Social Work License from New York to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a New York social work license?
A social work license transfers from New York 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 New York 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.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Tennessee has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and New York 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's different between New York and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New York to Tennessee (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Tennessee to New York (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from New York matter?
Coming from New York matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Tennessee.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Tennessee has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; New York has not.
- Application fee
Tennessee lists $100 for an out-of-state applicant and New York lists $294 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and New York carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): 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.
- New York (the reverse move): The ASWB exam is not retaken; ASWB must send the Clinical exam score directly to NYSED (scores from the candidate or other jurisdictions are not accepted). Endorsement requires that your initial clinical license was based on the ASWB clinical social work exam. No New York jurisprudence exam; New York-approved child-abuse identification and reporting coursework is required of all LCSW applicants.
What changes, New York → Tennessee
| New York (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $294 ($294 fee for licensure and first registration (same fee for endorsement and standard applicants). Partial refunds may be available on withdrawal.) | $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 | NYSED publishes no processing time on the LCSW requirements page | The Board's page and rules publish no processing time |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Social Work) | 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 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. Tennessee has enacted it and New York 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 New York?
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)
- NYSED Office of the Professions — LCSW License Requirements (incl. Applicants Licensed in Another State) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NYSED Office of the Professions — Licensed Clinical Social Worker profession page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com