Getting licensed as a social worker in New York
Checked against the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions on .
Get your New York 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 Master Social Worker (accrues LCSW hours under supervision)
LMSWExam required before the license
The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.
Known fees
| Licensure and first registration | $294 |
|---|---|
| Limited permit | $70 |
| ASWB Masters examination | $230 |
| Known total | $594 |
What else it takes
- Supervised hours
- 2,000 face-to-face hours, 100 supervision, for the LCSW
- ASWB exam level
- Masters
- Licensure compact
- Not a memberMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
- Last checked
Next step
Meet NYSED education requirements. Submit Form 1 and fee.
The ladder
New York has 2 rungs. 2 need an ASWB exam.
masters
LMSW
ASWB Masters
Licensed Master Social Worker (accrues LCSW hours under supervision). Practice is supervised at this rung.
clinical
LCSW
ASWB Clinical
Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Requirements change
A701/S988 would repeal the ASWB examination requirement for the LMSW, effective immediately if enacted. It is an active bill, not law, so plan on the exam until it passes. Read the source. 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 York moves, this page moves with it.
Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.
New York asks for 100 hours of supervision. Experience hours: not checked yet.
Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 6, 2026.
Join the Hours waitlistPrograms in New York
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.
Adelphi University
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 66.9% of 151national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 58.9% of 180national 73.9%
66.9% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
College of New Rochelle
New York
- 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.
College of Saint Rose
New York
- Clinical first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 73.9%
Too few first-time Clinical exams in 2025 to rate so far.
College of Staten Island
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 52.9% of 17national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 63.9% of 36national 73.9%
52.9% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Columbia University
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 88.1% of 352national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 86.9% of 480national 73.9%
88.1% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Concordia College
New York
- 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.
Cornell University
New York
- 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.
D'Youville College
New York
- 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.
Daemen College
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 64.3% of 14national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 79.3% of 58national 73.9%
64.3% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Dominican College of Blauvelt
New York
- 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.
Fordham University
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 69.2% of 585national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 71.9% of 423national 73.9%
69.2% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Greater Rochester Collaborative
New York
- Clinical first-time
- 78.6% of 14national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- Too few to rate so farnational 73.9%
78.6% 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.
- New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions · LMSW applicant resourceswww.op.nysed.gov · Last checked
- LMSW fees · ASWB Masters examinationwww.aswb.org · Last checked
- Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictionsswcompact.org · Last checked
- New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions · LCSW applicant resourceswww.op.nysed.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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