What Vaccines Are Required for School in Arkansas?

To enroll in an Arkansas school, your child must be immunized against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, and varicella.¹ The vaccines required for school in Arkansas are the same across public and private schools, but the specific doses and timing depend on your child’s grade, with additional shots added in seventh grade and at age 16.² Medical and religious or philosophical exemptions are available, but only the Arkansas Department of Health can grant them.

What Kindergartners Need

Kindergarten carries the heaviest list because most of the series finish right before school starts. Required doses are:³

DTaP: four doses, with at least one on or after the fourth birthday.
Polio (IPV): three doses, with at least one on or after the fourth birthday and at least six months between the second and third. A four-dose schedule also qualifies.
MMR: two doses. The first on or after the first birthday, the second at least 28 days later.
Hepatitis B: three doses.
Hepatitis A: one dose, given on or after the first birthday.
Varicella: two doses, first on or after the first birthday and second at least 28 days later.

A documented history of chickenpox can replace the varicella shots, but only if a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant confirms the illness in writing.³ A parent’s word is not enough.

What Changes in First Grade Through Twelfth

The core series carries forward. A few things shift once a child is past kindergarten:⁴

Hepatitis A is only required for first graders. Grades two through twelve do not need it.
Students aged 11 to 15 may be on a two-dose hepatitis B schedule instead of three, depending on the vaccine used.
A child age 7 or older who is not fully vaccinated can use a three-dose tetanus-containing catch-up schedule in place of the standard four-dose DTaP series.

The 7th Grade and Age 16 Shots

Seventh grade adds two requirements. Every student 11 or older as of September 1 of the school year needs one dose of Tdap in addition to the earlier DTaP series. Seventh graders also need at least one dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY).⁴

A second meningococcal dose is required at age 16, again measured as of September 1. If the first dose was given at age 16 or later, no second dose is required. A child who received no meningococcal shot before age 16 satisfies the requirement with a single dose at 16.³

Watch the September 1 cutoff. A child whose birthday falls on September 2 is not yet 11 for that school year’s purposes and will not need the Tdap booster until the following year.³

College and University Students

Arkansas requires MMR vaccination for full-time college students and for part-time students who live in on-campus housing at any public or private college or university in the state.⁵

Incoming freshmen and foreign-born students need two doses of MMR.
All other covered students need one dose.
Students born before 1957 are exempt.
Students taking classes entirely online, who never attend on campus, do not need to show proof.

The same medical and religious or philosophical exemptions available for K-12 apply to college enrollees.

Proof the School Will Accept

Schools need an official immunization record from a licensed physician or public health department listing the dates of each dose.¹ If paper records are lost or you have changed providers, the state’s Arkansas Immunization Information System (WebIZ) consolidates records from providers across Arkansas. Your pediatrician or local ADH health unit can pull a certificate from WebIZ for you.⁶

Blood Tests Showing Immunity

A blood test (serology) demonstrating immunity can substitute for the vaccine for five diseases: hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. Hand the lab result to the ADH Immunization Section, not the school. The Medical Director reviews it and issues an approval or denial letter. Once approved, there is no annual renewal, and the school keeps the letter in the student’s permanent file. If the proof is denied, the child needs the vaccine or an exemption.⁷

Medical and Religious or Philosophical Exemptions

Arkansas recognizes two types of exemption. A medical exemption applies when a physician determines a specific vaccine is unsafe for your child. A religious or philosophical exemption applies when a parent affirms that vaccination conflicts with sincerely held beliefs.¹ Both go through the ADH, not the school, and both must be reapplied for each school year.⁸

An application requires a notarized statement from the parent or guardian (or the student, if 18 or older), completion of an educational activity about vaccine risks and benefits using CDC Vaccine Information Statements, a signed refusal-to-vaccinate form, and a signed acknowledgment that an unvaccinated child may be excluded during an outbreak.⁸ Medical exemptions also require a physician’s documentation of the condition, and the ADH Medical Director reviews the request against CDC guidelines. A medical exemption lasts only as long as the underlying condition.¹

The outbreak clause is the trade-off worth understanding before you apply. If a vaccine-preventable disease breaks out at your child’s school, the ADH can remove unvaccinated students from the classroom. Exclusion typically lasts no fewer than 21 days and can run longer depending on the disease. The child cannot return until the ADH clears them, whether or not they show symptoms.¹ Once the ADH issues an approval letter, you deliver a copy to the school for the student’s file.⁸

One narrow carve-out sits outside this process: if your child has a full or half sibling who suffered a serious adverse reaction to the pertussis component that resulted in a total permanent disability, the pertussis requirement does not apply, and the annual exemption application is not required.¹

If Records Aren’t Ready by the First Day

A school can admit your child under provisional enrollment when records are incomplete. You then have 30 calendar days from the date of admission to finish the required vaccinations, show the series is in progress, or provide proof that you have applied for an exemption.² Thirty days goes quickly when multi-dose vaccines require spacing. If catch-up doses are needed, book the first appointment immediately and keep documentation to show the school the series is underway. A child who hasn’t met the requirements or shown progress by day 30 can be excluded until records are in order.

Students transferring from another state should bring whatever records they have, including anything available through the prior state’s immunization registry. Arkansas will compare those records to its own schedule, and the same 30-day provisional window applies to any missing doses.

Free Vaccines for Eligible Children

The federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program provides all required school vaccines at no charge for eligible children through age 18, and Arkansas families can access VFC through local ADH health units.⁹ A child qualifies by meeting any one of these criteria:

Medicaid-eligible.
Uninsured (no health insurance at all).
Underinsured (insurance that does not cover vaccines, covers only some, or has a dollar cap on vaccine coverage).
American Indian or Alaska Native.

The vaccine itself is free. A provider may charge an administration fee similar to a copay but cannot turn a family away for inability to pay. You do not need to bring proof of eligibility; the provider screens with a few questions about insurance and Medicaid status.⁹ Underinsured children must receive their VFC vaccines at a Federally Qualified Health Center, Rural Health Clinic, or another site with an approved deputization agreement.

1
Justia. Arkansas Code 6-18-702 – Immunization
2
Legal Information Institute. 007.15.08 Ark. Code R. 003 – Rules Pertaining to Immunization Requirements
3
Arkansas Department of Health. Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Immunization Requirements
4
Arkansas Department of Education. Rules Governing Kindergarten Through 12th Grade Immunization Requirements in Arkansas Public Schools
5
Code of Arkansas Rules. 6 CAR 520-203 – Colleges and Universities
6
Arkansas Department of Health. WebIZ (AR Immunization Info Systems)
7
Arkansas Department of Education. Immunization Requirements in Arkansas Public Schools
8
Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Immunization Exemption
9
Arkansas Department of Health. Vaccines for Children