Which States Use the ASWB Bachelors Exam? What ASWB's 2025 Jurisdiction Data Shows

ASWB's exams are used across the United States and Canada, but the Bachelors exam is not used everywhere. ASWB puts it plainly: a social work license is required in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces, "although jurisdictions vary in the categories of practice they license." Whether a BSW graduate can be licensed, under what title, and with which ASWB exam is set by each state, province or territory.

ASWB's own comparison tool is an interactive report that you can explore on its site. For a quick, citable picture, this guide uses another ASWB source: its 2025 pass-rate reports for each jurisdiction, which count how many Bachelors exams each one authorized.

How Passy read ASWB's 2025 jurisdiction reports

ASWB's pass-rates page offers a PDF for each of 64 jurisdictions. The 2025 table in each one, dated May 2026, counts the exams given to candidates "who were authorized by the state or jurisdiction," by exam category, with first-time and repeat totals. Passy read the Bachelors row in all 64 reports on October 27, 2026. The tables are published as images, so the counts below were transcribed from them; if a number matters to your decision, open your own jurisdiction's PDF on ASWB's pass-rates page.

Three limits before you use the numbers:

• They count exams, not laws. A jurisdiction that authorized a handful of Bachelors exams may have an unusual route or an individual case. Only the board can tell you what its rules are today.
• They describe 2025. Rules can change, and a jurisdiction with no Bachelors exams in 2025 could add a bachelor-level license later.
• They cover the retired exam. Every 2025 exam used the 2018 version. That doesn't affect where the exam is used, only the pass rates in the same reports.

Where the most ASWB Bachelors exams were authorized in 2025

These 17 jurisdictions each authorized 50 or more Bachelors exams in 2025 (first-time and repeat combined):

Ohio alone authorized more Bachelors exams than the next two jurisdictions combined. If you are in one of these places, the Bachelors exam is clearly in regular use, and the ASWB Bachelors exam overview with links to ASWB's official sources is a handy reference while you apply. The next step is your board's application. How to register for the ASWB Bachelors exam covers it.

Jurisdictions with fewer than 50 Bachelors exams in 2025

Another 27 jurisdictions authorized between 1 and 49:

• States: New Mexico, Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee, Arizona, Wyoming, Hawaii, Oregon, Alaska, Delaware, North Carolina, Utah, Montana and New Hampshire
• District and territories: District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands
• Canadian provinces: Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador

The list runs from New Mexico (47) down to one exam each in Montana and New Hampshire. Several of these jurisdictions had five or fewer. A count that low tells you someone tested for that jurisdiction, not that it runs a routine bachelor-level license, so treat it as a question for the board, not an answer.

Where no Bachelors exams were authorized in 2025

These 20 jurisdictions show zero Bachelors exams in their 2025 reports:

• States: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington
• Territory: Guam
• Canadian provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan

A zero is a strong sign that the jurisdiction doesn't currently license BSWs through the ASWB Bachelors exam. It doesn't tell you whether there is some other bachelor-level credential or registration there, so if you live in one of these places, ask the board what a BSW can hold. Colorado's case is documented on ASWB's own preapproval page: it lists licenses for MSW holders only, and since July 1, 2022, it accepts only the Masters exam for its Licensed Social Worker.

Wherever you plan to test, check what full ASWB Bachelors prep will include once your board approves you. Checkout isn't open yet.

License titles don't tell you the exam level

The same letters can mean different levels in different states. Three examples from ASWB's preapproval pages, as checked on October 27, 2026:

So an "LSW" is a bachelor-level license in Maine and a master-level license in Colorado. When you talk to a board, ask which ASWB exam category it will approve you for, not just what the license is called. Texas also shows that the ASWB exam may not be the only test: the guidebook notes that some boards require additional state-specific exams that ASWB doesn't administer.

Four states where you apply to ASWB first

In Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah, the guidebook says applicants first apply to ASWB Licensing Services for exam preapproval and apply to the state board after passing. ASWB's Texas and Maine pages list a US$60 nonrefundable preapproval fee and say approval to take the exam is valid for one year. Both accept a dean's letter instead of a final transcript if you are in your last semester. Everywhere else, you apply to the board first.

Questions to ask your board before you register

1. Do you issue a license at the bachelor's level, and what is it called?
2. Which ASWB category will you approve me for: Bachelors, Associate or another?
3. Do you approve BSW students in their final semester? ASWB's policy allows boards to, but doesn't require it.
4. Do you require a state exam, such as a jurisprudence exam, in addition to ASWB's?
5. Do you allow waivers of ASWB's 90-day retake wait, and do you limit the number of attempts?

Write down the answers with the date and the name of the person you spoke to. Once the category is confirmed, practice planned on the same Bachelors outline every one of these jurisdictions uses is one way to prepare, and the free ASWB Bachelors study planner works today.

If you might move after you pass

A pass travels better than a license title. ASWB says a passing score is valid in all states and provinces for the same exam category, and you can send it to another board for US$40 per transfer, which ASWB says takes 7 to 10 business days. That only helps if the new jurisdiction licenses at the bachelor's level, so check the lists above before you count on it. The ASWB Bachelors passing score guide explains what the score report shows.