Social Work License from Pennsylvania to Mississippi: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Mississippi accept a Pennsylvania social work license?
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania to Mississippi by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Mississippi's endorsement requirements. The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit a passing ASWB score through ASWB score transfer. The Board's rules require that the exam you passed be the one ASWB prescribes for the level sought (the ASWB Clinical exam for the LCSW); exams administered by individual states are not considered equal. No Mississippi jurisprudence exam is listed.
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. Mississippi has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Pennsylvania has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Pennsylvania and Mississippi
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Mississippi. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Pennsylvania to Mississippi (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Mississippi 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 Mississippi.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Mississippi has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Pennsylvania has not.
- Application fee
Mississippi lists $187 for an out-of-state applicant and Pennsylvania lists $90 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Mississippi lists 4–6 weeks; Pennsylvania has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Mississippi and Pennsylvania carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Mississippi (this move): The ASWB exam is not retaken; submit a passing ASWB score through ASWB score transfer. The Board's rules require that the exam you passed be the one ASWB prescribes for the level sought (the ASWB Clinical exam for the LCSW); exams administered by individual states are not considered equal. No Mississippi jurisprudence exam is listed.
- 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 → Mississippi
| Pennsylvania (current) | Mississippi (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.) | $187 (LMSW/LCSW reciprocity total $187, paid through the applicant portal; the Board states this total includes the application fee, initial license fee and background check fee ($50 fingerprint processing). The Board does not publish the split.) |
| Processing time | Neither the Board's LCSW licensure snapshot nor 49 Pa. Code ch. 47 states an endorsement processing time | 4–6 weeks (The Board says fingerprint processing may take 4-6 weeks, longer if prints are unreadable, and the background check must be received before an application is considered. No overall processing time is published.) |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Mississippi sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Mississippi's current requirements on the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Apply online through the Board's applicant portal using the Reciprocity Application checklist.
- Hold a CSWE-accredited MSW and an active social work license in another state.
- Have your current state licensing agency send an out-of-state license verification.
- Submit supervision documentation for the LCSW level.
- Request a fingerprint card for the Mississippi CIC/FBI criminal history and sex offender registry checks.
- Send an official sealed transcript or the Board's Verification of Education form.
- 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. Mississippi has enacted it and Pennsylvania has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) is the route.
Will Mississippi 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. Mississippi's rule, where the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (MBOESWMFT) 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.
- MBOESWMFT — Reciprocity Application Checklist and packet (rev. 03/14/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- MBOESWMFT — Social Work Forms and Licensing Information (reciprocity, UROLA note) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- MBOESWMFT — 2022 Amended Rules and Regulations (Licensure by Reciprocity/Endorsement) ↗ (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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