How to Become a Social Worker in British Columbia

The short answer

British Columbia social workers register with the BC College of Social Workers, and BC adds a gate Ontario does not have: a licensure exam. You need an accredited social work degree, at least 700 hours of social work experience, a stack of criminal record checks and references — and then, once the College approves your file, you pass the ASWB exam at the bachelor or master level. Registration completes when you pay the registration fee on the College's approval invoice.

Step 1: The degree

Eligibility starts with a baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degree in social work from an institution accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) or the National Indigenous Accreditation Board (NIAB), and approved by the College.

The transcript rule is strict: your institution sends an official transcript directly to the College, confirming the degree has been awarded. If you have finished the requirements but convocation has not happened, the institution sends an official degree completion letter first, and you still arrange for the transcript to be mailed after the degree is conferred.

Step 2: The 700 hours

You also need at least 700 hours of social work experience, drawn from practicums and field placements, other paid work experience, or both. Document it as you go. The College's resume requirement asks for education, work experience, activities related to social work, locations and dates for all of it, and any certifications.

Step 3: Build the application file

Create an online application profile only once you have gathered the requirements — incomplete applications expire after three months, and a closed application has to be resubmitted as a new one. The file includes:

• Identification. Two pieces of ID, submitted as high-quality copies of both sides, notarized and verified in person by a lawyer or notary public against the originals. Virtually notarized documents are not accepted, and one piece must be government-issued photo ID.
• Criminal record checks. Consent to a check under the BC Criminal Records Review Act, plus a local Police Information Check including a Vulnerable Sector Check if you live or have lived in Canada, an FBI Identity History Summary Check if you have resided in the United States, and a check from any other country where you lived or worked as an adult. Each check must be issued within 60 days before the date of application.
• References. Two character reference letters, submitted directly to the College by referees who have known you professionally for at least one year and are not relatives or personal friends.
• Registration verification. A verification form completed by every regulatory body that has ever registered, licensed or certified you.
• Language proficiency. Applicants for full, clinical and provisional registration must show sufficient proficiency in English to the Registration Committee's satisfaction.

The payment at application is $195: a $167 non-refundable application fee plus $28 for the criminal record check through the Criminal Records Review Program.

Step 4: The review clocks

After you submit, reference and supervisor requests go out automatically, and the College reviews the application for completeness within 10 to 15 business days. Third-party documents are expected to reach the College within 10 days of your submission. If something is outstanding, you may be given 15 business days to provide it — no extensions beyond that — after which a decision is made on the information received. One hard consequence: if the College refuses registration, you cannot reapply until one year after the refusal is final. Complete the file before you submit it.

Step 5: The ASWB licensure exam

Once the full file meets the registration requirements, the College emails you approval to take the licensure exam run by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). The exam level follows your credential: the Bachelor level exam for a BSW, the Master level exam for an MSW. You register with ASWB, pay its fee — US$230 for the bachelor and master exams, US$260 for the Clinical exam used for the clinical class — receive an Authorization to Test, and schedule at the Pearson VUE test centre ASWB designates. The exams are available year-round at secure testing centres.

Step 6: Registration

Within one to two weeks after you write, ASWB sends the College your official score report. If you passed, the College sends an application approval email with an invoice for the registration fee. Paying that invoice is the act that completes registration as a Registered Social Worker in British Columbia.

What the opened pages do not state

The College pages state the $167 application fee, the $28 criminal record check fee and the ASWB exam fees in US dollars used above, plus the 700-hour experience rule. The application pages do not state the amount of the final registration fee — it arrives on the approval invoice — a processing time for the full registration decision beyond the completeness review and the package's five-to-six-week general estimate, or a salary for BC social workers, so this guide gives none of those.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Social Worker in Canada — the national picture: BC's licensure exam is the exception among the larger provinces, not the rule.
• How to Become a Nurse Practitioner in British Columbia — another BC health and social-services profession, registered through its own college.
• How to Apply for Disability Assistance in British Columbia — the Persons with Disabilities designation and assistance many BC social workers help clients through.
• How to Start Getting Your Foreign Credentials Recognized in Canada — the first steps for internationally educated social workers entering a Canadian college's process.

Sources

• BC College of Social Workers, Canadian BSW/MSW/Doctoral Degree in Social Work — the accredited degree requirement, the 700 hours of experience, the identification, criminal record check, transcript, resume and reference requirements, the three-month application expiry, and the six application steps ending in the registration fee invoice.
• BC College of Social Workers, Application for Full Registration package — the $167 non-refundable application fee plus the $28 criminal record check fee, and the five-to-six-week general processing estimate.
• BC College of Social Workers, Licensure Testing and Professional Regulation — the ASWB Bachelor, Master and Clinical exams as the licensure examinations for BC registration.
• BC College of Social Workers, What to do before the exam — the ASWB exam fees of US$230 for the BSW and MSW exams and US$260 for the Clinical exam, registration with ASWB after College approval, and scheduling through Pearson VUE.