Social Work License from Texas to Missouri: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Missouri accept a Texas social work license?
A social work license transfers from Texas 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 Texas 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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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Only Missouri has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, and since the compact is not issuing multistate licenses anywhere, that difference does not affect this move. You apply to the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers (Division of Professional Registration) by endorsement, with your Texas license verified and your ASWB score transferred.
What's different between Texas 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
Texas to Missouri (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Missouri to Texas (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Texas matter?
Coming from Texas 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; Texas has not.
- Application fee
Missouri lists $75 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; Missouri has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Missouri and Texas 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.
- 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 → Missouri
| Texas (current) | Missouri (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| SW Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | SW Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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.) | $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 | 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; fingerprint results are valid for one year. A temporary permit request form exists for reciprocity applicants |
| Licensing authority | Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, BHEC) | 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 Texas 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 Texas?
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)
- 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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