South Carolina § 40-63-540 - Eligibility for licensure.

§ 40-63-540. Eligibility for licensure.

(A) To be eligible for an interstate compact license under the terms and provisions of the compact, a regulated social worker, regardless of category must:

(1) hold an active, unencumbered license in the home state;

(2) have an active United States social security number, qualifying national exam number, or an identifier as determined by the commission;

(3) pay any applicable fees, including any state fee, for the interstate compact license;

(4) meet any continuing competence requirements established by the home state;

(5) notify the home state of any adverse action, encumbrance, or restriction on any professional license taken by any member state or nonmember state within thirty days from the date the action is taken; and

(6) abide by the laws, regulations, and scope of practice in the member state where the client is located at the time care is rendered.

(B) A regulated social worker who is a clinical category social worker must meet the following requirements:

(1) passed a clinical-category qualifying national exam. Regulated social workers holding an active and unencumbered license, who were licensed in a state before a qualifying national exam was required, may be exempted from this requirement, as provided for by the rules of the commission; and

(2) graduated with a master's degree, or higher, in social work, from a program that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or its successor, or by the United States Department of Education and operated by a college or university recognized by the licensing authority; and

(3) completed a period of three thousand hours or two years of full-time postgraduate supervised clinical practice.

(C) A regulated social worker who is a master's category social worker must have:

(1) passed a master's-category qualifying national exam. Regulated social workers holding an active and unencumbered license, who were licensed in a state before a qualifying national exam was required, may be exempted from this requirement, as provided for by the rules of the commission; and

(2) graduated with a master's degree, or higher, in social work, from a program that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or its successor, or by the United States Department of Education and operated by a college or university recognized by the licensing authority.

(D) A regulated social worker who is a bachelor's-category social worker must have:

(1) passed a bachelor's-category qualifying national exam. Regulated social workers holding an active and unencumbered license, who were licensed in a state before a qualifying national exam was required, may be exempted from this requirement, as provided for by the rules of the commission; and

(2) graduated with a bachelor's degree, or higher, in social work, from a program that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or its successor, or by the United States Department of Education and operated by a college or university recognized by the licensing authority.

(E) The interstate compact license for a regulated social worker is subject to the renewal requirements of the home state. The regulated social worker must maintain compliance with the requirements of subsection (A).

(F) The regulated social worker's services in a remote state are subject to that member state's regulatory authority. A remote state may, in accordance with due process and that member state's laws, remove a regulated social worker's multistate authorization to practice in the remote state for a specific period of time, impose fines, and/or take any other necessary actions to protect the health and safety of its citizens.

(G) If a home state license is encumbered, the regulated social worker's multistate authorization to practice shall be deactivated in all remote states until the home state license is no longer encumbered.

(H) If a multistate authorization to practice is encumbered in a remote state, the regulated social worker's multistate authorization to practice may be deactivated in that state until the multistate authorization to practice is no longer encumbered.

(I) Nothing in this compact shall affect the requirements established by a member state for the issuance of a single state license.

HISTORY: 2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), SECTION 2, eff May 22, 2025.

Editor's Note

2025 Act No. 66, SECTION 1, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'Social Work Interstate Compact Act.'"