Some states require clinical supervisors to hold a board designation or approval. Texas requires an LCSW-S, with two years at the license level and a 40-hour training program. Ohio requires an LISW with supervision designation. Maryland requires a board-approved LCSW-C supervisor with 18 months post-licensure, supervision training and a registered contract.
In many states any clinical social worker licensed for a minimum time can supervise. In others, the board keeps a list, and hours supervised by someone not on it do not count. The supervisee is the one who loses when that goes wrong, which is why it is worth knowing the rule in your state even though the designation belongs to the supervisor.
Texas: LCSW-S
Texas has the best-known designation. Clinical supervision of an LMSW working toward the LCSW under a supervision plan must be delivered by "a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is a Council-approved supervisor," known as an LCSW-S (22 TAC 781.404). To become one, a supervisor must:
- File an application with the Behavioral Health Executive Council and pay the fee.
- Have practiced at their licensure category for two years.
- Complete a 40-hour supervisor's training program acceptable to the Council.
The status renews with the supervisor's license. Texas uses the same approval for non-clinical supervision toward Independent Practice Recognition, with LMSW-IPR-S and LBSW-IPR-S designations. The Council publishes a list of active supervisors, and an LMSW may have more than one LCSW-S at a time. Supervision sessions may be in person or by HIPAA-compliant audio or web technology, with no more than 10 hours counted in any month.
Ohio: LISW-S
Ohio's supervision designation is attached to its independent license. Under Ohio Admin. Code 4757-23-01, employment experience toward the LISW obtained after September 1, 2008 must be supervised by "an independent social worker with supervision designation," at a rate of one hour of supervision for every 20 hours of work and at least 150 hours in total. The rule also requires the training supervisor to have training in supervision theory and practice and in relevant legal and ethical issues, and to send the board the required supervision evaluations within 30 days of finishing with a supervisee. When the hours are complete, the last LISW-S submits them to the board through its online form. There must be no direct family relationship between supervisor and supervisee.
The detailed eligibility requirements for the designation itself are on the Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board's site; check them there.
Maryland: board-approved supervisor
Maryland does not add a letter to the title, but its approval process is one of the most detailed. Under COMAR 10.42.08, a board-approved supervisor for the LCSW-C must hold an LCSW-C with at least 18 months of active experience after licensure, file a supervisory registration form with a fee, and have no discipline in the prior five years. Training can be met with a CSWE-accredited graduate course in supervision, 12 hours of agency supervision training, or 12 continuing education hours from a board-approved sponsor. Supervisor and supervisee must sign a written contract on the board's form before supervision begins, and a relative may not supervise.
Maryland's requirement reaches beyond clinical hours: an LMSW providing clinical services, including teletherapy, must be supervised by a board-approved LCSW-C supervisor.
Virginia: registered supervision
Virginia approves the supervision arrangement rather than issuing a title. Under 18VAC140-20-50, the supervisor must hold an active, unrestricted LCSW in the jurisdiction where the services are delivered, with at least two years of post-licensure clinical experience. They must have completed a three-credit graduate course in supervision or at least 14 hours of continuing education in supervision, and then at least seven hours of supervision CE within the five years before each registration. The supervisee registers the arrangement, with a supervisory contract and fee, before supervision begins and whenever a supervisor is added or changed. Supervisors keep documentation for five years after supervision ends.
Florida: qualified supervisor
Florida calls them qualified supervisors (Fla. Admin. Code 64B4-11.007). A supervisor providing supervision in Florida must have completed, after licensure as a clinical social worker, training in supervision through a graduate course, a continuing education course that meets the Board's rule, a national family therapy association's approved-supervisor course or a post-graduate field instructor course, and must have four years of clinical social work experience, two of which can be from a post-master's clinical internship. Florida also allows a supervisor licensed in the jurisdiction where the supervision took place, and in limited cases a licensed counselor or family therapist with social work coursework, unlike most states.
Louisiana: LCSW-BACS
Louisiana's board-approved clinical supervisor (BACS) is a credential added to the LCSW (LAC 46:XXV.507). Eligibility requires an LCSW with three years of full-time experience at that level, two reference letters, the board's orientation workshop and a board-approved supervision workshop. Keeping it takes three clock hours of supervision continuing education every two years. LCSW candidates may begin board-credited supervision only after they hold the LMSW, and the three-party supervision contract must reach the board within 60 days of the first session or credit starts 60 days after the board receives it. A supervisor who fails to file required forms can lose the designation.
Washington, Minnesota and Missouri
Washington requires approved supervisors to have 15 clock hours of supervision training, 25 hours of experience supervising, and two years since licensure, declared on a department form (WAC 246-809-334). Minnesota requires 30 hours of supervision training (Minn. Stat. 148E.120). Missouri defines a qualified clinical supervisor as an LCSW with three years of practice and 16 hours of supervisory training (RSMo 337.600).
North Carolina and Pennsylvania
North Carolina requires an LCSW in good standing who has at least two additional years of clinical social work experience after LCSW licensure to supervise an LCSWA (21 NCAC 63 .0211). A supervisor disciplined by a licensing body needs the board's written permission to supervise.
Pennsylvania sets standards rather than a designation (49 Pa. Code 47.12d). Supervisors attest to compliance on the verification form, may not be relatives or in a dual relationship with the supervisee, must observe sessions or review recordings, and must keep records. If a supervisor's license is suspended or revoked during supervision, they must stop immediately; hours completed before the discipline still count, and the supervisee finds a new supervisor.
Why does this matter to the supervisee?
- Hours under an unapproved supervisor may not count. Check the designation or approval on the board's lookup before the first session, and again periodically.
- Approvals lapse. Virginia ties supervisor CE to each registration; Texas and Maryland approvals carry their own conditions. A supervisor's lapse can become your problem.
- A move may reset it. A Texas LCSW-S is not automatically a Maryland board-approved supervisor. See moving mid-supervision.
For the hours themselves, see supervision hours by state. If you are a supervisor seeking a designation as part of a license in a new state, our Full State License Application and License by Endorsement services include it; see pricing.
Common questions
- How do I become an LCSW-S in Texas?
- Apply to the Behavioral Health Executive Council with the fee after practicing two years at your license category, and complete a 40-hour supervisor training program acceptable to the Council (22 TAC 781.404).
- Who can supervise LISW hours in Ohio?
- An independent social worker with the supervision designation (LISW-S), for experience obtained after September 1, 2008, at one hour of supervision per 20 hours worked and at least 150 hours total.
- What makes a supervisor board-approved in Maryland?
- An LCSW-C with at least 18 months post-licensure experience, no discipline in five years, supervision training and a supervisory registration with the board, plus a signed contract on the board's form before supervision starts.
- Do my hours count if my supervisor was not approved?
- Often not, in states that require a designation. Check your supervisor's status on the board's license lookup before you start and periodically during supervision.
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