LCSW guideScores & retakes
Failed the LCSW Exam? Retake Rules and What to Do Next
After an unsuccessful ASWB Clinical attempt, the standard wait is 90 days. A new fee and, in some cases, board approval are required. Waivers are not guaranteed.
Short answer
If you did not pass the ASWB Clinical exam, you generally must wait 90 days before the next attempt. You register again and pay the exam fee. Your board may have to approve another attempt, and some boards limit how many times you may test. A waiting-period waiver is possible only if your jurisdiction allows waivers and your score was within 10 correct answers of passing. A waiver is not guaranteed.
Start with the score report, not a new registration
The unofficial score report in ASWBCentral shows how many scored questions you needed and how many you answered correctly. If you failed, it also shows performance by content area. Use that breakdown to choose the next practice block in Passy instead of rereading the entire outline at random.
ASWB says the 90-day wait exists for exam security and to leave time to prepare. Your new Pearson date must fall at least 90 days after the last attempt unless a waiver was granted. The new date also has to sit inside the eligibility and expiration dates on a new Authorization to Test.
When a waiver might exist
You may request a waiver of the 90 days if both of these are true: the board where you are applying allows waivers, and your most recent score was within 10 correct answers of the passing score. The guidebook says to wait 24 hours after the exam before requesting it. ASWB’s retake page says not to register again until the waiver is granted or denied.
Do not assume you qualify. Do not assume your board participates. Passy cannot see your score or your board’s rule.
The practical sequence
- Read the content-area breakdown.
- Ask ASWB Candidate Services whether your board must approve another attempt, and whether any nonstandard arrangements are still valid.
- Wait about seven to ten days after the exam before registering again, unless you are in the waiver path above.
- Register, pay the Clinical fee again, and wait for a new Authorization to Test.
- Schedule with Pearson only after that email arrives.
Exam cost is why the fee reappears. How to register is the same three-step path. Passing score explains the 66 to 78 range so you do not treat one form’s cut as a personal percentage.
Official results also go to your board. Processing there can take from about two weeks to two months. That clock is separate from the 90-day exam wait.
Rebuild from the area the report marked, using original items in Passy.
The study guide is the current outline if the last attempt was aimed at a retired book.
Keep a mixed Clinical set in the week before the new date in Passy.
The 90-day wait is a calendar rule. It is not a reason to reopen a 170-item book.
Map the remaining days to that report in Passy, not to a retired outline.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.