Social Work License from Illinois to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Delaware accept an Illinois social work license?
A social work license transfers from Illinois to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation), verify your Illinois license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware 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. Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Illinois has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Illinois and Delaware
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Delaware. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Delaware (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Delaware to Illinois (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Illinois matter?
Coming from Illinois matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Delaware.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Illinois has not.
- Application fee
Delaware lists $205 for an out-of-state applicant and Illinois lists $200 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Delaware and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Delaware (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware jurisprudence exam is required.
- Illinois (the reverse move): The ASWB Clinical exam is not retaken; applicants who passed it in another state have ASWB send an official score transfer to IDFPR. Illinois also allows an 'Exam Alternative' (3,000 additional supervised professional hours after an ASWB Clinical attempt made after 2019-01-01). No Illinois jurisprudence exam is required.
What changes, Illinois → Delaware
| Illinois (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $200 (Endorsement licensure application fee per IDFPR's Social Worker/LCSW instructions; non-refundable. The Acceptance of Examination and Examination methods cost $50 but apply only to people not currently licensed elsewhere.) | $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.) |
| Processing time | IDFPR states no processing time. Its instructions ask applicants to allow 6 weeks from mailing before inquiring about status, and an application stays active for three years | The Board publishes no processing time for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board | Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current clinical social work license in another state, US territory or DC.
- If your state's standards are not substantially similar to Delaware's, show at least five years of practice in the past seven.
- Complete a State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check through the Division's process.
- Have every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a social work license send verification directly to the Board.
- Submit the Child Protection Registry Consent Form.
- Apply online through DELPROS within six months of starting the application.
- 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. Delaware has enacted it and Illinois has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) is the route.
Will Delaware accept the supervised hours I completed in Illinois?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Delaware's rule, where the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) 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.
- 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)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR — Qualifications for Licensure, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (149), effective 05/2025 ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR — Instructions, Licensed Social Worker or Licensed Clinical Social Worker application ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR — Social Work profession page ↗ (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