If you’re thinking about becoming an insurance agent in Arkansas, the first step you’ll need to take in order to kickstart your career is to obtain an Arkansas insurance license.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of how to become an insurance agent in Arkansas, as well as what to do once you get licensed.
Tip: Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run.
Kaplan Education Company
In order to get your Arkansas insurance license, you’ll need to complete the following five steps:
Below we have explored each step in more detail.
The first step will be deciding what type of insurance policies you’ll want to sell — at least at the start of your career.
This is because the type of insurance policies you’re hoping to sell will dictate the type of license you’ll need. For example, you’d need a Property & Casualty (P&C) license to be able to sell auto, home, or business insurance.
Here’s a list of all the different types of insurance agent licenses that are available in the state of Arkansas:
While there are a large number of different licenses to choose from, the vast majority of insurance agents will either obtain a Property and Casualty (P&C) or a Life and Health license.
In fact, many agents actually opt to go for both of these licenses as it allows them to offer clients a much wider range of the most common insurance products.
However, if you already know you want to specialize in one particular type of policy, you’ll of course only have to focus on the specific license that’s relevant to this insurance type.
It’s worth noting at this point that if you’re looking to work as an insurance adjuster, you’ll need to obtain a separate license — which you can find more information about in our Arkansas Adjuster License overview.
The next step you’ll want to take toward becoming a licensed insurance agent in Arkansas is completing a pre-licensing education course.
In accordance with Arkansas law, all insurance producers are required to complete 20 hours of pre-licensing education in their chosen line of authority. This can be completed through an online course or in a traditional classroom setting.
Your education provider will issue a certificate of completion once you’ve completed this requirement, which you will need to bring with you in order to be allowed to sit for your licensing examination.
Due to the sheer number of pre-licensing education courses available, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding which one is right for you. To avoid this, we typically recommend making a decision based on the following factors:
Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run. For pre-licensing education, StateRequirement recommends:
Kaplan Education Company
If you want more information before getting started, you can also have a look at our in-depth overview of the five best pre-license education courses in 2024.
With your pre-licensing education course out of the way, you’ll be ready to apply for your insurance license.
To do this, you will need to visit the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) website and complete an Electronic Resident Licensing application.
Keep in mind that you will need to pay a $20 filing fee in order for your submission to be processed, which is applicable to each line of authority you want to apply for (i.e., if you want to apply for multiple lines, you’ll need to pay this fee multiple times.).
After completing your application, the next step you will need to take is to undergo a background check.
To do this, you will need to visit the Arkansas Insurance Department’s Criminal Background Check System and pay the required $25 processing fee.
You will need to provide an email address in order to receive your results, which should only be used for the purpose initially specified.
This is because using the criminal history report for purposes not specified in the initial request can constitute a Class A misdemeanor under Arkansas law.
Note: Any misdemeanors or felonies may affect the outcome of your licensing efforts. If you’re worried about this, you can contact the Arkansas Insurance Department Licensing Division by phone or email for more guidance.
After completing your pre-licensing education course, submitting an application, and completing a background check, the last step you will need to take is to pass the relevant Arkansas insurance license exam.
We say “relevant” because this will depend on the line you wish to specialize in; for example, if you’re planning to become a health insurance agent, you will need to pass the Health exam — which consists of 50 scored questions.
All insurance producer licensing examinations in Arkansas are administered by PSI and come with a $50 exam fee.
Keep in mind that you will need to achieve a score of at least 70% in order to pass your exam(s). Having said that, you’ll be able to retake each examination as many times as needed in order to pass.
Note: Candidates who fail the same examination three consecutive times will be required to wait four weeks before they can schedule another attempt. For more information, you can have a look at our Arkansas Insurance License Exam guide.
And that’s it! After satisfying all the other requirements and submitting a license application to the Arkansas Department of Insurance all that’s left to do is wait.
If everything on your application has been filled out correctly, you should be able to print your insurance agent license within 24 hours of successfully passing your examination(s).
It’s important to be aware that the issuance of your insurance license can take a bit longer than this if there are any items from your background check that need to be looked over. However, the state will likely get in touch with you to give some context if they run into any issues.
In any case, the state will send you an email regarding the status of your license once this review has been completed, so keep an eye out for that!
Pro tip: Doing a pre-licensing education course dramatically increases your chance of passing your exam on your first attempt, which can end up saving you both time and money in the long run.
Kaplan Education Company
With your insurance exams out of the way and your application approved, you will now be a qualified insurance agent in Arkansas.
At this point, there are four main steps that we recommend new insurance agents to take:
For a more in-depth look at each one of these steps, check out our Steps After Getting Your Insurance License guide.
Mailing Address:
1 Commerce Way Little Rock
Arkansas 72202
Phone: (501) 371-2750
Fax: (501) 683-2604
