Board Approval Before You Can Register for the ASWB Exam

In most states you cannot simply sign up for the ASWB exam. You apply to your board, the board approves you, and only then can you register and pay ASWB. How the sequence works, the four states that run it through ASWB instead, how long an Authorization to Test lasts, and the mistakes that cost people their test date.

The ASWB exam is national, but the permission to take it is local. ASWB's own guidebook puts the sequence plainly: "Before you may register for the exam, you must apply for your license and receive approval from your state or provincial regulatory board." Students are often surprised by this, because it means the slowest step before test day is usually the board, not the studying.

What is the order of steps?

Apply to your board for the license you want, and pay the board's application fee. Boards want transcripts, often sent straight from the school, plus whatever else the license requires: fingerprints, a jurisprudence exam certificate, supervision verification for a clinical license.
The board approves you to test and sends that approval to ASWB.
You register and pay ASWB: US$230 for the Associate, Bachelors or Masters exam and US$260 for the Advanced Generalist or Clinical. ASWB then issues your Authorization to Test.
You schedule with Pearson using the Authorization to Test.
You pass, and the board finishes the license. ASWB says it can take between two weeks and two months for a board to process an official score.

Which states skip the board step?

Not skip, exactly, but move it. ASWB's guidebook says applicants in Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah apply for exam preapproval with ASWB Licensing Services, and apply to the board for the license after passing. Texas's Behavioral Health Executive Council says the same thing more bluntly: the guidebook's line about board approval "is NOT true for Texas," because ASWB staff do all pre-exam approval processing there. Texas also lets students in a qualifying program sit for the Bachelors or Masters exam while still in school.

How long does approval take?

It depends on the board and the season, and no national number exists. Two things hold almost everywhere: an application whose documents arrive together moves faster than one assembled piece by piece, and a board's posted processing time is an estimate for a complete file, not a promise. Texas, for example, warns that sending materials separately "may delay the processing" and that incomplete applications are automatically denied after 180 days, with a new fee to restart.

How long is the Authorization to Test good for?

Up to one year, according to ASWB, and a board can set an earlier date. If something prevents you from testing in time you may be eligible for an extension, but ASWB allows no more than one extension of up to six months per registration. Let it lapse and you pay again.

What mistakes delay a test date?

Registering under a name that does not match your ID. At Pearson you show two original IDs, and the first and last names on both must match your Authorization to Test. Middle names, initials and punctuation are not checked; first and last names are. A recent marriage or a hyphenated surname is the usual culprit. Fix it before you register, because if the ID does not match you forfeit the fee.
Asking for accommodations after you register. Requests for nonstandard testing arrangements, including extra time for test-takers whose primary language is not English, must be approved before you register and pay. They cannot be added to an appointment already scheduled. California test-takers need preliminary ESL approval from the Board of Behavioral Sciences first.
Applying for the wrong license, and so the wrong exam. The board approves you for the exam that matches the license you applied for. If you meant to take the Clinical but applied for a master's license, you will be approved for the Masters. See which ASWB exam do you need?
Testing for the wrong state. If you are about to move, testing under your current board's approval and then transferring the score usually works, but only if both states use the same exam category for your license. Check before you apply.
A stale jurisprudence certificate. Texas requires that the completion date on your jurisprudence certificate be no more than six months before the board receives your application.
Arriving late. Late arrivals are treated as no-shows and forfeit the fee.

What about retakes?

A retake usually needs board approval again, and ASWB requires a 90-day wait unless you scored within 10 points of passing and your board allows a waiver. Some boards cap attempts. See retake rules.

Our ASWB Exam Approval & Registration service, US$149 per exam plus board and ASWB fees, assembles the board application, checks the name and category before anything is filed, and tracks the approval through to your Authorization to Test. See pricing.

Common questions

Can I register for the ASWB exam without board approval?

Not in most states. You apply to your board for a license and it approves you to test. In Colorado, Maine, Texas and Utah, ASWB Licensing Services handles the preapproval instead.

How long do I have to take the ASWB exam after approval?

ASWB says an Authorization to Test may be valid for up to one year, and a board can set an earlier date. You can get no more than one extension of up to six months.

My name changed after I applied. What do I do?

Correct it before you test. The first and last names on both of your IDs must match your Authorization to Test, and ASWB says corrections take an extra 24 to 48 business hours to reach its system.

When do I request extra time or other accommodations?

Before you register. ASWB requires nonstandard testing arrangements to be approved before you register and pay, and they cannot be added once an appointment is scheduled.