The ASWB exam format since August 2026

By Licensure Hours, founded by Meli Pil. About us

Last checked:

In short

Since August 3, 2026, every ASWB social work licensing exam has 122 multiple-choice questions: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions. You have four hours, split into two sections of 61 questions with two hours each, and you may take a 10-minute break between them. Once you finish the first section, you can't go back to it. The exam before August 3, 2026 had 150 scored and 20 pretest questions (170 in all) and four content areas; the new one has three.

Licensure Hours tracks New York LCSW, LMHC and LMFT, New Jersey LCSW and California LMFT hours today.

On this page10 sections

At a glance

Questions122: 110 scored and 12 unscored pretest questions, mixed together.
SectionsTwo, of 61 questions each.
TimeFour hours: two hours for each section.
BreakOne optional scheduled break of up to 10 minutes after section one; the clock stops during it.
Going backWithin a section, yes. After you finish section one, no.
Answer optionsThree or four per question.
Content areasThree: Values and Ethics; Assessment and Planning; Intervention and Practice.
In effect sinceAugust 3, 2026, for every exam category.

10 free questions · ASWB Masters and Clinical

1 of 10

A woman staying at a domestic violence shelter tells the social worker she has decided to return tonight to a partner who has been violent. What should the social worker do FIRST?

Pick an answer. No account needed for these 10.

How many questions are on the ASWB exam?

  • 122 in all: 110 count toward your score and 12 are pretest questions that don't. ASWB: “Include a total of 122 questions (110 scored, 12 unscored)”
  • You can't tell which ones are unscored: “The pretest and scored questions are mixed together on the examination” (ASWB's Guidebook)
  • Each question has three or four answer options: “Include a mixture of three- and four-option multiple choice questions”

How long is the ASWB exam, and is there a break?

  • Four hours: “The exam is divided into two 61-question sections, each of which has a two-hour time limit” (Guidebook)
  • After section one you may take a scheduled break: “the clock will stop for a maximum of 10 minutes.” Time over 10 minutes comes out of your exam time, and unused break time doesn't carry over
  • You may take unscheduled breaks by raising your hand, but “The clock continues to run during unscheduled breaks”, and you may not leave the building
  • The tutorial before the exam doesn't take time from the exam

Can you go back to questions on the ASWB exam?

  • Within a section, yes: “you may skip questions and go back to them later, mark questions for review, highlight and strike through text, and go back and change answers” (Guidebook)
  • Not after the section ends: “After you have completed the first section, you will not be able to return to it.” If time runs out in a section, your answers are recorded and you can't go back to them
  • So review your flagged questions before you submit section one (our advice, not ASWB's)

What changed on August 3, 2026?

  • Content areas: four before, three now
  • Scored questions: 150 before, 110 now; pretest questions: 20 before, 12 now
  • Answer options: three and four both times, with most questions having four before and more having three now
  • The time limit stayed four hours
  • ASWB says the new exams also “Include a higher proportion of questions that rely on the application of professional knowledge through the use of problem-solving and reasoning”
  • Your test date decided which exam you took. A book, course or website that says 170 questions describes the exam before August 3, 2026

What are the three content areas?

Values and Ethics; Assessment and Planning; and Intervention and Practice, in every exam category. Their weights: Masters 35%, 33%, 32%; Clinical 36%, 32%, 32%, in that order (Guidebook, 08/2026 content outlines).

ASWB Masters vs Clinical: which exam you take

Is the format the same for the Masters and the Clinical?

  • Yes: both have 122 questions in four hours, in two sections of 61
  • What differs is the content outline, who may take each, the number of correct answers needed, and the fee: $230 for the Masters and $260 for the Clinical, paid to ASWB
  • ASWB sells an online practice test for the Masters and the Clinical; it says its format doesn't exactly match the exam at the test center

Sources

Checked against the published rules of ASWB on October 23, 2026. Licensure Hours is independent and not affiliated with ASWB; ASWB’s own pages are the final word, and this is guidance, not legal advice.

More on the ASWB exams

Licensure Hours and the ASWB exams

Licensure Hours tracks New York LCSW, LMHC and LMFT, New Jersey LCSW and California LMFT hours today. It keeps your weekly hours, your supervisor confirms them by link, and it fills in your Form 4B from your record. Free for 30 days, no card.