Arkansas State Requirements

Updated: 07/27/2015

Course Subject Requirements

1 hour must be in ethics.
Producers licensed prior to January 1, 2011:
- 2013: All producers born in odd years will be required to obtain 24 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics, every 2 year license term thereafter (see license term below).
- 2014: All producers born in even years will be required to obtain 24 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics, every 2 year license term thereafter (see license term below).
Producers licensed on or after January 1, 2011 will be issued a 2 year license and be required to obtain 24 CE hours, including 3 hours of ethics, by their birth date based on their issuance year (see license term below).

Annuities Training

Effective June 28, 2010 the 4-hour Annuity requirement was repealed by the AR DOI for revisions to the course outline. Until further notice the 4-hour Annuity training is no longer required for selling or CE purposes.

Flood Insurance Training

Producers who write flood insurance must complete a one-time 3-hour training class on flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). These 3 hours count toward the 24 hours of CE required every 2 years.

Long Term Care (LTC) Training

Before selling, soliciting or negotiating LTC insurance products in Arkansas, producers must complete an initial 8-hour, state-approved LTC training course.

After meeting the initial training requirement, producers must complete 4 hours of state-approved LTC training in every 24-month period following the initial training.

Adjusters

24 CE hours, including 3 hours in ethics, every 2 years by their birth date based on their issuance year.

Nonresident CE Requirements

If a producer has not taken an Annuity Training course in another state, the nonresident producer selling annuity products in Arkansas must comply with the Arkansas Annuity Suitability training requirements.

Nonresident adjusters are required to comply with Arkansas's CE requirement by being licensed and in good standing as a adjuster in a resident state or designated "Home State" that has a continuing education requirement for its resident adjusters; or being licensed and in good standing as a nonresident adjuster in Arkansas and completing Arkansas's continuing education requirement by an approved provider. (See "Adjusters" section above.)

Please Note: Being licensed and in good standing in another state does not exempt a nonresident adjuster licensed in Arkansas from this state's CE requirement if that other state does not officially require CE course completion.

Nonresident Annuities Training

Nonresident Long Term Care (LTC) Training

Before selling, soliciting, or negotiating LTC insurance products in Arkansas, nonresident producers must complete an initial 8-hour, NAIC LTC training course approved for use in any licensed state.

After completing the 8-hour initial training requirement, nonresident producers must complete 4 hours of state-approved LTC training every 24-month period following the initial training and every 24 months thereafter.

Continuing Education Compliance Date

All continuing education credits must be achieved by the date of the license renewal.

License renewal date is the agent's date of birth annually.

Type of Courses Accepted for CE Credit

Independent self study courses or classroom courses.

Carryover Requirements

Excess educational hours accumulated during any annual period may be carried forward only to the next annual period. Continuing education carried forward to the following calendar year shall expire upon commencement of the third annual period following completion of the hours. Excess ethics hours carry over as general credits in the next license term.

Course Repetition

Courses may not be repeated within a 2 year period. This does not apply to one (1) hour ethics courses only. Currently, all ethics courses are approved for more than one (1) hour and therefore can not be repeated.

Final Exam

Final exams are required to be monitored. Proctors or instructors must be a disinterested third party and shall NOT serve for examinations of: family members or relatives or dependents, employers or supervisors, employees or subordinates, partners or joint ventures or co-owners, current or former teachers or pupils, neighbors or personal friends or significant others, or for anyone in whom the proctor or instructor has an economic or other interest in assuring the successful outcome of the examination. See monitor Tab for monitor form(s).

License Term

Odd year birth renewals will need to complete CE in 2011 by their birth date and will then be issued a 2 year license. The next renewal period will end on their birth date in 2013 and every two years thereafter.
Even year birth renewals will need to complete CE in 2011 by their birth date and will then be issued a 1 year license. The next renewal period will end on their birth date in 2012 and then every two years thereafter.
All licensee's licensed on or after January 1, 2011 will renew on the licensee's birth date 2 years after license issuance year. For example, if a licensee was born on February 15th and initially received his license in 2011, he would renew on February 15, 2013.

Exemptions

Nonresident licensees in good standing with their home state
Individuals holding limited lines licenses for which an examination is not required
Individuals holding a limited or restricted license
Individuals who are 60 years old and were licensed prior to 07/01/2003
Individuals who have been actively licensed as a producer or broker for at least 15 consecutive years and who were licensed prior to 07/01/2003
Individuals licensed in Arkansas less than a year upon renewal
Individuals in their first full year of licensure following the year they made a change in residency or domicile to Arkansas
Third-party administrators who do not solicit business
Any producer called to active duty in the U.S. military services
If the exempt producer moves to another state and later returns, he or she may request a reinstatement of the exemption from the Commissioner as long as he or she retained licensure in Arkansas continuously from the time he or she first qualified for the exemption.

Method to Certify Exemption

Your certificate of completion will be e-mailed to you once you have completed your exam. Provider reports course completion within one business day of course completion. Provider will issue certificate of completion to each licensee for each course passed. Licensee is required to remit CE filing fee at time of license renewal.

For Additional Information, Please Contact

Arkansas Insurance Department
Licensing Division

1200 W. Third St.
Little Rock, AR 72201-1904

Phone: (501) 371-2750

E-mail: [email protected]

FAX: (501) 683-2604

State Website: http://www.insurance.arkansas.gov/