How to get a social work license in Alaska

Alaska licenses three levels: Baccalaureate Social Worker, Master Social Worker and Clinical Social Worker. Each takes the matching ASWB exam, which the rules still call the basic, intermediate and clinical exams. Everything below comes from the board's own pages and rules, checked October 18, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.

Check with your board. Social Work Ticket is a study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or any state social work board; ASWB is their mark, used here only to name the exam. Laws on confidentiality, reporting and licensing differ by state; follow your state's law, your agency and your supervisor.

Alaska at a glance

LicenseASWB examWhat it takes
Licensed Baccalaureate Social WorkerBachelorsA BSW from a board-approved school. $100 application + $225 license.
Licensed Master Social WorkerMastersAn MSW or DSW from a board-approved school. $100 + $275.
Licensed Clinical Social WorkerClinicalAn MSW or DSW, two years of supervised postgraduate clinical work (or 3,000 hours over at least two years) within the last 10 years, 100 hours of supervision. $100 + $325.

Alaska, step by step

Alaska Board of Social Work Examiners (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing)

  1. Exam (12 AAC 18.105): the ASWB clinical exam for the clinical license, the intermediate (Masters) exam for the master social worker and the basic (Bachelors) exam for the baccalaureate social worker. Once the board approves your application, you have one year to sit for it.
  2. Clinical experience (AS 08.95.110): within the 10 years before you apply, under a licensed clinical supervisor, either two years of continuous full-time postgraduate clinical social work or at least 3,000 hours of part-time work over at least two years.
  3. Supervision (12 AAC 18.115): at least 100 hours of direct clinical supervision spread through the period, no more than 50 of them in groups, in face-to-face meetings (in person or live video), documented on the department's form.
  4. Supervisors from July 1, 2026 (12 AAC 18.113): a clinical social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist with at least three years licensed and six hours of supervision CE, plus six more hours each licensing period.
  5. Fees (12 AAC 02.155): nonrefundable application $100, then the license fee: $225 baccalaureate, $275 master, $325 clinical (the same amounts to renew every two years). The division proposed fee changes in October 2026, so check the current amount when you apply.

Sources: Alaska Board of Social Work Examiners, Social work statutes and regulations (PDF), Centralized licensing regulations: fees (PDF). Checked October 18, 2026.

Practice for the Bachelors exam, freeThe Bachelors level: generalist practice, benefits programs and task-centered work, on the 2026 Bachelors outline. Practice for the Masters exam, freeVignette questions on the 2026 Masters outline, every answer sourced. Practice for the Clinical exam, freeDSM-5-TR diagnosis, psychotherapy models, clinical ethics and supervision, on the 2026 Clinical outline.

The national steps, briefly

The steps that hold nearly everywhere: a CSWE-accredited degree, your board's approval (or ASWB's, in a few states), the ASWB exam at the level your license needs, then the license. Every ASWB level has 122 questions (110 scored) in 4 hours; Bachelors and Masters cost $230, Advanced Generalist and Clinical $260, and you wait at least 90 days to retake (ASWB Examination Guidebook, August 2026). A passing score counts in every state for the same exam level. The full walk-through: How to get your social work license.

Official pages