New Brunswick social workers register with the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers: a recognized BSW or MSW, a $110 application fee, two references, a recent criminal record check, and $450 practising dues for 2026-2027.
Applies in: New Brunswick
Written November 13, 2026
New Brunswick social workers register with the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers. You send the application form and PDF documents to the Association, pay a $110 non-refundable application fee, arrange two references and a recent criminal record check, and have your university send its transcript directly. The Association aims to review applications weekly. Practising dues for 2026-2027 are $450, requested only after you are approved.
The NBASW regulates two categories in New Brunswick: social workers, and the paraprofession of social work technicians. This guide covers the social worker route. Each category has its own title and scope under the NBASW Act.
The minimum is a BSW or MSW from a recognized program:
You must also be a resident of Canada, entitled to be a resident of Canada, or an ordinary resident of a province or territory at the time you apply. If you have a job offer in New Brunswick, or expect one, the Association invites you to contact it. The NBASW sets no language proficiency requirement for registration itself, though it notes most employers require proficiency in English or French.
Submit the PDF documents for a Social Work Member application by email, with the subject Social Work Member Application, or by mail, as the Association's apply page directs. The member application form is part of that package.
The application fee is $110 and non-refundable. Pay by credit or debit through the Association's payment route — indicate Association number 7 and registration number 12345 — or by cheque made out to NBASW or the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers. A separate application form document states a $100 fee; the Association's current apply page states $110, and $110 is the figure this guide carries. Check the apply page at the time you file.
Add these if they apply to you:
The NBASW aims to review applications on a weekly basis. When all required documents are in and a decision is made, the Association contacts you, and the decision notice arrives by email with any conditions of approval or actions required.
Dues come last, not first. On approval, and once any conditions are met, the NBASW requests the full dues for your category. Once dues and every outstanding item are received, registration is processed and your official member card is sent by email.
For 2026-2027, Practising Member dues are $450 for the full fiscal year, which runs April 1 to March 31. Applicants who begin registration after September 30 pay $225. Non-Practising Member dues are $132. Recent graduates who register in the fiscal year after graduation pay by month on a pro-rated table, from $450 in April down through $263 in September, $188 in November, and $75 in February; for March, the Association asks you to contact its office.
Keep the renewal calendar in view after you register. The renewal period for 2026-2027 opens January 1, 2026, with re-registration and dues due by March 31. Late fees apply after that: $50 for re-registrations received between April 1 and April 15, 2026, and $100 after April 15.
New Brunswick also registers social work technicians, a paraprofession with its own scope and its own application route. The minimum there is a college-level education from a recognized social work technician program, or current registration as a social work paraprofessional in another Canadian jurisdiction. Do not use the technician route to apply as a social worker, or the other way around — the titles and scopes are separate.
The NBASW pages opened for this guide state the fee, dues, documents, and weekly review aim. They do not state a salary range for New Brunswick social workers or tuition for social work programs, so this guide gives neither. The provincial pathway document for internationally educated social workers gives a total cost estimate of approximately $910 and a 3 to 6 month path to full registration, but those figures date from March 2024 estimates in that document, so this guide does not present them as current NBASW fees.
| Application fee | $110, non-refundable |
|---|---|
| Practising Member dues, full year (April 1 to March 31) | $450 |
| Practising Member dues, registering after September 30 | $225 |
| Non-Practising Member dues | $132 |
Dues are requested only after your application is approved, and are paid in full before membership is processed. Recent graduates in their first fiscal year after graduation pay pro-rated dues by month, from $450 in April down to $75 in February.
The New Brunswick Association of Social Workers (NBASW). It regulates the social work profession and the social work technician paraprofession in New Brunswick, and controls both title and scope of practice under the NBASW Act.
Yes, if you want to practise within the social work scope of practice — in person or virtually, for clients in New Brunswick — and use the title Social Worker or Registered Social Worker. Membership is open to people who are residents of Canada, entitled to be residents of Canada, or ordinarily resident in a Canadian province or territory when they apply.
At minimum, a BSW or MSW from an accredited social work program in Canada or the United States — CASWE accreditation in Canada, CSWE in the United States. A French Diplôme d'État d'assistant de service social and listed Swiss degrees are also recognized. Any other program requires a Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) assessment of your international credentials first.
The application fee is $110 and non-refundable, paid by card or by cheque to the NBASW. Dues for 2026-2027 are $450 for a Practising Member for the full April 1 to March 31 year, $225 if you begin after September 30, and $132 for a Non-Practising Member. Dues are only requested after approval.
The member application form, two reference forms sent directly by your referees (at least one from a social worker, or your field placement supervisor if you just graduated), a Canadian criminal record check no more than three months old at review, and proof of completion from a recognized program — normally an official transcript your university sends directly to the NBASW. Add a CV if more than a year has passed since your degree, a verification of registration for each Canadian regulator you have been registered with, and a work permit copy if you are not a citizen or permanent resident.
The Association aims to review applications weekly. Once every required document has been received and a decision is made, the NBASW contacts you. On approval, it requests your dues; once dues and any outstanding items are in, registration is processed and your official member card is sent by email.