Texas Social Work License Lookup: Status, Type, and Record Details

To run a Texas social work license lookup, go to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) verification portal at bhec.texas.gov/tbhec/verify-a-license/ and search by name or license number. The tool is free, public, and returns license status, license type, expiration date, and any disciplinary history in about two minutes.¹

Running the Search

Click the “Online Search/Verify a License” button on the BHEC page. That opens the state’s licensing database, which is hosted on a separate domain (vo.licensing.hpc.texas.gov). You can search by name or by license number.¹

License number is the most reliable field because it returns a single record. If you only have a name, use the person’s legal first and last name as it appears on official documents. Common names return multiple results, so a partial license number or a general practice location helps you pick the right person from the list.

BHEC also regulates counselors and psychologists, so the portal may ask you to choose a board. Select the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners to filter to social workers.²

What the Record Shows

Each individual record opens to a detail page with the fields that matter for verification:

License status: active, inactive, expired, or under disciplinary action
License type: LBSW, LMSW, or LCSW
Date of first licensure
Rank date: when the current license level was issued, which matters if the person upgraded
Expiration date
Specialty designations, such as board-approved supervisor status
Disciplinary history: publicly available enforcement actions

Disciplinary history is the field most people overlook. A license can read as active while the holder is on probation or operating under restrictions from a consent order. Check that section before assuming “active” means a clean record.¹

Reading the License Status

Active

The holder has met continuing education requirements, paid the renewal fee, and is authorized to practice. An active license can still carry restrictions if the person is under a disciplinary order, so read the enforcement section before stopping at the word.³

Inactive

The social worker has voluntarily paused practice. They pay a reduced fee and are exempt from continuing education while inactive, but they cannot see clients or represent themselves as a practicing social worker. Anyone inactive for four years or more must retake and pass the jurisprudence exam to reactivate.³

Expired

The renewal deadline passed without the required paperwork or fees. The person’s credentials aren’t erased permanently, but they cannot practice until they complete reinstatement.³

Revoked or Surrendered

Revocation is a permanent removal of the person’s authority to practice, usually for serious ethical violations or repeated non-compliance. A surrendered license was voluntarily given up, sometimes while a disciplinary investigation was pending. Either way, the person cannot practice.

Probation or Restricted

The holder is under an active disciplinary order. Conditions may include additional supervision, limits on the types of clients they can see, or mandatory remedial education. These records are public and appear in the verification results.

Which License Type You’re Looking At

Texas issues three levels of social work license, and the type on the record tells you what the person is authorized to do:⁴

Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW): bachelor’s degree in social work. Non-clinical services such as case management, community outreach, and client advocacy.
Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW): master’s degree in social work. Broader scope, including some clinical work under supervision. Some LMSWs hold an advanced practitioner (LMSW-AP) designation.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): master’s degree plus supervised clinical experience. Can independently diagnose and treat mental health conditions.

If you’re looking for therapy or a mental health diagnosis, you generally want an LCSW, or an LMSW working under clinical supervision.

If the Search Comes Up Empty

A blank result doesn’t always mean the person is unlicensed. Name changes, data-entry variations, or a recently issued license that hasn’t fully propagated can all cause a miss. Try the license number if you have it, or try alternate spellings. If nothing turns up, contact BHEC through bhec.texas.gov/tbhec/contact-us/ to ask whether a record exists under a different name or is pending processing.⁵

If you believe someone is practicing social work without a license, you can file a complaint using BHEC’s approved form at bhec.texas.gov/tbhec/discipline-and-complaints/how-to-file-a-complaint/. Complaints generally must be filed within five years of the last date of service; complaints involving sexual misconduct have a seven-year window.⁶

Signing the complaint form waives your confidentiality to the extent necessary for BHEC’s enforcement division to investigate. Anonymous complaints are accepted but are not guaranteed to be investigated.⁶

Out-of-State Social Workers

If the person you’re checking is licensed in another state, the BHEC portal will not show them. Texas has not joined the Social Work Licensure Compact. Two bills that would have adopted it during the 2025 legislative session (HB 3503 and SB 1726) died in committee, and the earliest the Legislature could revisit the issue is the 90th regular session beginning in January 2027.⁷ Anyone practicing social work in Texas needs a Texas license, and that Texas license is what will appear in the lookup.

1
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Online Search/Verify a License
2
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council
3
Cornell Law Institute. 22 Texas Admin Code 882.21 – License Statuses
4
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Applying for a Social Work License
5
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Contact Us
6
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. How to File a Complaint
7
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Interstate Licensing Compact