Arkansas
Arkansas insurance licensing: requirements, renewal, and agency rules
Arkansas is one of the few states that still requires prelicensing education for most producer lines — 20 hours of AID-approved instruction per line of authority, with an ethics hour built into each course, before you can sit for the exam.
- Application fee
- $15
- DOI phone
- 501-371-2750
Overview
Arkansas is one of the few states that still requires prelicensing education for most producer lines — 20 hours of AID-approved instruction per line of authority, with an ethics hour built into each course, before you can sit for the exam. The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) uses PSI as its exam vendor rather than Pearson VUE, and licensing runs through NIPR and the NAIC's State Based Systems (SBS) portal rather than a state-built application system. Renewal has no grace period: fees and continuing education are due on the license's expiration date, not some window after it. Public adjusters are barred from operating in Arkansas entirely — catastrophe adjusters register for storm response instead of holding a standing license.
How to get licensed
Complete prelicensing education
Arkansas requires 20 hours of AID-approved prelicensing instruction per line of authority (Life, Accident & Health/Sickness, Property, Casualty, or Personal Lines), including an embedded ethics hour, under AID Admin Rule 31. Adjuster license courses (property, casualty, workers' compensation) carry the same 20-hour structure.
Register for and pass the licensing exam
Arkansas uses PSI as its exam vendor. Review the candidate handbook before scheduling — check PSI's site directly for the current exam fee, since AID doesn't publish it.
Complete a criminal background check
Submit fingerprints through the state's background-check portal, tied to your license application.
Apply for your license
The fastest path is to apply through InsureTrek — we file your Arkansas application for the state's fee, pulled from NIPR at the moment of application.
Print your license
Arkansas doesn't mail paper licenses. Once AID approves your application, print or retrieve it through the NAIC State Based Systems portal.
Prelicensing education
Life: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Accident and Health or Sickness: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Property: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Casualty: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Personal Lines: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Property Adjuster: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Casualty Adjuster: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics. Workers' Compensation Adjuster: 20 hours — Includes 1 hour of ethics.
Exam
Vendor: PSI. Exam fee: $50. The exam fee is $50 for Life, Health, Property/Casualty, Personal Lines, Title, Crop Hail, and Surplus Lines exams, and $40 for General, Property, Casualty, and Workers' Compensation Adjuster exams. Pay by credit card when you register with PSI.
Fingerprinting
Required. Submitted through Arkansas's own background-check portal rather than a national fingerprint vendor.
Fees
| Fee | Initial | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Resident producer license (Life, Accident & Health/Sickness, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, Crop) The $15 is a one-time application fee paid to NIPR. Arkansas charges no separate license fee or renewal fee for these lines of authority. | $15 | $0 |
| Resident producer license (Variable Life, Variable Annuity, Credit, Travel, Prepaid Legal, Marine, Farm Mutual Aid, Funeral Expense, Mobile Home, HMO) These lines don't require an exam, but carry a flat $70 license fee at issuance and at each renewal. | $70 | $70 |
| Non-resident producer license | $70 | $70 |
| Business entity (agency) license | $35 | $35 |
Fees as of 2026-08-21. Fees change without much notice. When you apply through InsureTrek, we always use the current fee at the moment of application. Sources: NIPR – Arkansas Resident Individual Licensing, NIPR – Arkansas Non-Resident Individual Licensing, NIPR – Arkansas Resident Business Entity Licensing
Renewal & CE
Grace period: None. Renewal fees and continuing education hours are both due on the license's expiration date, with no post-expiration window to catch up before late fees apply.
Continuing education late fees escalate by how overdue they are: $25 (0–30 days), $50 (31–60 days), $100 (61–90 days), and $150 (91–365 days). License renewal late fees are a flat doubling of the base fee.
For agencies and non-residents
Agencies, appointments & DRLP
Arkansas requires a separate business-entity (agency) license, renewed for $35, alongside heavier entity licenses for specific business types — a managing general agency license runs $500, a third-party administrator license $100. Agency licensing is handled through NIPR/SBS rather than a standalone state form.
Insurers pay Arkansas's appointment fee — $20 for a resident producer, $60 for a non-resident (subject to retaliatory adjustment based on the producer's home state) — through NIPR. An insurance company has 15 calendar days to file the appointment, counted from the day it signs a contract with the producer or the day it receives the producer's first piece of business, whichever comes first. Appointments run on a one-year renewal basis rather than tracking the individual's own license cycle.
Managing DRLPs across states? See how InsureTrek handles it →
Non-residents
Non-residents apply the same way as Arkansas residents, through InsureTrek, using their home-state license as the basis for the Arkansas application. Producers relocating to Arkansas from another state don't need to submit a clearance letter, but should contact AID directly to find out whether they still have to pass the exam — AID decides that case by case rather than granting an automatic waiver.
Apply for a non-resident Arkansas license through InsureTrek, plus the state fee.
Official resources
- Arkansas Insurance Department — licensing
- DOI phone: 501-371-2750
Terms used on this page
Sources & disclaimer
This guide is informational and summarizes publicly available state and NIPR licensing rules as of 2026-08-21. Requirements change — verify current rules with the Arkansas Insurance Department or NIPR before you rely on anything here.
Official NIPR reseller · Applications filed through InsureTrek are submitted via NIPR.
- AID – Company Appointment Fees — accessed 2026-08-19
- AID – License Renewal Fees — accessed 2026-08-19
- AID – Licensing Division — accessed 2026-08-19
- AID – Pre-Licensing/Continuing Education Provider Information Packet (June 2025) — accessed 2026-08-19
- AID – Producers — accessed 2026-08-19
- AID – PSI Exam Handbook — accessed 2026-08-21
- NIPR – Arkansas Resident Individual Licensing — accessed 2026-08-21
FAQs
Does Arkansas require a prelicensing course before I can take the exam?
Yes. Arkansas requires 20 hours of AID-approved prelicensing instruction for each line of authority you're applying for — Life, Accident & Health/Sickness, Property, Casualty, or Personal Lines — with an ethics hour built into the course. That puts Arkansas among the stricter states; many others only require passing the exam.
Where do I take the Arkansas insurance licensing exam?
Arkansas uses PSI as its exam vendor, not Pearson VUE. Review the candidate handbook and register directly at psiexams.com.
What happens if I miss my Arkansas renewal deadline?
There's no grace period — your renewal fee and continuing education hours are due on the license's expiration date itself. Miss it, and continuing education late fees start at $25 for the first 30 days and climb to $150 past 90 days, on top of a doubled license renewal fee.
Can I work as a public adjuster in Arkansas?
No. Arkansas prohibits public adjusters from operating in the state entirely. The state does license property, casualty, workers' compensation, and crop adjusters, and it registers catastrophe adjusters for storm response.
How do I look up or verify an Arkansas insurance license?
Arkansas licenses are managed through the NAIC's State Based Systems (SBS) portal rather than a separate AID lookup tool. Use sbs.naic.org to verify an individual or agency license.
Can I get a non-resident license in Arkansas without retaking the exam?
Non-residents apply through InsureTrek using their home-state license as the basis for the Arkansas application, the same channel residents use. Confirm your specific exam and CE obligations with AID's licensing division before applying, since the state's reciprocity terms aren't fully spelled out on a public page.
Do I need fingerprints to get licensed in Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas requires a criminal background check as part of your application, submitted through the state's own background-check portal rather than a national fingerprint vendor like IdentoGO.
See how InsureTrek handles Arkansas licensing at scale.
Renewals, CE, and appointments tracked across every state your producers write in.