Social Work License from Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This move runs entirely through the Nevada Board of Examiners for Social Workers. Your Pennsylvania license is verified, your ASWB score is sent rather than retaken, and Nevada's own checks follow; the Social Work Licensure Compact plays no part because neither state has enacted it.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Nevada
| Pennsylvania (current) | Nevada (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| 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.) | $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 | Neither the Board's LCSW licensure snapshot nor 49 Pa. Code ch. 47 states an endorsement processing time. | No processing time is published. |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | 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 Pennsylvania social work license?
A social work license transfers from Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania-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.
Will Nevada 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. 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)
- 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]