Getting licensed as a social worker in Ohio
Checked against the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist (CSWMFT) Board on .
Get your Ohio 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 Social Worker (MSW route: the same license, sat with the ASWB Masters exam)
LSWExam required before the license
The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.
Known fees
| LSW application fee | $80 |
|---|---|
| eLicense processing fee (LSW application) | $3.5 |
| ASWB Bachelors or Masters examination (LSW may sit for either, per degree level) | $230 |
| Known total | $313.5 |
What else it takes
- Supervised hours
- 3,000 hours, 150 supervision, for the LISW
- 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
Meet Ohio LSW education requirements (CSWE-accredited bachelor's or master's social work degree, or qualifying coursework). Complete the LSW application and pay the $80 fee plus $3.50 processing fee on eLicense.
The ladder
Ohio has 3 rungs. 3 need an ASWB exam.
bachelors
LSW
ASWB Bachelors
Licensed Social Worker (BSW route: the same license, sat with the ASWB Bachelors exam).
masters
LSW
ASWB Masters
Licensed Social Worker (MSW route: the same license, sat with the ASWB Masters exam).
clinical
LISW
ASWB Clinical
Licensed Independent Social Worker.
Requirements change
Nothing on our law calendar changes Ohio'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 Ohio moves, this page moves with it.
Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.
Ohio asks for 3,000 hours of supervised experience and 150 hours of supervision.
Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 6, 2026.
Join the Hours waitlistPrograms in Ohio
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.
Ashland University
Ohio
- 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.
Aultman College
Ohio
- 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.
Bluffton University
Ohio
- 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.
Bowling Green State University
Ohio
- Clinical first-time
- 75% of 12national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 72.2% of 18national 73.9%
75% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Capital University
Ohio
- 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.
Case Western Reserve University
Ohio
- Clinical first-time
- 81.4% of 113national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 82.6% of 109national 73.9%
81.4% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Cedarville University
Ohio
- 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.
Central State University
Ohio
- 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.
Cleveland State University
Ohio
- Clinical first-time
- 73% of 74national 75.7%
- Masters first-time
- 74.2% of 89national 73.9%
73% of Clinical first-timers from here passed in 2025. National rate 75.7%.
Defiance College
Ohio
- 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.
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Ohio
- 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.
Lourdes University
Ohio
- 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.
- Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist (CSWMFT) Board · LSW applicant resourcescswmft.ohio.gov · Last checked
- OAC 4757-19-07 - Applications for a reciprocal social work licenselaw.cornell.edu · Last checked
- ORC 4757.52 - Social work licensure compactcodes.ohio.gov · Last checked
- LSW fees · ASWB Bachelors or Masters examination (LSW may sit for either, per degree level)www.aswb.org · Last checked
- Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictionsswcompact.org · Last checked
- OAC 4757-19-02 - Requirements for licensure as an independent social workercodes.ohio.gov · Last checked
- OAC 4757-23-01 - Social work supervision rulescodes.ohio.gov · Last checked
- ORC 4757.18 - Reciprocity; endorsement of out-of-state license or certificatelaw.justia.com · 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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