How to Become a Teacher in Arkansas

Arkansas certification requirements, step by step

Each requirement below is stated as Arkansas Department of Education — Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Educator Licensure publishes it, with the governing source cited.

1. 1

   Complete a DESE-approved traditional educator preparation program

   Earn a first-time license by finishing a Division-approved traditional program in the licensure level and content area you will teach. The program must verify completion to DESE. Applicants whose most recent program is more than ten years old must complete current licensure assessments.

   Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov

2. 2

   Pass Praxis content tests and Foundations of Reading where required

   Submit official passing scores on the State Board–mandated content-area assessments. Elementary Education (K-6) and Special Education (K-12) also require NES Foundations of Reading 890 with a published passing score of 233. Reciprocity applicants adding P-4 Early Childhood likewise need Foundations of Reading. DESE’s licensure-assessments table lists current test codes and cuts.

   Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov

3. 3

   Create an AELS profile and complete background checks

   New applicants start in the Arkansas Educator Licensure System (AELS) by completing the online Background Check Consent form, then ASP, FBI, and Child Maltreatment checks required by Division background-check rules. Licensed-educator background-check steps are published on the DESE licensure site.

   Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov

4. 4

   Apply for the five-year Standard License and pay $75

   File the Standard License application in AELS with official transcripts, program verification, and score reports. DESE’s published fee for a first-time five-year Standard Educator’s License (including by reciprocity) is $75.00 and is nonrefundable. A Standard License runs January 1 of the issue year through December 31 of the fifth year.

   Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov

5. 5

   Complete Arkansas History and science-of-reading requirements when they apply

   Licensure rules allow a one-year Provisional License when the remaining gaps are Arkansas History or the stand-alone reading test. Right to Read / scientific reading instruction applies at the proficiency level for Elementary K-6 and Special Education K-12 and at the awareness level for other areas. Renew in the fifth year through AELS with new background checks and required professional development documented in Arkansas IDEAS.

   Source: dese.ade.arkansas.gov

Arkansas dates the Standard License to the calendar year, not the hire date. A license issued in March still begins January 1 of that year and still dies on December 31 five years later. Educators who treat it like a rolling anniversary will file renewal too late. DESE no longer prints a paper license at renewal; the official copy lives on the AELS Educator View screen.

The science-of-reading split is a licensing rule, not just a syllabus note. Elementary K-6 and Special Education K-12 must hit proficiency, which includes Foundations of Reading 890 at 233. Every other first-time area is an awareness-level coursework or module obligation. Candidates who pass Praxis content and skip 890 will see a Provisional, not a Standard, if they are in those two fields. Reciprocity does not wipe the reading test for K-6, K-12 Special Education, or P-4 Early Childhood.

AELS profile creation is the background-check consent form. Applicants who try to start a Standard application before that consent stall in a system that looks empty rather than rejected. Districts can search AELS by case ID, SSN, or name, so HR often sees the incomplete consent before the candidate realizes why no license number exists.

The $75 fee appears on both the first-time Standard (including reciprocity) and renewal lines of DESE’s published fee chart. Provisional applications are listed as no-fee. That asymmetry tempts people to linger on Provisional status; the Standard is still the five-year credential that carries add-on endorsements and the Educator Career Continuum designations.

Required exams and fees

Arkansas uses Praxis subject assessments plus NES Foundations of Reading 890 (cut score 233) for Elementary K-6 and Special Education K-12. Fees and cut scores appear only when published by the cited source (as of September 2026).

Moving a license to Arkansas

Apply in AELS for licensure by reciprocity with the $75.00 nonrefundable fee, official transcripts, a copy of a current or expired out-of-state license that has been in good standing for the educator’s three most recent years of teaching, content-area testing required for that license if applicable, Foundations of Reading if licensing in K-6 Elementary, K-12 Special Education, or P-4 Early Childhood, documentation of three years of licensed teaching experience if applicable, required professional development, and a Verification of Teaching form. A Provisional license is available if the remaining gaps are content testing or Arkansas History; DESE sends a VOPLE for the employing superintendent to sign.

Official Arkansas reciprocity guidance