To become a real estate broker in Arkansas, you need at least 24 months of active experience as a licensed salesperson within the last 48 months, 60 hours of pre-license education, a passing score on the broker exam administered by Pearson VUE, and a cleared state and federal background check. The Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) reviews every application and issues the license. From submitting paperwork to holding an active license, most applicants spend several weeks to a few months.
Who Qualifies to Apply
You must be at least 18 years old, and the Commission will look closely at your record for honesty and ethical conduct, including a full criminal background check.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-303 – Education and Experience Requirements
The experience rule is the real gate. You need an active real estate salesperson or broker license for at least 24 months within the 48-month window immediately before you apply. Out-of-state experience counts, but you’ll need an official license history from that jurisdiction.2Arkansas Real Estate Commission. New Applicant If you can’t document 24 active months inside that lookback, the Commission will reject the application.
When the Experience Requirement Can Be Waived
Two narrow paths exist. If you’ve held an active broker license in another state for at least 18 months, you can request a written waiver of the salesperson experience requirement. If you have 24 months of work the Commission considers “real estate-related” within the same 48-month window, you can submit a written history for review.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-303 – Education and Experience Requirements Neither waiver is automatic, and a college degree alone does not substitute for the experience requirement.
Pre-License Education
Broker applicants must complete at least 60 classroom hours of real estate instruction. At least 45 of those hours must come from a course developed by the Commission; the remaining hours can come from other approved real estate courses.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-303 – Education and Experience Requirements You can satisfy the requirement in a classroom or through approved distance education.
One deadline trips people up: all 60 hours must have been completed within the 36 months immediately before your application date.3Arkansas Real Estate Commission. 2024 Commission Regulations – Section 4.1 Coursework older than three years won’t count, and you’ll need to retake it. Keep original completion certificates from your provider; the Commission requires them as proof.
Application, Background Check, and Fees
The application packet is on the AREC website. You can submit it before you finish the 60-hour course, which lets the paperwork move while you’re still in class.2Arkansas Real Estate Commission. New Applicant
A separate Broker Experience Form is part of the packet, and your current principal broker must verify and certify your active service history on it. Incomplete or inaccurate experience documentation is one of the most common reasons applications stall, so check every date and signature before you send it in.4Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Forms and Publications – Forms
You’ll also submit to a state and federal criminal background check through the Arkansas State Police and FBI, which requires fingerprinting.5Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-315 – Criminal Background Check The combined cost for both checks is $37, payable to the Arkansas State Police.6Arkansas State Police. Individual Record Check Request Form – Non-Volunteer
For Arkansas residents taking the broker exam, the application fee is $85, payable by cashier’s check or money order to “AREC.” Personal and business checks are not accepted.2Arkansas Real Estate Commission. New Applicant First-time licensees also pay up to $25 into the state Real Estate Recovery Fund.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-405 – Additional Fee
The Broker Exam
Once AREC clears you to test, you’ll get an approval email and register through Pearson VUE’s website.8Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Exam Information
The exam is 130 questions covering both national real estate principles and Arkansas-specific law, with four hours to finish. Unlike the salesperson exam, the broker exam produces a single combined score, and you need a scaled score of at least 70 to pass. A scaled score reflects the difficulty of the questions you received rather than a straight raw percentage.9Pearson VUE. Arkansas Real Estate Candidate Handbook
Fail, and you may not have to redo the whole thing. The exam tracks the general and state-law portions separately. If you passed one portion but failed the other, you can retake just the failed portion within six months and keep credit for the part you passed. If more than one year passes from your original application date without a passing score, you’ll have to submit a new application and start the exam process over.10Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR 220-402 – Examinations – Passing Scores
Getting the License Issued
After you pass, you’ll send your score report to the Commission with a $70 license application fee.11Arkansas General Assembly. Occupational Authorization Report for Arkansas Real Estate Commission AREC processes the background results, which can take several weeks depending on volume. Once clearance comes through and fees are settled, the Commission issues the license and sends it to your designated principal broker rather than directly to you.
Post-License Course
The education doesn’t end at licensure. New brokers must complete a 30-classroom-hour post-licensure course developed by AREC within six months of the initial license date.12Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Education It’s separate from pre-license coursework and focuses on the day-to-day of running a brokerage. If you want to move into a supervisory role as an executive broker or principal broker, you have to finish this course first.
What the License Actually Lets You Do
Arkansas recognizes three broker roles, and they carry different levels of authority.
- Associate broker: you hold a broker license but work under a principal broker’s supervision and cannot supervise other licensees. This is the default designation for most newly licensed brokers.
- Executive broker: a principal broker designates you to supervise associate brokers and salespersons within the firm. You still operate under the principal broker’s authority but carry direct supervisory responsibility for the agents assigned to you.
- Principal broker: you run the firm and bear general responsibility for all real estate business conducted under your brokerage, including every executive broker, associate broker, and salesperson licensed under you.13Code of Arkansas Rules. Broker Responsibilities – Executive Brokers – Part-Time Brokers
Delegating to an executive broker does not relieve the principal broker. The principal broker remains specifically responsible for the executive broker’s activities and generally responsible for everything the firm does. Transaction closings must be performed by or under the direct supervision of the principal broker or a designated executive broker.13Code of Arkansas Rules. Broker Responsibilities – Executive Brokers – Part-Time Brokers
Annual Renewal and Continuing Education
Arkansas broker licenses renew every year. For the 2026 cycle, the fee is $80 if paid by September 30, 2025. After that date, the fee rises to $110, and incomplete forms returned after October 1 may trigger the late rate as well.14Arkansas Real Estate Commission. 2026 Arkansas Real Estate License Renewal Form You also owe an annual Recovery Fund fee of up to $25.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-405 – Additional Fee
All active licensees complete seven hours of continuing education each year. Principal and executive brokers take a specific mix that includes a one-hour safety course, a three-hour broker supervision and agency course, and a three-hour elective. Associate brokers can choose between the broker CE track and the salesperson track, though AREC recommends the broker track for anyone planning to move into supervision.15Arkansas Real Estate Commission. 2025 Required Continuing Education for All Licensees
What It Costs End to End
Commission fees stack up quickly, and that’s before you pay for coursework from your provider or the Pearson VUE exam fee at registration.
- Application fee with exam: $852Arkansas Real Estate Commission. New Applicant
- Background check, state and FBI combined: $376Arkansas State Police. Individual Record Check Request Form – Non-Volunteer
- License application fee after passing: $7011Arkansas General Assembly. Occupational Authorization Report for Arkansas Real Estate Commission
- Recovery Fund fee, first-time: up to $257Justia Law. Arkansas Code 17-42-405 – Additional Fee
- Annual renewal: $80, or $110 if paid after September 3014Arkansas Real Estate Commission. 2026 Arkansas Real Estate License Renewal Form
Commission fees come to roughly $217 before your first renewal, not counting tuition or Pearson VUE’s exam charge.
A Note on E&O Insurance
Arkansas does not require brokers to carry errors and omissions insurance.16Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Consumer Protections Diminish With Unlicensed Persons Many brokerages still require it as a condition of affiliation, and principal brokers operating independently commonly carry coverage even though no state rule compels them to.