Arkansas Overview
An Arkansas insurance license costs $65 in state fees plus a State Police background check. Renewal is $90 every two years; non-residents pay $70. The $65 is the $15 application and one $50 exam. Each added exam is another $50, so Life and Health come to $115 plus the check, while Property and Casualty share one exam. Prelicensing is 20 hours per line, and the course provider sets its price.
The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) takes your application before the exam. Once AID clears it and your Arkansas State Police background check, PSI emails your authorization to test, usually in 2 to 5 days, and you can print your license 24 hours after you pass. Licenses expire on the last day of your birth month every two years. CE is 24 hours with 3 in ethics, and Arkansas has no grace period.
How to get an Arkansas insurance license
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Complete prelicensing education
Arkansas requires 20 hours of approved prelicensing for each line you want: Life, Accident & Health, Property, Casualty or Personal Lines. Each course includes one hour of ethics (AID Rule 31). Your completion certificate is valid for two years, and PSI checks it at every exam attempt.
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Apply for your license
Apply through InsureTrek for the state's $15 application fee. Arkansas takes the application before you test, and one application covers every line you're adding.
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Complete the background check
Your application confirmation email links to the Arkansas State Police background check. Fill it out online and pay the State Police fee when you submit it.
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Pass the PSI exam
Once AID clears your application and background check, PSI emails your authorization to test, usually in 2 to 5 days. Schedule at PSI for $50 per exam. Life and Health can be taken in one sitting. You have 90 days from approval and up to three attempts to pass. After that, wait four weeks and apply again.
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Print your license
You can print your Arkansas license 24 hours after you pass. You need an insurer appointment before you write business, and the insurer has 15 days to file it with AID.
Prelicensing education
Life: 20 hours Accident and Health or Sickness: 20 hours Property: 20 hours Casualty: 20 hours Personal Lines: 20 hours You skip prelicensing and the exam for lines you're currently licensed for in another state, or if you move to Arkansas and apply within 90 days of establishing residence (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-509). Crop has no prelicensing course.
Exam
Vendor: PSI. Exam fee: $50. Each producer exam is $50, including Crop Hail. Property & Casualty is one exam, and Life and Health are two that can be taken together. Exam fees aren't refundable or transferable. A passed exam stays valid for one year.
Arkansas insurance license fees
| Fee | Initial | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing exam (PSI), per exam Paid to PSI when you schedule. Life and Health are separate exams. Property & Casualty is one. | $50 | — |
| Resident producer license (Life, Accident & Health, Property, Casualty, Personal Lines, Crop) The $15 application fee covers every line on one application, and Arkansas charges no license fee at issue. Renewal every two years is the $70 license fee plus a $20 CE filing fee. | $15 | $90 |
| Background check (Arkansas State Police) The State Police fee, paid online when you submit the check after applying. | — | — |
| Typical resident total: Life and Health, before the background check Two $50 exams and the $15 application, plus the State Police background check fee. | $115 | $90 |
| Resident producer license, no-exam lines (Variable Life and Annuity, Credit, Travel, Prepaid Legal, Marine and others) | $70 | $70 |
| Non-resident producer license A late renewal adds a $140 penalty. | $70 | $70 |
| Business entity (agency) license Renews every year by October 1. | $35 | $35 |
Fees as of 2026-10-26. 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 Licensing, Individual , NIPR — Arkansas Non-Resident Licensing, Individual , NIPR — Arkansas Non-Resident Renewal, Individual , NIPR — Arkansas Resident Licensing, Business , AID / PSI — Arkansas Insurance Licensure Candidate Information Bulletin (June 18, 2025) , AID — License Renewal Fees (Rev. 1/2016, linked as current on AID's Forms & Instructions page) , AID Rule 50 — Continuing Education for Producers and Adjusters , AID Rule 57 — Administrative and Regulatory Fees (effective January 1, 2019) , AID — Licensing Frequently Asked Questions
Arkansas insurance license renewal
Renewal window — Arkansas licenses run two years and expire on the last day of your birth month (AID Rule 57). Complete your CE on or before your birthday in the renewal year (AID Rule 50).
Grace period: None. Renewal fees are due on the expiration date. Within 12 months you can reinstate without retaking the exam by paying the renewal fee plus a $140 penalty (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-507(c)). After 12 months the license terminates, and you start over with a new application and exam.
Renewing a resident producer license costs $90: the $70 license fee plus a $20 CE filing fee. A late renewal adds a $140 penalty. Missing the CE deadline makes the license inactive, and you can't write business until AID reactivates it. CE late fees are $25 for 1 to 30 days late, $50 for 31 to 60, $100 for 61 to 90 and $150 for 91 to 365. Extra hours carry forward to the next two-year period only, and extra ethics hours count as general hours. You can't repeat a course within two years.
24 total CE hours per renewal term , including 3 ethics hours .
CE doesn't apply to licenses that need no exam, to non-residents whose home state has a comparable CE requirement, or during active military duty. Resident producers licensed before July 1, 2003, who are 60 or older or have held a license for 15 straight years can request an exemption.
Non-resident insurance license in Arkansas
An Arkansas non-resident producer license costs $70 and renews every two years for $70. You qualify with an active resident license in good standing in your home state, as long as your home state licenses Arkansas residents on the same basis (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-508). Arkansas doesn't require its prelicensing or exam for lines you hold in your home state (§ 23-64-509). To add Variable Life and Variable Annuity, you must hold it in your home state.
Non-residents meet Arkansas CE by meeting their home state's, unless the home state has no comparable requirement (AID Rule 50). Renewal opens 90 days before expiration, and you must renew every line you hold. A late renewal within 12 months costs $210, the $70 fee plus a $140 penalty.
Moving to Arkansas, you convert to a resident license within 90 days of establishing residence, and your old resident license must have been active within the last 90 days. How non-resident licensing works covers the rules that apply in every state.
Apply for a non-resident Arkansas license through InsureTrek , plus the state fee.
For the steps and fees in every state, see the non-resident insurance license guide .
For agencies
Agencies, appointments & DRLP
Arkansas licenses agencies as business-entity producers. The license is $35 and renews every year by October 1 (AID Rule 57). The agency must designate a licensed producer responsible for its compliance with Arkansas insurance law (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-506(b)). A managing general agency renews for $500 and a third-party administrator for $100.
Insurers file appointments and pay the fee: $20 for a resident producer and $60 for a non-resident, which Arkansas's retaliatory law can raise. An insurer has 15 days to file, counted from when it signs your contract or you submit the first application (Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-514), and you can sell in that window. Arkansas renews every appointment each June 1, and an insurer pays $10 to terminate one.
Managing DRLPs across states? See how InsureTrek handles it →
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 2026-10-26. 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 2026-10-26
- AID — Criminal Background Check (Arkansas.gov) — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID — License Renewal Fees (Rev. 1/2016, linked as current on AID's Forms & Instructions page) — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID — Licensing Forms & Instructions — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID — Licensing Frequently Asked Questions — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID — Pre-Licensing/Continuing Education Provider Information Packet — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID / PSI — Arkansas Insurance Licensure Candidate Information Bulletin (June 18, 2025) — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID Form AID-LI-COR — Change from Nonresident to Resident — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID Rule 31 — Pre-License Education for Insurance Producers and Adjusters (effective February 14, 2022) — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID Rule 50 — Continuing Education for Producers and Adjusters — accessed 2026-10-26
- AID Rule 57 — Administrative and Regulatory Fees (effective January 1, 2019) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-506 — Application for license — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-507 — License — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-508 — Nonresident licensing — accessed 2026-10-26
- Ark. Code Ann. § 23-64-509 — Exemption from examination — accessed 2026-10-26
- NIPR — Arkansas Non-Resident Licensing, Individual — accessed 2026-10-26
- NIPR — Arkansas Non-Resident Renewal, Individual — accessed 2026-10-26
- NIPR — Arkansas Resident Licensing, Business — accessed 2026-10-26
- NIPR — Arkansas Resident Licensing, Individual — accessed 2026-10-26