What sets the Arkansas exam apart
Arkansas land often carries a hidden complication: mineral, oil, and gas rights that have been severed from the surface estate. In a state shaped by natural-gas plays and large timber and farm tracts, a parcel can sell with the surface only, the subsurface owned by someone else entirely. National prep glosses over this; the AREC exam does not. Pair that with the mandatory Property Condition Disclosure for seller-occupied resales, and you have two Arkansas signatures that decide the state portion.
The salesperson exam is administered by Pearson VUE for the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC). After 60 hours of AREC-approved pre-license education, you sit for 110 questions in two independently scored portions — 80 national and 30 Arkansas — within 240 minutes. You must hit 70% on each portion (56 of 80 and 21 of 30); clearing one but not the other still fails the exam.
Around 66% of Arkansas candidates pass on their first try. Click2CE students pass at an 92% student-reported first-attempt pass rate* because the Arkansas bank is rebuilt around AREC rules, mineral-rights severance, statutory foreclosure, and the disclosure requirement rather than retrofitted from a generic national bank.
The Arkansas State Portion (30 Questions) — Your Make-or-Break Section
Only 30 questions, but this is where most failed exams are lost. The Arkansas portion concentrates on rules a national bank never covers:
- Mineral, oil, and gas rights — severance from the surface estate and its effect on conveyance and value
- Property Condition Disclosure — when it is required, what it must cover, and delivery timing
- Statutory Foreclosure Act — non-judicial power-of-sale notices and timeline versus judicial foreclosure
- AREC license law — qualifications, license categories, executive-broker sponsorship, and disciplinary procedures
- Agency and designated agency — required disclosures and dual agency with written consent
- Trust accounts and the Recovery Fund — prompt earnest-money deposit and consumer recovery after a judgment
- Advertising and renewal — brokerage identification, fair-housing-compliant marketing, annual renewal, and post-license education
Click2CE’s AI Tutor cites the relevant Arkansas statute or AREC rule with each rationale and can walk a severed-mineral-rights or disclosure fact pattern step by step.
Step-by-Step Arkansas Licensing Path
- 1Complete 60 hours of AREC-approved pre-license education. Choose an Arkansas school approved by the Arkansas Real Estate Commission; many offer self-paced online courses.
- 2Submit your application to AREC. This generally requires fingerprints, a background check, and the application fee.
- 3Receive your Pearson VUE eligibility. Once AREC approves you, Pearson VUE authorizes you to schedule the exam.
- 4Schedule and pay for the Pearson VUE exam ($75). Book online at pearsonvue.com. Centers operate in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Jonesboro, often within one to two weeks.
- 5Pass both portions (70% each). Bring two valid IDs, including a government-issued photo ID. Score reports print at the center immediately.
- 6Line up an executive (principal) broker. You cannot activate your salesperson license without a sponsoring Arkansas broker.
- 7Pay the AREC license fee and activate. Once your sponsoring broker files the affiliation, AREC issues your active Arkansas salesperson license.
The National Portion (80 Questions)
The 80-question national portion is consistent across Pearson VUE states and tests general real estate knowledge regardless of jurisdiction. The Pearson VUE Candidate Information Bulletin weights it across these areas:
- Property ownership — estates, freehold vs. leasehold, encumbrances, and easements
- Land-use controls — zoning, subdivision, environmental hazards, and fair housing
- Valuation and market analysis — sales comparison, cost, and income approaches
- Financing — mortgages, deeds of trust, FHA/VA/conventional loans, RESPA, and TILA
- Agency principles — fiduciary duties, relationships, and disclosures
- Contracts — listing and purchase agreements, options, and the statute of frauds
- Real estate calculations — commissions, prorations, area, and ROI
- Practice of real estate — trust accounts, advertising, and compliant marketing
Candidates who complete 200–300 practice questions usually clear the national portion. Click2CE’s national bank tracks the Pearson VUE blueprint and explains every answer in plain English.
How to Study for the Arkansas Exam
Master severance before exam day
Drill scenarios where mineral, oil, or gas rights are severed from the surface. Practice answering what actually conveys and how value shifts when the subsurface is owned by someone else — these are Arkansas-flavored questions you will not see in a national course.
Treat the portions as two separate tests
Because each portion is scored independently at 70%, give close to 40% of your prep time to Arkansas content even though it is barely a quarter of the questions. Click2CE’s mocks mirror Pearson VUE: 80 national plus 30 Arkansas, each flagged against the 70% line. Take at least three full mocks.
Beat the 240-minute clock
With four hours for 110 questions, pacing still matters. Practice timed sets so you average about a minute per question and leave a few minutes to review flagged items.
Use the AI Tutor for disclosure and foreclosure
Ask the Claude-powered tutor to walk the Property Condition Disclosure requirements and contrast statutory non-judicial foreclosure with the judicial route. These are the two most-missed Arkansas topics, and seeing them step by step makes the questions predictable.