREC before I finish the 60 hours?

Yes. Live page: AREC will accept the examination application early. Certificates of Exam Eligibility will not issue until proof of the 60 AND the complete Background Check Acknowledgment (BCA) form are in.

What is the exam cut and fee?

Pearson handbook #090400 (rev06/2026): scaled 70 on general and scaled 70 on Arkansas law. $75 if you schedule both salesperson papers together; $75 per paper if you split them. Live FAQ restates $75. Unlimited attempts for one year from Commission approval; split retakes must finish both papers within six months.

How long after passing do I have to file?

Live FAQ: 90 calendar days. All pages of the score report, $50 license fee, $25 Recovery Fund fee, signed post-license requirement notice. Miss it and the sitting is null — new application, new exam, original applicant.

When do I fingerprint, and what does it cost?

After AREC emails you. Residents then use digital fingerprints and pay $36.25 online to Arkansas State Police (live AREC news), plus the harvester's capture fee. Do not print first. Nonresidents: fingerprint card path on the live new-applicant page.

Is there a post-license course?

Yes. Live Education page: 18 classroom hours for new salespersons, due by the end of the month six months after issuance to remain active. Brokers: 30 classroom hours within six months. Independent of later 7-hour annual CE. Cannot take post-license before the license issues.

Live Education page: seven hours annually to renew an active license for the upcoming calendar year. First CE is owed on the second active renewal. Renewal deadline September 30 to avoid penalty; expiration December 31.

Does a sister-state salesperson license waive the Arkansas exam?

Possibly the general paper only, and only if you are currently licensed, passed a uniform/general paper at a cut no lower than scaled 70, and AREC agrees (Reg 4.2(d)). You still sit Arkansas law. This is not a named-partner reciprocity list.

Where is the Commission and who seats the exam?

612 South Summit Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-4740. (501) 683-8010. areclic@arkansas.gov / arec.application@arkansas.gov. Pearson VUE (800) 274-2606, pearsonvue.com/us/en/ar/realestate.html. Office hours Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

What is scored Arkansas, not NAR trivia?

Recovery Fund (Commission-duties bucket), trust funds and disbursement, independent dealing off the principal broker, agency relationships and disclosures (8 items), BPOs, and timeshares. This paper cannot be renamed to Louisiana's 90 or Mississippi's resident-when-applying 60.

Arkansas Salesperson License Requirements

Required education: 60 hours of which 30 must be basic principles of real estate
Exam fee: $75
Published fees: See fee table
Typical timeline: Course length plus AREC processing (exam application can precede the 60

What to know first

Arkansas wants AREC's permission before Pearson VUE will seat you. That authorization-to-test email is the tell. Original salesperson education is 60 hours, of which 30 must be in the basic principles of real estate, from an AREC-licensed school, an accredited postsecondary school, or a school a sister commission licensed that AREC actually deems equivalent (ACA § 17-42-303 and Commission Regulation 4.1). A 60-hour Louisiana package that buries 30 hours of Louisiana civil law will not post as Arkansas principles. AREC will now accept the examination application before the 60 is finished, but the Certificate of Examination Eligibility waits on proof of the 60 plus the Background Check Acknowledgment. The 60-hour salesperson certificate has no expiration; broker education does.

Pearson VUE's June 2026 Arkansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook (#090400) is the exam bible. Combo both salesperson papers at one sitting and the fee is $75; split them and each paper is $75. Passing is a scaled 70 on the general paper and a scaled 70 on the Arkansas law paper. The national/general outline effective April 1, 2025 is 80 scored items plus 5 pretest. The Arkansas salesperson law outline effective December 1, 2025 is 30 scored items plus 10 pretest — duties of the Commission including the Recovery Fund (4), licensing requirements (2), statutory activity rules including trust funds and independent dealing (14), other statutory topics (2), and agency relationships and disclosures (8). Fail one paper, retake only that paper, but both papers must be passed within six months or you sit the entire exam again. Authorization lasts one year with unlimited attempts inside it.

After you pass, the 90-day fuse is statutory. AREC's own FAQ: all pages of the score report, a $50 license fee, a $25 Recovery Fund fee, and a signed post-license requirement notice must arrive within ninety calendar days of the examination date. Miss it and the sitting is null — new application, new exam, original applicant. Do not fingerprint until AREC emails you; residents then use digital fingerprints through the Arkansas State Police / FBI channel AREC names. You practice under a principal broker. New salespersons then face an 18-hour AREC post-license course due within six months of issuance to remain active (ACA § 17-42-303(c)(1); Reg 11.5) — independent of later CE.

Louisiana is 90 including 30 Louisiana law, LREC then Pearson. Mississippi is 60 classroom hours, resident-when-applying for an original salesperson file, PSI, a two-month eligibility window. Oklahoma is a 90-hour provisional sales associate and IdentoGO 2B7NR3. Missouri is 48-hour pre-exam plus 24-hour MREP. Arkansas is 60 with 30 in principles, AREC then Pearson $75, scaled 70, 90 days, 18-hour post-license.

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.

Complete 60 hours (30 basic principles) at an AREC-accepted school

Certificate has no expiration. AREC will take the exam application before the 60 is done; eligibility waits on the certificate plus the BCA form.
File the AREC examination application ($50) and wait for the fingerprint email

Cashier’s check or money order to AREC — no personal checks. Do not fingerprint until AREC emails you. Nonresidents: $85 plus a fingerprint card if you must sit.
Sit Pearson after Authorization to Test ($75 combo)

Scaled 70 on each paper. Combo $75; split $75 each. One-year authorization, six-month split-retake fuse.
File score report, $50 license + $25 Recovery Fund, post-license notice within 90 days

Calendar days. No extensions. Then hang under a principal broker.
Finish the 18-hour AREC post-license course within six months of issuance

Required to remain active. Independent of later CE. Brokers have a 30-hour post-license instead.

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: Arkansas residency is not required. Nonresident original applicants pay a different AREC examination-application fee ($85 if they must sit; $160 salesperson / $180 broker if the exam is not required) and submit a fingerprint card plus license histories from every jurisdiction. Reciprocal waivers of the general paper, if any, still require current licensure in the other state and a general-exam cut no lower than Arkansas scaled 70 (Reg 4.2(d)).
Qualifying education: ACA § 17-42-303 / Reg 4.1: 60 classroom hours, 30 of them in the basic principles of real estate, from an accredited postsecondary school, an AREC-licensed school, or a school a sister commission licensed that AREC deems equivalent. AREC accepts the examination application before the 60 is finished; the Certificate of Examination Eligibility does not issue until the 60 and the Background Check Acknowledgment are both in. Continuing education does not substitute. A Louisiana or Texas hour-block that is not 30 hours of basic principles will not post.
Education or filing deadline: AREC FAQ: the 60-hour salesperson certificate has no expiration. Broker education expires at 36 months. Pearson authorization lasts one year. License filing is 90 calendar days from the passing sitting.
Character review: Character and fitness are reviewed after fingerprints. Convictions, deferred sentences, and professional-license discipline must be disclosed on the notarized examination application; non-disclosure is independently disqualifying. AREC reviews the criminal reports before issuance, not before seating Pearson.
Background process: State and federal criminal background check. Residents: digital fingerprints after AREC email. Nonresidents: fingerprint card with the application. Do not fingerprint until instructed.
Experience: No licensed experience is required for the salesperson license. A principal broker is required to practice, not to sit Pearson.
Broker affiliation: An Arkansas salesperson practices under a principal broker. Independent dealing off the principal broker is a scored statutory topic on the state paper (outline III.A). Affiliation is not optional once you intend to perform licensed acts.

Documents to prepare

60-hour certificate (30 hours basic principles)
Background Check Acknowledgment (BCA) form
AREC Authorization to Test / Pearson score report (both papers, scaled 70)
License fee $50 + Recovery Fund $25 within 90 days
Signed post-license requirement notice

The licensing exam

Pearson VUE June 2026 handbook #090400. AREC Authorization to Test first — not a walk-in. Salesperson combo both papers $75; each paper scheduled separately $75. Scaled 70 on general and scaled 70 on Arkansas law (numeric scores only to failures). National/general (effective April 1, 2025): 80 scored + 5 pretest. Arkansas salesperson law (effective December 1, 2025): 30 scored + 10 pretest — Commission duties including Recovery Fund (4); licensing requirements (2); statutory activity rules, trust funds, independent dealing, BPOs, property management (14); other statutory (2); agency relationships and disclosures (8). Fail one, retake only that paper within six months or sit both again. Authorization: unlimited attempts for one year from Commission approval. Apply to AREC within 90 calendar days of passing.

Pearson VUE, after AREC Authorization to Test (pearsonvue.com/us/en/ar/realestate.html, 800-274-2606). June 2026 handbook #090400. · Fee: $75

Part	Questions	Minutes	Pass
Salesperson General / national	80	—	80 scored + 5 pretest on the live national/general outline (Effective April 1, 2025 in handbook #090400). Scaled 70 (equated; numeric scores only to failures). $75 combo both papers or $75 this paper alone. Minutes: live handbook overview prints two to four hours for the appointment and does not print a separate national-only minute row — this hub will not invent 150. Confirm the on-screen clock at Pearson.
Salesperson Arkansas law	30	—	30 scored + 10 pretest; scaled 70. Outline effective December 1, 2025: Commission duties including Recovery Fund 4; Licensing Requirements 2; Statutory Activities 14 (trust funds, independent dealing, BPOs, property management, advertising, self-dealing); Other Statutory 2; Agency Relationships and Disclosures 8. $75 combo or $75 this paper alone. Minutes: not printed as a state-only cell on the live handbook — two-to-four-hour appointment window only. This hub will not invent 90.

Unlimited attempts during the one-year authorization. Fail one paper, retake only that paper, but both must be passed within six months or you sit the entire exam again. 24-hour wait to reschedule. Retake fee equals the paper ($75).

What to study

Pearson VUE Arkansas handbook #090400 (rev06/2026)

Pearson / AREC

$75 combo. Scaled 70. National 80 scored + 5 pretest. State 30 scored + 10 pretest (outline effective December 1, 2025). Recovery Fund is a scored Commission-duties topic.
ACA § 17-42-101 et seq. and Commission regulations

AREC

Trust funds, independent dealing, agency disclosures, Recovery Fund, post-license Reg 11.5.
18-hour AREC post-license modules (three 6-hour modules)

AREC-approved provider

Due by end of month six months after issuance. Not optional CE. Live FAQ: specific modules only.
60-hour prelicense with 30 hours basic principles

AREC-licensed / accredited provider

Salesperson certificate has no expiration. Broker education is a different 60 with 45-hour Commission-developed course.
Modern Real Estate Practice / Mastering Real Estate Math (latest edition)

Dearborn — national 80

Memorize 43,560 and 5,280 — handbook says they are not at the center.

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	$50
Renewal (every year)	$60
Fingerprints / background check	$36.25

Live new-applicant page + FAQ (fetched 2026-09-02): AREC examination application $50 (cashier's check or money order to AREC; Workforce Expansion Act may waive). Pearson $75 combo or $75 per paper. After passing: $50 license + $25 Recovery Fund = $75 to AREC within 90 days — application and initialLicense in this object are the $50 exam-application and $50 license rows, not stacked with the Recovery Fund. Live AREC news: residents pay $36.25 background fee online to Arkansas State Police (plus harvester capture fee). Live FAQ renewal: salesperson $60 / broker $80 if renewed before September 30; after September 30 penalty $20 salesperson / $30 broker. Nonresident exam-application path has been printed at $85 if sitting / $160 salesperson if not sitting — confirm live.

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 30 must be basic principles of real estate ACA § 17-42-303 / Reg 4.1: 60 classroom hours, 30 of them in the basic principles of real estate, from an accredited postsecondary school, an AREC-licensed school, or a school a sister commission licensed that AREC deems equivalent. AREC accepts the examination application before the 60 is finished; the Certificate of Examination Eligibility does not issue until the 60 and the Background Check Acknowledgment are both in. Continuing education does not substitute. A Louisiana or Texas hour-block that is not 30 hours of basic principles will not post. AREC FAQ: the 60-hour salesperson certificate has no expiration. Broker education expires at 36 months. Pearson authorization lasts one year. License filing is 90 calendar days from the passing sitting.
Sponsoring broker	An Arkansas salesperson practices under a principal broker. Independent dealing off the principal broker is a scored statutory topic on the state paper (outline III.A). Affiliation is not optional once you intend to perform licensed acts.
Fingerprints	Live AREC new-applicant page + news posts (fetched 2026-09-02): state and federal criminal background check through the Arkansas State Police, including an FBI fingerprint search. Residents: do NOT have fingerprints made until you receive an email from AREC authorizing you to do so; then pay the $36.25 background check fee online directly to the Arkansas State Police portal (live AREC news: applicants now send only the $50 application fee to AREC). Live Scan / Harvester locations charge their own capture fee on top. Nonresidents submit a fingerprint card with the examination application and pay background through the AREC path the live page names ($36.25 historically bundled for nonresidents — confirm the live non-resident packet). Background reports must be received and approved before AREC will issue the license. Fingerprint processing is not a Pearson product.
CE / renewal	Live Education page + FAQ (fetched 2026-09-02): seven hours of continuing education annually to renew an active license for the upcoming calendar year. First CE is owed upon the second active license renewal after you are licensed — not the first renewal. Post-license (18-hour salesperson / 30-hour broker) is original education, independent of CE. Renewal deadline September 30 to avoid penalty; licenses run calendar-year to December 31. Inactive renewal needs no CE; activation wants CE completed in the activation year or the preceding calendar year (max 30 hours for long inactive periods). Live FAQ: after September 30, salesperson penalty $20 / broker $30. If an active license is not renewed for the upcoming calendar year before December 31, it expires January 1. Reinstatement windows: confirm Reg 6.3(c) with AREC for your file.
Recovery fund	Arkansas Recovery Fund (ACA Title 17, Chapter 42). Original salesperson licensure collects a $25 Recovery Fund fee with the $50 license fee (AREC FAQ). The Fund is a scored topic on the salesperson law outline (I.E, 4 items in the Commission-duties bucket). It is not E&O and not a surety bond you shop.

Mistakes that delay applicants

Fingerprinting before AREC emails you

Live new-applicant IMPORTANT NOTE: Arkansas residents do NOT have fingerprints made until AREC emails authorization.
Treating a 60-hour sister-state blob as 30 hours of Arkansas principles

ACA § 17-42-303 wants 30 hours in the basic principles of real estate, from a school AREC accepts or deems equivalent.
Missing the 90-day filing fuse

Live FAQ: calendar days. No extensions. Sitting becomes null; you reapply as an original.
Splitting Pearson papers and letting six months lapse

Handbook: both papers must be passed within six months or you sit the entire exam again. Authorization itself lasts one year.
Skipping the 18-hour post-license

Live Education page: required to remain active by the end of the month six months after issuance. Cannot take it before the license issues. Independent of later 7-hour CE.
Paying AREC the old bundled background amount on a resident file

Live AREC news: residents send $50 application to AREC and pay $36.25 background online to Arkansas State Police. Applications with the wrong fee may be returned.
Using a personal check for AREC fees

Live page: cashier's check or money order payable to AREC. No personal or business checks.
Treating post-license modules as simultaneous CE credit

Live FAQ: a post-license module may meet annual CE only if it is not simultaneously being applied to the post-license requirement. One course, one purpose.
Dealing independently of the principal broker

Scored statutory topic (outline III.A). Affiliation is not optional once you perform licensed acts.
Calling PSI for an Arkansas score

Arkansas real estate is Pearson VUE under handbook #090400 at $75. PSI is a different vendor.

Reciprocity and recognition

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

Not a named-partner reciprocity chart. Reg 4.2(d): a salesperson currently licensed in another state who passed a uniform/general/multi-state paper with a cut no lower than Arkansas scaled 70 may request a waiver of the GENERAL paper and sit only Arkansas law. Non-reciprocal nonresidents still show the 60 hours. This site does not copy a secondary-source "reciprocity with 12 states" table. Contact AREC for the live path.

Renewal and staying active

Live Education page + FAQ (fetched 2026-09-02): seven hours of continuing education annually to renew an active license for the upcoming calendar year. First CE is owed upon the second active license renewal after you are licensed — not the first renewal. Post-license (18-hour salesperson / 30-hour broker) is original education, independent of CE. Renewal deadline September 30 to avoid penalty; licenses run calendar-year to December 31. Inactive renewal needs no CE; activation wants CE completed in the activation year or the preceding calendar year (max 30 hours for long inactive periods).

Late renewal: Live FAQ: after September 30, salesperson penalty $20 / broker $30. If an active license is not renewed for the upcoming calendar year before December 31, it expires January 1. Reinstatement windows: confirm Reg 6.3(c) with AREC for your file.

Post-license (18 hours) is due by the end of the month six months after issuance to remain active (example on live Education page: licensed January 15 → post-license by end of July).

Applicant checklist

Age 18
60 hours with 30 in basic principles
AREC exam application $50 + BCA form
Digital fingerprints only after AREC email
Pearson both papers scaled 70 ($75 combo)
File score report + $50 + $25 Recovery Fund within 90 days
Hang under a principal broker
18-hour post-license within six months of issuance

How Arkansas is different

Louisiana: 90 hours including 30 Louisiana law, LREC then Pearson. Mississippi: 60 hours, original salesperson applicants must be Mississippi residents when the application is submitted, PSI, two-month exam window. Oklahoma: 90-hour provisional sales associate. Missouri: 48-hour pre-exam plus 24-hour MREP. Texas is TREC 180 hours in six named courses. Arkansas is 60 with 30 in principles, AREC-then-Pearson, scaled 70, 90-day filing fuse, 18-hour post-license, $25 Recovery Fund assessment on first license.

Frequently asked questions

Does Arkansas issue a salesperson license?: Yes. The official entry title is salesperson. Brokers are a separate 60-hour path of which 45 hours must be the Commission-developed Broker Pre-License Course within 36 months of application, plus 24 months active in the previous 48.
How many pre-license hours?: Live new-applicant page (fetched 2026-09-02): 60 classroom hours, of which 30 must be in the basic principles of real estate (ACA § 17-42-303 / Reg 4.1). Live FAQ: the 60-hour salesperson certificate has no expiration; broker education dies at 36 months.
Can I apply to AREC before I finish the 60 hours?: Yes. Live page: AREC will accept the examination application early. Certificates of Exam Eligibility will not issue until proof of the 60 AND the complete Background Check Acknowledgment (BCA) form are in.
What is the exam cut and fee?: Pearson handbook #090400 (rev06/2026): scaled 70 on general and scaled 70 on Arkansas law. $75 if you schedule both salesperson papers together; $75 per paper if you split them. Live FAQ restates $75. Unlimited attempts for one year from Commission approval; split retakes must finish both papers within six months.
How long after passing do I have to file?: Live FAQ: 90 calendar days. All pages of the score report, $50 license fee, $25 Recovery Fund fee, signed post-license requirement notice. Miss it and the sitting is null — new application, new exam, original applicant.
When do I fingerprint, and what does it cost?: After AREC emails you. Residents then use digital fingerprints and pay $36.25 online to Arkansas State Police (live AREC news), plus the harvester's capture fee. Do not print first. Nonresidents: fingerprint card path on the live new-applicant page.
Is there a post-license course?: Yes. Live Education page: 18 classroom hours for new salespersons, due by the end of the month six months after issuance to remain active. Brokers: 30 classroom hours within six months. Independent of later 7-hour annual CE. Cannot take post-license before the license issues.
What is annual CE?: Live Education page: seven hours annually to renew an active license for the upcoming calendar year. First CE is owed on the second active renewal. Renewal deadline September 30 to avoid penalty; expiration December 31.
Does a sister-state salesperson license waive the Arkansas exam?: Possibly the general paper only, and only if you are currently licensed, passed a uniform/general paper at a cut no lower than scaled 70, and AREC agrees (Reg 4.2(d)). You still sit Arkansas law. This is not a named-partner reciprocity list.
Where is the Commission and who seats the exam?: 612 South Summit Street, Little Rock, AR 72201-4740. (501) 683-8010. areclic@arkansas.gov / arec.application@arkansas.gov. Pearson VUE (800) 274-2606, pearsonvue.com/us/en/ar/realestate.html. Office hours Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
What is scored Arkansas, not NAR trivia?: Recovery Fund (Commission-duties bucket), trust funds and disbursement, independent dealing off the principal broker, agency relationships and disclosures (8 items), BPOs, and timeshares. This paper cannot be renamed to Louisiana's 90 or Mississippi's resident-when-applying 60.

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