Getting licensed as a social worker in Hawaii
Checked against the Hawaii Professional & Vocational Licensing Division, Social Worker Program on .
Get your Hawaii licensing checklist
Your board, the portal you apply in, the fees, the supervised hours, and the order to do them in.
Your first license
Licensed Social Worker
LSWExam required before the license
An ASWB exam is required before the license: Masters, Advanced Generalist, or Clinical, whichever applies to you.
Known fees
| Application fee | $60 |
|---|---|
| License fee | $123 |
| ASWB examination (fee depends on the level) | exam fee depends on level: $230 Masters, $260 Advanced Generalist or Clinical |
| Known total | $183 |
What else it takes
- Supervised hours
- 3,000 hours, 100 supervision, for the LCSW
- ASWB exam level
- Masters, Advanced Generalist, or Clinical
- Licensure compact
- Not a memberMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
- Last checked
Next step
Hold a master's degree from a CSWE-accredited social work program, or a doctoral degree in social work from a WASC-accredited (or comparably accredited) program. Submit the application and non-refundable $60 fee; once approved, receive an eligibility letter to sit for the ASWB exam.
The ladder
Hawaii has 3 rungs. 3 need an ASWB exam.
bachelors
LBSW
ASWB Bachelors
Licensed Bachelor Social Worker.
masters
LSW
ASWB Masters, Advanced Generalist, or Clinical
Licensed Social Worker.
clinical
LCSW
ASWB Clinical
Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Requirements change
Nothing on our law calendar changes Hawaii's exam requirement today. The change that does touch you is national: ASWB launched the 2026 exams on August 3, 2026 with three content areas and 122 items, and held fees at $230 Masters and $260 Clinical. ASWB's announcement.
Law calendar read . If Hawaii moves, this page moves with it.
Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.
Hawaii asks for 3,000 hours of supervised experience and 100 hours of supervision.
Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 27, 2026.
Join the Hours waitlistPrograms in Hawaii
How first-timers from each accredited program here did on the ASWB exam. A rate built on fewer than 10 first-time exams is one or two people, so those programs show how close they are to that floor instead of a percent. Source: ASWB, 2025 report.
Brigham Young University - Hawaii Campus
Hawaii
- Clinical first-time
- No exams reportednational 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- No exams reportednational 73.9%
No Clinical first-time exams in the 2025 report for this school.
Hawaii Pacific University
Hawaii
- Clinical first-time
- 47.1% of 17national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 83.3% of 12national 73.9%
47.1% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
University of Hawaii - Manoa
Hawaii
- Clinical first-time
- 69.9% of 73national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 77.4% of 53national 73.9%
69.9% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Sources
We read the board's own pages. Nothing here is a guess.
- Hawaii Professional & Vocational Licensing Division, Social Worker Program · LSW applicant resourcescca.hawaii.gov · Last checked
- HRS Chapter 467E Social Workerswww.capitol.hawaii.gov · Last checked
- Requirements & Instructions - Licensed Social Worker Applicationcca.hawaii.gov · Last checked
- LSW fees · ASWB examination (fee depends on the level)www.aswb.org · Last checked
- Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictionsswcompact.org · Last checked
- Requirements & Instructions - Licensed Clinical Social Worker Applicationcca.hawaii.gov · Last checked
SWTPA is not affiliated with any state board or with ASWB. Requirements change; the board's page is the source of record. This record is also available as JSON.
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