Nova Scotia social workers register with the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers: a CASWE-accredited BSW or MSW, a $100 application fee, Board of Examiners approval, and candidacy until you reach 2,500 hours of post-degree practice.
Applies in: Nova Scotia
Written November 13, 2026
Nova Scotia social workers register with the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers. You apply online, pay a $100 application fee, and send original documents: a transcript sent directly by your university, a criminal record check, and a Child Abuse Register Check. The Board of Examiners decides your file. With a CASWE-accredited BSW or MSW plus 2,500 hours of post-degree practice you register as a Registered Social Worker; with fewer hours you start as a Social Worker Candidate and complete the Candidacy Mentorship Program.
Registration is not optional in Nova Scotia. If you have social work credentials and are practising within the scope of practice, the Social Workers Act requires you to be registered with the College.
The academic base is a Bachelor of Social Work or a Master of Social Work from a program accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE), or an equivalent. If your program was evaluated by the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), have CASW forward its written evaluation directly to the College. That evaluation takes the place of your transcript in the package, and you do not need additional official transcripts.
Documents that are not in English or French must be translated before you submit them. The College requires the original documents plus a precise word-for-word certified translation, with a cover letter from an accredited translator naming the documents translated, the method by which the translator received them, any comments on accuracy, the date, and the translator's identification number or seal.
Complete the online application form and pay the $100 non-refundable application fee. Every Active or Associate Registered Social Worker, Social Worker Candidate, and provisional registrant pays the same $100. Paying starts a clock: you have six months to complete the registration process.
Through the application portal you also provide:
Three items go to the College as originals. Scans, photocopies, faxes, unofficial printouts, and expired documents are not accepted. You can mail or drop off originals at the College office in Halifax, or have the issuer send them through its own secure digital service such as MyCreds.
The mailing address is 1888 Brunswick Street, Suite 700, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 3J8.
Your complete application goes to the Board of Examiners. The package, with all documents, must be available to the Board five business days before a meeting. The Board meets eleven times a year, generally on the third Wednesday of the month, with one summer month off — in 2026, a meeting on July 22 and no meeting in August. You are notified of the decision by mail within a week of the decision, and if approved your name is added to the Register of Social Workers and Social Worker Candidates within the week. If the Board refuses registration, the Executive Director/Registrar writes to you with reasons, and you may request a review by a Registration Appeals Committee within 30 days.
While your file waits for the Board, the Registrar may grant temporary registration for up to 30 days. Temporary registration exists for applicants who need immediate registration because of an employment opportunity.
The Board decides which registry you land on. Eligibility for the Registered Social Worker registry sits in section 22 of the Social Workers Act and section 8 of the regulations:
If your resume may not make your hours obvious, the College invites an explanatory letter to the Board with supporting documents, sent to applications@nscsw.org.
Fees follow the February 1 to January 31 registration year and are pro-rated by approval quarter, as the visuals table shows. Independent clinical practice is a further step: any NSCSW registrant may do non-clinical private practice, but clinical social work on your own needs Board approval first, a $50 clinical specialization application fee, and an added $50 annual fee.
Registered social workers from elsewhere in Canada use the College's registration from another province route. The $100 application still applies. You complete a verification form with your current or former regulator, and send original criminal record and Child Abuse Register checks. A person certified as a Registered Social Worker by any Canadian regulatory authority can be registered in Nova Scotia without further training, experience, or evaluation. One caution the College states: applicants registered in Alberta or Saskatchewan who do not hold a CASWE-accredited degree are evaluated individually under a Nova Scotia legitimate objective, and added requirements or practice restrictions can apply until full-scope competence is shown. If you are not moving but want to keep serving a client who moves to Nova Scotia, the College runs a separate telepractice route.
The College pages opened for this guide state the fees, the document list, the Board schedule, and the 2,500-hour rule. They do not state the exact reduced fee for recent graduates — the applicants page points to a separate fee schedule for that figure — and they do not state a salary range for Nova Scotia social workers or tuition for social work programs, so this guide gives none of those.
| Application fee, all applicants | $100, non-refundable |
|---|---|
| Active registration, approved February 1 to April 30 | $476 |
| Active registration, approved May 1 to July 31 | $357 |
| Active registration, approved August 1 to October 31 | $238 |
| Active registration, approved November 1 to January 31 | $119 |
Associate fees are half the active fee in each quarter. First-time fees are further reduced for recent graduates who apply within a year of completing an accredited program. The registration year runs February 1 to January 31.
The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW). If you hold social work credentials and practise within the scope of practice in Nova Scotia, provincial law — the Social Workers Act — requires you to be registered with the College.
A Bachelor of Social Work or Master of Social Work from a program accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE), or an equivalent. A CASW evaluation takes the place of a transcript where your program was evaluated by the Canadian Association of Social Workers.
Because of the hours rule. Registered Social Worker status needs the degree plus 2,500 hours of post-graduation practice within the scope of practice. If you have not completed those hours, the Board of Examiners places you on the Social Worker Candidate registry, and you complete all or part of the Candidacy Mentorship Program based on your previous experience.
The application fee is $100 and non-refundable for every applicant. Initial active registration in the 2026/27 year is $476 if approved between February 1 and April 30, then $357, $238, and $119 in the later quarters. Associate fees are half. Recent graduates who apply within a year of finishing an accredited program get a further reduction.
Through the portal: consent to release information to your employer, the names and email addresses of two references, a current resume, and a job description if employed. Sent as originals: your official transcript sent directly from the university registrar, a recent criminal record check, and a Child Abuse Register Check. You have six months from paying the application fee to complete the process, and your complete package must be with the Board five business days before its meeting.
Through the College's registration from another province route: the same $100 application, a verification form handled with your current regulator, and original criminal record and Child Abuse Register checks. A social worker certified by any Canadian regulatory authority can be registered in Nova Scotia without further training, experience, or evaluation.