ASWB Clinical
The Masters exam leads to the LMSW license in most states. Since August 2026 it follows a new blueprint with three content areas: values and ethics, assessment and planning, and intervention and practice.
Every state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands require a passing score on an ASWB exam to license social workers. ASWB moved to new exam blueprints on August 3, 2026. ASWB, Blueprints for the 2026 competence assessments.
Practice and timed mocks are free, with right or wrong on every answer and your total score. The full analysis is $39, once.
How the exam is built
Owned by Association of Social Work Boards, given by Pearson VUE.
ASWB Clinical exam
110 scored questions (122 in total), 240 minutes, to pass: not published by the exam owner.
| Topic | Share |
|---|---|
| Values and Ethics | 36% |
| Assessment and Planning | 32% |
| Intervention and Practice | 32% |
The official outline: www.aswb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Social-Work-Licensing-Exam-Guidebook-5.4.2026.pdf. Checked 2026-10-08.
Sources
- ASWB Clinical Examination content outline, ASWB Examination Guidebook (August 2026 edition, for exams administered from August 3, 2026; outline based on the 2024 ASWB practice analysis), retrieved 2026-10-08.
Questions are original, written from the official outline and primary sources under an assessment framework designed by Julian Calvo, Ed.D., M.S. DecipherU is not affiliated with the Association of Social Work Boards. Every practice question is original and written from the 2026 blueprint, the NASW Code of Ethics and federal law.