You must be 18 years old to become a licensed real estate agent in Arkansas. The State of Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) requires a background check of all applicants to determine if they are trustworthy, and each applicant is considered on a case-by-case basis.

(AREC) offices are located in Little Rock, Arkansas and administer all aspects of the real estate licensing industry. The main mission of the Commission is protecting the public interest.

Applicants for a real estate salesperson license in Arkansas need to successfully complete 60 classroom hours of approved pre-license real estate education. These classes may be from an accredited postsecondary school or a private school authorized to teach them. After obtaining the required real estate courses, the applicant must pass the state examination and pay the required fees.

Those desiring to obtain a real estate broker license in Arkansas need to have actively held a salesperson license for 24 months within the previous 48 month period. Also, 60 hours of approved real estate prelicensure courses need to be satisfactorily completed within the 36 months immediately preceding the date of the real estate exams. Applicants for the real estate broker license must pass the broker exams and pay a license fee of $70.00.

The Arkansas real estate exams are developed and administered by a national independent testing company. The fee for the exam application is $50, with an additional exam fee of $75 paid to the exam testing service. There are five testing facilities throughout the state where an applicant can take the examinations

The real estate education requirements include post-license education (http://www.state.ar.us/arec/arecweb.html) for all new brokers and salespersons. Those holding a salesperson license are required to complete 18 classroom hours within the first year of obtaining their license. Those holding a broker license are required to complete 30 classroom hours within the first year of obtaining their license. If the post-license requirement is not met, the licenses are put on an inactive status. All real estate classes in Arkansas must be actual classroom courses, not correspondence courses. There are 12 approved Arkansas real estate schools for post-license education.

Applicants for a real estate salesperson license pay a license fee of $50.00 and a Recovery Fund Fee of $25.00. The fees need to be paid within 90 days after passing the real estate exams.

Applicants for a real estate broker license pay a license fee of $70 and a Recovery Fund Fee of $25.00. These fees, also, must be paid within 90 days after passing the real estate exams.

You can find some Arkansas real estate forms online. The rest of the forms need to be obtained from the Real Estate Commission.

To renew a real estate license in Arkansas, those holding a real estate salesperson license pay $50, and those holding a real estate broker license pay $70. Renewals are due before September 30th of the current year, with a penalty for late renewal. Licenses actually expire on the 31st of the current year. When an Arkansas real estate license has expired, the Commission will usually allow reinstatement within three years from the calendar year in which the license was last renewed.

Licenses for all real estate agents may also be kept in an inactive status at the Real Estate Commission. To make the license active, six hours of Arkansas real estate courses need to be completed, plus a $30.00 fee paid. A license may be kept inactive indefinitely as long as the applicable renewal fees are paid.