Getting an Arkansas driver's license

Who does what: the State Police and DFA

The Arkansas State Police (ASP) runs driver examination in every county. It gives the knowledge exam and vision test for an instruction permit, the driving test, and the motorcycle and CDL tests, and it publishes the study guides.

DFA's Office of Driver Services handles the license: you go to a Revenue Office to get your learner's, intermediate or Class D license once ASP's tests are done. DFA lists the license fees, and it collects the $5 fee for each written exam when you buy the license.

What are the Arkansas driver's license requirements?

The study guide says you may get a driver's license if:

• You're at least 14, for a restricted license
• You're at least 18, for a non-restricted license
• You can submit proof of your name, residential address and date of birth
• You have a parent or legal guardian's consent, if you're under 18
• You pass a driver's knowledge and skills test
• You have a valid hard-copy driver's license from another state, expired for no more than 30 days
• You aren't suspended, revoked, expired or denied in Arkansas or any other state, or a year has passed since a revocation
• You legally reside in the United States
• A court hasn't judged you mentally incompetent, an alcoholic or a habitual user of illegal narcotics
• You have no pending judgments for a moving traffic violation

The other-state license line is how a transferring driver qualifies. A new driver qualifies by passing the knowledge and skills tests instead.

From permit to Class D license

For a new driver, the order is:

1. Pass the knowledge exam and vision test at an ASP testing site to get an instruction permit, from age 14.
2. Practice with a licensed driver aged 21 or older in the seat beside you.
3. Pass the driving test at an ASP site, before the permit's two years run out.
4. Take your permit to any Revenue Office for a learner's license (under 16), an intermediate license (16 and 17) or a Class D (18 and older).

Teen drivers have extra rules about passengers, night driving and phones until 18.

Class D license fees

On top of the license fee, you pay $5 for each written exam you took, with no limit on how many are charged.

New residents and drivers from other countries

Under Arkansas law, as the study guide quotes it, a new resident must get an Arkansas driver's license within 30 days of becoming a resident, and a nonresident who has been in the state for six months must get one too. Active-duty military members and nonresident students may drive on a valid license from another state, if they're at least 16.

Arkansas has reciprocal agreements with five places whose drivers don't have to test: Manitoba (Canada), Germany, France, Taiwan and South Korea. ASP refers those applicants to DFA.