Getting licensed as a social worker in Kentucky
Checked against the Kentucky Board of Social Work on .
Get your Kentucky licensing checklist
Your board, the portal you apply in, the fees, the supervised hours, and the order to do them in.
Your first license
Certified Social Worker
CSWExam required before the license
The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.
Known fees
| Application fee (all license types) | $25 |
|---|---|
| CSW initial license fee | $125 |
| ASWB Masters examination | $230 |
| Known total | $380 |
What else it takes
- Supervised hours
- Experience: no single total, 150 supervision, for the LCSW
- ASWB exam level
- Masters
- Licensure compact
- Member jurisdictionMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
- Last checked
Next step
Hold a Master of Social Work or Doctorate of Social Work from a CSWE/board-approved program. Submit the CSW application and pay the $25 application fee to the Board.
The ladder
Kentucky has 3 rungs. 3 need an ASWB exam.
bachelors
LSW
ASWB Bachelors
Licensed Social Worker (bachelor's-level, non-clinical).
masters
CSW
ASWB Masters
Certified Social Worker.
clinical
LCSW
ASWB Clinical
Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Requirements change
Nothing on our law calendar changes Kentucky'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 Kentucky moves, this page moves with it.
Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.
Kentucky asks for 150 hours of supervision. Experience hours: no single total.
Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 29, 2026.
Join the Hours waitlistPrograms in Kentucky
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.
Asbury University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- No exams reportednational 73.9%
Too few first-time Clinical exams in 2025 to rate so far.
Brescia University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- 84.2% of 19national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 73.9%
84.2% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Campbellsville University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- 74.6% of 126national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 75% of 76national 73.9%
74.6% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Eastern Kentucky University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 77.8% of 27national 73.9%
Too few first-time Clinical exams in 2025 to rate so far.
Kentucky Christian University
Kentucky
- 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.
Kentucky State University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- No exams reportednational 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 73.9%
No Clinical first-time exams in the 2025 report for this school.
Morehead State University
Kentucky
- 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.
Murray State University
Kentucky
- 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.
Northern Kentucky University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- 77.1% of 48national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 64.6% of 82national 73.9%
77.1% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Spalding University
Kentucky
- Clinical first-time
- 76.9% of 13national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 39.1% of 23national 73.9%
76.9% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Thomas More College
Kentucky
- 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.
Union College
Kentucky
- 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.
Sources
We read the board's own pages. Nothing here is a guess.
- Kentucky Board of Social Work · CSW applicant resourcesbsw.ky.gov · Last checked
- 201 KAR 23:020 Feesapps.legislature.ky.gov · Last checked
- 201 KAR 23:025 Application requirementsapps.legislature.ky.gov · Last checked
- CSW fees · Application fee (all license types)bsw.ky.gov · Last checked
- CSW fees · ASWB Masters examinationwww.aswb.org · Last checked
- Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictionsswcompact.org · Last checked
- 201 KAR 23:070 Qualifying education/supervision for clinical licensureapps.legislature.ky.gov · Last checked
- KRS 335.100 - License, licensed clinical social workerapps.legislature.ky.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.
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.