Social Work License from District of Columbia to Ohio: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Ohio accept a District of Columbia social work license?
A social work license transfers from District of Columbia to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT), verify your District of Columbia license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit the score or have ASWB send it via ASWB Score Transfer. Ohio's out-of-state LISW instructions accept ASWB Clinical or Advanced Generalist results (older than seven years only if actively licensed elsewhere). No separate Ohio jurisprudence exam; applicants must watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Only Ohio has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, and since the compact is not issuing multistate licenses anywhere, that difference does not affect this move. You apply to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) by endorsement, with your District of Columbia license verified and your ASWB score transferred.
District of Columbia's LICSW and Ohio's LISW are the same clinical tier under different initials. Apply for the LISW; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) matches licenses by what they authorize.
What's different between District of Columbia and Ohio
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Ohio. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
District of Columbia to Ohio (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Ohio to District of Columbia (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from District of Columbia matter?
Coming from District of Columbia matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Ohio.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Ohio has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; District of Columbia has not.
- Application fee
Ohio lists $100 for an out-of-state applicant and District of Columbia lists $230 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Ohio lists 2–6 weeks; District of Columbia has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Ohio and District of Columbia carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Ohio (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit the score or have ASWB send it via ASWB Score Transfer. Ohio's out-of-state LISW instructions accept ASWB Clinical or Advanced Generalist results (older than seven years only if actively licensed elsewhere). No separate Ohio jurisprudence exam; applicants must watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video.
- District of Columbia (the reverse move): The ASWB exam is not retaken; have ASWB transfer your score electronically to the Board. Under 17 DCMR 7007 your initial US licence must have been obtained by an exam equivalent to the level you apply for, which is the Clinical exam for the LICSW. No DC jurisprudence exam is listed on the endorsement checklist.
What changes, District of Columbia → Ohio
| District of Columbia (current) | Ohio (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $230 ($230 combined application and license fee per the Board's endorsement checklist; + $50 criminal background check paid online. Social work licenses expire July 31 of odd years.) | $100 (LISW reciprocal application fee per the Board's Out of State Applicants page; + $3.50 eLicense processing fee; + BCI/FBI fingerprinting fees paid to the vendor (amount not published by the Board). LISW then renews every two years at $103.50 including the eLicense fee.) |
| Processing time | DC Health publishes no processing time for social work endorsement applications | 2–6 weeks (The Board says to allow at least 10 business days for LISW application processing; out-of-state fingerprint checks can take 4-6 weeks, so applicants fingerprinted outside Ohio should expect the longer end. Files with a criminal history may need Board review, and the Board meets every 60 days.) |
| Licensing authority | DC Board of Social Work (DC Health) | Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Ohio sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Ohio's current requirements on the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an out-of-state license (e.g. LCSW) that authorizes diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders without clinical supervision to qualify for the LISW.
- Submit an online license look-up or have each current licensing board send verification of your active license.
- Submit ASWB exam results or request an ASWB score transfer to the Board.
- Complete Ohio BCI and FBI fingerprint background checks (valid for one year).
- Watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video.
- Apply online through Ohio eLicense.
- 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. Ohio has enacted it and District of Columbia has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) is the route.
Will Ohio accept the supervised hours I completed in District of Columbia?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Ohio's rule, where the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) 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.
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — Out-of-State Social Workers ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — Out of State Applicants (reciprocity steps and fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — Social Workers (LISW exam change, July 2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — Licensed Independent Social Worker FAQs ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — BCI and FBI background checks ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board — General Renewal Instructions (renewal fees) ↗ (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)
- DC Health — Social Work Licensing ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Board of Social Work — LGSW, LISW and LICSW New License Application Endorsement Checklist ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Municipal Regulations Chapter 17-70 (Social Work) — section list incl. 7007 License by Endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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