ASWB develops and maintains four categories of social work licensure examinations: Bachelors, Masters, Advanced Generalist, and Clinical. Not every jurisdiction uses all four categories, so candidates must be sure to check with individual boards to find out which examinations are appropriate for the jurisdiction in which they are seeking licensure.

Each examination contains 170 four-option multiple choice questions designed to measure minimum competencies at four categories of practice. Only 150 of the 170 items are scored; the remaining 20 questions are "pretest" items included to measure their effectiveness as items on future examinations. These pretest items are scattered randomly throughout the examination. Candidates have four hours to complete the test, which is administered electronically.

Examinations are administered by appointment at ACT test centers throughout the U.S. There are no fixed administration dates; instead, registered candidates schedule a time to take the test.

Special accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities. Additionally, many jurisdictions offer arrangements for candidates whose first language is not English.

In order to view any PDF files, visitors will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is a free software to download from the Adobe website.