- The exam has two separately scored portions: 80 scored national questions and 30 scored Arkansas-law questions.
- You need a scaled score of 70 on each portion - passing one doesn't cover the other.
- Domain 11 (Statutory Requirements Governing Licensee Activities) is 46.67% of the Arkansas-law portion - the single biggest scoring block on the exam.
- Scheduling both components together with Pearson VUE costs $75 total; scheduling separately costs $75 per component.
What the AR-RE-S Actually Tests
The Arkansas Real Estate Salesperson Exam (AR-RE-S) is the licensing exam administered through Pearson Professional Assessments on behalf of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. It is not a generic multiple-choice quiz on real estate vocabulary - it's a two-part, closed-book, computer-based test built from an official content outline that splits into a national/general portion and an Arkansas-law portion. If you want the long-form breakdown of every content area before you sit down with this cheat sheet, read the AR-RE-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas. This page is the condensed, one-screen version you pull up the night before your appointment.
Everything below comes straight from the current AR-RE-S handbook mechanics: question counts, scoring thresholds, domain weights, fees, and licensing deadlines. Nothing here is borrowed from any other credential that happens to share the AR-RE-S initials - every fact is specific to Arkansas's salesperson exam and the Arkansas Real Estate Commission's rules.
Format & Scoring Snapshot
The AR-RE-S is delivered as a four-hour, closed-book, computer-based multiple-choice exam at Pearson test centers. It totals 125 delivered questions, but not all of them count toward your score:
- National/general portion: 80 scored questions plus 5 unscored pretest questions (85 total).
- Arkansas-law portion: 30 scored questions plus 10 unscored pretest questions (40 total).
You will not know which questions are the unscored pretest items, so treat every question on screen as if it counts. A scaled score of 70 is required separately on each portion - there is no averaging between the national and state sections. For a deeper dive into what that scaled score actually means and how it's calculated, see AR-RE-S Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Because the two portions are scored independently, you can pass the national portion and fail Arkansas law (or vice versa) on the same test day. Study time should reflect that risk, not just overall difficulty.
Fees, Scheduling, and AREC Mechanics
Registration is handled through Pearson VUE, and the fee structure is simple but easy to misjudge if you're scheduling around a busy week:
- $75 total when you schedule both the national and Arkansas-law components together.
- $75 per component if you schedule them separately (meaning a retake of just one portion still costs $75).
- There is no membership tier or subscription - every candidate pays the same per-attempt fee.
Before you can even book a seat, AREC requires that you be at least 18 years old, complete 60 approved classroom hours (including a minimum of 30 hours in basic principles), submit state and federal background-check materials, and receive formal AREC authorization to test. For the full walkthrough of prerequisites, timelines, and paperwork, check AR-RE-S Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify. If you're still budgeting for the whole process - education hours, exam fees, and licensing costs combined - AR-RE-S Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown lays it out line by line.
All 13 Domains at a Glance
The AR-RE-S content outline is organized into 13 domains split across the two portions: Domains 1-8 belong to the national/general portion, and Domains 9-13 belong to the Arkansas-law portion. Percentages are calculated from the official scored-item counts within each portion, not across the full 125-question exam.
| Domain | Topic | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions, and Property Use | 13.75% |
| 2 | Forms of Ownership, Transfer, and Recording of Title | 11.25% |
| 3 | Property Value and Appraisal | 13.75% |
| 4 | Real Estate Contracts and Agency | 20% |
| 5 | Real Estate Practice | 12.50% |
| 6 | Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues | 11.25% |
| 7 | Financing and Settlement | 8.75% |
| 8 | Real Estate Math Calculations | 8.75% |
| 9 | Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission | 13.33% |
| 10 | Licensing Requirements | 6.67% |
| 11 | Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees | 46.67% |
| 12 | Other Statutory Requirements | 6.67% |
| 13 | Agency Relationships and Disclosures | 26.67% |
Notice how lopsided the Arkansas-law portion is compared to the national portion. On the national side, no single domain exceeds 20%. On the Arkansas-law side, Domain 11 alone accounts for nearly half the scored questions on that portion. That asymmetry should directly shape how you allocate review time - more on that below.
The Three Domains That Decide Your Score
If you only have time to deeply master a handful of topics, prioritize these three domains - together they cover a disproportionate share of both portions.
Domain 4: Real Estate Contracts and Agency (20% of the national portion)
This is the largest domain on the national/general side. Expect scenario-based questions on offer and acceptance, contract elements, contingencies, and agency relationships as they apply generally (not the Arkansas-specific agency rules, which live in Domain 13).
- Know the difference between void, voidable, and unenforceable contracts
- Be able to identify when an agency relationship is created versus merely implied
- Understand contingency clauses and how they affect closing timelines
Domain 11: Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (46.67% of the Arkansas-law portion)
This is, by a wide margin, the single most heavily tested domain on the entire exam. It covers the Arkansas statutes and rules that govern day-to-day licensee conduct - trust account handling, advertising rules, disclosure obligations, and prohibited practices under Arkansas law specifically.
- Memorize the licensee conduct rules AREC enforces, not generic national ethics standards
- Expect multiple questions per subtopic since this domain carries nearly half the state-law weight
- Cross-reference this domain with Domain 9 (Commission duties) since the two overlap in enforcement scenarios
Domain 13: Agency Relationships and Disclosures (26.67% of the Arkansas-law portion)
Where Domain 4 tests agency concepts generally, Domain 13 tests how Arkansas specifically requires those relationships to be disclosed and documented. This is the second-largest domain on the state-law portion.
- Know Arkansas's required agency disclosure forms and timing
- Understand designated agency and how it differs from dual agency under Arkansas rules
- Be ready for questions that combine disclosure timing with contract stages
For a full domain-by-domain study breakdown - including the smaller domains you still can't skip - see AR-RE-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas. And if you're trying to gauge how tough this exam feels compared to what candidates expect, How Hard Is the AR-RE-S Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 covers that in detail, alongside AR-RE-S Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for the outcome data.
Eligibility & Education Checklist
Before you're authorized to schedule with Pearson VUE, AREC requires the following boxes checked:
- Minimum age 18
- 60 approved classroom hours total, including at least 30 hours in basic principles
- Submission of state and federal background-check materials
- Formal AREC authorization to test
Miss any one of these and Pearson VUE won't let you book a seat, regardless of how ready you feel content-wise. Walk through the complete eligibility rules, including how background-check timing can affect your test date, in AR-RE-S Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
What Happens After You Pass
Passing both portions is not the finish line - there's a licensing clock that starts immediately:
- Six-month retention: A passed portion stays valid for six months, so if you fail one side, you only need to retake that portion within the window.
- 90-day submission: Initial licensing materials are due within 90 days after you pass both portions.
- 18 post-license hours: Due within six months of licensure - this is separate from your pre-license 60 hours.
- Annual renewal: Licenses renew every year, with 7 CE hours required for active renewal in 2026.
Once you're licensed, plenty of candidates start asking what the job market actually looks like. AR-RE-S Jobs covers who typically hires newly licensed salespeople, and AR-RE-S Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the AR-RE-S Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 go further into whether the licensing investment pays off in your market.
A Domain-Weighted Final Week
Generic study advice tells you to spread review evenly. That's the wrong move here, because the domain weights are so uneven - Domain 11 alone is worth more than Domains 9, 10, and 12 combined. Use the domain percentages from the table above to weight your final week instead of splitting time equally across all 13 topics.
National Portion Heavy-Hitters
- Drill Domain 4 (Contracts and Agency, 20%) with scenario-based practice questions
- Review Domain 3 (Property Value and Appraisal) and Domain 1 (Legal Descriptions), both at 13.75%
Arkansas Statutory Core
- Spend the majority of your time on Domain 11 (Statutory Requirements Governing Licensees) - it's worth more than a third of the entire Arkansas-law portion
- Pair it with Domain 13 (Agency Relationships and Disclosures) since the two topics frequently overlap in exam scenarios
Remaining National Domains
- Cover Domain 5 (Real Estate Practice), Domain 2 (Forms of Ownership), and Domain 6 (Disclosures and Environmental Issues)
- Finish with Domain 7 (Financing and Settlement) and Domain 8 (Math Calculations) - lower weight, but easy points if formulas are fresh
Commission Structure & Full Timed Review
- Close out Domain 9 (Commission Duties and Powers), Domain 10 (Licensing Requirements), and Domain 12 (Other Statutory Requirements)
- Run a full timed, four-hour practice session to simulate the closed-book, computer-based test-day pace
For a longer-horizon plan that starts well before exam week - including how to sequence your 60 pre-license hours with domain review - see the AR-RE-S Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. When you're ready to test your recall under real exam conditions, run through timed questions on our AR-RE-S practice test platform - it's built around the same 13-domain structure covered on this page.
Key Takeaway
Spend your scarcest study hours on Domain 11 and Domain 4 first. Together they represent the two single largest content blocks across both portions of the AR-RE-S.
FAQ
Yes. A passed portion is retained for six months, so you can schedule and pay $75 for only the portion you still need to pass, as long as you're within that six-month window.
Of the 125 delivered questions, 110 are scored: 80 on the national portion and 30 on the Arkansas-law portion. The remaining 15 (5 national, 10 Arkansas-law) are unscored pretest items you can't identify during the test.
A scaled score of 70 is required on each portion separately. See AR-RE-S Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass for a full explanation of how scaled scoring works.
Domain 11 (Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees) carries 46.67% of the Arkansas-law portion - the largest single weight on the exam - so it's the highest-priority domain to master early.
You must be 18, complete 60 approved classroom hours (including 30 hours of basic principles), submit background-check materials, and receive AREC authorization before Pearson VUE will let you book a testing appointment.