Social Work License from California to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Delaware accept a California social work license?
A social work license transfers from California to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation), verify your California license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware jurisprudence exam is required.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and California has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between California and Delaware
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Delaware. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
California to Delaware (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Delaware to California (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from California matter?
Coming from California matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Delaware.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; California has not.
- Application fee
Delaware lists $205 for an out-of-state applicant and California lists $250 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Delaware and California carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Delaware (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware jurisprudence exam is required.
- California (the reverse move): The national clinical exam is waived for applicants who qualify under Bus. & Prof. Code 4996.17.1, so the ASWB Clinical exam is not retaken. California requires its own board-administered California Law and Ethics Examination on top of that ($150 statutory exam fee), and the applicant must pass it before licensure.
What changes, California → Delaware
| California (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $250 (Statutory LCSW application fee under Bus. & Prof. Code 4996.3(a)(3) ($250; the Board may raise it by regulation up to $500). Also: $150 California Law and Ethics exam fee, $200 initial license fee, and fingerprint processing fees. The BBS website refused connections on 2026-09-27, so the current regulatory fee schedule could not be confirmed there.) | $205 (LCSW license application fee per the Division of Professional Regulation fee schedule; non-refundable, payable only by card through DELPROS. Background check fees are extra. Renewal fees are announced at renewal.) |
| Processing time | Not verified. The Board of Behavioral Sciences website (bbs.ca.gov) refused connections throughout 2026-09-27, so its published processing times could not be read | The Board publishes no processing time for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) | Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current clinical social work license in another state, US territory or DC.
- If your state's standards are not substantially similar to Delaware's, show at least five years of practice in the past seven.
- Complete a State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check through the Division's process.
- Have every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a social work license send verification directly to the Board.
- Submit the Child Protection Registry Consent Form.
- Apply online through DELPROS within six months of starting the application.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. Delaware has enacted it and California has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) is the route.
Will Delaware accept the supervised hours I completed in California?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Delaware's rule, where the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional 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.
- Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners — Clinical Social Worker Licensure ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners — Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ASWB — Sending your exam results to another state or province ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California Business and Professions Code 4996.17.1 — Licensure of out-of-state clinical social workers (California Legislative Information) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California Business and Professions Code 4996.17.2 — Out-of-state education or experience (California Legislative Information) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California Business and Professions Code 4996.3 — LCSW fees (California Legislative Information) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ASWB — Look up a license (board license-search directory) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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