Social Work License from Florida to Vermont: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Vermont accept a Florida social work license?
A social work license transfers from Florida to Vermont by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers, verify your Florida license, and meet Vermont's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken: an out-of-state LICSW from a substantially equivalent jurisdiction is licensed by endorsement without re-examination (CVR Social Work Rule 3.3). By-exam applicants need the ASWB clinical exam. Every route ALSO requires the Vermont jurisprudence examination.
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. Vermont has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Florida has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers's endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Florida and Vermont
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Vermont. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Florida to Vermont (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Vermont 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 Vermont.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Vermont has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Florida has not.
- Application fee
Vermont lists $180 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; Vermont has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Vermont and Florida carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Vermont (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken: an out-of-state LICSW from a substantially equivalent jurisdiction is licensed by endorsement without re-examination (CVR Social Work Rule 3.3). By-exam applicants need the ASWB clinical exam. Every route ALSO requires the Vermont jurisprudence examination.
- 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 → Vermont
| Florida (current) | Vermont (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.) | $180 (Initial fee for the Clinical Social Worker license (OPR code 089) on OPR's fee chart (Internet Archive copy of 2026-04-14; outside.vermont.gov returned 403 to automated fetches). Biennial renewal is $120, due January 31 of even 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.) | OPR publishes no processing time for social work applications. Under its 90-day policy, a license issued within 90 days of the renewal date runs through the next full two-year cycle |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling | Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Vermont sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Vermont's current requirements on the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active independent clinical social work license (or equivalent) in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially equivalent to Vermont's.
- Pass the Vermont jurisprudence examination.
- Have your other licensing jurisdiction(s) complete OPR's Verification of Licensure form.
- Apply through OPR's online licensing system.
- 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. Vermont has enacted it and Florida has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — Social Workers is the route.
Will Vermont 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. Vermont's rule, where the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) — 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.
- Vermont OPR — Social Worker Forms & Instructions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR — Social Work Administrative Rules, eff. 2017-07-01, Part 3 LICSW routes (Internet Archive copy of 2025-05-02) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR — Initial licensing and renewal fees chart (Internet Archive copy of 2026-04-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR — Fast Track Endorsement (3 V.S.A. 136a) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR — Social Worker FAQs ↗ (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
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