Social Work License from North Carolina to Nevada: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers ↗
A social work license transfers from North Carolina to Nevada by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers, verify your North Carolina license, and meet Nevada's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken, but endorsement requires that you passed the equivalent ASWB exams; Nevada's LCSW requires the ASWB Masters exam AND the ASWB Clinical exam. No Nevada jurisprudence exam is listed..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. North Carolina has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Nevada has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers's endorsement process below is the whole route.
What changes, North Carolina → Nevada
| North Carolina (current) | Nevada (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Licensure by endorsement |
| Application fee | $145 ($145 nonrefundable application fee per credential level, by certified check, money order or cashier's check (no personal checks). LCSW biennial renewal is $150. The Board may run a criminal or disciplinary history check; no separate fee is stated.) | $175 (LCSW level: $50 application fee plus $125 endorsement fee; the $125 initial license fee is also due (Board fee schedule, Jan 2022). Annual LCSW renewal is $187.50. Eligible military members, spouses and veterans pay half the initial fee.) |
| Processing time | ~4 weeks (The Board says review and processing generally take at least 30 days once the application is complete and may be extended; no upper bound is published.) | No processing time is published. |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board (NCSWCLB) | Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Nevada sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Nevada's current requirements on the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current, unrestricted clinical social work license in another state (the LCSW application is only for those currently licensed as clinical social workers elsewhere).
- Have the university send transcripts verifying your CSWE-accredited MSW directly to the Board.
- Show at least 3,000 hours of post-graduate internship/supervised experience; simply being licensed elsewhere is not sufficient.
- Pass state and federal background checks.
- Arrange written license verification from Arizona, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey or Utah if you were licensed there (the Board pulls other states online).
- Pay the fees ($175 (LCSW level: $50 application fee plus $125 endorsement fee; the $125 initial license fee is also due (Board fee schedule, Jan 2022). Annual LCSW renewal is $187.50. Eligible military members, spouses and veterans pay half the initial fee.)) and allow No processing time is published..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Nevada accept a North Carolina social work license?
A social work license transfers from North Carolina to Nevada by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers, verify your North Carolina license, and meet Nevada's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken, but endorsement requires that you passed the equivalent ASWB exams; Nevada's LCSW requires the ASWB Masters exam AND the ASWB Clinical exam. No Nevada jurisprudence exam is listed..
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from North Carolina to Nevada?
The ASWB exam is not retaken, but endorsement requires that you passed the equivalent ASWB exams; Nevada's LCSW requires the ASWB Masters exam AND the ASWB Clinical exam. No Nevada 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 North Carolina-to-Nevada move cost and how long does it take?
$175 (LCSW level: $50 application fee plus $125 endorsement fee; the $125 initial license fee is also due (Board fee schedule, Jan 2022). Annual LCSW renewal is $187.50. Eligible military members, spouses and veterans pay half the initial fee.) Processing: No processing time is published.
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. North Carolina has enacted it and Nevada has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers is the route.
Will Nevada accept the supervised hours I completed in North Carolina?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Nevada's rule, where the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers 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.
- Nevada BESW — New Applicants (Endorsement information, LCSW application) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Nevada BESW — Fees for Licensure and Military Discount (Jan 2022) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Nevada BESW — Preliminary Qualifications for all Levels (2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCSWCLB — Application for Certification/Licensure packet (v2026-05-26), incl. Certification/Licensure by Substantial Equivalency (Comity) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCSWCLB — Levels and Eligibility Requirements (LCSW exam, experience, fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCSWCLB — Application FAQs (processing time) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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