How To Get a Real Estate License In Arkansas

Introduction

Pearson VUE, a National Independent Testing Company, is responsible for the creation and administration of the Arkansas Real Estate License Examinations. In Arkansas, exams are administered through a PC-based electronic system that does away with the need for paper response forms. The PC-based Application is simple to use. Typing and computer skills are not necessary or required. Most institutions and suppliers of real estate education have copies of the “Real Estate Candidate Handbook,” which contains further details regarding Pearson VUE and the test procedure, including an Application for the test.

Requirements for Real Estate Licenses

Candidates for sales positions must:

I’ve reached the age of majority, eighteen (18).
AREC-licensed schools and organizations must provide a real estate education certificate. The certificate must reflect sixty classroom hours of real estate education, of which thirty (30) hours must be in the fundamentals of real estate. Salesperson applications must be submitted to the AREC along with the required documentation for both state and federal background checks.
To take the exam, get permission from the Arkansas Real Estate Commission.
Pass the license-required exam.
After passing the exam, provide the required documentation and expense to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission within ninety (90) days.
In order to seek post-licensing education.

Brokers need to:

I have grown to be eighteen (18), the age of majority.
Within the 36 months leading up to the day, they apply to take the broker’s exam and complete sixty hours of real estate education, of which forty-five hours must be the commission-developed Broker License Education course from an accredited postsecondary or a school or organization licensed by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission.
Possess a valid real estate salesperson or broker license for a minimum of twenty-four (24) months during the forty-eight (48) months that preceded the application date. Nevertheless, upon written request, this experience may be waived for a real estate broker applicant who has held a valid real estate broker license for a minimum of eighteen (18) months (if the experience requirement was satisfied in another jurisdiction, please provide an official license history from that jurisdiction) or possesses experience that the Commission deems acceptable in a field deemed real estate related for a minimum of twenty-four (24) months during the previous forty-eight (48) month period Subject to Commission Regulation 4.1 and ACA Sect. 17-42-303
Send in a broker application to the AREC, together with the necessary data for federal and state background checks.
Obtain Arkansas Real Estate Commission clearance to take the test.
Pass the test for licensing, and
Within ninety (90) days of passing the test, submit the appropriate paperwork and fees to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission.

Remission of Application and Licensing Fees for Post-licensing Education

Act 153 of 2021 states that applicants who receive reimbursement through the Arkansas Medicaid Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) will have their application and licensing fees waived.
Also eligible are those who have had their unemployment benefits authorized within the last 12 months or whose income is not above 200% of the federal poverty threshold.
This waiver does not cover the fees of real estate courses and criminal background checks. Please get in touch with the AREC if you need further details.

Spouses, Veterans, and Members of the Military

Active-duty military personnel, returning veterans, and spouses may be eligible for automatic licensure or accelerated application processing under Act 725 of 2021. Please get in touch with the AREC if you need further details.

Those who have a license from another state at this time:

An applicant seeking a salesperson license at the same level in Arkansas who now has a right in another state may ask to have the GENERAL section of the test waived. If a candidate for a sales position satisfies all three (3) of the following conditions, they may only need to take the Arkansas Law portion of the test.

The applicant is licensed in the other state at the time of the Arkansas examination, and they have passed a uniform, general, or multi-state portion of a test for a real estate license in another state where the Commission has determined that the assessment meets generally accepted standards of real estate testing. The other state requires a minimum passing grade no lower than that needed for the general part of the Arkansas examination (70). (c) of Commission Regulation 4.2

Application Details for Residents of Arkansas

Each candidate undergoes a criminal background check by the Arkansas State Police, which includes an FBI check that necessitates the collection of fingerprints. The report is then submitted to the Commission.

AREC needs to obtain the following in order to complete the Application:

You have completed the Application to sit for the real estate test. Documentation proving you are at least eighteen (18) years old.

$50.00 for the Application. Make a money order or cashier’s cheque payable to “AREC.” (We will not take personal or corporate cheques.)

Identity Acknowledgment Form for Background Checks (BCA)

*NOTE: AREC will now accept applications for the Real Estate License Examination prior to the completion of the sixty-hour (60) pre-licensing course. * Certificate of Course Completion for Pre-license Education.

You can submit applications even before completing the pre-license course. Please note that AREC will issue Certificates of Exam Eligibility once it receives confirmation of the completion of the pre-license coursework AND the receipt of the completed Background Check Acknowledgment (BCA) Form.

The Arkansas Real Estate Commission will not award the license until it has received and approved the criminal background checks.

Applicants who want information on the criminal background check procedure should regularly check their email, mainly their spam folders.

Details of the Application — Non-Resident

The Arkansas Real Estate Commission mandated on January 1, 2006, that all candidates seeking first license as real estate brokers or salespeople submit to a state and federal criminal background check. Every candidate undergoes a criminal background check by the Arkansas State Police, which includes an FBI check that necessitates fingerprinting. Using an applicant fingerprint card, non-resident candidates will submit requests for both state and federal background checks.

AREC needs to obtain the following in order to complete the Application:

filled out the Application to sit for the real estate test
Evidence of age
Should you be needed to take the test, $86.25 will be the application cost. Make a money order or cashier’s cheque payable to “AREC.” (We will not take personal or corporate cheques.)
Should you choose not to sit for the test, you will be charged $161.25 for the salesperson’s cost. The cost to a broker will be $181.25. Make a money order or cashier’s cheque payable to “AREC.” (We will not take personal or corporate cheques.)
All states where you now hold or have had a real estate license have your fingerprint card licensing history completed.
Form of Background Acknowledgment
Candidates who are not reciprocal must provide documentation that they have completed sixty (60) hours of pre-license coursework. Should the applicant be applying for a broker’s license, the sixty (60) hours of prerequisite education need to have been completed in the previous three years.*

*NOTE: Before completing the sixty-hour (60) pre-licensing course, AREC will accept applications for the Real Estate License Examination.

You can file applications even before completing the pre-license course. AREC will grant Certificates of Exam Eligibility only after verifying the completion of the pre-license coursework and when the applicant submits their fingerprint card to AREC.

The Arkansas Real Estate Commission will not award the license until it has received and approved the criminal background checks.

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