Social Work License from Pennsylvania to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Minnesota Board of Social Work ↗
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Social Work, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. 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..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Minnesota has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Pennsylvania has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Minnesota Board of Social Work's endorsement process below is the whole route.
In Minnesota the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Pennsylvania license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Minnesota
| Pennsylvania (current) | Minnesota (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.) | $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 | Neither the Board's LCSW licensure snapshot nor 49 Pa. Code ch. 47 states an endorsement processing time. | No processing time is published in the materials reviewed; the application closes if not completed within one year. |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | 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 Pennsylvania social work license?
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Social Work, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. 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..
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania-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.
Does the Social Work Licensure Compact help with this move?
No. Minnesota has enacted it and Pennsylvania has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Minnesota Board of Social Work is the route.
Will Minnesota 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. 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)
- 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 Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]