Arkansas calls its first stage a learner's license, and you can get one at age 14. As of 2026, treat this guide as a starting point and confirm everything with the Arkansas Office of Driver Services (part of the Department of Finance and Administration) at dfa.arkansas.gov and in the official Arkansas driver manual.
Age and the learner's license
Arkansas runs a graduated driver license program. The state describes the learner's license for ages 14 to 15, and it expires one month after the holder's 16th birthday. A learner's license holder may drive only when accompanied by a licensed driver who is 21 or older. To move up, the state looks for a record with no serious traffic violations or at-fault crashes in the previous six months. We do not state question counts or passing scores here, so check those with Driver Services.
Practice and supervision
Because Arkansas allows such early learners, parents and guardians play a big role. The supervising driver must be 21 or older, and the learner should be building skill on quiet roads before busier ones.
- Start in empty lots and low-traffic neighborhoods.
- Add rural roads, town traffic and highways in steps.
- Practice at night and in rain, not only on sunny afternoons.
Ask Driver Services whether a specific number of supervised practice hours applies to you, since we could not confirm an hour requirement from the official page.
The intermediate license
The next step is the intermediate license for ages 16 to 17. It expires one month after the 18th birthday, and a clean driving record for the previous year is needed to apply for a regular license at 18.
- Curfew: intermediate drivers may not drive between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., with exceptions listed in the manual.
- Passengers: one unrelated minor passenger is allowed.
- Always check the official manual for the exceptions, such as work or school travel.
Arkansas's curfew runs 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., not the 5 a.m. end used in some neighboring states. Label your notes with the state if you study more than one.
How to prepare
- Download the official Arkansas driver manual and read one section a day.
- Make a one-page list of every age, distance and time in the manual.
- Take practice questions and explain each wrong answer.
- Review the intermediate license rules, because those are easy to mix up.
- Sleep well the night before.
What to bring
Document requirements and fees change, and we could not confirm a full list, so check the Driver Services site or call before your visit. Plan to bring identity documents and, for a minor, a parent or guardian.
DMVZone practice questions are for study only. They are not the real test questions, but they help you practice the topics the test covers.