New Jersey has three levels: the Certified Social Worker (CSW) for BSW holders, the Licensed Social Worker (LSW) for MSW graduates, and the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). 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.
New Jersey at a glance
License
ASWB exam
What it takes
CSW (Certified Social Worker)
None
A CSWE-accredited BSW. $75 application + $70 certification fee.
LSW (Licensed Social Worker)
Masters
A CSWE-accredited MSW (or social work doctorate) and the Masters exam. $75 + $120 license fee.
LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
Clinical
3,000 supervised hours over 2 to 4 years as an LSW (1,920 face to face), 12 credits of clinical coursework, the Clinical exam. $75 + $160 license fee.
New Jersey does not use the ASWB Bachelors or Advanced Generalist exams.
New Jersey, step by step
New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners
Apply online: New Jersey no longer accepts paper applications. The application fee is $75 for every level (N.J.A.C. 13:44G-14.1); transcripts go straight from the school to the board by email, and LCSW applicants consent to a criminal history background check.
LSW and the Masters exam: use the LSW application to get approved for the ASWB Masters exam. You can be made eligible once you have finished at least 40 graduate credits of an MSW, or in the last semester of an advanced-standing MSW, with a transcript and a letter from your program. Exam eligibility lasts one year. The initial LSW license fee is $120 ($60 in the second year of the renewal cycle).
LCSW experience:3,000 hours of supervised clinical social work after the MSW, completed in no less than two years and no more than four, while you hold the LSW (or work in an exempt setting). At least 1,920 hours must be face-to-face client contact, and half of those must be psychotherapeutic counseling. Your LCSW supervisor must have the board-approved 20-hour supervision course. You may send a Proposed Plan of Supervised Clinical Experience first so the board can approve the plan (no fee).
LCSW coursework and exam: your degree must include 12 graduate semester hours in clinical practice methods (diagnosis and assessment, psychotherapy models, clinical supervision or special populations), outside field placement. Since February 1, 2021, you must prove the clinical hours are done before the board approves you for the ASWB Clinical exam. The initial clinical license fee is $160.
CSW: a BSW from a CSWE-accredited program and the online application; no exam. Certification fee $70.
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.