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Maryland Social Work — Requirements & Free Practice

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Licenses, application pathways and examination requirements

Each license and applicant pathway has its own requirements and exemptions. Choosing practice questions does not determine your eligibility.

Conditional Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (LBSW)

Statutory conditional license when the required examination is unavailable for at least 15 business days; Board discretion, supervised practice, and a time-limited authorization apply.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional issuance during examination unavailability
ASWB Bachelors Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Deferred Examination
All appropriate education and experience requirements must be met except passage of the pertinent ASWB examination. The examination remains a leaf because this route involves it; no passing score is required before conditional issuance.
Discretion
The Board may issue a conditional license; issuance is discretionary and does not establish that a qualifying outage is occurring on the evaluation date.
Education
A baccalaureate social work degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Supervision
Practice only under a Board-approved supervisor.
Term
The conditional license remains valid until 180 days after the examination becomes readily available to the applicant.
Trigger
An administrative delay or unforeseen circumstance prevents the required examination from being available to this applicant for at least 15 business days.

Conditional Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

Statutory conditional license when the required examination is unavailable for at least 15 business days; Board discretion, supervised practice, and a time-limited authorization apply.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional issuance during examination unavailability
ASWB Masters Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Deferred Examination
All appropriate education and experience requirements must be met except passage of the pertinent ASWB examination. The examination remains a leaf because this route involves it; no passing score is required before conditional issuance.
Discretion
The Board may issue a conditional license; issuance is discretionary and does not establish that a qualifying outage is occurring on the evaluation date.
Education
A master’s degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy social work program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Supervision
Practice only under a Board-approved supervisor.
Term
The conditional license remains valid until 180 days after the examination becomes readily available to the applicant.
Trigger
An administrative delay or unforeseen circumstance prevents the required examination from being available to this applicant for at least 15 business days.

Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (LBSW)

Maryland social work license in the statutory category.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional renewal for continuing education extension
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Active License
Hold an active license in this category.
Completion
Complete the required CE during the extension; otherwise the license expires and becomes nonrenewed. The Board audits completion.
Discretion
The Board may grant up to six months to complete the CE requirements and considers the request within 21 days.
Grounds
The licensee attempted to meet the CE requirements but failed because of diagnosed functional impairment/prolonged illness, military service/deployment, prolonged absence from the United States, an officially declared emergency/disaster or financial hardship.
Request
Apply in writing with supporting documentation before October 1 of the renewal year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensure by endorsement
ASWB Bachelors Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Education
A baccalaureate social work degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Holds or held a social work license or registration at the same level in another state.
Passing Score
Request the corresponding ASWB Bachelor/Master passing score report; a previously passed, currently offered examination remains a requirement leaf under this survey contract.
Pending Practice
COMAR 10.42.01.13 permits qualified applicants with a verified complete pending application to practice for at most six months without representing themselves as Maryland licensees; this is an exception during processing, not a separate license.
Licensure by examination
ASWB Bachelors Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Education
A baccalaureate social work degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Score
Pass the pertinent ASWB examination. Exam approval is valid for two years; additional required documentation must be submitted within one year under COMAR 10.42.01.07.
Placement of existing license on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed inactive-status application and fee.
License Held
Hold an existing Maryland license in this category.
Term
Inactive status is limited to five years; practice authorization is inactive, and reactivation or reissuance is required before resuming practice.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: license on or before January 1, 2008
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit application, prescribed documentation and any applicable statutory fees. The Board’s newsletter says there is no charge.
Experience
At least ten years of active social work practice; the rule specifies supervised practice.
License Held
LBSW or LMSW licensed by Maryland on or before January 1, 2008.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: supervised experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit Board application, documentation and any applicable statutory fees; the Board may reject deficient experience and require another 1,500 hours.
Date Category
The rule separately identifies licenses on or after January 1, 2008; Board-approved supervision additionally applies to post-2021 licensees, represented in the separate path.
Experience
At least three years as a licensee and 4,500 hours of supervised experience after the degree, including 150 periodic face-to-face supervision hours.
License Held
An existing LBSW or LMSW license; the ordinary supervised-experience path is also available to historical licensees under §19-302(f)(3).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: license on or after January 1, 2021
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the prescribed application and documentation, including practice compliant with the statute and regulations in effect when it occurred.
Experience
Three years, 4,500 supervised hours and at least 150 face-to-face supervision hours; supervision must be by a Board-approved social work supervisor.
License Held
Existing LBSW or LMSW first licensed on or after January 1, 2021.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reactivation from inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reactivation application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 30 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reactivation requirements.
Status
Previously placed on inactive status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(a)(3)(vi) requires inactive status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement after failure to renew
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reinstatement application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 30 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reinstatement requirements.
Status
Previously placed on nonrenewed status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(b)(3)(vi) requires nonrenewed status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reissuance of prior license using active equivalent out of state licensure
ASWB Bachelors Exam
Application
Submit reissuance application, required records and applicable fees.
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Hold an active equivalent out-of-state social work license.
Previous Examination
Have passed an examination in that state as a condition of licensure; the Board requests an ASWB score report. Passage of the currently offered corresponding ASWB exam remains a leaf. Any other jurisdiction-specific examination is applicant evidence, not a Maryland requirement leaf.
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland category; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or timely restoration was not obtained.
Reissuance of prior license by examination
ASWB Bachelors Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Apply for reissuance, pay applicable fees and provide Board-required documents; the rules request an official transcript and three professional references.
Examination
Pass the examination respective to the original licensed category under §19-309(d)(6)(i).
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland license; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or the applicant otherwise failed to timely apply for reactivation/reinstatement.
Retained Category
For LCSW this is restoration of a pre-2024 Maryland license, not new initial LCSW issuance. §19-309(d)(6)(i) retains the exam path, while the current equivalent-other-license alternative names only LBSW, LMSW and LCSW-C.
Biennial license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
Complete 30 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Criminal History
Attest to the required criminal history records check; prior checks/Rap Back are governed by statute and the Board’s current instructions.
Deadline
Submit renewal application, CE attestation and fee before October 31 of the renewal year; licenses renew for no more than two years.
Existing License
An existing license in this category; renewal continues the existing license rather than new issuance.
Historical Retention
COMAR 10.42.01.12 permits a license originally granted without examination under Chapters 853 (1975), 787 (1978), 189 (1983) or 393 (1984) to be retained at its original level when renewed under .15; this does not grant a new initial license or a new examination waiver.
One Time Training
The Board’s pinned September 2026 homepage requires one-time structural-racism and implicit-bias course attestations.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Board approved supervisor status on existing license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the supervisory registration form, pay required fees, and obtain Board approval.
Experience
LBSW/LMSW applicants must have independent status and the qualifying additional experience specified in COMAR 10.42.08.04C; LCSW/LCSW-C applicants need 18 months of active post-certified-license experience.
License Held
Hold an active Maryland license in this category, unencumbered and without disciplinary restrictions or conditions for the preceding five years.
Training
One accredited MSW-program graduate supervision course, 12 hours of agency-sponsored supervision training, or 12 credit hours of supervision CE from a Board-authorized sponsor.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW)

Retained certified social worker category for individuals licensed on or before December 31, 2023. New initial and endorsement LCSW licenses are no longer issued; maintenance and restoration of existing licenses are surveyed separately.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional renewal for continuing education extension
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Active License
Hold an active license in this category.
Completion
Complete the required CE during the extension; otherwise the license expires and becomes nonrenewed. The Board audits completion.
Discretion
The Board may grant up to six months to complete the CE requirements and considers the request within 21 days.
Grounds
The licensee attempted to meet the CE requirements but failed because of diagnosed functional impairment/prolonged illness, military service/deployment, prolonged absence from the United States, an officially declared emergency/disaster or financial hardship.
Request
Apply in writing with supporting documentation before October 1 of the renewal year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Placement of existing license on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed inactive-status application and fee.
License Held
Hold an existing Maryland license in this category.
Term
Inactive status is limited to five years; practice authorization is inactive, and reactivation or reissuance is required before resuming practice.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reactivation from inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reactivation application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reactivation requirements.
Status
Previously placed on inactive status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(a)(3)(vi) requires inactive status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement after failure to renew
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reinstatement application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reinstatement requirements.
Status
Previously placed on nonrenewed status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(b)(3)(vi) requires nonrenewed status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reissuance of prior license by examination
ASWB Advanced Generalist Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Apply for reissuance, pay applicable fees and provide Board-required documents; the rules request an official transcript and three professional references.
Examination
Pass the examination respective to the original licensed category under §19-309(d)(6)(i).
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland license; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or the applicant otherwise failed to timely apply for reactivation/reinstatement.
Retained Category
For LCSW this is restoration of a pre-2024 Maryland license, not new initial LCSW issuance. §19-309(d)(6)(i) retains the exam path, while the current equivalent-other-license alternative names only LBSW, LMSW and LCSW-C.
Biennial license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Criminal History
Attest to the required criminal history records check; prior checks/Rap Back are governed by statute and the Board’s current instructions.
Deadline
Submit renewal application, CE attestation and fee before October 31 of the renewal year; licenses renew for no more than two years.
Existing License
An existing license in this category; renewal continues the existing license rather than new issuance.
Historical Retention
COMAR 10.42.01.12 permits a license originally granted without examination under Chapters 853 (1975), 787 (1978), 189 (1983) or 393 (1984) to be retained at its original level when renewed under .15; this does not grant a new initial license or a new examination waiver.
One Time Training
The Board’s pinned September 2026 homepage requires one-time structural-racism and implicit-bias course attestations.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Board approved supervisor status on existing license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the supervisory registration form, pay required fees, and obtain Board approval.
Experience
LBSW/LMSW applicants must have independent status and the qualifying additional experience specified in COMAR 10.42.08.04C; LCSW/LCSW-C applicants need 18 months of active post-certified-license experience.
License Held
Hold an active Maryland license in this category, unencumbered and without disciplinary restrictions or conditions for the preceding five years.
Training
One accredited MSW-program graduate supervision course, 12 hours of agency-sponsored supervision training, or 12 credit hours of supervision CE from a Board-authorized sponsor.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C)

Maryland social work license in the statutory category.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional renewal for continuing education extension
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Active License
Hold an active license in this category.
Completion
Complete the required CE during the extension; otherwise the license expires and becomes nonrenewed. The Board audits completion.
Discretion
The Board may grant up to six months to complete the CE requirements and considers the request within 21 days.
Grounds
The licensee attempted to meet the CE requirements but failed because of diagnosed functional impairment/prolonged illness, military service/deployment, prolonged absence from the United States, an officially declared emergency/disaster or financial hardship.
Request
Apply in writing with supporting documentation before October 1 of the renewal year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Clinical licensure by endorsement: five years of qualifying practice
ASWB Clinical Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Submit employment certification forms for enough post-clinical-license practice to meet the statutory hours, a resume, official transcript and criminal history records check.
Education
The Board’s July 2026 guide requests an official MSW transcript and at least 12 clinical credits; these implementing-document requirements remain applicant conditions on the statutory experienced-endorsement route.
Experience
Document at least 1,000 hours of compensated social work practice per year for five of the ten years preceding application.
Five Year Boundary
The statute uses five of the past ten years. COMAR 10.42.01.11D(1) says more than five years; the July 2026 guide also expressly says five years or more is the correct application. Apply the statutory compensated-practice threshold; these differing labels are applicant conditions.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Hold a comparable clinical license in another state; §19-302.1(2) requires the equivalent clinical category.
Score Transfer
Request ASWB to send the Clinical score report; prior passage of this currently offered examination remains a leaf.
Clinical licensure by endorsement: less than five years
ASWB Clinical Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Clinical Work
Direct client services must include assessment, diagnostic impressions, behavioral-health treatment and psychotherapy; solely telephonic assessment, triage, continued-stay reviews or discharge planning do not qualify.
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Official transcript, supervision verification, applicable supervision contracts, and resume are required by the Board’s clinical guide sheet.
Education
An MSW from a CSWE-accredited or approved equivalent program and 12 academic credits of clinical coursework, at least 6 earned in an MSW program.
Experience
At least 2 years (104 weeks) and 3,000 hours of compensated supervised clinical social work experience, acquired over 2–6 consecutive years; 1,500 hours must be face-to-face client contact.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
License Held
Hold an active LMSW before beginning Maryland qualifying experience and before applying; out-of-state experience must comply with that jurisdiction’s licensing requirement.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Holds or held an active comparable clinical license; the Board’s July 2026 guide selects this application when the first clinical license has been held for less than five years.
Score Transfer
Request ASWB to send the Clinical score report; prior passage of this currently offered examination remains a leaf.
Supervision
At least 100 hours of periodic face-to-face supervision, with a written contract signed before supervision begins; Maryland supervision must be by a Board-approved LCSW-C.
Licensure by examination
ASWB Clinical Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Clinical Work
Direct client services must include assessment, diagnostic impressions, behavioral-health treatment and psychotherapy; solely telephonic assessment, triage, continued-stay reviews or discharge planning do not qualify.
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Official transcript, supervision verification, applicable supervision contracts, and resume are required by the Board’s clinical guide sheet.
Education
An MSW from a CSWE-accredited or approved equivalent program and 12 academic credits of clinical coursework, at least 6 earned in an MSW program.
Experience
At least 2 years (104 weeks) and 3,000 hours of compensated supervised clinical social work experience, acquired over 2–6 consecutive years; 1,500 hours must be face-to-face client contact.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
License Held
Hold an active LMSW before beginning Maryland qualifying experience and before applying; out-of-state experience must comply with that jurisdiction’s licensing requirement.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Score
Pass the pertinent ASWB examination. Exam approval is valid for two years; additional required documentation must be submitted within one year under COMAR 10.42.01.07.
Supervision
At least 100 hours of periodic face-to-face supervision, with a written contract signed before supervision begins; Maryland supervision must be by a Board-approved LCSW-C.
Placement of existing license on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed inactive-status application and fee.
License Held
Hold an existing Maryland license in this category.
Term
Inactive status is limited to five years; practice authorization is inactive, and reactivation or reissuance is required before resuming practice.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reactivation from inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reactivation application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reactivation requirements.
Status
Previously placed on inactive status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(a)(3)(vi) requires inactive status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement after failure to renew
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reinstatement application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reinstatement requirements.
Status
Previously placed on nonrenewed status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(b)(3)(vi) requires nonrenewed status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reissuance of prior license using active equivalent out of state licensure
ASWB Clinical Exam
Application
Submit reissuance application, required records and applicable fees.
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Hold an active equivalent out-of-state social work license.
Previous Examination
Have passed an examination in that state as a condition of licensure; the Board requests an ASWB score report. Passage of the currently offered corresponding ASWB exam remains a leaf. Any other jurisdiction-specific examination is applicant evidence, not a Maryland requirement leaf.
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland category; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or timely restoration was not obtained.
Reissuance of prior license by examination
ASWB Clinical Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Apply for reissuance, pay applicable fees and provide Board-required documents; the rules request an official transcript and three professional references.
Examination
Pass the examination respective to the original licensed category under §19-309(d)(6)(i).
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland license; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or the applicant otherwise failed to timely apply for reactivation/reinstatement.
Retained Category
For LCSW this is restoration of a pre-2024 Maryland license, not new initial LCSW issuance. §19-309(d)(6)(i) retains the exam path, while the current equivalent-other-license alternative names only LBSW, LMSW and LCSW-C.
Biennial license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Criminal History
Attest to the required criminal history records check; prior checks/Rap Back are governed by statute and the Board’s current instructions.
Deadline
Submit renewal application, CE attestation and fee before October 31 of the renewal year; licenses renew for no more than two years.
Existing License
An existing license in this category; renewal continues the existing license rather than new issuance.
Historical Retention
COMAR 10.42.01.12 permits a license originally granted without examination under Chapters 853 (1975), 787 (1978), 189 (1983) or 393 (1984) to be retained at its original level when renewed under .15; this does not grant a new initial license or a new examination waiver.
One Time Training
The Board’s pinned September 2026 homepage requires one-time structural-racism and implicit-bias course attestations.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Board approved supervisor status on existing license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the supervisory registration form, pay required fees, and obtain Board approval.
Experience
LBSW/LMSW applicants must have independent status and the qualifying additional experience specified in COMAR 10.42.08.04C; LCSW/LCSW-C applicants need 18 months of active post-certified-license experience.
License Held
Hold an active Maryland license in this category, unencumbered and without disciplinary restrictions or conditions for the preceding five years.
Training
One accredited MSW-program graduate supervision course, 12 hours of agency-sponsored supervision training, or 12 credit hours of supervision CE from a Board-authorized sponsor.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW)

Maryland social work license in the statutory category.

Licensing authority: Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners · Application information

Conditional renewal for continuing education extension
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Active License
Hold an active license in this category.
Completion
Complete the required CE during the extension; otherwise the license expires and becomes nonrenewed. The Board audits completion.
Discretion
The Board may grant up to six months to complete the CE requirements and considers the request within 21 days.
Grounds
The licensee attempted to meet the CE requirements but failed because of diagnosed functional impairment/prolonged illness, military service/deployment, prolonged absence from the United States, an officially declared emergency/disaster or financial hardship.
Request
Apply in writing with supporting documentation before October 1 of the renewal year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensure by endorsement
ASWB Masters Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Education
A master’s degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy social work program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Holds or held a social work license or registration at the same level in another state.
Passing Score
Request the corresponding ASWB Bachelor/Master passing score report; a previously passed, currently offered examination remains a requirement leaf under this survey contract.
Pending Practice
COMAR 10.42.01.13 permits qualified applicants with a verified complete pending application to practice for at most six months without representing themselves as Maryland licensees; this is an exception during processing, not a separate license.
Licensure by examination
ASWB Masters Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Education
A master’s degree from a CSWE-accredited or candidacy social work program or a CSWE-approved equivalent; final-semester applicants may obtain exam approval before graduation, but the Board requires the final official transcript before licensing.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Score
Pass the pertinent ASWB examination. Exam approval is valid for two years; additional required documentation must be submitted within one year under COMAR 10.42.01.07.
Placement of existing license on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed inactive-status application and fee.
License Held
Hold an existing Maryland license in this category.
Term
Inactive status is limited to five years; practice authorization is inactive, and reactivation or reissuance is required before resuming practice.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: license on or before January 1, 2008
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit application, prescribed documentation and any applicable statutory fees. The Board’s newsletter says there is no charge.
Experience
At least ten years of active social work practice; the rule specifies supervised practice.
License Held
LBSW or LMSW licensed by Maryland on or before January 1, 2008.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: supervised experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit Board application, documentation and any applicable statutory fees; the Board may reject deficient experience and require another 1,500 hours.
Date Category
The rule separately identifies licenses on or after January 1, 2008; Board-approved supervision additionally applies to post-2021 licensees, represented in the separate path.
Experience
At least three years as a licensee and 4,500 hours of supervised experience after the degree, including 150 periodic face-to-face supervision hours.
License Held
An existing LBSW or LMSW license; the ordinary supervised-experience path is also available to historical licensees under §19-302(f)(3).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Independent practice approval: license on or after January 1, 2021
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the prescribed application and documentation, including practice compliant with the statute and regulations in effect when it occurred.
Experience
Three years, 4,500 supervised hours and at least 150 face-to-face supervision hours; supervision must be by a Board-approved social work supervisor.
License Held
Existing LBSW or LMSW first licensed on or after January 1, 2021.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reactivation from inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reactivation application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reactivation requirements.
Status
Previously placed on inactive status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(a)(3)(vi) requires inactive status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reinstatement after failure to renew
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit reinstatement application, fee, CE report and certificates, criminal history records check and signed FBI privacy statement.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Eligibility
Otherwise entitled to be licensed; comply with the current reinstatement requirements.
Status
Previously placed on nonrenewed status.
Time Limit
Statute §19-309(b)(3)(vi) requires nonrenewed status for less than five years; the implementing rule uses within five years with an October 31 fifth-year deadline. The statutory threshold governs.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Reissuance of prior license using active equivalent out of state licensure
ASWB Masters Exam
Application
Submit reissuance application, required records and applicable fees.
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Other License
Hold an active equivalent out-of-state social work license.
Previous Examination
Have passed an examination in that state as a condition of licensure; the Board requests an ASWB score report. Passage of the currently offered corresponding ASWB exam remains a leaf. Any other jurisdiction-specific examination is applicant evidence, not a Maryland requirement leaf.
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland category; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or timely restoration was not obtained.
Reissuance of prior license by examination
ASWB Masters Exam
Application
Submit the Board-prescribed complete application and pay applicable fees under §19-302(a)(1), (5).
Character
Good moral character under §19-302(a)(3).
Criminal History
Complete the State and national criminal history records check at the applicant’s expense; the Rap Back exception applies as stated in COMAR 10.42.01.04C.
Documentation
Apply for reissuance, pay applicable fees and provide Board-required documents; the rules request an official transcript and three professional references.
Examination
Pass the examination respective to the original licensed category under §19-309(d)(6)(i).
Health Evaluation
Under §19-302.3, the Board may require a health-practitioner examination when it has reason to believe the applicant may cause harm; this is an applicant fitness condition, not a social work licensing examination.
Minimum Age
At least 18 years old under Health Occupations §19-302(a)(2).
Prior License
Previously held this Maryland license; inactive or nonrenewed status exceeded five years, or the applicant otherwise failed to timely apply for reactivation/reinstatement.
Retained Category
For LCSW this is restoration of a pre-2024 Maryland license, not new initial LCSW issuance. §19-309(d)(6)(i) retains the exam path, while the current equivalent-other-license alternative names only LBSW, LMSW and LCSW-C.
Biennial license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Continuing Education
Complete 40 approved continuing education units in the applicable two-year period, including required ethics and anti-oppressive practice credits; approved supervisors also need supervision credits. Submit required documentation and comply with Board audit requirements.
Criminal History
Attest to the required criminal history records check; prior checks/Rap Back are governed by statute and the Board’s current instructions.
Deadline
Submit renewal application, CE attestation and fee before October 31 of the renewal year; licenses renew for no more than two years.
Existing License
An existing license in this category; renewal continues the existing license rather than new issuance.
Historical Retention
COMAR 10.42.01.12 permits a license originally granted without examination under Chapters 853 (1975), 787 (1978), 189 (1983) or 393 (1984) to be retained at its original level when renewed under .15; this does not grant a new initial license or a new examination waiver.
One Time Training
The Board’s pinned September 2026 homepage requires one-time structural-racism and implicit-bias course attestations.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Board approved supervisor status on existing license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the supervisory registration form, pay required fees, and obtain Board approval.
Experience
LBSW/LMSW applicants must have independent status and the qualifying additional experience specified in COMAR 10.42.08.04C; LCSW/LCSW-C applicants need 18 months of active post-certified-license experience.
License Held
Hold an active Maryland license in this category, unencumbered and without disciplinary restrictions or conditions for the preceding five years.
Training
One accredited MSW-program graduate supervision course, 12 hours of agency-sponsored supervision training, or 12 credit hours of supervision CE from a Board-authorized sponsor.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

ASWB Bachelors Exam

Provider
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); administered on computer at Pearson test centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination (three- and four-option questions) in two 61-question sections, each with a two-hour time limit; scored and pretest questions are mixed together; results reported as pass/fail
Exam questions
122 multiple-choice questions: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions
Time limit
4 hours (two sections, each with a two-hour time limit)
Passing score
Pass/fail; the number of correct answers required varies by exam form and generally ranges from 66 to 78 of the 110 scored questions
Exam fee
US$230 exam registration fee
Examination outline
  • I. VALUES AND ETHICS (35%) (35%)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues related to the practice of social work, including responsibility to clients/client systems, colleagues, the profession, and society
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Principles and processes of obtaining informed consent
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues regarding confidentiality, including limitations of confidentiality (e.g., HIPAA, PHI, privacy)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Professional values and principles (e.g., competence, social justice, integrity, dignity and worth of the person)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Social worker self-care principles
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Importance of professional development activities to improve practice and maintain current professional knowledge (e.g., in-service training, licensing requirements, reviews of literature, workshops, on-going supervision, consultation)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Professional boundaries in the social worker-client/client system relationship (e.g., power differences, influence, privilege, conflicts of interest, self-disclosure, dual relationships)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Protecting and enhancing client/client system self-determination (e.g., medication, medical treatment, counseling, placement, right to refuse services)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding mandatory reporting (e.g., abuse, threat of harm, impaired professionals, duty to warn)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding documentation (e.g., maintaining client records)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Impact of governmental policies on service delivery (e.g., local, state, federal legislation and policy)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues related to death and dying
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues in supervision and management
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Responsible billing practices (e.g., managed care, insurance reimbursement, incident to billing)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues related to electronic practice
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding termination
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social, racial, environmental, and economic justice principles
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and intersectionality on behaviors, attitudes, and identity formation
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Accessibility including language, physical, and cultural access (e.g., translation and interpretation, neurodiversity, American Sign Language)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social justice, truth and reconciliation, and restorative practices related to clients/client systems from historically oppressed and marginalized communities
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Cultural impacts of exploitation across marginalized communities (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Privilege and bias and their impact on client/client systems (e.g., implicit bias, microaggressions)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Power differential and racial privilege (e.g., internalized racial and ethnic inferiority and superiority)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of globalization, immigration, and refugee or immigration status on clients/client systems and service delivery
  • II. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (33%) (33%)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of poverty on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., social determinants of health)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of trauma, stressors, violence, and crises on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., intergenerational, historical, and complex)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of addiction and substance use and abuse on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Family dynamics and functioning and the effects on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Dynamics of interpersonal relationships and relationship development (e.g., family, couples, groups, polyamory)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators of mental and emotional illness throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of out-of-home placement (e.g., hospitalization, foster care, residential care, criminal justice system) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors of out-of-home displacement (e.g., homelessness, immigration, and refugee status) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Co-occurring disorders and conditions
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors influencing self- and body-image (e.g., culture, race, religion/spirituality, age, ability, trauma, gender, sexuality, size)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse, neglect, and exploitation
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of caregiving on families
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of exploitation across the lifespan (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Biopsychosocial assessment model and related components and factors
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Effects of physical and mental ability throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Typical and atypical physical, cognitive, emotional, and sexual development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of aging on the individual and family systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Racial, ethnic, cultural, and spiritual/faith development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Defense mechanisms and their effects on behavior and relationships
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — The influence and impact of technology, including social media, on client/client-systems (personal and professional)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of urbanization, globalization, environmental hazards, and climate change on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Client/client system competence, self-determination, and self-monitoring techniques (e.g., financial decisions, treatment decisions, emancipation, age of consent, permanency planning)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing risk of harm to self and others
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles and techniques of interviewing (e.g., supporting, clarifying, confronting, validating, feedback, reflecting, language differences, use of interpreters)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of involving clients/client systems in problem identification, problem solving, and intervention planning
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods, techniques, and instruments for assessing client/client system strengths, resources, needs, and challenges
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for obtaining sensitive and/or confidential information (e.g., substance use, sexual abuse)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for assessing resilience and coping abilities
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Indicators of and methods of assessing motivation, barriers, and readiness for change
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Components and function of the mental status examination
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing clients’/client systems’ communication skills
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of incorporating information from records and evaluations (e.g., employment, medical, psychological, school)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Assessing the availability of and determining appropriate community resources
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Factors and processes used in goal planning, treatment planning, triage, and service plans
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Criteria used in the selection of intervention/treatment modalities (e.g., client/client system abilities, developmental level, culture, life stage)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Cultural considerations in the creation of an intervention plan
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Indicators of client/client system readiness for termination
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Use and side effects of common prescription, over-the-counter, and alternative medications
  • III. INTERVENTION AND PRACTICE (32%) (32%)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Principles and techniques for building and maintaining a helping relationship (e.g., acceptance, empathy, rapport)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — The social worker’s role in the problem-solving process
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Strengths-based and empowerment strategies and interventions
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary team collaboration (e.g., co-therapy, care conference, IEP)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — End of life practice (e.g., continuity of care, hospice, palliative care, stages of death and dying)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Parenting capacities and skill building
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Permanency planning (e.g., child welfare)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Policies, procedures, regulations, and legislation and their impact on social work practice and service delivery
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Community organizing, development, and mobilizing community participation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles of active listening and observation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g., body language, congruence, feedback)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods and approaches for providing trauma-informed care for various types of trauma (e.g., complex, vicarious)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Limit and boundary setting techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Case management techniques (e.g., case recording, documentation, case presentation)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Approaches to and methods of advocacy for needed services and resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Evidence-based practices (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, motivational interviewing, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for engaging and motivating voluntary and involuntary clients/client systems
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Contracting and goal-setting techniques (e.g., partializing, measurable objectives)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Practice with clients experiencing loss, separation, and grief
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Emotional regulation techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Crisis intervention and treatment approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Stress management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Discharge, aftercare, wrap-around services, and follow-up
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of teaching coping and other self-care skills to clients
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Techniques and methods for addiction intervention
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Establishing service networks or community resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Problem-solving models and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Harm reduction techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Conflict resolution methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Anger management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Task-centered approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Psychoeducation methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Group work techniques and approaches (e.g., developing and managing group processes and cohesion)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Role modeling techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Social change and social planning methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Assertiveness training techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Role play techniques
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Techniques for evaluating progress and effectiveness of intervention, treatment, and service plans
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of evaluating agency programs (e.g., needs assessment, formative/summative assessment, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis, outcomes assessment)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods, techniques, and instruments used to evaluate social work practice
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Organizational development, structure, and functioning (e.g., policies, procedures)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervisee’s role in supervision (e.g., identifying learning needs, self-assessment, prioritizing)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervision and consultation models and techniques (e.g., individual, peer, group, case recording)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Transference and countertransference within supervisory relationships
Examination sources

ASWB Masters Exam

Provider
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); administered on computer at Pearson test centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination (three- and four-option questions) in two 61-question sections, each with a two-hour time limit; scored and pretest questions are mixed together; results reported as pass/fail
Exam questions
122 multiple-choice questions: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions
Time limit
4 hours (two sections, each with a two-hour time limit)
Passing score
Pass/fail; the number of correct answers required varies by exam form and generally ranges from 66 to 78 of the 110 scored questions
Exam fee
US$230 exam registration fee
Examination outline
  • I. VALUES AND ETHICS (35%) (35%)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Principles and processes of obtaining informed consent
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues regarding confidentiality, including limitations of confidentiality (e.g., HIPAA, PHI, privacy)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues related to the practice of social work, including responsibility to clients/client systems, colleagues, the profession, and society
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Professional values and principles (e.g., competence, social justice, integrity, dignity and worth of the person)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Social worker self-care principles
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Importance of professional development activities to improve practice and maintain current professional knowledge (e.g., in-service training, licensing requirements, reviews of literature, workshops, on-going supervision, consultation)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Professional boundaries in the social worker-client/client system relationship (e.g., power differences, influence, privilege, conflicts of interest, self-disclosure, dual relationships)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Protecting and enhancing client/client system self-determination (e.g., medication, medical treatment, counseling, placement, right to refuse services)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding mandatory reporting (e.g., abuse, threat of harm, impaired professionals, duty to warn)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding documentation (e.g., maintaining client records)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Impact of governmental policies on service delivery (e.g., local, state, federal legislation and policy)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues related to death and dying
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues in supervision and management
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Responsible billing practices (e.g., managed care, insurance reimbursement, incident to billing)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues related to electronic practice
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding termination
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social, racial, environmental, and economic justice principles
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and intersectionality on behaviors, attitudes, and identity formation
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Accessibility including language, physical, and cultural access (e.g., translation and interpretation, neurodiversity, American Sign Language)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Privilege and bias and their impact on client/client systems (e.g., implicit bias, microaggressions)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Power differential and racial privilege (e.g., internalized racial and ethnic inferiority and superiority)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Cultural impacts of exploitation across marginalized communities (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social justice, truth and reconciliation, and restorative practices related to clients/client systems from historically oppressed and marginalized communities
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of globalization, immigration, and refugee or immigration status on clients/client systems and service delivery
  • II. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (33%) (33%)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of trauma, stressors, violence, and crises on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., intergenerational, historical, and complex)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Family dynamics and functioning and the effects on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of poverty on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., social determinants of health)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Dynamics of interpersonal relationships and relationship development (e.g., family, couples, groups, polyamory)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators of mental and emotional illness throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of out-of-home placement (e.g., hospitalization, foster care, residential care, criminal justice system) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of caregiving on families
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of addiction and substance use and abuse on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Co-occurring disorders and conditions
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Biopsychosocial assessment model and related components and factors
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse, neglect, and exploitation
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of exploitation across the lifespan (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Defense mechanisms and their effects on behavior and relationships
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Effects of physical and mental ability throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors of out-of-home displacement (e.g., homelessness, immigration, and refugee status) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of aging on the individual and family systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors influencing self- and body-image (e.g., culture, race, religion/spirituality, age, ability, trauma, gender, sexuality, size)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Racial, ethnic, cultural, and spiritual/faith development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Typical and atypical physical, cognitive, emotional, and sexual development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — The influence and impact of technology, including social media, on client/client-systems (personal and professional)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of urbanization, globalization, environmental hazards, and climate change on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Client/client system competence, self-determination, and self-monitoring techniques (e.g., financial decisions, treatment decisions, emancipation, age of consent, permanency planning)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles and techniques of interviewing (e.g., supporting, clarifying, confronting, validating, feedback, reflecting, language differences, use of interpreters)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing risk of harm to self and others
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of involving clients/client systems in problem identification, problem solving, and intervention planning
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods, techniques, and instruments for assessing client/client system strengths, resources, needs, and challenges
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for obtaining sensitive and/or confidential information (e.g., substance use, sexual abuse)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for assessing resilience and coping abilities
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Indicators of and methods of assessing motivation, barriers, and readiness for change
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing clients’/client systems’ communication skills
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of incorporating information from records and evaluations (e.g., employment, medical, psychological, school)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Components and function of the mental status examination
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Assessing the availability of and determining appropriate community resources
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Cultural considerations in the creation of an intervention plan
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Factors and processes used in goal planning, treatment planning, triage, and service plans
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Criteria used in the selection of intervention/treatment modalities (e.g., client/client system abilities, developmental level, culture, life stage)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Use and side effects of common prescription, over-the-counter, and alternative medications
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Indicators of client/client system readiness for termination
  • III. INTERVENTION AND PRACTICE (32%) (32%)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Strengths-based and empowerment strategies and interventions
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Principles and techniques for building and maintaining a helping relationship (e.g., acceptance, empathy, rapport)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — The social worker’s role in the problem-solving process
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary team collaboration (e.g., co-therapy, care conference, IEP)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — End of life practice (e.g., continuity of care, hospice, palliative care, stages of death and dying)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Parenting capacities and skill building
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Policies, procedures, regulations, and legislation and their impact on social work practice and service delivery
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Permanency planning (e.g., child welfare)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Community organizing, development, and mobilizing community participation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Limit and boundary setting techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g., body language, congruence, feedback)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods and approaches for providing trauma-informed care for various types of trauma (e.g., complex, vicarious)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles of active listening and observation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Crisis intervention and treatment approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Emotional regulation techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Approaches to and methods of advocacy for needed services and resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of teaching coping and other self-care skills to clients
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Practice with clients experiencing loss, separation, and grief
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for engaging and motivating voluntary and involuntary clients/client systems
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Case management techniques (e.g., case recording, documentation, case presentation)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Evidence-based practices (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, motivational interviewing, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Stress management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Harm reduction techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Contracting and goal-setting techniques (e.g., partializing, measurable objectives)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Problem-solving models and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Discharge, aftercare, wrap-around services, and follow-up
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Conflict resolution methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Establishing service networks or community resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Techniques and methods for addiction intervention
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Psychoeducation methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Anger management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Group work techniques and approaches (e.g., developing and managing group processes and cohesion)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Family therapy models, interventions, and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Social change and social planning methods
    • IIIC. PRACTICE. EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Techniques for evaluating progress and effectiveness of intervention, treatment, and service plans
    • IIIC. PRACTICE. EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods, techniques, and instruments used to evaluate social work practice
    • IIIC. PRACTICE. EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of evaluating agency programs (e.g., needs assessment, formative/summative assessment, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis, outcomes assessment)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE. EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Basic and applied research design and methods, data collection and analysis methods, and methods to assess reliability and validity in social work research (e.g., objective, subjective, qualitative, quantitative)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervisee’s role in supervision (e.g., identifying learning needs, self-assessment, prioritizing)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Methods for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures for safe, inclusive, and a healthy work environment
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Methods for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures that minimize risk for individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervision and consultation models and techniques (e.g., individual, peer, group, case recording)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Transference and countertransference within supervisory relationships
Examination sources

ASWB Advanced Generalist Exam

Provider
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); administered on computer at Pearson test centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination (three- and four-option questions) in two 61-question sections, each with a two-hour time limit; scored and pretest questions are mixed together; results reported as pass/fail
Exam questions
122 multiple-choice questions: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions
Time limit
4 hours (two sections, each with a two-hour time limit)
Passing score
Pass/fail; the number of correct answers required varies by exam form and generally ranges from 66 to 78 of the 110 scored questions
Exam fee
US$260 exam registration fee
Examination outline
  • I. VALUES AND ETHICS (35%) (35%)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues related to the practice of social work, including responsibility to clients/client systems, colleagues, the profession, and society
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Professional values and principles (e.g., competence, social justice, integrity, dignity and worth of the person)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues regarding confidentiality, including limitations of confidentiality (e.g., HIPAA, PHI, privacy)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Principles and processes of obtaining informed consent
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Social worker self-care principles
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Importance of professional development activities to improve practice and maintain current professional knowledge (e.g., in-service training, licensing requirements, reviews of literature, workshops, on-going supervision, consultation)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Protecting and enhancing client/client system self-determination (e.g., medication, medical treatment, counseling, placement, right to refuse services)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Professional boundaries in the social worker-client/client system relationship (e.g., power differences, influence, privilege, conflicts of interest, self-disclosure, dual relationships)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding documentation (e.g., maintaining client records)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding mandatory reporting (e.g., abuse, threat of harm, impaired professionals, duty to warn)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Impact of governmental policies on service delivery (e.g., local, state, federal legislation and policy)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues related to death and dying
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Responsible billing practices (e.g., managed care, insurance reimbursement, incident to billing)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues in supervision and management
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues related to electronic practice
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Research ethics (e.g., institutional review boards, use of human subjects, informed consent)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding termination
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Accessibility including language, physical, and cultural access (e.g., translation and interpretation, neurodiversity, American Sign Language)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social, racial, environmental, and economic justice principles
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and intersectionality on behaviors, attitudes, and identity formation
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Privilege and bias and their impact on client/client systems (e.g., implicit bias, microaggressions)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Cultural impacts of exploitation across marginalized communities (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Power differential and racial privilege (e.g., internalized racial and ethnic inferiority and superiority)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social justice, truth and reconciliation, and restorative practices related to clients/client systems from historically oppressed and marginalized communities
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of globalization, immigration, and refugee or immigration status on clients/client systems and service delivery
  • II. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (33%) (33%)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of trauma, stressors, violence, and crises on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., intergenerational, historical, and complex)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Family dynamics and functioning and the effects on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Dynamics of interpersonal relationships and relationship development (e.g., family, couples, groups, polyamory)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of poverty on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., social determinants of health)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators of mental and emotional illness throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Biopsychosocial assessment model and related components and factors
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Co-occurring disorders and conditions
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse, neglect, and exploitation
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of caregiving on families
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Effects of physical and mental ability throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of out-of-home placement (e.g., hospitalization, foster care, residential care, criminal justice system) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of exploitation across the lifespan (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of aging on the individual and family systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Racial, ethnic, cultural, and spiritual/faith development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of addiction and substance use and abuse on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors influencing self- and body-image (e.g., culture, race, religion/spirituality, age, ability, trauma, gender, sexuality, size)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Typical and atypical physical, cognitive, emotional, and sexual development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors of out-of-home displacement (e.g., homelessness, immigration, and refugee status) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Defense mechanisms and their effects on behavior and relationships
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — The influence and impact of technology, including social media, on client/client-systems (personal and professional)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of urbanization, globalization, environmental hazards, and climate change on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Client/client system competence, self-determination, and self-monitoring techniques (e.g., financial decisions, treatment decisions, emancipation, age of consent, permanency planning)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods, techniques, and instruments for assessing client/client system strengths, resources, needs, and challenges
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of involving clients/client systems in problem identification, problem solving, and intervention planning
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing risk of harm to self and others
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles and techniques of interviewing (e.g., supporting, clarifying, confronting, validating, feedback, reflecting, language differences, use of interpreters)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for assessing resilience and coping abilities
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for obtaining sensitive and/or confidential information (e.g., substance use, sexual abuse)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Indicators of and methods of assessing motivation, barriers, and readiness for change
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing clients’/client systems’ communication skills
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Components and function of the mental status examination
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of incorporating information from records and evaluations (e.g., employment, medical, psychological, school)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Assessing the availability of and determining appropriate community resources
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Factors and processes used in goal planning, treatment planning, triage, and service plans
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Criteria used in the selection of intervention/treatment modalities (e.g., client/client system abilities, developmental level, culture, life stage)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Cultural considerations in the creation of an intervention plan
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Use and side effects of common prescription, over-the-counter, and alternative medications
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Indicators of client/client system readiness for termination
  • III. INTERVENTION AND PRACTICE (32%) (32%)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Strengths-based and empowerment strategies and interventions
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary team collaboration (e.g., co-therapy, care conference, IEP)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — The social worker’s role in the problem-solving process
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Principles and techniques for building and maintaining a helping relationship (e.g., acceptance, empathy, rapport)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — End of life practice (e.g., continuity of care, hospice, palliative care, stages of death and dying)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Developing formal documents (e.g., grants, proposals, reports, evaluations)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Policies, procedures, regulations, and legislation and their impact on social work practice and service delivery
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Permanency planning (e.g., child welfare)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Community organizing, development, and mobilizing community participation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g., body language, congruence, feedback)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Limit and boundary setting techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Emotional regulation techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Case management techniques (e.g., case recording, documentation, case presentation)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Methods of teaching coping and other self-care skills to clients
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Evidence-based practices (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, motivational interviewing, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Crisis intervention and treatment approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Stress management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Methods and approaches for providing trauma-informed care for various types of trauma (e.g., complex, vicarious)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Contracting and goal-setting techniques (e.g., partializing, measurable objectives)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Methods for engaging and motivating voluntary and involuntary clients/client systems
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Approaches to and methods of advocacy for needed services and resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Principles of active listening and observation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Problem-solving models and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Practice with clients experiencing loss, separation, and grief
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Harm reduction techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Conflict resolution methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Establishing service networks or community resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Discharge, aftercare, wrap-around services, and follow-up
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Anger management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Psychoeducation methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Group work techniques and approaches (e.g., developing and managing group processes and cohesion)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Family therapy models, interventions, and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES (printed in the guidebook as 'IIB.') — Techniques and methods for addiction intervention
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Techniques for evaluating progress and effectiveness of intervention, treatment, and service plans
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods, techniques, and instruments used to evaluate social work practice
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Quality assurance (e.g., program reviews and audits by external sources)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of establishing program objectives and outcomes
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Program evaluation and related impact on services
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of evaluating agency programs (e.g., needs assessment, formative/summative assessment, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis, outcomes assessment)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Basic and applied research design and methods, data collection and analysis methods, and methods to assess reliability and validity in social work research (e.g., objective, subjective, qualitative, quantitative)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Leadership and management techniques
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Methods for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures for safe, inclusive, and a healthy work environment
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Methods for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures that minimize risk for individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Transference and countertransference within supervisory relationships
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervisee’s role in supervision (e.g., identifying learning needs, self-assessment, prioritizing)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervision and consultation models and techniques (e.g., individual, peer, group, case recording)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Organizational development, structure, and functioning (e.g., policies, procedures)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Employee recruitment, training, retention, performance appraisal, evaluation, and discipline
Examination sources

ASWB Clinical Exam

Provider
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); administered on computer at Pearson test centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination (three- and four-option questions) in two 61-question sections, each with a two-hour time limit; scored and pretest questions are mixed together; results reported as pass/fail
Exam questions
122 multiple-choice questions: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions
Time limit
4 hours (two sections, each with a two-hour time limit)
Passing score
Pass/fail; the number of correct answers required varies by exam form and generally ranges from 66 to 78 of the 110 scored questions
Exam fee
US$260 exam registration fee
Examination outline
  • I. VALUES AND ETHICS (36%) (36%)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues regarding confidentiality, including limitations of confidentiality (e.g., HIPAA, PHI, privacy)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Legal and ethical issues related to the practice of social work, including responsibility to clients/client systems, colleagues, the profession, and society
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Principles and processes of obtaining informed consent
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Professional values and principles (e.g., competence, social justice, integrity, dignity and worth of the person)
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Social worker self-care principles
    • IA. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — Importance of professional development activities to improve practice and maintain current professional knowledge (e.g., in-service training, licensing requirements, reviews of literature, workshops, on-going supervision, consultation)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Protecting and enhancing client/client system self-determination (e.g., medication, medical treatment, counseling, placement, right to refuse services)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Professional boundaries in the social worker-client/client system relationship (e.g., power differences, influence, privilege, conflicts of interest, self-disclosure, dual relationships)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding mandatory reporting (e.g., abuse, threat of harm, impaired professionals, duty to warn)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding documentation (e.g., maintaining client records)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Responsible billing practices (e.g., managed care, insurance reimbursement, incident to billing)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues related to death and dying
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues in supervision and management
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Impact of governmental policies on service delivery (e.g., local, state, federal legislation and policy)
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Legal and ethical issues regarding termination
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Ethical issues related to electronic practice
    • IB. ETHICAL SERVICE DELIVERY — Research ethics (e.g., institutional review boards, use of human subjects, informed consent)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Anti-oppressive and anti-racist approaches
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social, racial, environmental, and economic justice principles
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and intersectionality on behaviors, attitudes, and identity formation
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Accessibility including language, physical, and cultural access (e.g., translation and interpretation, neurodiversity, American Sign Language)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Power differential and racial privilege (e.g., internalized racial and ethnic inferiority and superiority)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Privilege and bias and their impact on client/client systems (e.g., implicit bias, microaggressions)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Cultural impacts of exploitation across marginalized communities (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Social justice, truth and reconciliation, and restorative practices related to clients/client systems from historically oppressed and marginalized communities
    • IC. DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE — Impact of globalization, immigration, and refugee or immigration status on clients/client systems and service delivery
  • II. ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (32% — the heading in the Clinical content outline prints no percentage; page 6 of the guidebook states the Clinical examination will have 32 percent of the questions testing Assessment and Planning) (32%)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of trauma, stressors, violence, and crises on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., intergenerational, historical, and complex)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Family dynamics and functioning and the effects on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Dynamics of interpersonal relationships and relationship development (e.g., family, couples, groups, polyamory)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators of mental and emotional illness throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Co-occurring disorders and conditions
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Biopsychosocial assessment model and related components and factors
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators and impact of addiction and substance use and abuse on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of poverty on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (e.g., social determinants of health)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors influencing self- and body-image (e.g., culture, race, religion/spirituality, age, ability, trauma, gender, sexuality, size)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Defense mechanisms and their effects on behavior and relationships
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Characteristics of perpetrators of abuse, neglect, and exploitation
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of out-of-home placement (e.g., hospitalization, foster care, residential care, criminal justice system) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of caregiving on families
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Indicators, dynamics, and impact of exploitation across the lifespan (e.g., financial, immigration status, trafficking)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Typical and atypical physical, cognitive, emotional, and sexual development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Effects of physical and mental ability throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of aging on the individual and family systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Racial, ethnic, cultural, and spiritual/faith development throughout the lifespan
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Factors of out-of-home displacement (e.g., homelessness, immigration, and refugee status) on clients/client systems
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — The influence and impact of technology, including social media, on client/client-systems (personal and professional)
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Impact of urbanization, globalization, environmental hazards, and climate change on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIA. ASSESSMENT CONCEPTS — Client/client system competence, self-determination, and self-monitoring techniques (e.g., financial decisions, treatment decisions, emancipation, age of consent, permanency planning)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing risk of harm to self and others
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles and techniques of interviewing (e.g., supporting, clarifying, confronting, validating, feedback, reflecting, language differences, use of interpreters)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of involving clients/client systems in problem identification, problem solving, and intervention planning
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Indicators of and methods of assessing motivation, barriers, and readiness for change
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for assessing resilience and coping abilities
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods, techniques, and instruments for assessing client/client system strengths, resources, needs, and challenges
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for obtaining sensitive and/or confidential information (e.g., substance use, sexual abuse)
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of assessing clients’/client systems’ communication skills
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in assessment and common indicators of mental health and brain-related conditions
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Components and function of the mental status examination
    • IIB. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of incorporating information from records and evaluations (e.g., employment, medical, psychological, school)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Assessing the availability of and determining appropriate community resources
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Factors and processes used in goal planning, treatment planning, triage, and service plans
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Criteria used in the selection of intervention/treatment modalities (e.g., client/client system abilities, developmental level, culture, life stage)
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Cultural considerations in the creation of an intervention plan
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Use and side effects of common prescription, over-the-counter, and alternative medications
    • IIC. ASSESSMENT PRACTICES — Indicators of client/client system readiness for termination
  • III. INTERVENTION AND PRACTICE (32%) (32%)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Strengths-based and empowerment strategies and interventions
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Principles and techniques for building and maintaining a helping relationship (e.g., acceptance, empathy, rapport)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary team collaboration (e.g., co-therapy, care conference, IEP)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — The social worker’s role in the problem-solving process
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — End of life practice (e.g., continuity of care, hospice, palliative care, stages of death and dying)
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Parenting capacities and skill building
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Policies, procedures, regulations, and legislation and their impact on social work practice and service delivery
    • IIIA. PRACTICE CONCEPTS — Developing formal documents (e.g., grants, proposals, reports, evaluations)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods and approaches for providing trauma-informed care for various types of trauma (e.g., complex, vicarious)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Verbal and nonverbal communication (e.g., body language, congruence, feedback)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Principles of active listening and observation
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Limit and boundary setting techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Crisis intervention and treatment approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Emotional regulation techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Evidence-based practices (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, motivational interviewing, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods of teaching coping and other self-care skills to clients
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Stress management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Practice with clients experiencing loss, separation, and grief
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Methods for engaging and motivating voluntary and involuntary clients/client systems
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Harm reduction techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Approaches to and methods of advocacy for needed services and resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Psychoeducation methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Contracting and goal-setting techniques (e.g., partializing, measurable objectives)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Problem-solving models and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Techniques and methods for addiction intervention
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Case management techniques (e.g., case recording, documentation, case presentation)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Conflict resolution methods
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Anger management techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Family therapy models, interventions, and approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Discharge, aftercare, wrap-around services, and follow-up
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Group work techniques and approaches (e.g., developing and managing group processes and cohesion)
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Establishing service networks or community resources
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Assertiveness training techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Role modeling techniques
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Couples interventions and treatment approaches
    • IIIB. INTERVENTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES — Role play techniques
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Techniques for evaluating progress and effectiveness of intervention, treatment, and service plans
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of establishing program objectives and outcomes
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Program evaluation and related impact on services
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Methods of evaluating agency programs (e.g., needs assessment, formative/summative assessment, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit analysis, outcomes assessment)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Basic and applied research design and methods, data collection and analysis methods, and methods to assess reliability and validity in social work research (e.g., objective, subjective, qualitative, quantitative)
    • IIIC. PRACTICE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH — Quality assurance (e.g., program reviews and audits by external sources)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervisee’s role in supervision (e.g., identifying learning needs, self-assessment, prioritizing)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Supervision and consultation models and techniques (e.g., individual, peer, group, case recording)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Transference and countertransference within supervisory relationships
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Methods for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies and procedures that minimize risk for individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Organizational development, structure, and functioning (e.g., policies, procedures)
    • IIID. SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION — Fiscal management and resource allocation techniques
Examination sources