Social work licensure in New Jersey

Requirements last verified August 16, 2026 against the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners.

License levels

CSWCertified Social Worker
The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.
LSWLicensed Social Worker
Requires the ASWB Masters exam.
An MSW from a CSWE-accredited program (or a doctorate in social work) and the ASWB Masters examination.
LCSWLicensed Clinical Social Worker
Requires the ASWB Clinical exam.
The ASWB Clinical examination plus two years of full-time supervised clinical experience, completed “within a period of not less than two, and not more than three consecutive years”.

Worth knowing about New Jersey

New Jersey pre-approves you for the exam itself: the Board issues a separate Application for ASWB Masters- or Clinical-Level Examination Preapproval, and it tells applicants to wait seven days after approval before contacting ASWB to register. This is the Board’s own step and is not the same as the ASWB Licensing Services pre-approval that Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah require. New Jersey also caps the clinical window — the two years of supervised experience must fit inside not more than three consecutive years.

Common questions about New Jersey

Which ASWB exam do I need for New Jersey?: LSW requires the ASWB Masters exam; LCSW requires the ASWB Clinical exam. Your board tells ASWB which category you are approved to take, so confirm with them before you register — registration fees are nonrefundable.
What social work licenses does New Jersey issue?: CSW (Certified Social Worker); LSW (Licensed Social Worker); LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).
Is this information current?: These requirements were last checked against New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners on 2026-08-16. Licensure rules change without much notice, so treat the board as the authority and this page as a starting point.

Which exam will you sit?

Whatever New Jersey calls its license levels, the exam behind them is one of five.

License levels

CSWCertified Social Worker

The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.

LSWLicensed Social Worker

Requires the ASWB Masters exam.

An MSW from a CSWE-accredited program (or a doctorate in social work) and the ASWB Masters examination.

LCSWLicensed Clinical Social Worker

Requires the ASWB Clinical exam.

The ASWB Clinical examination plus two years of full-time supervised clinical experience, completed “within a period of not less than two, and not more than three consecutive years”.

Worth knowing about New Jersey

Common questions about New Jersey

Which ASWB exam do I need for New Jersey?

LSW requires the ASWB Masters exam; LCSW requires the ASWB Clinical exam. Your board tells ASWB which category you are approved to take, so confirm with them before you register — registration fees are nonrefundable.

What social work licenses does New Jersey issue?

CSW (Certified Social Worker); LSW (Licensed Social Worker); LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).

Is this information current?

These requirements were last checked against New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners on 2026-08-16. Licensure rules change without much notice, so treat the board as the authority and this page as a starting point.