Social Work Test Prep Academy

Getting licensed as a social worker in Illinois

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation (Social Work Licensing), read .

Your first license

Licensed Social Worker (MSW route: no supervised experience and no ASWB exam required since 2022-01-01)

LSW

Exam comes after the first credential

Illinois: "no ASWB examination for the LSW since 2022-01-01 (Public Act 102-0326)".

Known fees

Fees the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation (Social Work Licensing) publishes for the LSW
LSW application processing$50
Known total$50

What else it takes

Supervised hours
Not checked yet
ASWB exam level
None for this credential
Licensure compact
Not a member
Last checked
1

Next step

Earn a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree accredited by CSWE, OR a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree accredited by CSWE. BSW-degree applicants: complete three years of supervised professional experience after the BSW was awarded, supervised by an LSW, LCSW, or other appropriate social work supervisor, averaging at least 4 hours per month in supervision, documented on form VE-SW.

The ladder

Illinois has 3 rungs. 1 of them need an ASWB exam.

  1. bachelors

    LSW

    No ASWB exam

    Licensed Social Worker (BSW route: BSW plus 3 years of supervised professional experience; no ASWB exam since 2022-01-01). Practice is supervised at this rung.

  2. masters

    LSW

    No ASWB exam

    Licensed Social Worker (MSW route: no supervised experience and no ASWB exam required since 2022-01-01).

  3. clinical

    LCSW

    ASWB Clinical

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Requirements change

Nothing on our law calendar changes Illinois'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 Illinois moves, this page moves with it.

Sources

We read the board's own pages. Nothing here is a guess.

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.

See your path inside the app

Pick your state once. We keep the fees, the hours and the next step in front of you while you study.

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