ASW Registration
How do you register as an ASW in California?
To register as an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) in California, submit the appropriate Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) application, an official master of social work (MSW) transcript, fingerprint documentation and the $75 application fee. Include any additional documents required for your education pathway. This guide focuses on the in-state application and explains what differs for out-of-state degrees.
Clark Gudas
Published · 10 min read
Reviewed By Evalin Sosa, AMFT
If you want supervised experience gained in California before your registration is issued to count toward Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensure, the BBS must receive your application within 90 days of your degree award date. You must also meet the workplace, fingerprinting and supervision conditions below, and the Board must subsequently grant your registration.
The renewal changes identified below take effect January 1, 2027.
Who can apply for ASW registration?
You can apply after your MSW degree has been awarded by a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), or a program that is a candidate for CSWE accreditation. Your official transcript must show the degree title and conferral date. If your program is in candidacy status, BBS permits registration, but the program must receive accreditation before you can take the clinical examination.
ASW registration is not an independent practice license. You gain experience under a qualified supervisor while working toward LCSW licensure.
Use the BBS in-state ASW application packet if your degree is from a California school or an online program designed to meet California's requirements. The packet you use depends on your educational program, not simply where you live.
What changes for an out-of-state or foreign degree?
Use the BBS out-of-state or out-of-country ASW packet if your degree is from a school outside California or an online program not designed to meet California's requirements.
That pathway requires proof of a 12-hour California Law and Professional Ethics course. Depending on your circumstances, it also requires verification of a license or registration held in another state or country.
For a degree earned outside the United States or its territories, submit both the required official transcript and a comprehensive degree-equivalency evaluation from CSWE or a CSWE-approved agency. The evaluation must meet the packet's requirements and arrive in an envelope sealed by the evaluator or by email directly from the evaluator.
Fingerprinting is a separate question. If you live outside California, use fingerprint hard cards unless you can access a California Live Scan operator.
Do you need additional courses before registration?
California law-and-ethics coursework is a registration requirement. For the in-state pathway, BBS requires separate proof if your degree was awarded on or before December 31, 2007. For later in-state graduates, no separate documentation of that requirement is necessary. The out-of-state pathway requires the 12-hour course described above.
Other education requirements apply before LCSW licensure, though they aren’t required for ASW registration. Those requirements include courses in suicide-risk assessment, telehealth, child abuse reporting, human sexuality, substance use, aging and elder abuse, and spousal or partner abuse. Requirements and acceptable evidence vary: suicide-risk assessment may be satisfied through qualifying coursework or applied experience, and some requirements depend on when you entered your MSW program.
For in-state degrees awarded on or after January 1, 2021, BBS generally does not require separate proof of the listed additional coursework, except telehealth. Do not assume you need to buy seven new courses. Check what your degree already covered and follow the education instructions in your applicable BBS packet. Out-of-state applicants have different requirements, including California cultures coursework.
What goes in the ASW application packet?
The in-state application has four core items, plus any supporting documents required for your circumstances.
Item | What to submit | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
ASW application | Completed and signed in-state application, Form 37A-520 | You |
Application fee | $75 check or money order payable to the Behavioral Sciences Fund | You |
Official MSW transcript | Degree title and conferral date posted; school-sealed envelope or direct school email | Your school supplies the official transcript; you may include the sealed envelope in your packet |
Fingerprint documentation | Completed applicant-submission copy of the BBS Live Scan form, Form 37A-649, or if applying from out of state, two completed hard cards and the $49 processing fee | You, after fingerprinting |
California law-and-ethics proof, if required | Qualifying coursework documentation for in-state graduates on or before December 31, 2007 | You |
Your school can email the official transcript directly to BBSTranscripts@dca.ca.gov. A transcript you email yourself does not meet the direct-school submission instruction.
If you use the out-of-state packet, follow its separate checklist and application, Form 37A-521. Add the required law-and-ethics certificate and any applicable license verification or foreign-degree evaluation.
The address on your application becomes public through the Department of Consumer Affairs license search. If you do not want your home or work address published, BBS allows an alternate mailing address such as a post office box.
How do you apply for ASW registration, step by step?
- Confirm your degree has been awarded. Use the conferral date posted on your transcript, not the date of your graduation ceremony. This is the date used for the 90-day rule.
- Choose the correct application packet. Use the in-state or out-of-state education pathway and read its checklist.
- Arrange your official transcript and supporting documents. Include a school-sealed transcript in your packet or have your school email it directly to BBS. Obtain any required coursework, evaluation or license-verification documents.
- Complete and sign the application. Follow the packet's signature instructions and use your legal name.
- Complete BBS fingerprinting. Bring the Board's Live Scan form to a California operator. Do not complete fingerprints more than 60 days before submitting the application. If using hard cards, follow the packet's instructions instead.
- Check, copy and mail your packet. Include the $75 fee and the completed BBS Live Scan form, or both hard cards and the additional $49 processing fee. Keep copies and use a mailing method with delivery tracking.
Mail the application to:
Board of Behavioral Sciences
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite S200
Sacramento, CA 95834
The school may send its transcript separately as instructed. However, sending hard cards or their processing fee separately from the application delays approval. BBS holds fingerprint results without an application on file for only six months.
How much does ASW registration cost?
The application fee is $75 during the temporary fee-reduction period from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030. For mailed applications, BBS uses the postmark date to determine which fee applies. The application fee is not refundable. See the BBS fee reduction FAQ.
Fingerprinting costs are separate. At a Live Scan appointment, you pay $32 for California Department of Justice processing and $17 for FBI processing, plus the operator's service charge. If you submit hard cards, send the $49 processing fee with the application; a fingerprinting provider may charge separately for taking the prints.
The fee's postmark rule is not the same as the 90-day rule for experience. For the latter, BBS must receive your application within the deadline.
When can hours count before your ASW number is issued?
No experience gained before your MSW degree is awarded counts toward California's LCSW experience requirement.
Under the 90-day rule, eligible supervised experience gained between your degree award date and registration issuance can count if all applicable conditions are met:
- BBS receives your ASW application within 90 days of the degree award date.
- BBS subsequently grants the registration.
- For graduates on or after January 1, 2020, the workplace required a completed Live Scan fingerprinting before you gained the experience, and you retain the processed form for your licensure application.
- You do not work or volunteer in a private practice or professional corporation before registration is issued.
- The experience meets the usual supervision and experience requirements.
Post-degree hours may only be counted after the date recorded on the employer's completed Live Scan form, according to the BBS 90-day-rule flyer. If that fingerprinting was completed before your degree was awarded, eligible hours can begin on your degree award date.
Keep a copy of each employer-required, processed Request for Live Scan Service form. Submit it with your eventual Application for Licensure, not your ASW registration application.
If you do not meet the applicable 90-day conditions, hours gained in California can begin counting only once your ASW registration is issued. You can still apply for registration after 90 days; the deadline determines whether eligible pre-registration experience can count.
Is the employer's Live Scan the same as the BBS Live Scan?
No. The employer-required Live Scan supports your claim for pre-registration hours. The separate BBS Live Scan supports your registration application. One does not replace the other.
To claim pre-registration hours at more than one employer under the 90-day rule, complete the required Live Scan separately for each employer and keep each processed form. See our 90-day-rule guide for more detail.
When should you complete the Supervision Agreement?
You and your supervisor complete the Supervision Agreement within 60 days of commencing supervision. If the supervisory relationship ends sooner, complete it before that relationship ends. Do not wait for your ASW registration number if supervision has already begun under the 90-day rule.
Use our Supervision Agreement guide alongside the BBS ASW FAQ for the form and related supervision requirements.
What happens after you apply?
BBS reviews your application and may send a deficiency notice identifying missing information. Provide all requested items promptly.
The application packet says an application is abandoned if you do not clear the identified deficiencies within one year of the first deficiency letter, or do not complete the application within one year after filing. An abandoned application requires a new application, fee and supporting documents under the requirements then in effect.
How do you check your ASW registration status?
Search your name in the Department of Consumer Affairs license search to check whether your registration has been issued. This is different from confirming that your mailed application arrived, which you can check using delivery tracking or whether your payment was cashed.
For application questions, use the BBS Contact Us page.
How long does registration take?
Processing time varies. BBS publishes average calendar-day processing figures in its licensing reports, not a guaranteed turnaround for your application. For example, its May 2026 licensing report presents quarterly averages for applications without deficiencies. Missing documents and fingerprint processing can add time. The Board's fingerprinting instructions warn that hard-card DOJ processing takes a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks or longer.
What changes once your ASW registration is issued?
Registration allows you to gain supervised experience in permitted settings, including qualifying private practices and professional corporations. It does not allow independent practice.
California requires 3,000 hours of supervised post-degree experience over at least 104 weeks for LCSW licensure. At least 1,700 hours must be gained under an LCSW supervisor. You must work as an employee or volunteer, not as an independent contractor. See the BBS ASW FAQ for employment and supervision requirements and our ASW hour requirements guide for the experience breakdown.
Keep your weekly logs and supervision records from the beginning, including any eligible pre-registration experience. Registration does not make every recorded hour count automatically.
How long does ASW registration last, and what changes in 2027?
Registration expires annually. The BBS renewal instructions describe the rules in effect through December 31, 2026. AB 1598 changes the renewal limit and exam-attempt requirement beginning January 1, 2027.
Requirement | Through December 31, 2026 | Beginning Januay 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|
Maximum renewals for one registration number | Five | Six |
Maximum age of one registration number | Six years from the last day of the month of issuance | Seven years from the last day of the month of issuance |
Law and Ethics Exam attempt for renewal | Take the exam during each renewal cycle until you pass | An attempt is no longer required for renewal |
California law-and-ethics continuing education | Three hours each renewal cycle | Three hours each renewal cycle |
Hardship exception for private-practice work with a subsequent registration | Not available | One-time, two-consecutive-year exception, subject to BBS approval |
When no further renewals are available, you need a subsequent registration number to continue gaining experience. Passing the LCSW California Law and Ethics Exam remains a requirement for a subsequent number and for licensure.
AB 1598 also introduces a seven-year age limit on that passing exam result, measured when BBS receives an application for initial license issuance or a subsequent registration number. The statute exempts applications received on or before January 1, 2030 from this exam-age limit.
Beginning January 1, 2027, an applicant applying for or holding a subsequent registration can request the hardship exception to work or volunteer for one specified private practice or professional corporation employer. It requires good cause and BBS approval. You cannot start or continue work for that employer under the exception until the Board approves it.
Hours gained while a registration is expired do not count. Follow the expiration date on your registration and the Board's renewal instructions. For renewal steps, see our registration renewal guide.
ASW registration questions
Can you apply for initial ASW registration online?
No. The BBS ASW application packets can only be mailed. Your school can email its official transcript directly to BBS. BreEZe supports other services, including registration renewal. Use the options listed on the BBS LCSW applicant page.
Can you gain supervised experience before your ASW registration is issued?
Yes, in an eligible setting under qualified supervision, if you meet all applicable 90-day-rule conditions. You cannot work or volunteer in a private practice or professional corporation before your registration is issued.
Do you need a new employer Live Scan for each job?
To count pre-registration hours under the 90-day rule at each employer, you need that employer's required Live Scan and a copy of its processed form. Your BBS Live Scan does not replace it.
Can SparkHours record hours from before your ASW number was issued?
Yes. SparkHours can record your post-degree experience before registration. Whether those hours count toward licensure depends on the 90-day rule and the applicable experience and supervision requirements, not simply on entering them into a tracker.
Start tracking your ASW hours
Keep your post-degree hours and supervision records together, including any eligible experience gained before your registration is issued. SparkHours is the hours tracker for California ASWs. Start a 14-day free trial, with no credit card required.
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