Delaware Board of Social Work: License Levels, Exam, and Experience

To get a social work license in Delaware, you need a degree from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited program at the level you’re applying for, a passing score on the matching Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) exam, a cleared state and federal fingerprint background check, and, if you want to practice clinically, two to five years of supervised post-degree experience. The Delaware social work license requirements are set by the Board of Social Work Examiners under Title 24, Chapter 39 of the Delaware Code, and they differ by license tier.¹

The Three License Levels

Delaware issues three tiers, and the one you qualify for depends on your degree.

Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW): bachelor’s in social work from a CSWE-accredited program. Entry-level roles, practiced under supervision.
Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW): master’s in social work from a CSWE-accredited program. More advanced work, including clinical practice under supervision.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): master’s or doctoral degree in social work (or a Board-approved doctoral program), plus two years of post-degree supervised clinical experience. Independent practice, including diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.¹

Education and the ASWB Exam

CSWE accreditation is non-negotiable at every level. Once you’ve graduated, you register directly with ASWB for the exam that matches your tier. The Bachelors and Masters exams each cost $230; the Clinical exam costs $260. Fees are non-refundable.²

Background Check

Every applicant has to complete a state and federal criminal background check through digital fingerprinting. Delaware contracts with IdentoGO, and you book your fingerprinting appointment through its online portal. The Division of Professional Regulation won’t release the results to you or anyone else except in the narrow case of disputing inaccurate information on the report.³ Verify your service code before you submit prints. Submitting under the wrong code means repeating the appointment and paying again.

Supervised Experience for the LCSW

Clinical licensure is where the requirements get detailed. You need at least 3,200 hours of post-degree supervised clinical social work experience, completed over no less than two years and no more than five.⁴

Of those 3,200 hours, at least 1,600 must be clinical work done under direct professional supervision. Within that 1,600, at least 100 hours have to be one-on-one supervision with your approved supervisor, held either face-to-face or by live video. Phone and email don’t count. Your supervisor has discretion to conduct up to all of the one-on-one hours over live video.⁴

Your supervisor should be a licensed clinical social worker in any U.S. state or territory. If no LCSW is available, a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist can supervise you instead, but only if you submit a notarized statement describing your efforts to find an LCSW first, and the Board can accept or reject that explanation. Whatever their license type, your supervisor needs at least three years of post-licensure practice, a clean disciplinary record, recent continuing education in supervision and ethics, and no more than seven supervisees at a time.⁴

Renewal and Continuing Education

All Delaware social work licenses expire January 31 of odd-numbered years. You renew every two years through the DELPROS online portal.⁵ Continuing education totals scale with your license level, and each tier has the same embedded ethics and mandatory reporter components:

LBSW: 20 hours total, including at least 6 in professional ethics and 1 in mandatory reporting.
LMSW: 30 hours total, including at least 6 in professional ethics and 1 in mandatory reporting.
LCSW: 40 hours total, including at least 6 in professional ethics and 1 in mandatory reporting.⁶

The mandatory reporting hour reflects your obligation as a mandatory reporter of child abuse and neglect; state-authorized training is offered through the Office of the Child Advocate’s training portal.⁷

If you miss the January 31 deadline, you’ll pay a late fee equal to 50% of your renewal fee on top of the renewal fee itself.⁸ Letting the license lapse, whether by missing CE or missing renewal, means you can’t legally practice until it’s restored.

If You’re Already Licensed Elsewhere

Delaware enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact in August 2025, joining 29 other states.⁹ The compact lets qualifying social workers hold a multistate license and practice across member states without filing a separate application in each.¹⁰ The Compact Commission has been established, and multistate applications could open as soon as late 2025. You’ll need an active, unrestricted license in good standing plus the compact’s baseline education and exam credentials.

Outside the compact, a social worker in good standing in another state can practice in Delaware for up to 30 days per year, provided they apply to the Board in writing beforehand and get approval.¹

Military service members and their spouses relocating to Delaware on orders have two options. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act process, you can register your existing out-of-state license through DELPROS using the Military Registration license type and practice for the duration of the permanent station orders. If you want a full Delaware license, you can apply for a provisional license that lets you work for up to six months while the permanent application is processed.¹¹

When You Don’t Need a License

Chapter 39 carves out several exemptions. Clergy acting within their regular religious duties are exempt. Professionals holding another Delaware license and working within its scope aren’t covered by Chapter 39. Workers who perform basic eligibility screenings, collect demographic data, or develop service plans unrelated to behavioral health diagnoses don’t need licensure. Unlicensed people can also sit on a multidisciplinary behavioral health team, so long as the team includes licensed professionals and the unlicensed members don’t diagnose, assess, provide psychotherapy, or write treatment plans.¹

One timeline matters if you work for a state, private, or nonprofit agency. Social workers employed by such an agency before June 11, 2019, have voluntary licensure. Anyone newly employed or placed in a new position at one of those agencies on or after June 11, 2024, must be licensed.¹

Practicing Without a License

Practicing social work in Delaware without a license, or using a title suggesting you’re qualified to, is a misdemeanor. A first offense carries a $500 to $1,000 fine per violation. Subsequent offenses run $1,000 to $2,000 per violation, with jurisdiction in Superior Court.¹ These penalties apply equally to people who never held a license and to those whose licenses lapsed through non-renewal, so if your renewal date is approaching, treat it as a hard deadline.

1
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 24 Chapter 39 – Board of Social Work Examiners
2
Association of Social Work Boards. Exam
3
Division of Professional Regulation. Criminal Background Check Process
4
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 3900-3.0 – Licensure of Licensed Clinical Social Workers
5
Division of Professional Regulation. License Renewal
6
Delaware Regulations. Delaware Administrative Code Title 24 3900 – Board of Social Work Examiners
7
Delaware Courts. Mandatory Reporter and Additional Online Training
8
Division of Professional Regulation. Fee Schedule
9
National Association of Social Workers. Interstate Licensure Compact for Social Work
10
Delaware General Assembly. SB 109 – Bill Detail
11
Division of Professional Regulation. Professional License Services for Military Personnel