Social Work License from Texas to New Jersey: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does New Jersey accept a Texas social work license?
A social work license transfers from Texas to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs), verify your Texas license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. The exam is not retaken: N.J.A.C. 13:44G-4.5 exempts an out-of-state licensee from the exam if they passed an exam similar to the Board-required one (for the LCSW, the ASWB Clinical exam); submit your exam results (an ASWB score report or the score on your out-of-state license verification). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam is required.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The compact question does not arise here. New Jersey has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact and Texas has not, but nothing is being issued in either, so the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs)'s endorsement process below is the whole route.
What's different between Texas and New Jersey
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into New Jersey. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Texas to New Jersey (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
New Jersey 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 New Jersey.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (32).
- SW Compact membership
New Jersey has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact; Texas has not.
- Application fee
New Jersey lists $75–$150 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; New Jersey has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
New Jersey and Texas carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- New Jersey (this move): The exam is not retaken: N.J.A.C. 13:44G-4.5 exempts an out-of-state licensee from the exam if they passed an exam similar to the Board-required one (for the LCSW, the ASWB Clinical exam); submit your exam results (an ASWB score report or the score on your out-of-state license verification). No New Jersey 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 → New Jersey
| Texas (current) | New Jersey (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–$150 (N.J.A.C. 13:44G-14.1 (revision date 4/15/2024) lists a $75 application fee and a separate $75 endorsement fee. The endorsement rule (13:44G-4.5(b)(2)) names only the application fee, and whether the $75 endorsement fee is also charged could not be confirmed, hence the $75-$150 range. Initial clinical license fee is $160 (first year of the biennial cycle) or $80 (second year). Criminal history background check $18.75.) |
| 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 was found in the materials that could be retrieved |
| Licensing authority | Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, BHEC) | New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Jersey sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a license in a U.S. jurisdiction whose education and experience requirements are substantially the same as New Jersey's.
- Document the LCSW education and experience: CSWE MSW, 12 semester hours of clinical coursework, and 3,000 supervised post-MSW clinical hours over 2-4 years.
- Submit the application with exam results and an official license verification for any out-of-state social work credential.
- Sign the consent for a criminal history background check (fingerprinting unless already fingerprinted for a NJ Division of Consumer Affairs board since November 2003).
- 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. New Jersey has enacted it and Texas has not, and the compact was not issuing multistate licenses anywhere as of 2026-09-27. Endorsement through the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs) is the route.
Will New Jersey 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. New Jersey's rule, where the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Consumer Affairs) 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.
- N.J.A.C. 13:44G State Board of Social Work Examiners, last revision 4/15/2024 (4.1 LCSW eligibility, 4.5 Endorsement, 14.1 Fees) (Internet Archive copy captured 2025-05-16; njconsumeraffairs.gov is behind an Incapsula bot-block) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Board of Social Work Examiners — Application for Licensure as an LCSW (Internet Archive copy captured 2024-02-03) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Board of Social Work Examiners — home page (license levels) (Internet Archive copy captured 2026-09-05) ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com