How to become a real estate agent in Arkansas

This page is independent of any school or brokerage. Requirements change (arec.arkansas.gov refuses automated readers, so its pages come from Internet Archive captures dated in the sources; the At-a-Glance guide is the 2025 edition and Pearson VUE's handbook the June 2026 edition, whose state content outline took effect December 1, 2025), so each section names the official page it was read from and the date. If a figure below disagrees with the AREC's page today, the board is right and this page is stale: the date tells you how stale.

1Arkansas real estate licence requirements

• Age: the age of majority, eighteen.
• Course: 60 classroom hours of real estate education, 30 of them in the basic principles of real estate, from an accredited postsecondary school or an AREC-licensed school; the salesperson certificate does not expire.
• Application first: a salesperson application to the AREC with the information for state and federal background checks, before the exam; the AREC then emails permission to test and to be fingerprinted, and Arkansas residents must not be fingerprinted before that email.
• Exam: a pass on the licensure examination, authorised for one year of unlimited attempts from the AREC's approval.
• Deadline: the proper forms and fees to the AREC no later than 90 days after passing the examination.
• Post-licence: 18 classroom hours of post-licence education by the end of the sixth month after the licence issues.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Arkansas Real Estate and Property Management Candidate Handbook, June 2026 (#090400), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, At-a-Glance Guides: The Arkansas Real Estate Licensure Pathway, 2025 (PDF), read September 9, 2026.

2Steps to get your Arkansas real estate licence, in order

1. Complete the 60-hour course

   At an accredited postsecondary school or an AREC-licensed real estate school, with 30 hours in basic principles.

2. Apply to the AREC and wait for permission to test

   The application carries the background-check information; the AREC's email authorises the exam and the fingerprinting, and the authorisation to test then lasts one year.

3. Pass both portions of the Pearson VUE exam for $75

   The national portion has 80 scored items plus 5 pretest items and the Arkansas law portion 30 scored plus 10 pretest, with up to four hours in all; both portions registered and paid together cost $75, or $75 each if taken separately.

4. Send the forms and fees within 90 days of passing

   All pages of the passing score report with the $50 licence fee and $25 recovery fund fee; the AREC waives the initial licence fee for applicants who qualify under the Workforce Expansion Act of 2021.

5. Complete 18 hours of post-licence education within six months

   Due by the end of the sixth month after the licence date; continuing education starts with the second renewal.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, At-a-Glance Guides: The Arkansas Real Estate Licensure Pathway, 2025 (PDF), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of March 15, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

3How much a Arkansas real estate licence costs

The AREC's FAQ gives its licence, recovery fund, exam and renewal fees; the background check is paid to the fingerprint agencies and tuition to the schools, and the AREC application fee was not on the documents read.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of March 15, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

4How long it takes to become a real estate agent in Arkansas

The fixed parts are 60 course hours, the AREC's application review and permission to test, one Pearson VUE sitting of up to four hours, fingerprinting, and forms and fees within 90 days of passing; the AREC publishes no typical review time on the documents read, and 18 hours of post-licence education follow within six months. Those parts come from the AREC's own pages and guide and the exam vendor's handbook, not a school's marketing:

• Course: 60 hours at an accredited or licensed school, at its pace.
• Application: reviewed by the AREC, which emails permission to test and to be fingerprinted; no review time is published.
• Exam: up to four hours at a Pearson VUE centre, within a one-year authorisation.
• Licence and post-licence: forms and fees within 90 days of passing, then 18 hours by the end of the sixth month.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, At-a-Glance Guides: The Arkansas Real Estate Licensure Pathway, 2025 (PDF), read September 9, 2026; Pearson VUE, Arkansas Real Estate and Property Management Candidate Handbook, June 2026 (#090400), read September 9, 2026.

5The Arkansas real estate exam

The salesperson exam is 110 questions in 4 hours, national and Arkansas law portions at a Pearson VUE test centre, registered separately with a two-for-one discount when paid in one transaction. You need a pass on each portion; the handbook read states no numeric passing score for the salesperson exam to pass. The passing score report from Pearson VUE is sent to the AREC with the licence forms within 90 days. Retakes: unlimited attempts within the one-year authorisation; a portion taken alone costs $75.

Pass rate

Neither the AREC nor Pearson VUE publishes a pass rate for the Arkansas salesperson exam on the documents read for this guide, so none is shown here.

Source: Pearson VUE, Arkansas Real Estate and Property Management Candidate Handbook, June 2026 (#090400), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of March 15, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Exam Information (Internet Archive capture of June 8, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

6Reciprocity: already licensed in another state?

By agreement with a list of states, and by exam waiver for the rest. The AREC lists reciprocal agreements with states including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska and Ohio, and refers licensees to the other state for the terms; any salesperson currently licensed elsewhere at the same level may ask to have the general portion of the exam waived and sit only the Arkansas law portion if the other state's exam and passing grade meet the Commission's standards.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Reciprocal States (Internet Archive capture), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

7Renewal and continuing education

The licence runs one calendar year, expiring December 31; renewals are filed by September 30. To renew you complete 7 clock hours of approved continuing education within the licence period and pay $60 on time, or $60 if renewed by September 30, plus a $20 penalty after that; a licence not renewed by December 31 expires, and can be renewed for one further year before the holder counts as a new applicant late.

First renewal: 18 hours of post-licence education by the end of the sixth month after the licence issues; continuing education is not required until the second renewal.

Later renewals: 7 hours of continuing education each year by December 31, starting with the calendar year of the second renewal, on the Commission's required and approved topics for that year.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Frequently Asked Questions (Internet Archive capture of March 15, 2026), read September 9, 2026; Arkansas Real Estate Commission, At-a-Glance Guides: The Arkansas Real Estate Licensure Pathway, 2025 (PDF), read September 9, 2026.

8How much real estate agents make in Arkansas

The only independent, dated wage figure for agents is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational survey. For Arkansas, release May 2025:

BLS counts agents paid as employees and reports wages, not the commissions of self-employed agents, so these are a floor for the occupation rather than what a typical commissioned agent takes home.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Real Estate Sales Agents (41-9022), Arkansas, read September 8, 2026.

9After the licence: choosing a brokerage in Arkansas

A new salesperson licence is only usable under a broker, so the next decision is which brokerage. On September 5, 2026, 2,486 Arkansas agents had a published brokerage profile; the largest single company was Keller Williams with 576 of them, and the largest brand was Coldwell Banker with 629. Realty Census, which counts those profiles, also compares the brokerages a new Arkansas agent can join, including which ones publish their commission split: see which Arkansas brokerages publish their pay plan.

Source: Realty Census, Arkansas count and brokerage ranking, September 5, 2026 (realtycensus.com/arkansas/), read September 9, 2026.

10Pre-licence schools in Arkansas

Pre-licence courses must come from an accredited postsecondary school or a school licensed by the AREC under Regulation 4.1; the Commission publishes its education providers, approved course list and each year's required CE topics. The list is at the AREC's education page.

This page carries no affiliate links. If a schools page for Arkansas is added with affiliate links, it will say so at the top, and schools will be ordered by what the state publishes or alphabetically, never by commission.

Source: Arkansas Real Estate Commission, New Applicant (Internet Archive capture of April 12, 2026), read September 9, 2026.

Questions people ask about becoming an agent in Arkansas

How long does it take to become a real estate agent in Arkansas?

The fixed parts are 60 course hours, the AREC's application review and permission to test, one Pearson VUE sitting of up to four hours, fingerprinting, and forms and fees within 90 days of passing; the AREC publishes no typical review time on the documents read, and 18 hours of post-licence education follow within six months. The course is 60 hours at the school's pace; the AREC reviews the application and emails permission to test; the exam is one four-hour sitting, repeatable for a year; the forms and fees follow within 90 days; and 18 hours of post-licence education are due within six months. No typical review time is published.

How much does it cost to get a real estate licence in Arkansas?

$150 to the state and its vendors ($75 exam, $50 licence, $25 recovery fund), plus tuition for the pre-licence course, the AREC application fee, fingerprinting, and tuition for the 60-hour and 18-hour courses, which the schools set.

What is the pass rate for the Arkansas real estate exam?

Neither the AREC nor Pearson VUE publishes a pass rate for the Arkansas salesperson exam on the documents read for this guide, so none is shown here.

How much do real estate agents make in Arkansas?

The BLS May 2025 median for real estate sales agents in Arkansas is $38,180 a year, with the middle half earning between $30,640 and $86,260. BLS counts agents paid as employees and reports wages, not the commissions of self-employed agents, so these are a floor for the occupation rather than what a typical commissioned agent takes home.

Does Arkansas have real estate licence reciprocity?

Partly. Arkansas has reciprocal agreements with a listed group of states, and any current salesperson from elsewhere can ask to skip the general exam and sit only the Arkansas law portion.

Sources and dates