Massachusetts · Board of Registration of Social Workers
Verified: Aug 2026
This guide covers both paths to LICSW: completing the full licensure process in Massachusetts, including degree, supervised hours, and exam (Initial, 258 CMR 9.03), or applying based on an existing independent-clinical license from another state (Reciprocity, 258 CMR 9.07).
The paths differ mainly in prerequisites and how the Board evaluates your file. Once you're filing the actual application, almost everything is the same.
Selecting Your Path
Initial Path (9.03): hold (or working toward) an MA LCSW and are accruing 3,500 hours / 2 years / 100 supervision hours along the way.
Reciprocity Path (9.07): hold an independent-clinical license from another ASWB-member state (e.g., CA LCSW), in good standing, and want the Board to accept it as equivalent instead of re-proving hours from scratch.
ℹ️ ℹ️ Step B1 below outlines the actual eligibility test. If you're not sure which path you're on, work through that first and return here!
Path A - Initial Application
Must complete before you can file. This is what makes the route slow.
Step A1
Confirm you meet both experience requirements:
3,500 clinical practice hours completed over at least 2 years since your LCSW was issued.
100 hours of individual face-to-face clinical supervision from a qualifying supervisor (LICSW or equivalent out-of-state clinical license).
→ If met, continue to Step 1 of the Board Application Steps.
Path B - Reciprocity
Must complete before you can file.
Step B1
Confirm your out-of-state license meets the reciprocity requirements:
Independent clinical practice: allows you to practice without supervision.
Equivalent requirements: education and post-graduate clinical experience are comparable to Massachusetts LICSW requirements.
The board are contactable at +1 866-527-2384 where they are often happy advise how likely you are to meet these requirements
Good standing: your license is current, unrestricted, and without discipline.
ASWB Clinical Exam: can take this after submitting if not already passed.
→ If met, continue to Step B2. If not, use Path A instead.
Step B2
Allow 30 mins to request, 1–4 weeks for boards to respond.
ASWB needs a certified verification of licensure for every current or expired license you've ever held.
The following states provide a primary-source license lookup that ASWB can use directly:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
South Dakota
Tennessee
For these states, you do not need to request or send a certified license verification. ASWB will verify the license itself.
For states not listed you'll need to request a "certified license verification" from the social work licensing board using the links provided in our separate guide here:
Electronic verifications can be sent directly to
[email protected]-Mailed verifications are sent in jurisdiction-sealed envelopes to:
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
17126 Mountain Run Vista Ct
Culpeper, VA 22701
→ Continue to Step B3.
Step B3
Allow 10 min if you already passed ASWB Clinical.
Get an official ASWB Clinical score report or plan to sit the exam later
You already passed ASWB Clinical: Order the official Certified Score Report through ASWB following the instructions here.
You never took ASWB Clinical: you'll file and take Clinical after the Board approves the file. Don't register for the exam until they tell you to.
→ Continue to Board Application Steps.
Board Application Steps
Step 1
Allow 10 minutes to complete.
Send your official degree transcript to ASWB.
Get your program's registrar to send it directly to ASWB, not to you or the Board:
Electronic (preferred): secure-server delivery to [email protected]
Mail: official, unopened transcript sent to
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
17126 Mountain Run Vista Ct
Culpeper, VA 22701
→ Your degree is from a foreign program. Continue to Step 2.
→ Your degree is not from a foreign program. Continue to Step 3.
Step 2
Allow 10 minutes to complete.
Degrees earned outside the U.S. need a CSWE ISWDRES evaluation.
To obtain the evaluation and have it sent to ASWB follow the instructions here.
→ Continue to Step 3.
Step 3
Allow 15 minutes to complete.
You need 3 professional references to support your application.
Initial applicants: 1 reference must come from the person who provided your required clinical supervision as this also certifies your work hours. All 3 references must be licensed as an LICSW (or equivalent independent clinical social work license in another state), psychologist, psychiatrist, or Licensed Psychiatric Nurse Mental Health Clinical Specialist.
Reciprocity applicants: at least one reference must hold an LICSW or equivalent independent-clinical license in another jurisdiction.
References can be slow so we recommend you start your online application now to access the application reference form and send it to your references before you complete the remaining steps. Reference forms are unique to your application:
Go to healthprofessionlicensing.mass.gov and create an account.
Select Board of Registration of Social Workers → LICSW.
Begin the application and continue to the references section.
Download the reference form (see image below) and send it to each of your 3 references. The form includes instructions for how they should submit their recommendation.
You do not need to finish or submit your application yet.
→ Continue to Step 4.
Step 4
Allow 5 minutes to complete.
This step determines whether you need to collect additional supporting documents related to your full licensing and legal history that could slow your application.
The application asks five questions covering your previous and current licenses:
Have you ever voluntarily surrendered or resigned a professional license to a licensing/certification board in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction?
Has a licensing/certification board in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction taken any disciplinary action against you?
Are you the subject of pending disciplinary actions by a licensing/certification board in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction?
Have you ever applied for and been denied a professional license in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction?
Have you ever admitted to or been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction, other than a traffic violation with an assessed fine of less than $200?
If yes to any of the above you should collect the following documentation to be uploaded directly back into the application portal later: court documents, out-of-state background checks, out-of-state criminal history reports, or licensing board discipline documents, as applicable.
If you do have a criminal record, you should also email [email protected] immediately. In your email provide a detailed description of the offense(s) that occurred, along with the jurisdiction(s) of the violation(s).
→ Continue to Step 5.
Step 5
Allow 15 minutes to complete.
Perform a National Practitioner Data Bank Self Query here (also linked in the application).
Download the results, to be uploaded directly back into the application portal later.
→ Continue to Step 6.
Step 6
Allow 3 hours to complete.
Complete the Chapter 260 domestic/sexual violence training here.
The application has a checkbox for you to attest that you have completed it.
You only need to do this one-time across your entire career. If you've completed it before (for a prior MA license), just re-attest.
We also recommend saving proof of completion for your own records.
→ Continue to Step 7.
Step 7
Allow 30 minutes to complete.
Complete and notarize the CORI Acknowledgment form.
The form is available here. It's fastest to use an online notary service like Notarize which can notarize for you on-demand.
Keep the notarized form, to be uploaded directly back into the application portal later.
→ Continue to Step 8.
Step 8
Allow 5 minutes to complete.
Prepare a 2"×2" clear, color, passport-style photo.
ChatGPT or Claude can edit iPhone photos taken with a clear white background so that they meets the requirements or you can use an app like PhotoAid.
Keep the photo, to be uploaded directly back into the application portal later.
→ Continue to Step 9.
Step 9
Allow 30-60 minutes to complete.
The application includes a checkbox where you will need to attest that you have submitted a complete application to enroll with MassHealth. You must do this even if you don't currently practice in Massachusetts or plan to see MassHealth patients.
The attestation simply requires you to have submitted the application. You don't need to wait for MassHealth to approve it.
If you are not already enrolled, complete the form here. Then fax it to 617-988-8974 or mail it to:
MassHealth Customer Service Center,
Attn: Provider Enrollment and Credentialing,
P.O. Box 278, Quincy, MA 02171-0005
→ Continue to Step 10.
Step 10
Allow 45 minutes to complete.
File the application in the Health Professions Licensing portal:
Go to healthprofessionlicensing.mass.gov and register an account.
Select Board of Registration of Social Workers → LICSW.
Upload everything gathered so far: CORI form, photo, NPDB results, license documentation (initial: your LCSW/equivalent + hours record; reciprocity: point them at the sealed verifications going to ASWB separately).
Enter your SSN (feeds the DOR tax-compliance check automatically) and contact information for your references.
Select whether you are submitting for Initial Application or Reciprocity
Attest that you've submitted your MassHealth application and completed the DV/SV training.
Indicate your exam status: not yet taken (initial default), already passed (either path - triggers a score transfer request instead), or reciprocity-pending-exam (Path B, Step B3's second branch).
Pay the fee: $173 (initial) or $267 (reciprocity application fee).
ℹ️ A separate $82 licensure issuance fee is due later, after approval.
→ Continue to Step 11.
Step 11
Allow 4-8 weeks for a decision.
Board reviews the file.
Initial applicants: the board is checking for a complete application. Once satisfied, the Board automatically notifies ASWB that you're cleared to test. A missing reference or incomplete supervision log is the most common cause of delay.
→ Board approves your application. Continue to Step 12.
Reciprocity applicants: this is a substantive equivalence judgment as to whether your out-of-state license, hours, and scope genuinely match LICSW. Usual delays: a verification still in the mail, a missing score report, a reference not at independent-clinical level, or the Board not accepting the hours/scope match.
→ Board approves, you already passed ASWB Clinical. Continue to Step 14.
→ Board approves, you need to take ASWB clinical. Continue to Step 12.
→ Board does not approve. You cannot obtain the LICSW through reciprocity.
Step 12
Allow 15 minutes to complete.
Register and pay for the exam with ASWB
Log into ASWBCentral (examregistration.aswb.org), register for the Clinical exam specifically, and pay the $260 ASWB exam fee. This unlocks your ATT email.
→ Continue to Step 12.
Step 13
Allow a few days to schedule. Allow 4.5 hrs on exam day.
Schedule and take the exam with Pearson VUE.
Use your ATT email to schedule through ASWBCentral or by calling Pearson at 877.884.9537.
Score reports automatically back to Massachusetts. If your ATT expires before you test: you can request an extension, up to 6 months, subject to Board approval.
→ Once you pass, Continue to Step 14.
→ If you fail you can retake after 90 days. Once eligible, go back to Step 12.
Step 14
Allow 2 weeks.
License is issued ~2 weeks after passing, or after Board approval if exam was already done.
The $82 license issuance fee for reciprocity applicants is due at this point, separate from the application fee already paid.
→ Congratulations!
Costs
Item | Initial | Reciprocity |
CORI notarization | $0–10 | $0–10 |
Application/licensure fee | $173 | $267 |
License Issuance fee (after approval) | $82 | $82 |
ASWB Clinical Exam fee | $260 | $0 if already passed; $260 if not |
Typical total | $487–497 | $350–360 (exam done) / $610–620 (exam needed) |
Time Estimates
Initial: Step A1 (the hours threshold) is excluded from the working estimate entirely. Once satisfied, the process runs roughly 8–16 weeks, driven mostly by the 4–8 week application-to-ATT window and 2-week post-exam issuance.
Reciprocity: The slow pieces are external license verification (Step B2) and the Board's equivalence review (Step 10), both with no published SLA. 4–8 weeks is a working benchmark for a complete, accepted file, but not a guarantee.
Sources
Social Worker Licensing - Mass.gov
258 CMR 9.03 - LICSW initial licensure requirements
258 CMR 9.07 - Licensure by reciprocity
258 CMR 31.00 - Continuing education requirements
Chapter 260 Domestic and Sexual Violence Training - Mass.gov
MassHealth Requirements for LICSWs - Mass.gov
MassHealth Nonbilling Provider Contract for Individuals - Mass.gov
DOR Tax Compliance and Stay of License Renewal - Mass.gov
ASWB - Massachusetts new applicant instructions
ASWB - Massachusetts reciprocity application instructions
ASWB - Exam appointments / ASWBCentral
Massachusetts Health Professions Licensing portal
Links