How to Find a Licensed Social Worker

Social workers help people solve everyday problems from life-changing events like adopting a child to coping with a loss or terminal illness. We know how important it is for people to find the help they need during difficult times, so we created an online resource to help people find social workers in their area. We have compiled a list of health services agencies and other community resources for metropolitan areas in the United States. In addition, we have included links to State Health and Human Service Agencies for people who live in rural areas without a local health services agency.

To practice in the United States, social workers must obtain a relevant social work degree from an accredited school and be licensed. At the bottom of the page, we have compiled a list of all state-specific Social Work Licensing Boards, which are responsible for protecting the public by regulating and licensing social workers. Each state provides a license verification search tool to confirm that a social worker’s license is active and valid. We have included links to the license verification tools for each state in the table.

Local health services agencies provide services to people in need. Depending on the agency, these services could include: helping individuals with child care needs, employment and job training, food assistance programs, family and child services, helping seniors and adults with disabilities, housing and homeless services, community preparedness, veterans services, and more.

Read more on different Social Issues and How Social Workers Help.

Social Worker License and Verification by State

State specific Social Work Licensing Boards are responsible for protecting the public by regulating and licensing health services professionals, including social workers. All practicing social workers need to be licensed in their state of practice. The following table contains links to state specific licensing databases that one can use to confirm a social worker is actively licensed. Some of the search tools are specific to social workers, while others can be used to verify all types of healthcare professionals. To make it easy to look up a social worker’s license, we have included the relevant professions in the table below as each state uses a different classification for social workers.

Information for social worker licensing boards and relevant professions was

State	State Licensing Board	Website	Relevant Professions / Search Categories
Alabama	Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners	Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Worker Specific Search
Alaska	Board of Social Work Examiners	Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Workers (Board Code: CSW)
Arizona	Board of Behavioral Health Examiners	Board of Behavioral Health Examiners	License Type: Social Work
Arkansas	Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board	Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board	Social Worker Specific Search
California	Board of Behavioral Sciences	Board of Behavioral Sciences	Limited to Behavioral Sciences Professionals including Social Workers
Colorado	Department of Regulatory Agencies - Division of Professions and Occupations	Department of Regulatory Agencies - Division of Professions and Occupations	Social Work
District of Columbia	Department of Health - Board of Social Work	Department of Health - Board of Social Work	Social Work
Florida	Florida Department of Health - Division of Medical Quality Assurance	Florida Department of Health – Medical Quality Assurance (MQA)	Clinical Social Worker; Registered Clinical Social Worker Intern
Georgia	Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists	Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists	Profession: Professional Counselor/Social Worker/Marriage Master Social Worker
Hawaii	Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Professional and Vocational Licensing	Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Professional and Vocational Licensing	Licensed Bachelor Social Worker Licensed Social Worker (Code: LSW)
Idaho	Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) – Board of Social Work Examiners	Division of Occupational Licenses - Idaho Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Workers
Indiana	Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board	Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board	Social Worker
Iowa	Bureau of Professional Licensure - Iowa Board of Social Work	Bureau of Professional Licensure - Iowa Board of Social Work	Social Workers
Kansas	Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board	Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board	Limited to Behavioral Sciences Professionals including Social Workers
Kentucky	Kentucky Board of Social Work	Kentucky Board of Social Work	Social Worker Specific Search
Louisiana	Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners	Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Worker Specific Search
Maine	State Board of Social Worker Licensure	S tate Board of Social Worker Licensure	Social Workers
Maryland	Maryland Department of Health – Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners	Department of Health - Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Worker Specific Search
Massachusetts	Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR)	Division of Professional Licensure - Board of Registration of Social Workers	Board of Registration of Social Workers
Michigan	Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)	Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA)	Social Worker
Minnesota	Minnesota Board of Social Work	Minnesota Board of Social Work	Social Worker Specific Search
Mississippi	Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists	Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists	Limited to Social Workers and Family Therapists
Missouri	Missouri Division of Professional Registration - Committee for Social Workers	Missouri Division of Professional Registration - Committee for Social Workers	Social Workers
Montana	Montana Board of Behavioral Health	Montana Board of Behavioral Health	Must Login to Access License Lookup
Nebraska	Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services	Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services	Individual - Mental Health Practice: Master Social Worker, Master Social Worker - CMSW, Provisional Master Social Worker, Provisional Mental Health Practitioner Social Worker
Nevada	State of Nevada's Board of Examiners for Social Workers	State of Nevada's Board of Examiners for Social Workers	Social Worker Specific Search
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice	New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice	Profession: Mental Health
New Jersey	State Board of Social Work Examiners	State Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Work Examiners
New Mexico	Board of Social Work Examiners	Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Work Examiners
New York	New York State Education Department - Office of the Professions	New York State Education Department - Office of the Professions	Social Worker LCSW. Social Worker LMSW
North Carolina	North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board	North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board	Social Worker Specific Search
North Dakota	North Dakota State Board of Social Work Examiners	North Dakota State Board of Social Work Examiners	Social Worker Specific Search
Ohio	Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board	Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board	Counselor, Social Worker, & Marriage & Family Therapist
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers	Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers	Social Worker Specific Search
Oregon	Board of Licensed Social Workers	Board of Licensed Social Workers	Social Worker Specific Search
Pennsylvania	State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors	State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors	Board: State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors License Type: Bachelor Social
Rhode Island	Board of Social Work Examiners	Board of Social Work Examiners	Profession: Social Work
South Carolina	S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation	S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation	Social Worker
South Dakota	South Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners	South Dakota Department of Social Services - Social Work Examiners	PDF with "List of Current Licensees"
Tennessee	Department of Health - Board of Social Workers	Department of Health - Board of Social Workers	Licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker, Licensed Master Social Worker