Social Work License from Tennessee to Oklahoma: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) ↗
Both Tennessee and Oklahoma have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Compact enacted — endorsement for now
Interim path until the compact activates: licensure by endorsement.
Tennessee and Oklahoma have both enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but it was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27. Shared enactment changes nothing about this move today: you apply to the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) through its standard out-of-state process below, and your ASWB score is transferred, not retaken.
What changes, Tennessee → Oklahoma
| Tennessee (current) | Oklahoma (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 (Clinical social worker application fee under Rule 1365-01-.05(3). The same rule requires a separate $125 license fee and a $10 state regulatory fee (biennial). The endorsement/verification fee is $0. Background-check vendor fees are extra. The only license fee refundable on written request is the $125.) | $150 ('Application processing fee' on the Board's current fee schedule (xlsx). The criminal background check is billed separately 'at cost' and paid apart from the application fee (OAC 675:10-1-9(b)). Renewal is $100 and licenses renew every calendar year.) |
| Processing time | The Board's page and rules publish no processing time. | The Board only says it 'strives to process an application for licensure within a reasonable amount of time'; no figure is published. |
| Licensing authority | Tennessee Board of Social Worker Licensure (Tennessee Department of Health) | Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Oklahoma sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Oklahoma's current requirements on the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Complete the online application and the Affidavit of Legal Status (U.S. citizenship or qualified alien status).
- Complete the Board's state and national criminal history background check.
- Have every state where you hold or held a license verify it (Board form, or upload that state's online verification).
- Request an ASWB score transfer to the Oklahoma Board.
- Show that you met Oklahoma's education and supervised-experience requirements when you were first licensed (59 O.S. 1261.4(C)).
- Pay the fees ($150 ('Application processing fee' on the Board's current fee schedule (xlsx). The criminal background check is billed separately 'at cost' and paid apart from the application fee (OAC 675:10-1-9(b)). Renewal is $100 and licenses renew every calendar year.)) and allow The Board only says it 'strives to process an application for licensure within a reasonable amount of time'; no figure is published..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Oklahoma accept a Tennessee social work license?
Both Tennessee and Oklahoma have enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but multistate licenses are not yet being issued (as of 2026-09-27). Until the compact activates, transfer your social work license the standard way: apply for licensure by endorsement.
Do I retake the ASWB exam moving from Tennessee to Oklahoma?
The ASWB exam is not retaken: 59 O.S. 1261.4 requires a passing score on the designated licensure exam, and the Board's forms page tells transfer applicants to request an ASWB score transfer to the Board. OAC 675:10-1-10 lists the ASWB exams the Board accepts (Bachelors, Masters, Advanced Generalist, Clinical) but does not say which category the LCSW needs. No Oklahoma jurisprudence exam was found. ASWB sends the score for $40 per transfer, requested in ASWBCentral, and delivery takes 7-10 business days.
What does the Tennessee-to-Oklahoma move cost and how long does it take?
$150 ('Application processing fee' on the Board's current fee schedule (xlsx). The criminal background check is billed separately 'at cost' and paid apart from the application fee (OAC 675:10-1-9(b)). Renewal is $100 and licenses renew every calendar year.) Processing: The Board only says it 'strives to process an application for licensure within a reasonable amount of time'; no figure is published.
Tennessee and Oklahoma are both compact states. Can I practice in Oklahoma on my Tennessee license?
No. The Social Work Licensure Compact was not issuing multistate licenses as of 2026-09-27, so it authorizes no practice in Oklahoma. You need an Oklahoma license from the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW).
Will Oklahoma accept the supervised hours I completed in Tennessee?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Oklahoma's rule, where the Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers (OSBLSW) 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.
- OSBLSW — Agency Forms (licensure transfer from another state) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OSBLSW — Social Work Practice Act, Title 59 (board PDF, rev. 10/23/2025), 59 O.S. 1261.4 Reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OSBLSW — Agency Rules revised 2026 (OAC 675:10-1-9, -10, -15) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OSBLSW — Fee schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OSBLSW — Home page (registry, contact) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 1365-01 (rev. Sept. 2024), incl. 1365-01-.04(5) Licensure by Reciprocity and 1365-01-.05 Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Tennessee Department of Health — Board of Social Workers ↗ (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]