Social Work License from Florida to Massachusetts: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Massachusetts accept a Florida social work license?
A social work license transfers from Florida to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers, verify your Florida license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. No new exam if you were licensed in an ASWB member jurisdiction by passing the ASWB exam required for the level sought (258 CMR 9.07); for the LICSW that is the ASWB Clinical exam. If your state did not require an ASWB exam, the Board's Policy 06-07 requires you to take and pass the appropriate ASWB exam as a condition of reciprocity. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam is required.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither Florida nor Massachusetts has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, and it is not issuing licenses anywhere in any case, so this is a plain endorsement move. The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers verifies your Florida license, accepts your ASWB score by transfer, and adds its own requirements.
In Massachusetts the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Florida license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What's different between Florida and Massachusetts
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Massachusetts. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Florida to Massachusetts (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Massachusetts to Florida (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Florida matter?
Coming from Florida does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Massachusetts.
- SW Compact membership
Neither Florida nor Massachusetts has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact.
- Application fee
Massachusetts lists $162 for an out-of-state applicant and Florida lists $180 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Florida lists up to 6 weeks for the reverse move; Massachusetts has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Massachusetts and Florida carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Massachusetts (this move): No new exam if you were licensed in an ASWB member jurisdiction by passing the ASWB exam required for the level sought (258 CMR 9.07); for the LICSW that is the ASWB Clinical exam. If your state did not require an ASWB exam, the Board's Policy 06-07 requires you to take and pass the appropriate ASWB exam as a condition of reciprocity. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam is required.
- Florida (the reverse move): The national clinical exam is not retaken; have your ASWB Clinical exam score (or another state board's official score report) sent directly to the Board. Florida has no state law exam, but requires an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course from a board-approved provider plus 3-hour HIV/AIDS and 2-hour domestic violence courses.
What changes, Florida → Massachusetts
| Florida (current) | Massachusetts (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| Application fee | $180 ($180 total: $100 non-refundable application fee + $75 initial license fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee. $80 is refunded if the application is denied or withdrawn. Livescan fingerprint fees are paid to the vendor. Florida may reduce fees for military members, veterans and their spouses.) | $162 (LICSW reciprocity application fee $162, per the Board's fee table (archived June 2026). The same table adds a $105 vendor fee (ASWB's Application Processing Unit) and an $82 LICSW license fee, a $349 subtotal. A payment processing fee may also apply. LICSW renewal is $82 every two years.) |
| Processing time | up to 6 weeks (The Board says to allow up to 30 business days for the initial review of new applications (about 6 weeks). Under Fla. Stat. 456.0145 the Board must issue the license within 7 days once all documentation, including background screening, is received.) | No processing time is published on the pages reviewed |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling | Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Massachusetts sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Apply for reciprocity through the Health Professions Licensing Portal (ASWB's Application Processing Unit handles Board applications).
- Show your license's education and experience requirements are substantially equivalent to the LICSW (MSW; 3,500 hours of clinical social work over at least two years post-LCSW; 100 hours of individual clinical supervision).
- Show your license's scope of practice is substantially equivalent to the LICSW's.
- Hold a license in good standing that has never been revoked, suspended, surrendered, denied or restricted by discipline.
- Apply to MassHealth as a fully participating or non-billing provider (required of all LICSWs to be licensed or renew).
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will Massachusetts accept the supervised hours I completed in Florida?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Massachusetts's rule, where the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers 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.
- Mass.gov — Apply for a social worker license (Internet Archive copy of the official page, captured 2026-06-18) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 258 CMR 9.00 Licensure Requirements and Procedures incl. 9.03 LICSW and 9.07 Licensure by Reciprocity (Internet Archive copy of the Mass.gov PDF captured 2025-09-01) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass.gov — Board Policies and Guidelines (Social Workers), Policy 06-07 on exam requirements for reciprocity applicants (Internet Archive copy captured 2025-12-07) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass.gov — Fees and license renewal schedules for social workers (Internet Archive copy of the official page, captured 2026-06-12) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Board of CSW, MFT and MHC — Licensed Clinical Social Worker (endorsement requirements, fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Board of CSW, MFT and MHC — Application for Licensure by Endorsement (DH-MQA 5048, rev. 2/2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes 491.006 — Licensure or certification by endorsement (Florida Legislature) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes 456.0145 — MOBILE Act licensure by endorsement (Florida Legislature) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Department of Health — Background Screening ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com