Moving between states / Arkansas

Flag of MichiganMichigantoFlag of ArkansasArkansas, CNA

Moving from Michigan to Arkansas as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Michigan has to do to work in Arkansas, what the move does to your pay, and who in Arkansas is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Michigan certificate stays on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs); to work in Arkansas you apply to the Arkansas Office of Long Term Care, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Arkansas leaves you roughly $912 a year more than Michigan does, because Arkansas's rate is lower.

SalaryMichigan state taxArkansas state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,700$1,092+$608
$60,000$2,550$1,638+$912
$90,000$3,825$2,457+$1,368

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In Michigan: Detroit and some cities add a local income tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Michigan to Arkansas

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Michigan is not in the compact, so your Michigan licence is single-state. Apply to the Arkansas board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Arkansas is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Michigan to Arkansas

Reciprocity likely. Arkansas licenses electricians at state level through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing, Electrical Section, and reciprocal agreements with a group of neighbouring and western states for journeymen with the required experience. Your Michigan licence comes from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Electrical Administrative Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Michigan to Arkansas

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Arkansas resident you surrender the Michigan CDL at a Arkansas driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Arkansas. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

  • Life Works Here (Northwest Arkansas): up to $10,000 plus a bicycle. For remote and tech workers moving to the Bentonville and Fayetteville region; runs in rounds.

Openings filed in Arkansas

78 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Arkansas employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Michigan to Arkansas

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Arkansas employers.

Plan my move to Arkansas

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Michigan to Arkansas · Electrician: Michigan to Arkansas · Truck driver: Michigan to Arkansas · All licences: Michigan to Arkansas

From Michigan to the states next to Arkansas

Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Louisiana (flat 3% state income tax) · Texas (no state income tax) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%)

To Arkansas from the states next to Michigan

Ohio · Indiana · Wisconsin

Everything about working in Arkansas · All moves between states · All 50 states

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