- What AR-PC Actually Means
- Who Administers the AR-PC Exam
- Exam Format and Question Breakdown
- The 13 Domains Covered on the Exam
- Prelicensing Education and Eligibility
- Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
- Attempts, Permits, and What Happens If You Fail
- Who Actually Needs the AR-PC
- Preparing for Each Portion of the Exam
- Frequently Asked Questions
- AR-PC stands for the Arkansas Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam, administered by PSI Services LLC for the Arkansas Insurance Department.
- The exam has 150 scored questions (125 general, 25 Arkansas-specific) plus 10 unscored pretest items, in 210 minutes.
- Passing requires a 70% score, and the exam fee is $50 per attempt.
- Candidates need 20 hours of approved prelicensing education per line under Rule 31 before sitting for the exam.
What AR-PC Actually Means
AR-PC stands for the Arkansas Property & Casualty Insurance Producer Exam - the state licensing test that anyone who wants to sell property and casualty insurance in Arkansas must pass. It is not a designation you earn once and keep for life like a professional certification; it's a regulatory gateway exam tied directly to the Arkansas Insurance Department's producer licensing requirements. If you've seen "AR-PC" used elsewhere to describe something unrelated to Arkansas insurance licensing, that's a different credential entirely - this article, and this site, are exclusively about the Arkansas Property and Casualty producer exam.
Passing the AR-PC is the final academic hurdle before you can apply for an active Arkansas P&C producer license. Once licensed, you're authorized to sell, solicit, or negotiate property and casualty insurance products - everything from homeowners and dwelling policies to commercial general liability and workers' compensation coverage - within the state.
Who Administers the AR-PC Exam
The Arkansas Insurance Department sets the licensing rules and content requirements, while PSI Services LLC handles exam delivery, scheduling, and scoring. This split is standard for state insurance licensing: the regulator defines what needs to be tested and at what standard, and the testing vendor runs the logistics - test centers, remote proctoring, score reporting, and permit tracking.
Because PSI is the delivery vendor, candidates create their PSI candidate account, select their exam date, and receive their score report through PSI's system rather than directly through the state. If you want a broader overview of how the credential fits together before diving into logistics, the AR-PC Certification overview and the What Is AR-PC? explainer both cover the licensing pathway from a slightly different angle.
Exam Format and Question Breakdown
The AR-PC Property/Casualty exam is built around a fixed, predictable format:
- 150 scored multiple-choice questions, plus 10 unscored pretest questions mixed in without identification (220 total questions on screen, but only 150 count toward your score)
- 210 minutes total testing time
- Scored questions are split into a 125-question general insurance portion and a 25-question Arkansas-specific portion
- 70% required to pass
- Available via test-center or remote-proctored delivery
The general portion tests broad property and casualty concepts that mirror what's taught in most state prelicensing curricula - contract law basics, policy structure, and coverage mechanics that apply regardless of state. The Arkansas-specific portion is narrower and denser: it covers state statutes, licensing rules, and regulatory requirements unique to Arkansas. Because that section is smaller in question count but often less familiar to candidates who studied from generic national materials, it disproportionately trips people up. For a full breakdown of exactly how the passing threshold works against this split, see AR-PC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Key Takeaway
Don't treat the Arkansas-specific 25 questions as an afterthought just because they're a smaller slice of the exam - missing too many of them can sink an otherwise strong score on the general portion.
The 13 Domains Covered on the Exam
The AR-PC content outline is organized into 13 domains that span both general P&C knowledge and Arkansas-specific regulation. Understanding what each domain actually tests - rather than just its title - is the difference between passive review and targeted study.
Domain 1: Multi-Line (P&C) Arkansas Specific Content Outline
This is the Arkansas-only portion of the outline covering state statutes, producer duties, and licensing regulations specific to Arkansas.
- Arkansas Insurance Code provisions relevant to producers
- State-specific licensing and conduct rules
Domain 2: General Insurance Concepts
Foundational insurance terminology and principles that underpin every other domain.
- Risk, insurable interest, and indemnity
- Policy structure: declarations, insuring agreements, conditions, exclusions
Domain 3: Property and Casualty Insurance Basics
Core concepts distinguishing property coverage from casualty/liability coverage.
- Named perils vs. open perils
- Direct vs. consequential loss
Domain 4: Dwelling Policy Concepts
Dwelling program forms and how they differ from homeowners policies.
- DP-1, DP-2, DP-3 form distinctions
- Coverage for dwellings, other structures, and personal property
Domain 5: Homeowners Policy Concepts
The HO program forms and their coverage parts.
- HO-2 through HO-8 form differences
- Liability and medical payments coverage under homeowners policies
Domain 6: Personal Automobile Policy
PAP structure and coverage parts tested extensively on the general portion.
- Liability, medical payments, uninsured motorist, and physical damage coverages
- Who qualifies as an insured under the PAP
Domain 7: Commercial Automobile Policy
Business auto coverage forms and covered autos symbols.
- Symbol designations for covered autos
- Differences between commercial and personal auto exposures
Domain 8: Commercial Property Policies
Building and personal property coverage forms used in commercial lines.
- Causes of loss forms: basic, broad, special
- Coinsurance and valuation methods
Domain 9: Commercial General Liability
CGL coverage parts and how claims-made vs. occurrence forms function.
- Coverage A, B, and C distinctions
- Products-completed operations exposure
Domain 10: Commercial Crime
Crime coverage forms addressing employee dishonesty and theft exposures.
- Employee theft vs. third-party crime coverage
- Discovery vs. loss-sustained forms
Domain 11: Businessowners Policy
BOP eligibility and the packaged coverages it combines.
- Eligible business classes for BOP
- Property and liability coverages bundled under one policy
Domain 12: Other Types of Property and Casualty Insurance
Purpose and general characteristics of specialty P&C products.
- Inland marine, ocean marine, and umbrella coverage basics
- Surety bonds and their function
Domain 13: Workers' Compensation Laws
Workers' comp coverage structure and Arkansas-relevant statutory framework.
- Coverage A (statutory benefits) vs. Coverage B (employers liability)
- Exclusions and covered classes of employees
For a much deeper walkthrough of every domain with weighting context and study sequencing, see AR-PC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 13 Content Areas.
Prelicensing Education and Eligibility
Before you can sit for the AR-PC exam, Arkansas requires approved Property and Casualty prelicensing education. Under Rule 31, candidates must complete 20 hours per line of study. If you've recently completed state-law and ethics components as part of another line's prelicensing, you may qualify for a repeat-course exemption rather than retaking that material.
Course completion certificates are only valid for two years, so timing matters - if you complete prelicensing education and then delay scheduling your exam, make sure you don't let that certificate lapse before you test. A full rundown of eligibility rules, documentation, and edge cases is available in AR-PC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
Registering for the AR-PC exam is straightforward once prelicensing education is complete. The exam fee is $50 per attempt, paid through PSI's registration system. Candidates can choose between an in-person test center or a remote-proctored session taken from home or another private location, depending on what's available and what setup they prefer.
Because the fee applies per attempt, unprepared retakes add up quickly - which is one more reason to treat your first sitting seriously rather than as a "practice run." A complete breakdown of every cost involved, including prelicensing course fees, is covered in AR-PC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown, and scheduling windows and deadlines are detailed in AR-PC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
| Exam Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Administering vendor | PSI Services LLC (for Arkansas Insurance Department) |
| Exam fee | $50 per attempt |
| Scored questions | 150 (125 general + 25 Arkansas-specific) |
| Pretest questions | 10 (unscored, unidentified) |
| Time allowed | 210 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Prelicensing requirement | 20 hours per line (Rule 31) |
| Certificate validity | 2 years |
| Delivery options | Test center or remote-proctored |
Attempts, Permits, and What Happens If You Fail
Arkansas issues candidates a 90-day permit once they're approved to test, and that permit allows up to three attempts at the exam within that window. If you fail all three attempts, or if the 90-day permit expires before you pass, you must wait four weeks and then repeat the entire approval process from the beginning - including re-verifying your prelicensing education status.
This structure means the stakes of your first attempt are lower than a one-shot exam, but the stakes of exhausting all three attempts are high: a failed permit cycle costs you time, money, and momentum. It's worth understanding realistically how challenging the exam is before you schedule your first sitting - see How Hard Is the AR-PC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 for an honest assessment, and AR-PC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows for what the available data suggests about first-attempt outcomes.
Key Takeaway
Three attempts inside a single 90-day permit sounds generous, but each attempt costs a $50 fee. Study to pass on attempt one rather than planning to "use up" retakes.
Who Actually Needs the AR-PC
The AR-PC exam is the required step for anyone pursuing an Arkansas resident producer license in property and casualty lines. That includes:
- Career-changers entering the insurance industry through independent agencies or captive agent programs
- Existing life/health producers adding P&C lines to their license
- Insurance agency staff moving into a producer role rather than a support role
- Candidates relocating to Arkansas who need to establish resident licensing even with prior out-of-state experience
Independent agencies, captive carriers (auto, home, and commercial-lines insurers), and insurance brokerages are the primary employers seeking AR-PC-licensed producers. Passing the exam is often a condition of employment offers in these roles rather than something candidates pursue independently before being hired. If you're weighing whether this career path and licensing investment make sense for you, Is the AR-PC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and AR-PC Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis dig into the career and earnings side, while AR-PC Jobs looks at the kinds of roles that require this license.
Preparing for Each Portion of the Exam
Because the AR-PC splits cleanly into a general portion and an Arkansas-specific portion, your study plan should mirror that split rather than treating the material as one undifferentiated block. Spend the bulk of early study time on the heavily weighted general domains - personal auto, homeowners, commercial property, and CGL tend to carry substantial real-world overlap and question density - before narrowing in on the Arkansas-specific statutes closer to your test date, since that material is more easily forgotten if reviewed too far in advance.
General Concepts & Personal Lines
- Domains 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - insurance basics, dwelling, and homeowners forms
- Build a working vocabulary of policy structure terms
Commercial Lines
- Domains 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 - commercial auto, property, CGL, crime, BOP
- Focus on coverage triggers and form differences
Specialty Lines & Workers' Comp
- Domain 12 (other P&C products) and Domain 13 (workers' comp)
- Take full-length timed practice exams under 210-minute conditions
Arkansas-Specific Review
- Domain 1 - Arkansas statutes and producer regulations
- Review missed questions from practice exams, prioritizing the Arkansas-specific section
A structured, phased approach like this works better than cramming because the Arkansas-specific portion is narrow enough to review intensively right before your test date without needing weeks of reinforcement. For a more detailed week-by-week plan with practice question strategy, read the AR-PC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. And when you're ready for rapid-fire review the week of your exam, the AR-PC Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts condenses the highest-yield facts across all 13 domains.
Whichever study path you follow, working through realistic practice questions on our AR-PC practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to gauge readiness - timed, domain-tagged practice sessions mimic the actual 210-minute format far better than passive reading. Return to the practice test homepage periodically to track how your scores shift across the general and Arkansas-specific portions as you study.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a licensing exam. Passing the AR-PC is a required step toward obtaining an Arkansas property and casualty producer license through the Arkansas Insurance Department - it isn't a standalone professional certification you display independently of licensure.
The exam includes 150 scored multiple-choice questions plus 10 unscored pretest questions, for 160 total questions, and you're given 210 minutes to complete it.
You need to score 70% on the 150 scored questions. The unscored pretest questions don't count toward this threshold. See AR-PC Passing Score 2026 for a detailed explanation of how scoring works across the general and Arkansas-specific sections.
Your 90-day permit allows up to three attempts. If you fail all three or your permit expires, you must wait four weeks and repeat the approval process, including reconfirming your prelicensing education.
Yes. Rule 31 requires 20 hours of approved Property and Casualty prelicensing education per line, with certain repeat-course exemptions for candidates who recently completed state-law and ethics content. Course certificates remain valid for two years.