Social Work License from Illinois to Louisiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Louisiana accept an Illinois social work license?
A social work license transfers from Illinois to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE), verify your Illinois license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken; if an ASWB exam was passed for the current credential, have ASWB send LABSWE an official score transfer report. The Louisiana LCSW is issued on the ASWB Clinical exam, and endorsement requires substantially equivalent examination requirements. Endorsement applicants must ALSO pass LABSWE's open-book exam on the Louisiana Social Work Practice Act and rules (50 items, 70% to pass, 3-hour limit, retakes allowed).
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Louisiana has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Illinois has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Illinois and Louisiana
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Louisiana. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Louisiana (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Louisiana 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 Louisiana.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Louisiana has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Illinois has not.
- Application fee
Louisiana lists $103 for an out-of-state applicant and Illinois lists $200 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Louisiana lists 2+ weeks; Illinois has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Louisiana and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Louisiana (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken; if an ASWB exam was passed for the current credential, have ASWB send LABSWE an official score transfer report. The Louisiana LCSW is issued on the ASWB Clinical exam, and endorsement requires substantially equivalent examination requirements. Endorsement applicants must ALSO pass LABSWE's open-book exam on the Louisiana Social Work Practice Act and rules (50 items, 70% to pass, 3-hour limit, retakes allowed).
- 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 → Louisiana
| Illinois (current) | Louisiana (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.) | $103 (LCSW application fee shown at online payment as $103 (the $100 LCSW application fee in LAC 46:XXV.313 plus the $3 e-commerce fee). Fingerprinting is paid separately to IdentoGO (amount on the vendor's schedule, not stated by the Board). LCSW renewal fee is $100 per LAC 46:XXV.313 as amended October 2025.) |
| 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 | 2+ weeks (The Board says applications are processed within 10-15 business days of receipt and milestones take about 2 weeks to update; the Board then reviews complete files at its meetings (all requirements, including background-check results, are due 7 days before a meeting) and posts its decision 7-10 business days after the meeting. No overall end-to-end time is published. The Board's 90-day temporary practice permit (priority processing, issued within 21 calendar days of a completed application) is only for military-trained applicants and spouses of military personnel under LAC 46:XXV.309; the rules provide no temporary permit for other endorsement applicants.) |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board | Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Louisiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Louisiana's current requirements on the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Apply online via endorsement for the credential equivalent to the one you hold (the LCSW for a clinical-level license).
- Have each licensing board send LABSWE a verification of your credential; LCSW endorsements also need verification of supervision hours and your supervisor's license.
- Submit the licensing law from each state showing the qualifications you met for that credential.
- Complete the LSP/FBI fingerprint background check through IdentoGO (service code 27N463) after submitting the online application.
- Pass the Board's open-book exam on the Louisiana Social Work Practice Act and rules.
- Have an official transcript showing your social work degree sent directly to the Board.
- 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. Louisiana has enacted it and Illinois has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-10-29. Endorsement through the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) is the route.
Will Louisiana 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. Louisiana's rule, where the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) 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 Illinois 2026-09-27, Louisiana 2026-10-29.
- LABSWE — Application Information (license types, endorsement applications, open-book exam, background check) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- LABSWE — How to complete the online application (application fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- LABSWE — Endorsement Applications instructions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana Register Vol. 51 No. 10 (2025-10-20) — LAC 46:XXV rule changes incl. §313 Fees and §319 Reciprocity and Endorsement (posted by LABSWE) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- LABSWE — Rules, Standards and Procedures (LAC 46:XXV, incl. §305.E and §309 military-applicant temporary practice permits, §319 Reciprocity and Endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 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 Illinois 2026-09-27, Louisiana 2026-10-29
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