North CarolinaHB 2312025-2026 SessionHouse

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AND ENTER INTO AN INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK.

Sponsored By: Hugh Blackwell (Republican), Grant L. Campbell, MD (Republican), Larry W. Potts (Republican), Timothy Reeder, MD (Republican)

Signed by Governor

COMPACTSEMPLOYMENTINTERSTATE COOPERATIONLICENSING & CERTIFICATIONOCCUPATIONSPRESENTEDPUBLICRATIFIEDSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL WORKERSCHAPTERED

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

8 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 5 mixed.

Compact Commission, data, and open meetings

The law creates an interstate Commission to run the Compact. It operates a shared license and investigation database and sets rules after public notice and hearings. Each state gets one voting delegate, and an Executive Committee manages business between meetings. Meetings are open to the public, with limited closed sessions, and minutes are kept. The Commission must keep audited books. States must enforce the Compact, and disputes can go to federal court or the Commission’s mediation process.

Fees and assessments for multistate licenses

Your home state may charge a fee to issue a multistate license. The Compact Commission can also charge fees to multistate license holders and bill member states each year to fund operations. The law does not set the fee amounts. Costs depend on your state’s fees and the Commission’s rules.

Discipline and investigations under the Compact

Only your home state can act against your multistate license. If it does, your multistate authorization turns off in all member states until fixed. Any member state can limit or fine your practice inside that state and can issue subpoenas across states. States may recover investigation costs from you if their law allows. States can use each other’s findings and run joint investigations. You may enter an alternative program instead of discipline, and no state can punish you for conduct that was legal where it happened. Investigative data in the Compact system is shared with states, not the public, and expunged records are removed. Certified Commission records count as official evidence in hearings.

Practice across states for social workers

This law creates a compact so one multistate license lets you practice in all member states. Your home state issues the multistate license and sets your category (bachelor’s, master’s, or clinical). To qualify, you need an active, clean home-state license, pay fees, and pass FBI and state background checks. Bachelor’s and master’s licenses require a social work degree from an accredited (or candidate) program and a qualifying national exam or equivalent rules. Clinical licenses also need a qualifying MSW and supervised practice of at least 3,000 hours or two years. You must renew under your home state and follow the laws where the client is located.

Joining, leaving, and start dates for Compact

North Carolina’s law takes effect October 1, 2025. The Compact starts once seven states pass it. States must meet education, exam, supervision, and complaint-handling standards and keep reporting data to stay in. If a state leaves or is terminated, it must notify licensees and keep recognizing Compact licenses for at least six months. The Commission can act on state defaults and deny participation when a state’s constitution conflicts with the Compact.

States choose which social work licenses travel

Each member state decides which social work licenses—bachelor’s, master’s, or clinical—get multistate status. States still make and enforce their own practice rules and single‑state licenses, as long as they follow the Compact. This can open or limit cross‑state practice for some social workers, depending on each state’s choices.

Legal protection for Compact Commission staff

Commission members and staff are shielded from lawsuits for acts done within their job duties. The Commission must defend them and cover settlements or judgments. This protection does not apply to intentional or willful misconduct.

Moving rules and help for military families

If you move from one member state to another, you must apply right away to reissue your multistate license in the new home state. You may have to pay fees, submit fingerprints, and meet any jurisprudence checks. If you move to a nonmember state, you must follow that state’s single-state licensing rules. Active-duty service members and spouses with a multistate license can keep one home-state designation while on active duty so their multistate status stays active.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

William D. Brisson
Republican • House
Maria Cervania
Democratic • House
Sarah Crawford
Democratic • House
Ted Davis, Jr.
Republican • House
Jimmy Dixon
Republican • House
Brian Echevarria
Republican • House
Frances Jackson, PhD
Democratic • House
Pricey Harrison
Democratic • House
B. Ray Jeffers
Democratic • House
Donny Lambeth
Republican • House
Donnie Loftis
Republican • House
Marcia Morey
Democratic • House
Renée A. Price
Democratic • House
Heather H. Rhyne
Republican • House
Diane Wheatley
Republican • House
Donna McDowell White
Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 160 • No: 0

Senate vote • 6/11/2025

HB 231: Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact.

Yes: 44 • No: 0 • Other: 6

House vote • 4/1/2025