1.3 License Maintenance and Renewal

Keeping an Arkansas license requires annual renewal, annual continuing education, and — for new licensees — a post-license course. Older materials frequently state these incorrectly, so anchor to the verified numbers below.

License Term and Renewal Cycle

Arkansas licenses are issued for one calendar year and expire December 31. This is a frequent trap: Arkansas is annual, not biennial.

Common Trap: If a question says "Arkansas licenses are valid for two years," it is wrong. The term is one calendar year, expiring December 31, with a September 30 deadline to renew without penalty.

CE hours completed on or after October 1 may be applied to the following renewal year, which is how diligent licensees stay ahead of the September 30 cutoff.

Continuing Education (7 Hours Annually)

After the first renewal, every active licensee must complete continuing education each year. The statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-42-308) sets the band at "not less than six (6) nor more than seven (7)" hours, and AREC currently requires 7 hours per year, including at least one hour on personal safety. Remaining hours come from AREC-approved core and elective topics set in the annual CE notice.

Common Trap: The old figure "6 hours" is the statutory floor; AREC sets 7. Use 7 hours/year as the answer unless a question quotes the 6-7 statutory range.

Post-License Education (Critical for New Agents)

This is the most-corrected fact in Arkansas prep. New licensees must complete a post-license course in their first six months, and it is separate from their first renewal's CE.

Warning: The "30 hours within one year" figure that appears in many guides is the broker number and the wrong deadline. For a salesperson it is 18 hours within 6 months. Missing the deadline can draw an AREC citation with a penalty of up to $100 (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-42-308(d)) and can render the license inactive until cured.

Post-license education does not count toward, and is not replaced by, the 7-hour annual CE. Treat the two requirements — and their separate deadlines — independently.

License Status Types

Inactive Status

A salesperson's license becomes inactive when it is not affiliated with a principal broker, when the licensee voluntarily goes inactive, or when required education is not completed. To reactivate, affiliate with a broker and satisfy any outstanding education.

Key Point: A salesperson may hold a license but may not practice while inactive. Compensation for real estate activity during an inactive or expired period is itself a violation.

Required Notifications to AREC

Licensees must keep AREC current. Notify the Commission promptly (and update through the AREC online portal) of:

• Change of business or mailing address
• Change of legal name
• Change of sponsoring principal broker (transfer)
• Going inactive or reactivating

Transferring Brokers

When a salesperson changes firms, the transfer must be processed through AREC and the new principal broker. Until the transfer is complete and the license is reactivated under the new broker, the salesperson should not conduct activity for the new firm.

Exam Tip: The themes for the state portion are timing and supervision: annual renewal, September 30 deadline, 7-hour CE, 18-hour/6-month post-license, and no active license without a principal broker.

Expired Licenses and Reinstatement

Missing the renewal deadline has escalating consequences. A license not renewed by December 31 expires, and the licensee may not practice until it is reinstated. Arkansas allows reinstatement of an expired license for a period (with payment of the renewal fee plus the late/expired fee of up to $80 per year and proof of any missed CE), but a license left expired too long can require re-application — and potentially re-examination — as a new applicant.

Warning: Conducting real estate activity for compensation while expired or inactive is itself a violation (and ties into the unlicensed-activity penalties covered in Chapter 4). Renew early — CE completed after October 1 can be banked toward the next year, so there is no reason to risk the deadline.