Getting licensed as a social worker in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers, read .
Your first license
Licensed Certified Social Worker (Massachusetts's master's-level, non-independent license)
LCSWExam required before the license
The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.
Known fees
| New applicant application fee (all license types) | $173 |
|---|---|
| LCSW license issuance fee | $68 |
| ASWB Intermediate/Masters-level examination | $230 |
| Known total | $471 |
What else it takes
- Supervised hours
- 3,500 hours, 100 supervision
- ASWB exam level
- Masters
- Licensure compact
- Not a member
- Last checked
Next step
Earn a master's or doctoral degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited graduate school (or CSWE-equivalent foreign degree). Submit application and fee to the Board (processed by ASWB on the Board's behalf via healthprofessionlicensing.mass.gov).
The ladder
Massachusetts has 3 rungs. 3 of them need an ASWB exam.
bachelors
LSW
ASWB Bachelors
Licensed Social Worker (six alternate education and experience pathways under 258 CMR 9.05). Practice is supervised at this rung.
masters
LCSW
ASWB Masters
Licensed Certified Social Worker (Massachusetts's master's-level, non-independent license). Practice is supervised at this rung.
clinical
LICSW
ASWB Clinical
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.
Requirements change
Nothing on our law calendar changes Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts moves, this page moves with it.
Sources
We read the board's own pages. Nothing here is a guess.
- Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers · LCSW applicant resourceswww.mass.gov · Last checked
- 258 CMR 9.04 - Requirements for Licensure as a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW)www.law.cornell.edu · Last checked
- 258 CMR 9.07 - Licensure by Reciprocitywww.law.cornell.edu · Last checked
- M.G.L. c.112 §130 - Social worker licensure definitionsmalegislature.gov · Last checked
- ASWB - Massachusetts application processing and feeswww.aswb.org · Last checked
- Fees and License Renewal Schedules for Social Workers (Mass. Division of Occupational Licensure)licensing.reg.state.ma.us · Last checked
- LCSW fees · New applicant application fee (all license types)www.mass.gov · Last checked
- LCSW fees · ASWB Intermediate/Masters-level examinationwww.aswb.org · Last checked
- Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictionsswcompact.org · Last checked
- 258 CMR 9.03 - Licensure Requirements for a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)www.law.cornell.edu · Last checked
- 258 CMR 9.02 - Exceptions to General Licensure Requirementwww.law.cornell.edu · 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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