Arkansas teaching license lookup and renewal, including expired and lifetime licenses

1. How to look up an Arkansas teaching license

Arkansas's public license lookup is the AELS Public Site, part of the Arkansas Educator Licensure System that the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) runs. Its home page says: “The Arkansas Educator Licensure System Public Site allows public access to educator licensure data.”

• How to search: open its Search page. “Educator licensure data may be searched for any Arkansas-licensed educator by entering known public information, such as the educator’s last name and first name.” The form also has boxes for a Case ID, the last 4 digits of a Social Security number, a birth date and a middle name or initial. “If you are searching by Case ID, only the case ID is required.”
• What the public view shows: “The public view shows applicant information, professional license effective and expiration dates, background check information and licensure areas. Confidential data is restricted from the public view.”
• Search results: the search page's results list has columns for Case ID, last name, first name and middle name.

Your own license in AELS

Licensed educators sign in through the Educator Log In link on the AELS site. DESE's AELS profile page says the sign-in asks for your first and last name, Social Security number and date of birth. The AELS home page says signed-in educators can “view their license, license activity and all information accessible through the public view.”

DESE no longer prints a paper license at renewal: “the Office of Educator Licensure will no longer print a paper license upon renewal.” Instead: “You may print a copy of your license from the Educator View screen”. The rules' fee list shows $25 for a duplicate license (section 10).

2. The standard license: five years, to December 31 of the fifth year

Arkansas's licensure rules (6 CAR pt. 180) define a standard license as “a five-year renewable license, issued by the State Board of Education”.

DESE's renewal page puts the dates simply: “The standard, five-year Arkansas Educator License has a beginning date of January 1 of the year it is issued and an expiration date of December 31 of the fifth year.” Rule § 180-501 gives each case:

Other kinds of license. The rules define a provisional license as “a temporary license issued by the State Board of Education that allows the license holder to teach or work in Arkansas schools”. The provisional license tied to reciprocity is in section 7. The lifetime license, which never needs renewal, is in section 6. Special education licensure areas and tests are in our special education license guide.

3. How to renew an Arkansas teaching license online in AELS

Renewal is online only. DESE's Renewing a License page: “Paper applications are no longer accepted.” Its steps, in order:

1. New background checks: “New cleared background checks are required for renewal.” (More below.)
2. The online application for renewal, in AELS.
3. The fee: “Your $75 application fee shall be paid at the time of application unless the school district will be paying. The link to pay is located within the application. All fees are nonrefundable.”
4. Professional development, if you taught in an Arkansas public school for all of the previous five years and completed the yearly requirement: DESE says it “should be reflected in the application after July 1 of the expiring year”.
5. Professional development, if you didn't: “If you have not taught for all of the previous five school years but completed professional development you may upload the certificates into one PDF document or if completed on Arkansas Ideas the Record of Learning.”
6. If it isn't finished: “If you have not completed the required professional development, mark accordingly on the application.” See section 4.

When you can apply. From January 1 of the year your license expires. DESE: “Educators may begin the renewal process at any time during the fifth year of their educator license.” Rule § 180-502(a) says applications may be submitted “no earlier than January 1 of the year of expiration of the license.”

The reading credential. DESE: “For the renewal of a license that expires on December 31, 2023, and thereafter, an applicant shall provide documentation of an awareness credential in knowledge and practices of scientific reading instruction.”

Background checks for renewal

DESE's background check page says Arkansas State, FBI and Child Maltreatment Central Registry checks are required for “all licensure renewals”.

• Timing: the renewal rule asks for proof that the checks were completed “within the twelve-month period before the date of the application for renewal”. The background check rules (6 CAR pt. 194) add: “The applicant should begin the process of obtaining the criminal records check and Child Maltreatment Central Registry check by July 1 of the year in which the applicant’s license expires.” As we read it, July 1 is advice (“should begin”), not a deadline.
• Steps: DESE's page for licensed educators lists the online consent form, the payment, fingerprinting at an approved live scan location, and the Child Maltreatment Central Registry form. “Out-of-state applicants must obtain a pre-printed fingerprint card from the Arkansas Department of Education.”
• Cost: the background check rules say the renewal applicant pays the fees for both checks. For the Child Maltreatment check, DESE's steps include: “Step 3: Pay the $11 dollar online payment for processing.” DESE's renewal and background check pages give no total for all the checks.

4. Professional development for renewal

Rule § 180-502(b)(3)(A) asks for “Documentation of the completion of professional development requirements as identified in Appendix B.” Appendix B lists topics, not hours:

Appendix B also points to the professional development rules (6 CAR pt. 183), which add conditions to two of these topics. The Arkansas history training is for educators who teach Arkansas history (rule § 183-105(d)(2)(D)(i)). An educator who completed the family and community engagement training at least once before the 2023-2024 school year isn't required to complete it again; the same goes for the Arkansas history training, unless the subject the educator teaches requires it (§ 183-105(d)(2)(B)(iii) and (D)(ii)).

If you don't work for an Arkansas public school. DESE's renewal page: “Individuals who are not employed will be responsible for securing the required hours of professional development. Professional development can be completed through Arkansas IDEAS.” The professional development rules say the same (rule § 183-105(d)(1)). For teachers who work somewhere else: “Teachers and administrators attached to private schools, Arkansas colleges/universities, or other agencies or organizations that employ licensed teachers, will be responsible for working through those employers to complete their required professional development or finding professional development opportunities on their own.”

The five-year rotation. Rule § 183-105(e) puts three topics on a rotation, each “Beginning with” a school year “and every fifth year thereafter”:

The same rule says the human trafficking training “will be offered annually”.

How many hours? DESE's sources don't agree on an hours total for a teacher who renews while not working in an Arkansas public school. DESE's Learning Services page on professional development states an hours minimum “for licensure renewal and contractual agreement”, in a paragraph about the teacher employment contract (Act 44 of 2015). The licensure rule's Appendix B lists topics, not hours, and the professional development rules refer to the hours required annually without stating a number. So this guide gives no number as the rule. Ask DESE's Office of Educator Licensure what your renewal application must show (contacts).

If your professional development isn't finished. Rule § 180-502(b)(3)(B): “The division may issue a one-year nonrenewable provisional license to any applicant who has not completed all professional development requirements for renewal.”

Does tutoring count toward renewal?

The licensure rules and DESE pages read for this guide don't say that tutoring for a company counts as teaching experience or as professional development. Here is what they do say:

• Teaching experience: the rules define licensed teaching experience as “teaching in a kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public or private school while holding a standard or provisional teaching license”.
• Professional development credit: rule § 183-109(a)(1): “All professional development providers and programs must be approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education to be eligible to provide credit” toward required professional development. The scheduled training comes from DESE (including Arkansas IDEAS), a college or university, a provider DESE approves, or an education service cooperative (rule § 183-105(a)).

Before you count any tutoring toward a renewal, ask DESE how its rules apply to it.

5. If your Arkansas teaching license has expired

DESE's word is expired. Its Rescission/Reinstatement page: “An expired license may be reinstated by completing the requirements for renewal.” It asks you to contact the Office of Educator Licensure for your specific requirements (contacts in section 10).

• Professional development: rule § 183-104(b): “To renew an expired educator license, the educator shall complete professional development” in three parts. They are the training required under the schedule in Arkansas Code § 6-17-709, training on the educator code of ethics, and the science-of-reading credentials “if those credentials are not already documented in the Arkansas Educator Licensure System.” We did not read the § 6-17-709 schedule itself, so ask DESE what it means for you.
• Background checks: new checks, as for any renewal (section 3).
• Fee: $75. The fee list in Appendix A shows no separate late or reinstatement fee.
• New dates: the renewed license runs from the renewal date through December 31 of the fourth year from the year of renewal (rule § 180-501(d)(2), quoted in section 2).

Teaching in an Arkansas public school without a current license. As we read DESE's pages and rules, none lets an expired license be used to teach in an Arkansas public or charter school. DESE's Teacher Licensure Plan page says a plan is required for “Any individual teaching in a public or charter school who does not hold a current teaching license” (the page lists exceptions, among them long-term substitutes and charter schools with an active charter contract, until the contract expires), and only a district can apply for a plan (section 9).

Retired, or 62 or older? The lifetime license also accepts an expired Arkansas standard license (section 6).

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job: if your license has expired or is inactive, you can still apply, as long as you’ll renew it before you start. We check licenses before the first interview.

6. The Lifetime Teaching License for ATRS retirees and anyone 62 or older

DESE's Request a Lifetime Teaching License page: “Effective: August 1, 2017, the Lifetime Teaching License is also available to persons who are retired”, whether or not they are 62. And: “There is NO FEE for a Lifetime Teaching License”.

Who can request it. Under rule § 180-207(b), an applicant must:

• A license: “Hold a current or expired Arkansas standard license”.
• Age or retirement: be at least 62, or retired from active teaching under Arkansas Code § 24-7-701, § 24-7-702 or § 24-7-704, the retirement laws the rule names. The rule asks for documentation from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) of that retirement, with no verification needed at 62 or older.
• Work or contributions: document work while holding an Arkansas teaching license in an educational setting (the rule lists public and private schools, colleges and universities, education service cooperatives, DESE and adult education) or “For another agency/organization that employs licensed teachers for educational purposes”, or significant contributions to education.
• Background checks: “The required background check or Child Maltreatment Central Registry check cannot be older than one (1) year at the time of application.”

The application is online in AELS. DESE's page asks applicants under 62 to upload their ATRS letter: “If less than age 62, upload a copy of your Arkansas Teacher Retirement System letter.”

What it gives you.

• No renewals: “A teacher holding a lifetime teaching license is not required to renew his or her teaching license.”
• No annual training for licensing: “No annual professional development (PD) is required for licensing purposes.” But if you hold a licensed job at an Arkansas educational entity, such as a school district, that employer's professional development and growth-plan requirements apply (rule § 180-207(f)(2)).
• It keeps the licensure areas you hold when you apply, it can be revoked under the same laws as any Arkansas license, and it ends at the holder's death or legal incapacity (rule § 180-207(c), (e) and (g)).

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job: SpecialEdResource accepts an Arkansas Lifetime Teaching License as a current teaching license.

Retiring doesn't end a license, as we read the licensure rules: their only lines about retirement are the lifetime license's. So a retired teacher can keep a standard license by renewing it (sections 3 and 4) or request the lifetime license.

Questions about retirement itself go to ATRS. DESE's lifetime page says such questions “should be directed to the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System”. Working after you retire is covered in our ATRS return-to-work guide. If you retired from ATRS by disability, ask ATRS before taking any job. Confirm your own situation with ATRS at (501) 682-1517 or info@artrs.gov.

7. Licensed in another state? Arkansas licensure by reciprocity

DESE's reciprocity page: “Reciprocity means the recognition of a teaching license from another state or country based on the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) licensure rules and/or the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement for Educator Licensure.” And: “Licensure in another state or country does not mean licensure in Arkansas will automatically be granted.”

Rule § 180-206(b)(13): “The division shall grant reciprocity to a person who holds a current or expired standard license or standard license equivalent from another state” once it receives the items the rule lists. In plain words:

• Good standing: a valid standard license, or its equivalent, issued in another state and in good standing during the most recent three years of the applicant's teaching experience.
• Years of teaching: “Documentation that the applicant has completed at least three (3) years of teaching under the out-of-state license.” An applicant with fewer years also sends passing test scores, which for Special Education (K-12) include the standalone reading test.
• An expired license from another state: passing scores on the tests Arkansas requires, which for Special Education (K-12) include the standalone reading test (rule § 180-206(b)(14)). The rule's list also asks for a valid license in good standing, so ask DESE how the two items fit an expired license.
• Records: background checks, an official transcript showing a bachelor's degree or higher, and documentation of the professional development in Appendix B (rule § 180-206(b)(15) and (18)), plus the application and fee.
• Not accepted: “An out-of-state license that is provisional or less than a standard license equivalent in the issuing state will not be accepted for reciprocity.”
• Areas: “Only the licensure content areas, levels, or endorsements specifically listed on an out-of-state license shall be recognized for a first-time Arkansas standard license through reciprocity”. An area Arkansas doesn't recognize is matched to the Arkansas area that most closely parallels it.

How to apply, per DESE. Request a reciprocity packet by email from ade.educatorlicensure@ade.arkansas.gov, start the background check, then submit the packet. DESE's list includes the online application with the $75 nonrefundable fee, official transcripts, a copy of your current or expired out-of-state license, any required test scores, documentation of three years of licensed teaching experience if applicable, documentation of required professional development, and its Verification of Teaching Form.

The reading test: the rule and DESE's packet list differ. For reciprocity, the rule's list asks for the standalone reading test in the two cases above: fewer than three years of teaching under the out-of-state license, or an expired license. DESE's packet list says: “Foundations of Reading test required if licensing in K-6 Elementary, K-12 Special Education, or P-4 Early Childhood.” Ask DESE which applies to you. The rule lets DESE issue a provisional license for up to three years while the reading test is pending.

The provisional license. DESE's page asks: “When is a Provisional license available?” Its answer: when every requirement for the standard license has been met except content testing, or Arkansas history if it applies. “The Provisional license will be issued upon receipt of the signed VOPLE from the employing superintendent.” VOPLE is DESE's verification of provisional licensure eligibility form.

Military families. DESE: “Act 820 of 2019 grants active duty service members, returning military veterans, and their spouses an automatic equivalent license if their license, issued by another state, territory, or district of the United States is in good standing.”

For SpecialEdResource's tutoring job: you don't need an Arkansas license. Licenses and special education certification from any US state are welcome. The hiring site also asks that you “live in one of the states where we can currently employ tutors”, and Arkansas is one of them, so Arkansas residents can apply.

8. The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact

No official Arkansas source read for this guide shows that Arkansas has joined the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. DESE's reciprocity page and the licensure rules describe reciprocity under Arkansas's own rules and the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement only. If you hold a license from another state, the route they describe is reciprocity (section 7).

9. Act 304 of 2025: Teacher Licensure Plans replaced licensure waivers

Act 304 of 2025 (House Bill 1496, approved March 18, 2025) changed how Arkansas public schools may assign a teacher who isn't licensed for a subject. The Legislature's 2025 summary says Act 304 “repeals the existing exceptions to the requirement that a teacher be assigned to teach a grade level or a subject for which he or she is licensed and creates an exception for teachers who are on an approved licensure plan for a period not to exceed three (3) years, which may be extended for up to two (2) additional years upon request and due to an extenuating circumstance.”

DESE's memo LIC-25-011 (May 7, 2025): “Beginning immediately, previously approved licensure waivers such as 1240 waivers, School of Innovation allowances, and emergency teaching permits will be replaced by the Teacher Licensure Plan (TLP).” The plan is the district's to request: “Districts must apply for individuals to obtain a TLP via the District Application for TLP form.” The memo adds that “charter schools with active charter contracts including licensure waivers are exempt from these requirements until their contracts expire.”

When it took effect. Act 304 has no emergency clause and no effective date of its own. The Legislature's summary: “the effective date for acts of the 95th General Assembly that do not contain an emergency clause or a specified effective date is August 5, 2025.” As we read it, that is Act 304's effective date; DESE's memo of May 7, 2025 said “Beginning immediately”.

The rules have not caught up. The licensure rules in the Code of Arkansas Rules (shown as effective September 2, 2024) still list emergency teaching permits and waivers among the licensure exceptions, while DESE's pages describe the plans. The same summary says Act 304 “repeals the requirement that teachers participate in continuing education and professional development based on the teacher's evaluation and professional growth plan to renew a teaching license.” This guide describes renewal in DESE's current words (sections 3 and 4). On October 13, 2026, DESE's pending rules page listed no licensure or professional development rule.

As we read them, these rules are about who may teach in Arkansas public and charter schools; they don't address tutoring for a private company. SpecialEdResource's tutoring job sets its own license rule: special education certification and a current teaching license from any US state.

10. Fees and contacts

Fees for the steps in this guide, from the rules' fee list (Appendix A) and DESE's pages. Appendix A: “The fees for the following applications are nonrefundable and must be paid at the time of application.” And: “If multiple requests are submitted on one application the educator is only required to pay one fee.”

Contacting DESE's Office of Educator Licensure

• Address: Office of Educator Licensure, Arkansas Department of Education, Four Capitol Mall, Room 106-B, Little Rock, AR 72201.
• Phone: 501-682-4342. Fax: 501-682-4898.
• Email: ade.educatorlicensure@ade.arkansas.gov.
• Licensure advisors: DESE's Speak to an Advisor page assigns an advisor by the spelling of your last name.
• Retirement questions: ATRS, (501) 682-1517 or info@artrs.gov.