govt.fyi
Back to HB 5435
Illinois General Assembly· HB 5435Governor Approved

SOCIAL WORK LICENSURE REQS, the official text

Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Illinois General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
HB5435 Enrolled                     LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1   AN ACT concerning regulation.

2   Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3 represented in the General Assembly:

4   Section 5. The Clinical Social Work and Social Work

5 Practice Act is amended by changing Sections 9, 9A, and 12.5 as

6 follows:

7   (225 ILCS 20/9) (from Ch. 111, par. 6359)

8   (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)

9   Sec. 9. Qualifications for clinical social worker license.

10 A person shall be qualified to be licensed as a clinical social

11 worker if that person:

12  (1) has applied in writing on the prescribed form;

13  (2) has not engaged in conduct or actions that would

14  constitute grounds for discipline under this Act;

15  (3)(a) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the

16  Department that, subsequent to securing a master's degree

17  in social work from an approved program and obtaining a

18  social worker license under Section 9A or temporarily

19  practicing pending the issuance of a social worker license

20  under Section 9B if the license was ultimately issued, the

21  applicant has successfully completed at least 3,000 hours

22  of satisfactory, supervised clinical professional

23  experience; or
    HB5435 Enrolled   -2-  LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1   (b) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department

2   that such applicant has received a doctor's degree in

3   social work from an approved program and has, subsequent

4   to receiving the degree, completed at least 2,000 hours of

5   satisfactory, supervised clinical professional experience

6   after obtaining a social worker license under Section 9A

7   or during temporary practice pending the issuance of a

8   social worker license under Section 9B if the license was

9   ultimately issued subsequent to the degree;

10  (4) has passed the examination for the practice of

11  clinical social work as authorized by the Department or

12  has completed the examination alternative set forth in

13  Section 8.2; and

14  (5) has paid the required fees.

15  Notwithstanding paragraph (3), any hours of supervised

16 clinical professional experience completed before the

17 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General

18 Assembly may be counted toward the required hours for

19 qualification under this Section if the hours were completed

20 subsequent to securing an applicable graduate degree and the

21 completed hours would have qualified toward licensure under

22 the law in effect at the time the hours were earned.

23 (Source: P.A. 103-433, eff. 1-1-24; 104-178, eff. 1-1-26.)

24  (225 ILCS 20/9A) (from Ch. 111, par. 6359A)

25  (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
    HB5435 Enrolled   -3-                 LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1   Sec. 9A. Qualifications for license as licensed social

2 worker. A person shall be qualified to be licensed as a

3 licensed social worker if that person:

4   (1) has applied in writing on the prescribed form;

5   (2) has not engaged in conduct or actions that would

6   constitute grounds for discipline under this Act;

7   (3)(a) has a degree from a graduate program of social

8   work approved by the Department; or

9   (b) has a degree in social work from an undergraduate

10  program approved by the Department and has successfully

11  completed at least 3,000 hours 3 years of supervised

12  professional experience subsequent to obtaining the degree

13  within a period of no more than 4 years, as established by

14  rule. The Department may grant a waiver for or an

15  extension of the 4-year time period under this

16  subparagraph (b) upon a showing of good cause. If no

17  supervision by a licensed social worker or a licensed

18  clinical social worker is available, then supervised

19  professional experience may include supervision by other

20  appropriate disciplines as defined by rule;

21  (4) (blank); and

22  (5) has paid the required fees.

23  An individual who is in the process of completing the

24 hours of supervised professional experience under subparagraph

25 (b) of paragraph (3) shall be subject to oversight by the

26 Department solely for the purpose of determining the
    HB5435 Enrolled           -4-        LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1 individual's eligibility for licensure and the eligibility of

2 the completed hours for the supervised professional experience

3 requirement.

4   The Department may, by rule:

5   (A) establish standards for supervision,

6   documentation, and verification of any supervised

7   professional experience;

8   (B) deny or invalidate any hours of supervised

9   professional experience obtained in violation of this Act

10  or Department rules; and

11  (C) deny an application for licensure based on conduct

12  that occurred during the time period in which the

13  applicant was completing the hours of supervised

14  professional experience if the conduct would have

15  constituted grounds for discipline under this Act had the

16  individual been licensed at the time.

17 (Source: P.A. 104-178, eff. 1-1-26.)

18  (225 ILCS 20/12.5)

19  (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)

20  Sec. 12.5. Endorsement. The Department may issue a license

21 as a clinical social worker or as a social worker, without the

22 required examination, to an applicant licensed under the laws

23 of another jurisdiction if the requirements for licensure in

24 that jurisdiction are, on the date of licensure, substantially

25 equivalent to the requirements of this Act, except for the
    HB5435 Enrolled  -5-  LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1 requirement to be licensed while obtaining the required

2 supervised experience under Section 9, or to any person who,

3 at the time of the person's licensure, possessed individual

4 qualifications that were substantially equivalent to the

5 requirements then in force in this State. An applicant under

6 this Section shall pay the required fees.

7   An individual applying for licensure as a clinical social

8 worker who has been licensed at the independent level in

9 another United States jurisdiction for 5 consecutive years

10 without discipline is not required to submit proof of

11 completion of the education and supervised clinical

12 professional experience required in paragraph (3) of Section

13 9. Individuals with 5 consecutive years of experience must

14 submit certified verification of licensure from the

15 jurisdiction in which the applicant practiced and must comply

16 with all other licensing requirements and pay all required

17 fees.

18  If the accuracy of any submitted documentation or the

19 relevance or sufficiency of the course work or experience is

20 questioned by the Department or the Board because of a lack of

21 information, discrepancies or conflicts in information given,

22 or a need for clarification, the applicant seeking licensure

23 may be required to provide additional information.

24  An applicant has 3 years from the date of application to

25 complete the application process. If the process has not been

26 completed within 3 years, the application shall be denied, the
   HB5435 Enrolled  -6-  LRB104 19710 AAS 33159 b

1 fee shall be forfeited, and the applicant must reapply and
2 meet the requirements in effect at the time of reapplication.
3 (Source: P.A. 102-1053, eff. 6-10-22; 103-1048, eff. 1-1-25.)

4  Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January

5 1, 2027.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.