Social Work License from California to Virginia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) ↗
A social work license transfers from California to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions), verify your California license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken: ask ASWB to transfer your passing ASWB Clinical exam score to Virginia before applying. If you were licensed at the clinical level without taking the ASWB exam, the Board may accept evidence that the other jurisdiction required no national exam at the time. No Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Virginia has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and California has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What changes, California → Virginia
| California (current) | Virginia (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.) | $165 (LCSW by Endorsement application fee per the Board's application instructions (rev. 09/2024), non-refundable and paid in the online portal. NPDB self-query costs are extra.) |
| 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 says complete, fully documented applications are reviewed within 30 days of receipt (about 4 weeks to first review). Incomplete applications stay open for one year. |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) | Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Virginia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Virginia's current requirements on the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active, unrestricted social work license comparable to Virginia's LCSW (18VAC140-20-45).
- Upload verification of every health or mental health license you hold or have held (online verification printouts accepted).
- Upload a National Practitioner Data Bank self-query report generated within 30 days of applying.
- Have ASWB transfer your Clinical exam score to Virginia.
- Explain any criminal conviction, past action or possible impairment with supporting documents (Guidance Document 140-2).
- Pay the fees ($165 (LCSW by Endorsement application fee per the Board's application instructions (rev. 09/2024), non-refundable and paid in the online portal. NPDB self-query costs are extra.)) and allow The Board says complete, fully documented applications are reviewed within 30 days of receipt (about 4 weeks to first review). Incomplete applications stay open for one year..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Virginia accept a California social work license?
A social work license transfers from California to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions), verify your California license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken: ask ASWB to transfer your passing ASWB Clinical exam score to Virginia before applying. If you were licensed at the clinical level without taking the ASWB exam, the Board may accept evidence that the other jurisdiction required no national exam at the time. No Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed..
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from California to Virginia?
The ASWB exam is not retaken: ask ASWB to transfer your passing ASWB Clinical exam score to Virginia before applying. If you were licensed at the clinical level without taking the ASWB exam, the Board may accept evidence that the other jurisdiction required no national exam at the time. No Virginia 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 California-to-Virginia move cost and how long does it take?
$165 (LCSW by Endorsement application fee per the Board's application instructions (rev. 09/2024), non-refundable and paid in the online portal. NPDB self-query costs are extra.) Processing: The Board says complete, fully documented applications are reviewed within 30 days of receipt (about 4 weeks to first review). Incomplete applications stay open for one year.
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. Virginia has enacted it and California has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) is the route.
Will Virginia 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. Virginia's rule, where the Virginia Board of Social Work (Department of Health Professions) 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.
- Virginia Board of Social Work — LCSW Endorsement (Internet Archive copy of 2026-04-14; dhp.virginia.gov failed DNS resolution from our fetcher on 2026-09-27) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Virginia Board of Social Work — LCSW by Endorsement Application Instructions, rev. 09/2024 (Internet Archive copy of 2026-05-10) ↗ (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 Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]