Getting licensed as a social worker in New Mexico

Checked against the New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners on .

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Your board, the portal you apply in, the fees, the supervised hours, and the order to do them in.

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Your first license

Licensed Master Social Worker (16.63.10.8 NMAC requires an ASWB exam without naming the level)

LMSW

Exam required before the license

An ASWB exam is required before the license; the primary sources do not confirm the level.

Known fees

Fees the New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners publishes for the LMSW
LMSW application fee$100
ASWB examination (level not named by the board rule)No single total
Known total$100

What else it takes

Supervised hours
3,600 hours, 90 supervision, for the LISW/LCSW
ASWB exam level
Not confirmed by the primary sources
Licensure compact
Not a memberMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
Last checked
1

Next step

Be at least 18 years of age and possess a master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program (16.63.10.8 NMAC, A and B). Pass the ASWB examination and the New Mexico jurisprudence examination (16.63.10.8.C NMAC).

The ladder

New Mexico has 3 rungs. 3 need an ASWB exam.

  1. bachelors

    LBSW

    ASWB exam, level not confirmed

    Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (16.63.9.8 NMAC requires an ASWB exam without naming the level) (whether practice is supervised was not read on a primary page).

  2. masters

    LMSW

    ASWB exam, level not confirmed

    Licensed Master Social Worker (16.63.10.8 NMAC requires an ASWB exam without naming the level).

  3. clinical

    LISW/LCSW

    ASWB Clinical or Advanced Generalist

    Licensed Independent Social Worker / Licensed Clinical Social Worker (ASWB clinical or advanced exam, as determined by the board).

Requirements change

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

Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.

New Mexico asks for 3,600 hours of supervised experience and 90 hours of supervision.

Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 27, 2026.

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Programs in New Mexico

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.

See all 4 programs in New Mexico

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.

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