Moving between states / Arkansas

Flag of MinnesotaMinnesotatoFlag of ArkansasArkansas, Truck driver

Moving from Minnesota to Arkansas as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Minnesota 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 at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Arkansas resident you surrender the Minnesota 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Arkansas leaves you roughly $2,499 a year more than Minnesota does, because Arkansas's rate is lower.

SalaryMinnesota state taxArkansas state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,758$1,092+$1,666
$60,000$4,137$1,638+$2,499
$90,000$6,206$2,457+$3,749

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. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Minnesota to Arkansas

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Minnesota certificate stays on the Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Registry; 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.

RN and LPN: Minnesota to Arkansas

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Minnesota is not in the compact, so your Minnesota 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: Minnesota 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 Minnesota licence comes from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

  • 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.

Going the other way? Minnesota has Harmony new-home rebate. See moving from Arkansas to Minnesota.

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 Minnesota 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

CNA: Minnesota to Arkansas · RN or LPN: Minnesota to Arkansas · Electrician: Minnesota to Arkansas · All licences: Minnesota to Arkansas

From Minnesota 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 Minnesota

North Dakota · South Dakota · Iowa · Wisconsin

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

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

Pick the state