Bill Text: IL HB5435 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. In provisions concerning qualifications for licensure as a licensed social worker, provides that the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may grant a waiver for or an extension of the 4-year time period under the provisions upon a showing of good cause. Further amends the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act. In provisions concerning endorsement, provides that the Department may issue a license as a clinical social worker or as a social worker, without the required examination, to an applicant licensed under the laws of another jurisdiction if the requirements for licensure in that jurisdiction are, on the date of licensure, substantially equivalent to the requirements of the Act, except for the requirement to be licensed while obtaining the required supervised experience. Effective January 1, 2027.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5)

Status: (Passed) 2026-07-31 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0702 [HB5435 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5435-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Clinical Social Work and Social Work
Practice Act is amended by changing Sections 9, 9A, and 12.5 as
follows:
(225 ILCS 20/9) (from Ch. 111, par. 6359)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 9. Qualifications for clinical social worker license.
A person shall be qualified to be licensed as a clinical social
worker if that person:
(1) has applied in writing on the prescribed form;
(2) has not engaged in conduct or actions that would
constitute grounds for discipline under this Act;
(3)(a) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
Department that, subsequent to securing a master's degree
in social work from an approved program and obtaining a
social worker license under Section 9A or temporarily
practicing pending the issuance of a social worker license
under Section 9B if the license was ultimately issued, the
applicant has successfully completed at least 3,000 hours
of satisfactory, supervised clinical professional
experience; or

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(b) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Department
that such applicant has received a doctor's degree in
social work from an approved program and has, subsequent
to receiving the degree, completed at least 2,000 hours of
satisfactory, supervised clinical professional experience
after obtaining a social worker license under Section 9A
or during temporary practice pending the issuance of a
social worker license under Section 9B if the license was
ultimately issued subsequent to the degree;
(4) has passed the examination for the practice of
clinical social work as authorized by the Department or
has completed the examination alternative set forth in
Section 8.2; and
(5) has paid the required fees.
Notwithstanding paragraph (3), any hours of supervised
clinical professional experience completed before the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General
Assembly may be counted toward the required hours for
qualification under this Section if the hours were completed
subsequent to securing an applicable graduate degree and the
completed hours would have qualified toward licensure under
the law in effect at the time the hours were earned.
(Source: P.A. 103-433, eff. 1-1-24; 104-178, eff. 1-1-26.)
(225 ILCS 20/9A) (from Ch. 111, par. 6359A)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)

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Sec. 9A. Qualifications for license as licensed social
worker. A person shall be qualified to be licensed as a
licensed social worker if that person:
(1) has applied in writing on the prescribed form;
(2) has not engaged in conduct or actions that would
constitute grounds for discipline under this Act;
(3)(a) has a degree from a graduate program of social
work approved by the Department; or
(b) has a degree in social work from an undergraduate
program approved by the Department and has successfully
completed at least 3,000 hours 3 years of supervised
professional experience subsequent to obtaining the degree
within a period of no more than 4 years, as established by
rule. The Department may grant a waiver for or an
extension of the 4-year time period under this
subparagraph (b) upon a showing of good cause. If no
supervision by a licensed social worker or a licensed
clinical social worker is available, then supervised
professional experience may include supervision by other
appropriate disciplines as defined by rule;
(4) (blank); and
(5) has paid the required fees.
An individual who is in the process of completing the
hours of supervised professional experience under subparagraph
(b) of paragraph (3) shall be subject to oversight by the
Department solely for the purpose of determining the

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individual's eligibility for licensure and the eligibility of
the completed hours for the supervised professional experience
requirement.
The Department may, by rule:
(A) establish standards for supervision,
documentation, and verification of any supervised
professional experience;
(B) deny or invalidate any hours of supervised
professional experience obtained in violation of this Act
or Department rules; and
(C) deny an application for licensure based on conduct
that occurred during the time period in which the
applicant was completing the hours of supervised
professional experience if the conduct would have
constituted grounds for discipline under this Act had the
individual been licensed at the time.
(Source: P.A. 104-178, eff. 1-1-26.)
(225 ILCS 20/12.5)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 12.5. Endorsement. The Department may issue a license
as a clinical social worker or as a social worker, without the
required examination, to an applicant licensed under the laws
of another jurisdiction if the requirements for licensure in
that jurisdiction are, on the date of licensure, substantially
equivalent to the requirements of this Act, except for the

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requirement to be licensed while obtaining the required
supervised experience under Section 9, or to any person who,
at the time of the person's licensure, possessed individual
qualifications that were substantially equivalent to the
requirements then in force in this State. An applicant under
this Section shall pay the required fees.
An individual applying for licensure as a clinical social
worker who has been licensed at the independent level in
another United States jurisdiction for 5 consecutive years
without discipline is not required to submit proof of
completion of the education and supervised clinical
professional experience required in paragraph (3) of Section
9. Individuals with 5 consecutive years of experience must
submit certified verification of licensure from the
jurisdiction in which the applicant practiced and must comply
with all other licensing requirements and pay all required
fees.
If the accuracy of any submitted documentation or the
relevance or sufficiency of the course work or experience is
questioned by the Department or the Board because of a lack of
information, discrepancies or conflicts in information given,
or a need for clarification, the applicant seeking licensure
may be required to provide additional information.
An applicant has 3 years from the date of application to
complete the application process. If the process has not been
completed within 3 years, the application shall be denied, the

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fee shall be forfeited, and the applicant must reapply and
meet the requirements in effect at the time of reapplication.
(Source: P.A. 102-1053, eff. 6-10-22; 103-1048, eff. 1-1-25.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2027.