Social Work License from Illinois to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Minnesota accept an Illinois social work license?
A social work license transfers from Illinois to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Social Work, verify your Illinois license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. No exam is required for the LICSW by endorsement: Minn. Stat. 148E.055 subd. 5a requires an active independent-clinical-level license elsewhere, a master's degree, a criminal background check and fees, with no exam condition, so no ASWB score transfer is needed on that route. (The LICSW by examination uses the ASWB Clinical exam.) No Minnesota jurisprudence exam is required.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Minnesota has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Illinois has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Minnesota Board of Social Work's endorsement process below is the whole route.
In Minnesota the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Illinois license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What's different between Illinois and Minnesota
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Minnesota. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Minnesota (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Minnesota 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 Minnesota.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Minnesota has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Illinois has not.
- Application fee
Minnesota lists $115 for an out-of-state applicant and Illinois lists $200 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Minnesota and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Minnesota (this move): No exam is required for the LICSW by endorsement: Minn. Stat. 148E.055 subd. 5a requires an active independent-clinical-level license elsewhere, a master's degree, a criminal background check and fees, with no exam condition, so no ASWB score transfer is needed on that route. (The LICSW by examination uses the ASWB Clinical exam.) No Minnesota 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 → Minnesota
| Illinois (current) | Minnesota (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.) | $115 (Endorsement application fee $115, or $147 when paid together with the fingerprint criminal background check fee (Board application form, 2025 fee update; statutory maximum in Minn. Stat. 148E.180 subd. 1 is $115). After approval, the LICSW license fee is up to $335 (148E.180 subd. 2, prorated if the first term is not 24 months). All steps must be completed within one year of application.) |
| 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 | No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board | Minnesota Board of Social Work |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Minnesota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Minnesota's current requirements on the Minnesota Board of Social Work website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Minnesota Board of Social Work (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active independent clinical-level social work license or credential in another jurisdiction (a master's-level license qualifies only for the LGSW).
- Hold a master's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check (Minn. Stat. 214.075) unless you already hold a current Minnesota social work license.
- Have each licensing agency submit verification of your other-jurisdiction credentials.
- Pay the LICSW license fee after the Board approves 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. Minnesota has enacted it and Illinois has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Minnesota Board of Social Work is the route.
Will Minnesota 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. Minnesota's rule, where the Minnesota Board of Social Work 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.
- Minnesota Statutes 148E.055 License requirements (subd. 5a LICSW by endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Statutes 148E.180 Fee amounts ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Board of Social Work — Standard License Application, Information and Instructions (2025 fees update) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota Board of Social Work — Requirements for Social Work Licensure in Minnesota (presentation, March 26, 2026) ↗ (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
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