Here are some tips on navigating not just the roads, but the license and registration process in Arkansas.

Assess Your Car’s Value

Before you can replace your out-of-state license with an Arkansas license, you are required by law to assess your vehicle with the county assessor and pay all personal property taxes you owe. Vehicle assessment can be done at a revenue office. Vehicle Identification Number verification must be performed on out-of -state titles as required by Arkansas law. This inspection can be conducted by a certified law enforcement officer in any city or county in Arkansas.

Register Your Vehicle

Applications for vehicle registration – required after residing in Arkansas for 30 days – are available at state revenue offices. Owners must show a copy of the current registration, certificate of title, proof of liability insurance and vehicle assessment. You will be charged registration fees, which are based on the vehicle’s weight.

*You can also easily register to vote while you’re registering your vehicle. Otherwise, you can register at any other state revenue office, public library, your county’s clerk office or a public assistance agency.

Renew Your License

Any central Arkansas revenue office can exchange an out-of-state license for an Arkansas license with relative ease (if your current license hasn’t expired and you have your birth certificate handy). Drivers are required to retake the written and vision examinations if their license is expired for more than 31 days; a road examination is required if the license has been expired for a year or more.

Consider Tinting Your Windows

The average high temperature in Arkansas for June and July is around 90 degrees, meaning the inside of your car can quickly get much hotter. Window tinting can cut down on the heat, but make sure to follow state laws. In Arkansas, non-reflective tint is allowed on the top 5 inches of the windshield. Side windows must allow more than 25 percent of light in, while the rear window must allow more than 10 percent of light in.

Beat Rush Hour

For a metropolitan area of its size, Little Rock has an admirable network of roadways that allow for quick travel. And as the 78th largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States, central Arkansas’ traffic at its worst can’t compare with a steady drive in more populous areas. Still, it’s human nature to want to move from Point A to Point B in the least amount of time possible. To shave minutes off your rush-hour commute, we asked seasoned experts for their go-to routes.

From: Midtown or Downtown Little Rock
Toward: Saline County
Expert Advice: Avoid Interstate 630 West at all costs. In no uncertain terms, traffic will bottle up when the freeway ends, in a stoplight. Instead, take the swift-moving I-30 South from downtown, even if this means you’ve got to travel east for a few miles to access it.

From: Little Rock
Toward: North Little Rock
Expert Advice: The main link between the cities, the I-30 river bridge commonly stacks traffic up, especially if there’s an accident. Instead, try either the Main Street or Broadway bridges and then travel on major streets like Main Street or Pike Avenue.

From: Little Rock
Toward: Jacksonville and Cabot
Expert Advice: The long way is often the fast way. To avoid traffic-heavy I-30 and Hwy. 67/167, consider taking I-440 from downtown and looping out around toward the airport. If you start out on I-30 but need to bail out, Broadway Ave. links up with Arkansas Highway 161, which can take you all the way to Jacksonville.

From: West Little Rock
Toward: Saline County
Expert Advice: Approaching I-30, I-430 South will narrow into two lanes, one for each direction onto I-30. Instead of doing stop-and-go in the right-hand lane, stay in the left-hand lane until there’s enough room to move in front of a slow-moving vehicle as it transitions from stop to go. Alternatively, you can take the Stagecoach Road exit. It might save you time. It’ll definitely save your sanity.

From: Downtown Little Rock
Toward: West Little Rock
Expert Advice: While driving, repeat “I love living in west Little Rock.” Traffic clogs most routes, and extreme west I-630 virtually becomes a parking lot. Before the worst, jump onto Rodney Parham Road or take Mississippi Avenue south to Kanis Road and head west. Both Cantrell Road and Markham Street link the two areas, and they’re viable options even with the traffic lights. Still, some say the best bet is to go north to Interstate 40, take it west, and then travel down Interstate 430 to the exit nearest your neighborhood.
If possible, wait until 5:30 p.m. to leave work.

How To Talk Like a Central Arkansas Driver  

Cantrell Road (CAN-trull)

Rodney Parham Road (PAIR-um)

Kanis Road (KAY-nis)

Chenal Parkway (shin-ALL)

Saline County (suh-LEAN)

Maumelle (Maw-MELL)