Social Work Licensing

If you have already earned a degree in social work, it’s time to becoming licensed. There are different requirements that have to be met by an individual to become eligible for a social worker license.

The majority of professions in the health care field have standards to uphold and regulations in place to protect citizens from malpractice or professional misconduct. Social workers, who managed to complete the state licensing process, are able to demonstrate a commitment to upholding the professional codes of conduct in their field.

As a rule, states regulate 4 main categories of social workers. They may include:
•     Graduates with bachelor’s degrees
•     Graduates with master’s degrees
•     Advanced generalists ( MSWs who have 2 years of post-master’s experience)
•     MSWs with 2 years of post-master’s direct clinical social work experience
However, there are some states that only regulate one of these practice levels. But you should keep in mind that most states will license 2 or more levels of social workers.

Again, licensing requirements can be different in different states. That is why you should look through your state’s specifications in advance. The majority of states require 2 years (3,000 hours) of supervised field experience in order to become a licensed social worker.

Social work license exam

If you’re able to meet your state’s fieldwork qualifications, then you should register to take a licensing examination. As a rule these exams consist of 150 multiple-choice questions, answered electronically within a 4-hour time frame. Each state drafts individual pass/fail guidelines for the test. That is why it is so important to check your state’s guidelines beforehand.

Social work license is not transferable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, because (as it was said above) each state has its own laws and regulations. Nowadays the majority of states use licensing tests conducted by the ASWB. So now it’s much easier to transfer licensing credentials from state to state. But it’s very important to underline that requirements will change across borders, and in most instances you will need to retake your licensing exam. Besides the ASWB offers a Social Work Registry to social workers, which makes transferring credentials from one state to another easier.

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