Social Work License from Texas to Massachusetts: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Massachusetts accept a Texas social work license?
A social work license transfers from Texas to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers, verify your Texas license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. No new exam if you were licensed in an ASWB member jurisdiction by passing the ASWB exam required for the level sought (258 CMR 9.07); for the LICSW that is the ASWB Clinical exam. If your state did not require an ASWB exam, the Board's Policy 06-07 requires you to take and pass the appropriate ASWB exam as a condition of reciprocity. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam is required.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither Texas nor Massachusetts has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, and it is not issuing licenses anywhere in any case, so this is a plain endorsement move. The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers verifies your Texas license, accepts your ASWB score by transfer, and adds its own requirements.
In Massachusetts the clinical license is the LICSW. Apply for it under that name, whatever your Texas license is called; boards match by scope, meaning independent diagnosis and treatment, not by initials.
What's different between Texas and Massachusetts
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Massachusetts. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Texas to Massachusetts (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Massachusetts to Texas (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Texas matter?
Coming from Texas does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Massachusetts.
- SW Compact membership
Neither Texas nor Massachusetts has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact.
- Application fee
Massachusetts lists $162 for an out-of-state applicant and Texas lists $120 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Texas lists 4–6 weeks for the reverse move; Massachusetts has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Massachusetts and Texas carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Massachusetts (this move): No new exam if you were licensed in an ASWB member jurisdiction by passing the ASWB exam required for the level sought (258 CMR 9.07); for the LICSW that is the ASWB Clinical exam. If your state did not require an ASWB exam, the Board's Policy 06-07 requires you to take and pass the appropriate ASWB exam as a condition of reciprocity. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam is required.
- Texas (the reverse move): The ASWB exam is not retaken: Texas requires a pass on the ASWB Clinical exam, sent by ASWB score transfer or verified by your current board on the Verification of Licensure form. You must ALSO complete the Texas Social Work Jurisprudence Examination (an online open-book module) within six months before BHEC receives your application.
What changes, Texas → Massachusetts
| Texas (current) | Massachusetts (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| Application fee | $120 (LCSW application fee per 22 TAC 885.1: $111 base + $4 Texas.gov + $5 OPP/eStrategy = $120 total. Fingerprinting vendor fees and the NPDB self-query fee are extra.) | $162 (LICSW reciprocity application fee $162, per the Board's fee table (archived June 2026). The same table adds a $105 vendor fee (ASWB's Application Processing Unit) and an $82 LICSW license fee, a $349 subtotal. A payment processing fee may also apply. LICSW renewal is $82 every two years.) |
| Processing time | 4–6 weeks (BHEC says most applications take an average of 30-40 days to fully process. Its FY2025 figures for LCSW applications were a median of 15 days, an average of 34 days, and a maximum of 428. Staff usually send a deficiency notice within a few business days.) | No processing time is published on the pages reviewed |
| Licensing authority | Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, BHEC) | Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Massachusetts sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Apply for reciprocity through the Health Professions Licensing Portal (ASWB's Application Processing Unit handles Board applications).
- Show your license's education and experience requirements are substantially equivalent to the LICSW (MSW; 3,500 hours of clinical social work over at least two years post-LCSW; 100 hours of individual clinical supervision).
- Show your license's scope of practice is substantially equivalent to the LICSW's.
- Hold a license in good standing that has never been revoked, suspended, surrendered, denied or restricted by discipline.
- Apply to MassHealth as a fully participating or non-billing provider (required of all LICSWs to be licensed or renew).
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will Massachusetts accept the supervised hours I completed in Texas?
Most boards credit supervised experience completed under another state's rules, but some compare it with their own requirement. Massachusetts's rule, where the Massachusetts Board of Registration of 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.
- Mass.gov — Apply for a social worker license (Internet Archive copy of the official page, captured 2026-06-18) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 258 CMR 9.00 Licensure Requirements and Procedures incl. 9.03 LICSW and 9.07 Licensure by Reciprocity (Internet Archive copy of the Mass.gov PDF captured 2025-09-01) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass.gov — Board Policies and Guidelines (Social Workers), Policy 06-07 on exam requirements for reciprocity applicants (Internet Archive copy captured 2025-12-07) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass.gov — Fees and license renewal schedules for social workers (Internet Archive copy of the official page, captured 2026-06-12) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact jurisdictions ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC — Requirements for holders of a non-Texas LCSW ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC — How to become an LCSW ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC — Consolidated Rulebook for Social Work (March 2026), 22 TAC 885.1 fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC — Current Application Processing Timelines ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Social Work Licensure Compact — compact map ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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