Illinois licenses Licensed Social Workers (LSW) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) through the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Since January 1, 2022, the LSW needs no exam at all, and since 2024 the LCSW has an alternative to the exam for people who have tried it once. 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.
Illinois at a glance
License
ASWB exam
What it takes
LSW (Licensed Social Worker)
None since Jan 1, 2022
An approved MSW, or a BSW plus 3 years of supervised professional experience. $50.
LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
Clinical (or the exam alternative)
An MSW and 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience after the degree (2,000 with a social work doctorate), then the Clinical exam. $50.
Illinois has no separate Bachelors license, and the Masters exam is no longer required for the LSW (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1470.70).
Illinois, step by step
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Social Work Examining and Disciplinary Board
Apply in CORE: IDFPR's online licensing system (launched October 30, 2024) takes LSW and LCSW applications. The application fee is $50 for either license ($200 if you are licensed in another state and apply by endorsement); renewal is figured at $30 a year.
LSW: an MSW from an approved program, or a BSW plus 3 years of supervised professional experience. No exam: Illinois dropped the Masters exam requirement for the LSW on January 1, 2022.
LCSW experience:3,000 hours of supervised clinical professional experience after the MSW (2,000 after a social work doctorate), at 30 to 40 hours a week full time or up to 29 hours a week part time. Your supervisor meets with you an average of at least 4 hours a month to discuss cases and treatment.
The exam: the ASWB Clinical exam. Since January 2025, IDFPR gives LCSW applicants exam approval when they apply in good faith, so you can test while the application is still being reviewed; IDFPR's testing contractor, Continental Testing Services, handles registration for new applicants and retakes.
Exam alternative: if you have attempted the Clinical exam at least once since January 1, 2019 without passing, you can instead document 3,000 more hours of supervised professional experience on top of the 3,000 clinical hours, supervised by an LCSW, LCPC, LMFT, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist or psychiatric APRN, within the last 10 years. From January 1, 2026, you must hold an LSW (or school social work license) before you earn those hours. You have 3 years from applying to finish the process.
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.