The requirements for obtaining licensure as a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW) are set forth in 22 TAC 781.401. See the Council’s Statutes and Rules webpage for an easily searched Consolidated Rulebook.
In general, to receive an LBSW, an applicant must apply with the Council, pay the required fee, and provide proof of the following:
Click each link to be taken to an explanation of documenting that requirement.
- Conferral of a baccalaureate degree from a CSWE accredited social work program
- Passage of the Bachelors examination administered nationally by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
- Completion of the Texas Social Workers Jurisprudence exam, dated no earlier than six months before the date staff receives the online application for license
- A certified self-query from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
- A fingerprint background check
- Verification of any social work license in another jurisdiction
Official Transcript of Degree Required
Applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) or a program in candidacy for accreditation by CSWE.
Request your school(s) email an official transcript(s), showing qualifying degree was conferred, to transcripts@bhec.texas.gov. Alternatively, staff may accept an official transcript mailed to BHEC SW, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701, as long as the transcript is still in an unopened envelope sealed by the school.
Registration for Examination
To register for the ASWB Bachelors exam, see the board’s ASWB Licensure Examinations webpage.
Note: Texas partners with ASWB such that ASWB staff perform all pre-exam eligibility tasks. If you need help with exam-eligibility questions or registration, please contact ASWB staff at texas@aswb.org.
Examination by Current Students:
Texas allows a student in a qualifying baccalaureate social work program to register and sit for ASWB’s Bachelors exam while still in school. However, before applying for Texas LBSW, the person must pass the ASWB Bachelors exam AND graduate from the qualifying baccalaureate social work program with an official transcript showing the degree has been conferred.
Report of Examination Score
If you use the online, Texas-specific exam registration, ASWB will automatically release your exam score to Texas Council staff.
If you already have passed the ASWB Bachelors exam in another state or jurisdiction,
- You may contact ASWB to request transfer of your passing exam score to Texas; or
- If you hold a social work license in another jurisdiction, the licensing authority of the non-Texas jurisdiction may be able to verify your ASWB passing exam score on the Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction (available below).
Social Worker Jurisprudence Exam
Complete the Texas SW Jurisprudence Examination via the link on the webpage. This is an online learning experience similar to an open-book test on the Texas laws and rules that govern the practice of social work. Retain and submit the completion certificate. The date on the completion certificate cannot be any earlier than six months before the date your application is received.
National Practitioner Data Bank Self-Query Report
Visit https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/pract/selfQueryBasics.jsp for instructions on how to obtain a Self-Query Report from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). You may submit the results several ways:
- The NPDB may email to you a certified self-query report in PDF. Do not alter the PDF. You may upload the certified report PDF when you complete your online application for license.
- OR after your online application has been submitted, you may forward the emailed, certified NPDB self-query report PDF to NPDB@bhec.texas.gov.
- OR the NPDB will mail the self-query report to you. Mail the NPDB self-query report to the Texas SW Board so it is still in the unopened envelope sealed by NPDB. Mail to BHEC SW, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701.
Fingerprinting Process
After the Council’s Online System confirms your application submission, the system will generate an email message with a link to instructions on how to submit your fingerprints for the statutorily required fingerprint-based background check. See our Fingerprint Information webpage for more information.
Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction
Complete Part I of Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction (available below), then send it to the non-Texas licensing agency that issued your license. The non-Texas licensing agency should complete the form and submit it to the Texas SW Board at socialwork@bhec.texas.gov. A separate form must be received for each license you currently hold or have ever held in the past.
- Some state agencies generate their own form, staff may consider the data on the state-agency-generated form – if data is not included on the state-agency-generated form, staff may ask the applicant for additional information / documentation. The state-agency may send their own generated form to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov.
- Some state agencies no longer issue any type of license verification, but rather provide an online, primary source. If that’s the case for one or more of the licenses you hold, please note that in your online application or send in an email to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov after your application has been submitted. If another state’s online license verification does not include all the data needed, staff may ask the applicant for additional information/documentation.
Key Forms and Publications:
You can find other helpful information for applying for a social work license on our How To User Guides webpage or the Board’s Forms and Publications webpage.
After Your Application Has Been Submitted
Staff will review all materials and either issue a license or a deficiency notice with instructions. Generally, staff send a deficiency notice via email. When expecting a message from staff, please periodically check your junk and spam folders. Some recipient’s email platforms filter staff messages (from our “.gov” address) into junk or spam folders.
You can check the status – whether your license has been issued or whether renewal process has been completed – via the Council’s Online Search/Verify a License webpage/portal. The portal displays publicly releasable information directly from the Council’s licensing database in real time. It is the most up-to-date information. No login is required; so, the information is available to applicants, licensees, supervisors, potential employers, etc.
One day after issuance of a license, a printable PDF of the license certificate will be in the licensee’s online licensing account secure inbox. The licensee may print the certificate as needed for display. Or a licensee may use the drop-down menu under “Manage My License” to print the license certificate.
The license renewal due date is set to coincide with the last day of the licensee’s birth month. Thus, the first renewal period may be less than 2 full years. See renewal requirements in 22 TAC §§781.501, 882.50(b), and 883.1(d)(2). Visit the Council’s Statute and Rules webpage, the Council’s How to Report Your Continuing Education webpage, and the Council’s Human Trafficking Awareness FAQs webpage for link to list of Texas HHSC-approved human trafficking awareness courses.
In case it is useful to you: The Council provides an easily searched courtesy copy of the current rules in its Consolidated Rulebook for Social Work on its Statutes and Rules webpage. The Consolidated Rulebooks are updated shortly after a new or revised rule is adopted. The Texas Secretary of State maintains the official version of the rules on its website for Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code, Parts 34 and 41.
PLEASE NOTE: Rules and procedures are subject to change. You may wish to subscribe to Email Updates from the Board. The Email Updates include notice of board meetings, proposed rule changes, and notice of newly adopted rules, as well as other significant operational changes. To subscribe, complete the form on the Email Updates webpage; then follow the prompts and instructions to complete the subscription confirmation process.
