Social Work License from Missouri to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Minnesota Board of Social Work ↗
Both Missouri and Minnesota have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Compact enacted — endorsement for now
Interim path until the compact activates: licensure by endorsement.
Missouri and Minnesota have both enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but it was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27. Shared enactment changes nothing about this move today: you apply to the Minnesota Board of Social Work through its standard out-of-state process below, and your ASWB score is transferred, not retaken.
In Minnesota the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Missouri license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What changes, Missouri → Minnesota
| Missouri (current) | Minnesota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $75 (Reciprocity application fee $75 (form MO 375-0901, rev. 8-2025), nonrefundable, payable by cashier's check, money order, personal check or bank draft. Fingerprinting is paid separately to IdentoGO/MACHS (amount not stated on the Committee's pages).) | $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 | No processing time is published; fingerprint results are valid for one year. A temporary permit request form exists for reciprocity applicants. | No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year. |
| Licensing authority | Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) | 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 ($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.)) and allow No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Minnesota accept a Missouri social work license?
Both Missouri and Minnesota have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Missouri to Minnesota?
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. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Missouri-to-Minnesota move cost and how long does it take?
$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: No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year.
Missouri and Minnesota are both compact states. Can I practice in Minnesota on my Missouri license?
No. The Social Work Licensure Compact was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27, so it authorizes no practice in Minnesota. You need a Minnesota license from the Minnesota Board of Social Work.
Will Minnesota accept the supervised hours I completed in Missouri?
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)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Reciprocity page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Application for Licensure by Reciprocity (MO 375-0901, 8-2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Frequently Asked Questions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Criminal Background Checks / Fingerprinting instructions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]