Social Work License from Florida to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a Florida social work license?
A social work license transfers from Florida to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health), verify your Florida license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken. By-exam LCSW applicants need the ASWB clinical exam (Rule 1365-01-.04(4)). The reciprocity rule (1365-01-.04(5)) names no ASWB category but requires proof that you have NOT previously failed the Board's required exam. No Tennessee 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. Tennessee has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Florida has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Florida and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Florida to Tennessee (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Tennessee to Florida (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Florida matter?
Coming from Florida matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Tennessee.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Tennessee has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Florida has not.
- Application fee
Tennessee lists $100 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; Tennessee has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and Florida carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken. By-exam LCSW applicants need the ASWB clinical exam (Rule 1365-01-.04(4)). The reciprocity rule (1365-01-.04(5)) names no ASWB category but requires proof that you have NOT previously failed the Board's required exam. No Tennessee 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 → Tennessee
| Florida (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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.) | $100 (Clinical social worker application fee under Rule 1365-01-.05(3). The same rule requires a separate $125 license fee and a $10 state regulatory fee (biennial). The endorsement/verification fee is $0. Background-check vendor fees are extra. The only license fee refundable on written request is the $125.) |
| 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.) | The Board's page and rules publish no processing time |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling | Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Reside or be employed in Tennessee (a condition of licensure by reciprocity).
- Have the Board's vendor send your criminal background check results directly to the Board.
- Submit a letter of good standing from another state's licensing board.
- Prove that you have not previously failed the Board's required exam.
- Submit a photocopy of your original license and your current renewal certificate, plus a passport-style photo taken within the last 12 months.
- Disclose any criminal convictions, licensure discipline, and civil judgments or settlements.
- 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. Tennessee has enacted it and Florida has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) is the route.
Will Tennessee 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. Tennessee's rule, where the Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) 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.
- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 1365-01 (rev. Sept. 2024), incl. 1365-01-.04(5) Licensure by Reciprocity and 1365-01-.05 Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Tennessee Department of Health — Board of Social Workers ↗ (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