Social Work License from Pennsylvania to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Delaware accept a Pennsylvania social work license?
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware jurisprudence exam is required.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Pennsylvania has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Pennsylvania and Delaware
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Delaware. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Pennsylvania to Delaware (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Delaware to Pennsylvania (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Pennsylvania matter?
Coming from Pennsylvania matters here: only 18 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Delaware.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Delaware has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Pennsylvania has not.
- Application fee
Delaware lists $205 for an out-of-state applicant and Pennsylvania lists $90 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Delaware and Pennsylvania carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Delaware (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken, but you must already have passed the national ASWB licensing exam and have ASWB send an official score verification directly to the Board through ASWB Score Transfer. No Delaware jurisprudence exam is required.
- Pennsylvania (the reverse move): The ASWB exam is not retaken: Pennsylvania requires a pass on the ASWB Clinical examination for the LCSW, and an endorsement applicant must meet the Board's examination requirement. Send the score through ASWB Score Transfer. No Pennsylvania jurisprudence exam, but 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training are required for initial licensure.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Delaware
| Pennsylvania (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $90 (49 Pa. Code 47.4 sets one fee for 'licensure and original license issuance as a licensed clinical social worker': $90. Biennial renewal is $95. Any criminal-history check costs are not stated on the LCSW snapshot.) | $205 (LCSW license application fee per the Division of Professional Regulation fee schedule; non-refundable, payable only by card through DELPROS. Background check fees are extra. Renewal fees are announced at renewal.) |
| Processing time | Neither the Board's LCSW licensure snapshot nor 49 Pa. Code ch. 47 states an endorsement processing time | The Board publishes no processing time for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current clinical social work license in another state, US territory or DC.
- If your state's standards are not substantially similar to Delaware's, show at least five years of practice in the past seven.
- Complete a State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check through the Division's process.
- Have every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a social work license send verification directly to the Board.
- Submit the Child Protection Registry Consent Form.
- Apply online through DELPROS within six months of starting the application.
- 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. Delaware has enacted it and Pennsylvania has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) is the route.
Will Delaware accept the supervised hours I completed in Pennsylvania?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Delaware's rule, where the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) 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.
- Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners — Clinical Social Worker Licensure ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners — Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ASWB — Sending your exam results to another state or province ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA Department of State — Clinical Social Worker Licensure Requirements Snapshot (endorsement and Act 41) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 49 Pa. Code 47.4 — Licensure fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact map (PA bill pending) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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