Social Work License from Arizona to Maine: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) ↗
Both Arizona and Maine have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Compact enacted — endorsement for now
Interim path until the compact activates: licensure by endorsement.
Arizona and Maine have both enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but it was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27. Shared enactment changes nothing about this move today: you apply to the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) through its standard out-of-state process below, and your ASWB score is transferred, not retaken.
What changes, Arizona → Maine
| Arizona (current) | Maine (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $250 (Application for license by endorsement fee under Ariz. Admin. Code R4-6-215(A)(2); non-refundable. The rule also lists a $40 criminal history background check charge. The Board site (azbbhe.us) blocked automated access on 2026-09-27, so the fee could not be re-checked there. A $100 issuance fee appears as struck in the codified rule text read.) | $70 (The Board's licensing page lists $70 license fee plus $21 criminal history check for initial issuance; all fees nonrefundable. Renewal is $70 every 2 years.) |
| Processing time | R4-6-302 sets administrative completeness and substantive review time frames in a Table 1 that was not readable in the source consulted, and the Board's own site blocked automated access. Deficiency responses are due within 60 days. | The Board's pages state no processing time; applicants can check application status online. |
| Licensing authority | Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners | Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maine sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maine's current requirements on the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active LCSW-equivalent license from a U.S. jurisdiction whose pathway requires a social work master's, the ASWB Clinical exam and supervised clinical experience.
- Submit the Online Endorsement Application for Licensure.
- Have official verifications sent for every professional license you hold or have ever held, including expired ones.
- Be in good standing everywhere licensed: no pending complaints, restrictions, surrenders or revocations.
- Complete the criminal history record check required for initial licensure.
- Pay the fees ($70 (The Board's licensing page lists $70 license fee plus $21 criminal history check for initial issuance; all fees nonrefundable. Renewal is $70 every 2 years.)) and allow The Board's pages state no processing time; applicants can check application status online..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Maine accept an Arizona social work license?
Both Arizona and Maine have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Arizona to Maine?
No exam is retaken and no score report is listed among the endorsement documents: Maine's Chapter 12 test is whether your licensing jurisdiction's pathway requires, at minimum, a social work master's, the ASWB Clinical exam and supervised clinical experience. Maine's own LC route requires the ASWB Clinical exam. No Maine jurisprudence exam is listed. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Arizona-to-Maine move cost and how long does it take?
$70 (The Board's licensing page lists $70 license fee plus $21 criminal history check for initial issuance; all fees nonrefundable. Renewal is $70 every 2 years.) Processing: The Board's pages state no processing time; applicants can check application status online.
Arizona and Maine are both compact states. Can I practice in Maine on my Arizona license?
No. The Social Work Licensure Compact was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27, so it authorizes no practice in Maine. You need a Maine license from the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation).
Will Maine accept the supervised hours I completed in Arizona?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Maine's rule, where the Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure (Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation) publishes one, is in the requirements on this page; confirm with the board if your hours were logged under a different structure.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure — Licensing and Forms (LC license, Licensure by Endorsement, fees) (Internet Archive copy captured 2026-04-18; maine.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetches) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 02-416 CMR Chapter 12 — Licensure by Endorsement (Board rule, official DOCX) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-3274 — Licensure by endorsement (Arizona Legislature) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-3275 — Requirements for licensure (Arizona Legislature) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-4302 — Out-of-state applicants; residents (universal recognition) (Arizona Legislature) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ariz. Admin. Code R4-6-304 — Application for a License by Endorsement (official code text via Cornell LII) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ariz. Admin. Code R4-6-402 — Examination (social work) (official code text via Cornell LII) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ariz. Admin. Code R4-6-215 — Fees and Charges (official code text via Cornell LII) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ASWB — Look up a license (board license-search directory) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]