First Arkansas Driver's License for Adults: Start to Finish

Before anything else: are you eligible?

The study guide from the State Police sets out the conditions. A non restricted license is for people who are 18 or older. You prove your name, home address and birth date, pass both the written and driving tests, and live in the country lawfully.

You will be turned down if Arkansas or another state has your driving privilege suspended, revoked or denied, or if a revocation is less than a year old. The same applies if a court has declared you mentally incompetent, an alcoholic or a habitual user of illegal narcotics, or if a judgment over a moving violation is still pending. Clear up any unpaid ticket before you book.

Before you book: your identity documents

The adult checklist accepts these as primary: a foreign passport carrying a U.S. visa and an I-94, an employment authorization card together with a Social Security card, a citizenship or naturalization certificate, a permanent resident card, a U.S. passport or passport card, a Birth Abroad Certificate, or a birth certificate issued in the United States. Foreign birth certificates do not count.

Only one primary in hand? Pair it with a secondary. Options include an IRS return from the past two years, military ID or discharge papers, a pilot license, a certified school transcript, a concealed handgun license, a court order, a marriage certificate, an Arkansas title or registration, an Arkansas school ID or a state ID. If your name is spelled or changed differently across papers, bring the adoption decree, divorce decree or marriage license that ties them together.

Before you book: deciding on REAL ID

The tests are identical either way. The difference shows up at the revenue office, where DFA's REAL ID list asks for your actual Social Security card, one document proving identity, one proving legal presence, and two recent proofs of where you live. Address proof can be a current auto, renters or homeowners insurance policy, this year's tax return, or a utility bill, bank statement or pay stub no more than six months old.

Planning to board domestic flights with your license? Ask for REAL ID the first time and save yourself a second trip. The revenue office can quote the fee for whichever format you pick.

If you are moving in from another state

Arkansas Code 27-16-606 gives new residents 30 calendar days to get licensed here, and a nonresident who has physically been in the state for six months must get licensed too. A physical out of state license that is valid, or that expired no more than 30 days ago, is accepted under the study guide.

If your old license expired earlier than that, went missing, or cannot be handed over, you will probably be sent to the State Police to test. Unsure what applies to you? Call DFA Driver Services on (501) 682-7059 before you go.

For example, if you move to Fayetteville on June 1, aim to be at a revenue office with your old card by the end of June. If that card expired back in March, budget time for the full set of tests instead.

If you are military, a student, or licensed abroad

People on active duty, foreign military personnel on temporary duty with U.S. forces, and students paying nonresident tuition may keep driving on a valid license from their home state. Act 235 of 2005 eases things for military spouses whose license ran out while they were stationed outside the country.

If your license comes from South Korea, Taiwan, France, Germany or the Canadian province of Manitoba, reciprocity spares you the tests, and you are referred to DFA to convert. Any other foreign license means planning for the written, eye and road tests.

After you pass: the price, and life between 18 and 21

Drivers aged 21 and up pay $40 for a Class D that lasts eight years, according to DFA, and may renew it in the 90 days before it expires. At 70 and over you can choose four years for $20 or eight years for $40. Every written exam you sat adds $5.

If you are 18, 19 or 20, your Class D is prorated and expires a month after your 21st birthday. Until then a phone must be hands free unless there is an emergency, and nobody of any age may text while driving.