How Your Teen Gets an Arkansas Instruction Permit

Before you book: two agencies, two jobs

Families get tripped up by how Arkansas divides the work. Every test, written, eye and road, belongs to the Arkansas State Police. The licenses themselves come from DFA's Office of Driver Services, which sells them at revenue offices.

At the permit stage you only deal with a State Police troop testing site. Every troop site gives the written test, so in the online scheduler you are free to pick whichever location and time fit your week.

Before you go: getting the birth certificate right

Since January 8, 2026, the State Police checklist for minors has been strict about birth records. A teen who is a U.S. citizen must bring a U.S. birth certificate that is either the original or a certified copy. A U.S. passport will not serve as the main document for a minor, and the examiner turns away hospital certificates, registration cards, photocopies and anything laminated.

Teens born overseas to American parents bring a Birth Abroad Certificate instead. A teen who is not a citizen can bring a certificate of citizenship, a naturalization certificate, an employment authorization card, a permanent resident card, or a passport with a U.S. visa and a current I-94. For a replacement Arkansas birth certificate, the study guide gives the number (501) 661-2336.

• Your teen's U.S. birth certificate, original or certified
• You, with your state ID or license, or a signed ASP-33 in your place
• Your teen's glasses or contacts, if they wear them
• Proof you live in Arkansas, when the birth certificate is from a border state

Before you go: who signs for your teen

Nobody under 18 is licensed in Arkansas without consent from a parent or legal guardian. The easy way is to come to the test yourself with your state license or ID. Legal guardians do the same, adding the court order that made them guardian.

Can't be there? The ASP-33 Financial Responsibility Acceptance Form can be signed while the examiner watches, or signed in front of a notary and given to the examiner inside 30 days. Write your teen's name exactly as the birth certificate or federal document shows it, middle name and all.

A stepparent needs adoption papers before signing. A foster parent brings either the Foster Resource Home Agreement Addendum or a letter from the caseworker that has been approved.

Before you go: families near a state line

When the birth certificate was issued by Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi or Louisiana, expect to prove your Arkansas address too. The State Police accept items such as a school transcript for the current year certified by an Arkansas school, a property assessment, a mortgage statement or a lease on an Arkansas home.

Recent movers and border town families are the ones caught by this. Put a residency document in the folder even if you doubt it will be asked for.

On test day: the eye check and the ASP-90

Arkansas Code 27-16-704 makes a vision test the price of entry for any permit or license. Under the study guide, 20/40 without correction gets an unrestricted license, and 20/70 with glasses or contacts gets a restricted one. Your teen also needs a field of vision of 140 degrees using both eyes, or 105 degrees if only one eye works.

Miss the standard and the State Police hand you an ASP-90 vision referral. Only an optometrist located in Arkansas may fill it in; one completed online or by an out of state eye doctor is refused. Both the eye test result and the ASP-90 stay good for a year.

A quick tip: if your teen has not had an eye exam in a while, book one a month before the permit appointment. Fixing a prescription early is easier than chasing a referral after a failed screening.

After you pass: driving on the permit

Your teen may drive on the permit only with a licensed adult of at least 21 next to them, and every person in the car buckles up. Learner and intermediate drivers are also barred from using a phone unless there is an emergency, so set that expectation from the very first lap of the parking lot.

Say your teen passes the written test on their 14th birthday in May. The permit then lasts until that date two years on, which gives you a long runway, but only if the road test and the license purchase both happen before it closes.

After the road test: turning the permit into a license

Pass the State Police road test and the permit is marked complete. Carry it to any DFA revenue office. A teen under 16 walks out with a learner's license; a 16 or 17 year old gets an intermediate license.

Lost permit? The State Police say a parent collecting a duplicate for a minor has to show their own ID.

If you need extra study help

The State Police publish the official study guide and an AR Driver Testing app for both Apple and Android phones. They state plainly that they have no connection with third party practice test websites.

Each attempt at the written exam costs $5 under Act 1289 of 2015, with no ceiling on how many get charged, and DFA adds the total to the license price. A teen who takes the test four times adds $20 to the bill, so study before the first try.