Social Work License from Illinois to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) ↗
A social work license transfers from Illinois 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 Illinois 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..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Tennessee has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Illinois 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 changes, Illinois → Tennessee
| Illinois (current) | Tennessee (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.) | $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 | 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's page and rules publish no processing time. |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board | 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 ($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.)) and allow The Board's page and rules publish no processing time..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Tennessee accept an Illinois social work license?
A social work license transfers from Illinois 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 Illinois 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..
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Illinois to Tennessee?
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. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Illinois-to-Tennessee move cost and how long does it take?
$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: The Board's page and rules publish no processing time.
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. Tennessee has enacted it and Illinois 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 Illinois?
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)
- 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 Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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