Social Work License from Delaware to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Minnesota Board of Social Work ↗
Both Delaware and Minnesota 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.
Delaware and Minnesota 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 Minnesota Board of Social Work through its standard out-of-state process below, and your ASWB score is transferred, not retaken.
In Minnesota the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Delaware license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What changes, Delaware → Minnesota
| Delaware (current) | Minnesota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $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.) | $115 (Endorsement application fee $115, or $147 when paid together with the fingerprint criminal background check fee (Board application form, 2025 fee update; statutory maximum in Minn. Stat. 148E.180 subd. 1 is $115). After approval, the LICSW license fee is up to $335 (148E.180 subd. 2, prorated if the first term is not 24 months). All steps must be completed within one year of application.) |
| Processing time | The Board publishes no processing time for reciprocity applications. | No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year. |
| Licensing authority | Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) | Minnesota Board of Social Work |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Minnesota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Minnesota's current requirements on the Minnesota Board of Social Work website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Minnesota Board of Social Work (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active independent clinical-level social work license or credential in another jurisdiction (a master's-level license qualifies only for the LGSW).
- Hold a master's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (Minn. Stat. 214.075) unless you already hold a current Minnesota social work license.
- Have each licensing agency submit verification of your other-jurisdiction credentials.
- Pay the LICSW license fee after the Board approves the application.
- Pay the fees ($115 (Endorsement application fee $115, or $147 when paid together with the fingerprint criminal background check fee (Board application form, 2025 fee update; statutory maximum in Minn. Stat. 148E.180 subd. 1 is $115). After approval, the LICSW license fee is up to $335 (148E.180 subd. 2, prorated if the first term is not 24 months). All steps must be completed within one year of application.)) and allow No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Minnesota accept a Delaware social work license?
Both Delaware and Minnesota 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 Delaware to Minnesota?
No exam is required for the LICSW by endorsement: Minn. Stat. 148E.055 subd. 5a requires an active independent-clinical-level license elsewhere, a master's degree, a criminal background check and fees, with no exam condition, so no ASWB score transfer is needed on that route. (The LICSW by examination uses the ASWB Clinical exam.) No Minnesota jurisprudence exam is required. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Delaware-to-Minnesota move cost and how long does it take?
$115 (Endorsement application fee $115, or $147 when paid together with the fingerprint criminal background check fee (Board application form, 2025 fee update; statutory maximum in Minn. Stat. 148E.180 subd. 1 is $115). After approval, the LICSW license fee is up to $335 (148E.180 subd. 2, prorated if the first term is not 24 months). All steps must be completed within one year of application.) Processing: No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year.
Delaware and Minnesota are both compact states. Can I practice in Minnesota on my Delaware license?
No. The Social Work Licensure Compact was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27, so it authorizes no practice in Minnesota. You need a Minnesota license from the Minnesota Board of Social Work.
Will Minnesota accept the supervised hours I completed in Delaware?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Minnesota's rule, where the Minnesota Board of Social Work 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.
- Minnesota Statutes 148E.055 License requirements (subd. 5a LICSW by endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Statutes 148E.180 Fee amounts ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Board of Social Work — Standard License Application, Information and Instructions (2025 fees update) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Board of Social Work — Requirements for Social Work Licensure in Minnesota (presentation, March 26, 2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 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)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]