Social Work Licensing Exams - Exam preparation and pass/fail overview - Fees, format, and testing process

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven

Social work licensing exams assess whether qualified social workers meet minimum standards for licensure across the United States and multiple Canadian provinces. The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) administers standardized, pass/fail exams at thousands of international and North American testing sites, with fixed time limits and a structured mix of scored and unscored items. The guide explains eligibility steps, registration, scheduling, study materials, exam categories, pass-rate statistics, and the psychometric methods used to ensure validity, reliability, and test fairness.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Social Work Licensing Exams

Exam structure and numbers

How to take the exams

Exam categories and pass rates

Exam development

Validity, reliability, and fairness

Social Work Licensing Exams Licensing exams are a crucial component in nearly every licensed profession, and social work is no exception. Throughout the United States and in two Canadian provinces, social workers who are otherwise qualified must pass an examination to become licensed. The exams provided by the Association of Social Work Boards are used in every U.S. state except California, as well as in the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. More than 36,000 ASWB exams are administered annually. Social work licensing exams, by the numbers... · 170 multiple-choice questions · 20 “pretest” questions, which are not counted toward the score · 4-hour time limit · 200+ testing sites internationally and in the U.S. and Canada, with ongoing testing by appointment · $260 registration fee for the Clinical and Advanced Generalist exams · $230 registration fee for the Bachelors and Masters exams · $35 plus $3 shipping and handling to purchase a printed study guide from ASWB · $85 to purchase an online, full-length practice test from ASWB (Bachelors, Mastersand Clinical only) · 90-day wait to retake the test for candidates who do not pass · 36,000+ exams administered in 2013 · Generally, 93–106 correct answers (out of 150 questions) needed to pass, depending on the exam form; all ASWB exams are pass/fail, and the passing raw score is the same in every state, province or territory To take the exams: · Apply for a license in the state, province or territory where you would like to practice. · Download the Candidate Handbook from the ASWB website ([www.aswb.org](www.aswb.org)) . · Once your application is approved and ASWB receives your approval information, register for the exam with ASWB. You can do this online ([www.aswb.org](www.aswb.org)) or by phone (888 .579.3926) . · After your registration is processed, you will receive an Authorization to Test by email, and you can contact PearsonVUE, ASWB’s testing contractor, to schedule your exam. · Tests are administered on computers at test centers, and candidates receive an unofficial score report from the test center upon completion of the exam. | Exam category | Intended for | Pass rate (2013)
(first-time test-takers only) | | --- | --- | --- | | Bachelors | BSWs with 0–2 years of experience | 77.8% | | Masters | MSWs with 0–2 years of experience | 82.3% | | Advanced Generalist | MSWs with 2+ years of experience in non-clinical settings | 75.3% | | Clinical | MSWs with 2+ years of experience in clinical settings | 77.9% | Exam development Before any candidate sits down to take a social work licensing exam, ASWB has done its homework. The process begins with the practice analysis, a major survey of the practice of social work. The results of this survey give ASWB a highly accurate profile of social work practice and help the association establish the various categories of the examination offered. The results of the practice analysis are content outlines, also referred to as exam blueprints. These outlines, and the knowledge, skills and ability statements associated with them, can be found on ASWB’s website, [www.aswb.org](www.aswb.org). These blueprints are used to develop the exams and to generate passing scores. All of ASWB’s exams are pass/fail. In general, test-takers need to answer between 93 and 106 questions correctly to pass the test. The actual number varies depending on the difficulty of the exact version, or form, of the exam. Having multiple forms allows ASWB to make sure that any candidate who retakes the test will not see the same set of questions. A psychometric process called equating means that the passing score for each form represents a consistent level of difficulty. A passing score is a pass in every jurisdiction where ASWB exams are used. learn more: [www.aswb.org](www.aswb.org) contact us: [info@aswb.org](info@aswb.org) Facebook: ASWBOnline

FAQs

Who administers social work licensing exams and where are they used?

ASWB administers the exams in nearly every U.S. state except California, and in multiple Canadian provinces and other U.S. territories listed in the text.

What is the exam format and what parts are scored vs. unscored?

Exams include 170 multiple-choice scored questions plus 20 pretest questions that are not counted toward the score, with a 4-hour time limit.

How does ASWB determine passing scores across different exam forms?

Passing scores are generated using psychometric equating so that each exam form reflects a consistent difficulty level, resulting in the same passing raw score across jurisdictions where ASWB exams are used.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven