Social Work License from Pennsylvania to Missouri: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Missouri accept a Pennsylvania social work license?
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. No exam is retaken and the reciprocity application does not list an ASWB score report among its required items (completed application, fee, license verifications, suicide-prevention training attestation, fingerprint results). No Missouri jurisprudence exam is required.
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. Missouri has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Pennsylvania has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Pennsylvania and Missouri
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Missouri. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Pennsylvania to Missouri (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Missouri 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 Missouri.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
Missouri has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Pennsylvania has not.
- Application fee
Missouri lists $75 for an out-of-state applicant and Pennsylvania lists $90 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Missouri and Pennsylvania carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Missouri (this move): No exam is retaken and the reciprocity application does not list an ASWB score report among its required items (completed application, fee, license verifications, suicide-prevention training attestation, fingerprint results). No Missouri 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 → Missouri
| Pennsylvania (current) | Missouri (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.) | $75 (Reciprocity application fee $75 (form MO 375-0901, rev. 8-2025), nonrefundable, payable by cashier's check, money order, personal check or bank draft. Fingerprinting is paid separately to IdentoGO/MACHS (amount not stated on the Committee's pages).) |
| 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; fingerprint results are valid for one year. A temporary permit request form exists for reciprocity applicants |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Missouri sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Missouri's current requirements on the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active license in another state for one year or longer (if under one year, contact the Committee).
- Submit the Application for Licensure by Reciprocity (MO 375-0901) with the fee, checking Clinical Social Worker.
- Have every state where you hold or held a license send verification directly to the Committee.
- Complete 2 hours of suicide assessment, treatment and management training within the last 2 years.
- Complete IdentoGO fingerprinting (service code 5416; out-of-state applicants request an FD-258 card).
- 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. Missouri has enacted it and Pennsylvania has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) is the route.
Will Missouri 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. Missouri's rule, where the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) 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.
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Reciprocity page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Application for Licensure by Reciprocity (MO 375-0901, 8-2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Frequently Asked Questions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Social Workers — Criminal Background Checks / Fingerprinting instructions ↗ (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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