The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) is implementing updates to the Master of Social Work (MSW) licensing exam in 2026. These updates reflect significant structural modifications and minor content changes. Here’s what you should know:

ASWB MSW Exam Overview

General Information

The ASWB MSW exam assesses the knowledge and skills required for entry-level social workers with an MSW. This exam is designed for individuals with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and does not require post-degree experience.

Exam Format and Structure

The ASWB MSW exam consists of 170 multiple-choice questions. Of these, 150 are scored, and 20 are unscored pretest items. You’ll have 4 hours to complete the exam.

The ASWB continues its gradual shift to three-option multiple-choice questions, started in 2023. This change reduces complexity without sacrificing rigor.

MSW Content Areas

The exam blueprint was updated from four content areas to three. As a result of the reorganization, very little content was removed and emerging areas of competency were added. Each content area reflects essential knowledge required for safe and effective practice:

I. Values and Ethics (35%)

  • Apply legal and ethical standards related to confidentiality, informed consent, and professional responsibilities.
  • Identify and resolve ethical dilemmas while upholding core social work values and promoting client well-being.
  • Maintain appropriate professional boundaries and uphold client self-determination in service delivery.
  • Follow requirements for documentation, mandatory reporting, billing, supervision ethics, and electronic practice.
  • Use anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and social justice-oriented approaches that recognize culture, identity, intersectionality, and inequity.

II. Assessment and Planning (33%)

  • Use assessment concepts to gather relevant biopsychosocial information and understand client systems.
  • Apply appropriate assessment methods, tools, and techniques to identify needs, strengths, risks, and service priorities.
  • Interpret assessment findings to inform collaborative goal setting and planning with clients/client systems.
  • Develop service, treatment, or intervention plans that reflect client goals, evidence-based practices, and ethical standards.
  • Reassess and revise plans as needed based on ongoing evaluation and client feedback.

III. Intervention and Practice (32%)

  • Apply practice concepts such as engagement, rapport-building, strengths-based approaches, interdisciplinary collaboration, and service navigation.
  • Use a variety of intervention methods and techniques, including evidence-based therapies, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and harm-reduction strategies.
  • Implement case management tasks such as goal setting, documentation, coordination of services, advocacy, and discharge planning.
  • Support clients experiencing grief, loss, addiction, conflict, or behavioral regulation challenges using appropriate clinical and supportive techniques.
  • Use evaluation methods to assess intervention effectiveness, support program evaluation, and guide practice improvements.

ASWB MSW Exam Study Tips

  • Review the official ASWB Guidebook for an overview of the exam, testing policies, and what to expect at the test center.
  • Take a look at the exam blueprint in the 2024 Analysis of the Practice of Social Work to understand the content breakdown.
  • Use Pocket Prep practice questions to reinforce knowledge and simulate exam conditions.
  • Focus on strengthening your understanding of ethical decision-making and culturally responsive assessments.
  • Create a study schedule and use tools like flashcards and summary charts to organize information.
  • Join a study group or find an accountability partner to review tough concepts and practice scenarios.