Arkansas Modernizes Professional Licensing
June 04, 2026 by Simone Ashley
Arkansas sets a national example for states seeking to modernize regulatory licensure, demonstrating how to replace inefficient paper-based processes with streamlined digital solutions that support workforce mobility and professional licensure.
In a podcast episode hosted by the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR), Christy Williams, Tyler Arkansas general manager, explores this transformation and showcases how the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (ADLL) executed their digital transformation while consolidating 21 disparate agencies into one unified department.
ADLL has made streamline multiple professional and occupational licensing operations its primary objective. Within the electrical licensing division alone, administrative tasks that previously consumed 5.5 hours now require 70% less time to execute. Simultaneously, the department transformed the licensee experience by accelerating processing from 90 days to merely five days from application to license issuance.
Listen to the complete podcast episode to discover proven strategies that support asuccessful digital transition, insights on navigating change across diverse user demographics, take away actionable lessons from Arkansas’s transformation that other states can implement in their own modernization initiatives.