Selecting Type of Application

Apply by examination if you:

• are requesting approval to take the national Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) licensing examination, or
• have already passed the ASWB licensing examination but you do not hold a current, clinical social work license in another jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia).

Apply by reciprocity if you:

• have already passed the national ASWB licensing examination, and
• hold a current, clinical social work license in another jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or District of Columbia).

Requirements for All Applicants

• Submit completed, signed and notarized application form.
  • The application must clearly show the number of your post-MSW degree clinical social work hours.
  • Your clinical experience must consist of at least 3200 hours.

• Enclose the non-refundable processing fee by check or money order payable to the “State of Delaware.”

• Complete the Criminal History Record Check Authorization to request State and Federal criminal background checks. Follow the instructions on the form to arrange to be fingerprinted.

• Arrange for your supervisor to complete and sign the Supervisory Reference Form included with the application. Your supervisor must send it directly to the Board office.
  • The form must document at least 1600 hours under professional supervision acceptable to the Board.
  • The supervisor(s) must be a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), master of social work (MSW), licensed psychologist, or a licensed psychiatrist.

• If you have ever held a social work license in another jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory or D.C.), arrange for the Board office to receive verification of licensure from each jurisdiction where you have held a license, sent directly from the jurisdiction to the Board office.

• Arrange for your college or university to send an official transcript of your completed Masters degree directly to the Board office. The college or university must be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (www.cswe.org).

• If you have already passed the ASWB exam, arrange for the Board office to receive a certified score report, sent directly from ASWB to the Board office. To request the score report, see Score Transfer on the ASWB web site.

• If you have not passed the ASWB examination, the Board office will notify you when you are approved to take the exam. To register online with ASWB, see ASWB Registration Information.
  • For information about the examination, the Candidate Handbook is available on the ASWB web site. The Board office does not provide Candidate Handbooks.
  • When you are approved to sit for the examination, you have two years from the date of your application to pass. If you have not yet passed when the two years elapse, you must re-apply.
  • When the Board office receives the passing exam scores from ASWB, your license will be issued.

• If you have never been issued a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), submit a Request for Exemption from Social Security Number Requirement .