Social Worker Board Exam Results September 2026: 8,383 out of 10,991 Passed (76.27%)

Just passed? The license gets you the offer, the terms decide if you stay

My cousin passed the Social Workers Licensure Examination years ago, when we both still lived in CALABARZON. The family news was short: she passed, and the municipality had an opening. Passing is what made her eligible for it.

The municipal job did not last long. At family dinners, the caseload came up more than the programs. She handled more families than the office was staffed for. Her hours stretched whenever a disaster or a barangay emergency hit the town, and the field visits added more time. Also, the post was not a permanent plantilla item. It was a local contract that could end when the budget or the administration changed.

She moved to a multipurpose cooperative, and she has stayed there. The work still uses her license: member welfare, loan applications that need a social-work look, livelihood checks, and the occasional training for members. Unlike the municipal list, her caseload there does not grow overnight. In our family’s words, the license got her the municipal job, and the cooperative kept a steadier shape.

Ask what the item is before you say yes

Job posts often say “social worker” and the office, then leave out the terms. So ask these before you treat the first offer as the job:

• First, is it a plantilla item or a contract? Under Civil Service Commission rules, work under a contract of service or a job order does not count as government service, and those workers do not get the benefits of regular government employees.
• Next, how big is the caseload, and how many staff share it?
• Then, how many field hours does the job involve, and are you expected to report during disasters?
• Finally, do the Magna Carta benefits apply to this post? Republic Act No. 9433 covers registered social workers “employed in the government service.” It grants a hazard allowance of at least 20% of the monthly basic salary for work in areas such as those under a state of calamity, plus a subsistence allowance and transport for field work.

The jobs most results pages never mention

Government offices are not the only employers. My cousin’s cooperative is proof that a multipurpose cooperative can carry a social-work role. Its welfare side is small, one or two people, not a whole office. She got in through a referral, not through a public posting.

Most readers follow the results site and the obvious DSWD or municipal postings, so they never hear about these openings. Cooperatives and nongovernment organizations can hire the same license. Before you choose, ask them the same questions about contract length, caseload, and field hours.

Latest results: September 2026 SWLE

PRC released the September 2026 SWLE results on September 17, 2026, three working days after the last exam day. That matches the speed of the September 2025 release. Examinees took the test in 18 testing centers all over the Philippines. Out of 10,991 takers, 8,383 passed. That is a 76.27% passing rate.

Board for Social Workers members: Hon. Evangeline M. Guinto, Chairperson; Hon. Fe J. Sinsona, Hon. Maria Lyra T. Del Castillo, Hon. Vincent Andrew T. Leyson and Hon. Jerusa C. Arnante-Homo, Members. Online registration for the PRC ID and certificate of registration starts November 13, 2026. The oath-taking date will be announced later.

How the latest social worker board exam results compare

The passing rate moved up 0.25 points from September 2025. It is the highest rate in our records since September 2023. A year earlier, September 2025 posted 76.02%. 1,344 more examinees took this batch than September 2025.

The passing rate climbed four years in a row

PRC’s own releases show a steady rise. In September 2023, 56.75% of takers passed. The rate rose to 64.49% in 2024, then to 76.02% in 2025 and 76.27% in 2026. Meanwhile, the number of takers grew from 6,833 to 10,991.

However, a higher passing rate does not mean more permanent jobs. More passers also means more people applying for the same municipal openings. So the questions above matter even more in a big year.

Next SWLE: exam schedule

PRC has held the regular SWLE once a year, every September, from 2023 to 2026. Each time, PRC released the results three working days after the last exam day. This section shows the next date only after PRC publishes its yearly schedule, so you never see last season’s date left up.

How is the SWLE scored?

The rule comes from the law that created the profession. Under Section 14 of Republic Act No. 4373, you pass with a general rating of at least 70% in the written test and no rating below 50% in any subject. The Board for Social Workers sets the scope of the exam, based on the social work curriculum.

What the job looks like after the list

The results list does not show the queue. Yet the queue is what the job looks like once your name is posted, and I have seen it in our town more than once.

The evacuation center clipboard

During the bigger floods, the municipal social welfare staff are the ones at the evacuation center with the list. I have watched them at the covered court, checking names against the barangay master list and handing out relief packs. They also note who still needs a place to sleep. They are not the rescue team. Instead, they hold the clipboard once the families are already inside, and their work runs long after the water drops.

The senior citizen and PWD window

On ordinary weeks, the same office runs the line for senior citizen and PWD IDs. A neighbor of ours went to renew her ID. The social worker at the window checked the requirements, told her which photocopy was missing, and wrote the next step on her stub. There was no long case conference, just the counter, the form, and the instruction to come back with the right paper.

4Ps monitoring in the barangay looks similar: a visit with a list, not a speech. These scenes are the job for many new passers, so a student weighing the degree should picture them, not just the board exam.

The weeks between the list and the job

Expect a wait after the results come out. Online registration for the PRC ID and certificate of registration starts November 13, 2026. For the September 2026 batch, that came about two months after the results. PRC announces the oath-taking date separately, and you sign the Roster of Registered Professionals in person.

Use the wait to get your papers ready for your first employer. You will need an SSS number, a Pag-IBIG MID number, and your PhilHealth registration. Our guide on what a PRC license covers explains the card and certificate you will receive.

What the path costs a family

In our family, the parents paid for the degree. That was the clearest cost. The PRC fee is small by comparison. PRC’s schedule of fees (Resolution No. 2005-267) sets ₱900 for a licensure exam that needs a bachelor’s degree. Confirm the current amount when you file, since PRC can update it.

Review, if you take a formal one, is the bigger decision, so price it first. On pay, our family never compared the LGU and the cooperative in pesos. Instead, the talk was about terms: the heavy, open-ended caseload against the steadier, contained one. If you are saving for the review months, our Pag-IBIG MP2 savings calculator shows how a monthly amount adds up.

If your name is not on the list

You can sit the exam again at a later SWLE. Check your rating against the rule above: a 70% general rating and no subject below 50%. Then watch the schedule section for the next September date, and file through PRC’s online system when the application window opens.

Social worker board exam results archive

Every regular and special SWLE batch on PRC’s results list, newest first, with PRC’s own PDFs. The special batches are small exams PRC gives abroad.

PDF downloads by batch

September 2026

May 2026 (special)

September 2025

June 2025 (special)

September 2024

June 2024 (special)

September 2023

Frequently asked questions about the social worker board exam

When were the September 2026 SWLE results released?

What is the passing score for the SWLE?

You need a general rating of at least 70% in the written test, with no rating below 50% in any subject. That rule comes from Section 14 of Republic Act No. 4373.

Is a contract or job order social worker post counted as government service?

No. Under Civil Service Commission rules, contract-of-service and job-order work is not government service, and those workers do not get the benefits of regular government employees. The Magna Carta for Public Social Workers covers social workers employed in the government service, so ask whether an offer is a plantilla item before you accept.

Can a cooperative hire a registered social worker?

Yes. My cousin works in a multipurpose cooperative, on a small welfare team that handles member welfare, loan applications, and livelihood checks. NGOs and private agencies also hire registered social workers.

When is the next SWLE?

PRC has held the regular SWLE every September from 2023 to 2026. Its next date shows up in the schedule section above once PRC publishes it.

The license gets you the offer

If I could tell one thing to someone standing where my cousin stood the week her name appeared, it would be this: the license gets you the offer, and the terms decide if you stay. The social worker board exam results end at the name. Your choice after it is what lasts.

For other licensure exams, see our nurses board exam results, the midwives board exam results, and the LET exam results. Every exam we track is on our PRC board exam results page.