Social Work License from Michigan to Mississippi: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) ↗
A social work license transfers from Michigan to Mississippi by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT), verify your Michigan license, and meet Mississippi's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit a passing ASWB score through ASWB score transfer. The Board's rules require that the exam you passed be the one ASWB prescribes for the level sought (the ASWB Clinical exam for the LCSW); exams administered by individual states are not considered equal. No Mississippi jurisprudence exam is listed..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Only Mississippi has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, and since the compact is not issuing multistate licenses anywhere, that difference does not affect this move. You apply to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) by endorsement, with your Michigan license verified and your ASWB score transferred.
What changes, Michigan → Mississippi
| Michigan (current) | Mississippi (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $99 (Application fee plus 3-year license fee for a Master's Social Work License by Exam or Endorsement: $99.00 (Master's Social Work Licensing Guide rev. 10/7/2024). Adding a second designation (specialty) is $16.50. Fingerprint/background-check vendor fee not stated in the guide.) | $187 (LMSW/LCSW reciprocity total $187, paid through the applicant portal; the Board states this total includes the application fee, initial license fee and background check fee ($50 fingerprint processing). The Board does not publish the split.) |
| Processing time | No processing time is published. All requirements must be completed within 2 years of LARA's receipt of the application (MCL 333.16307(3)), or the application is void. | 4–6 weeks (The Board says fingerprint processing may take 4-6 weeks, longer if prints are unreadable, and the background check must be received before an application is considered. No overall processing time is published.) |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Board of Social Work (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) | Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Mississippi sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Mississippi's current requirements on the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Apply online through the Board's applicant portal using the Reciprocity Application checklist.
- Hold a CSWE-accredited MSW and an active social work license in another state.
- Have your current state licensing agency send an out-of-state license verification.
- Submit supervision documentation for the LCSW level.
- Request a fingerprint card for the Mississippi CIC/FBI criminal history and sex offender registry checks.
- Send an official sealed transcript or the Board's Verification of Education form.
- Pay the fees ($187 (LMSW/LCSW reciprocity total $187, paid through the applicant portal; the Board states this total includes the application fee, initial license fee and background check fee ($50 fingerprint processing). The Board does not publish the split.)) and allow 4–6 weeks (The Board says fingerprint processing may take 4-6 weeks, longer if prints are unreadable, and the background check must be received before an application is considered. No overall processing time is published.).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Mississippi accept a Michigan social work license?
A social work license transfers from Michigan to Mississippi by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT), verify your Michigan license, and meet Mississippi's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit a passing ASWB score through ASWB score transfer. The Board's rules require that the exam you passed be the one ASWB prescribes for the level sought (the ASWB Clinical exam for the LCSW); exams administered by individual states are not considered equal. No Mississippi jurisprudence exam is listed..
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Michigan to Mississippi?
The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit a passing ASWB score through ASWB score transfer. The Board's rules require that the exam you passed be the one ASWB prescribes for the level sought (the ASWB Clinical exam for the LCSW); exams administered by individual states are not considered equal. No Mississippi jurisprudence exam is listed. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Michigan-to-Mississippi move cost and how long does it take?
$187 (LMSW/LCSW reciprocity total $187, paid through the applicant portal; the Board states this total includes the application fee, initial license fee and background check fee ($50 fingerprint processing). The Board does not publish the split.) Processing: 4–6 weeks (The Board says fingerprint processing may take 4-6 weeks, longer if prints are unreadable, and the background check must be received before an application is considered. No overall processing time is published.)
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. Mississippi has enacted it and Michigan has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) is the route.
Will Mississippi accept the supervised hours I completed in Michigan?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Mississippi's rule, where the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) 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.
- MBOESWMFT — Reciprocity Application Checklist and packet (rev. 03/14/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- MBOESWMFT — Social Work Forms and Licensing Information (reciprocity, UROLA note) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- MBOESWMFT — 2022 Amended Rules and Regulations (Licensure by Reciprocity/Endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- LARA — Master's Social Work Licensing Guide rev. 10/7/2024 (Internet Archive copy captured 2026-04-22; michigan.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetches) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- LARA — Social Work FAQs rev. 9/19/2024 (accepted ASWB exams) (Internet Archive copy captured 2026-01-09) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- LARA — Social Worker profession page (Internet Archive copy captured 2026-06-11) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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