Massachusetts LICSW for Out-of-State Social Workers

Massachusetts uses the same letters as most states and means something different by them. Before anything else, get the tiers right.

Massachusetts tiers, lowest to highest

The Board of Registration of Social Workers issues four licenses under 258 CMR 9.00:

• LSWA, Licensed Social Work Associate. An associate degree or 60 college credits in a human services field, a bachelor's in any field, or 1,000 hours of approved social work education, plus the ASWB exam at the associate passing level.
• LSW, Licensed Social Worker. A CSWE-accredited BSW, or a bachelor's in another field with supervised work experience (longer experience routes exist for less college).
• LCSW, Licensed Certified Social Worker. A CSWE-accredited MSW and the ASWB master's-level exam. This is not a clinical license.
• LICSW, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. The independent clinical license.

So a clinician who holds an "LCSW" in New Jersey, Texas or California is applying for the Massachusetts LICSW. Ask for the Massachusetts LCSW by mistake and you will be licensed at master's level. Our post on why the Massachusetts LCSW means "certified" goes into the history.

What does the LICSW require?

Under 258 CMR 9.03, an LICSW applicant needs:

1. a CSWE-accredited master's or doctorate in social work;
2. a current or past Massachusetts LCSW, or a license from another state whose education and experience requirements were substantially equivalent to the Massachusetts LCSW;
3. at least 3,500 hours of clinical social work over at least two years after that LCSW-level licensure;
4. at least 100 hours of individual, face-to-face clinical supervision during that experience, from an LICSW or someone who meets LICSW requirements;
5. a passing score on the ASWB Clinical exam no more than two years before the application;
6. three professional references from licensed clinicians, one of them from a clinical supervisor; and
7. the fee.

Item 5 is the problem for experienced clinicians on the regular route. A Clinical exam you passed eight years ago does not satisfy it. That is why the reciprocity rule matters.

The reciprocity route

258 CMR 9.07 lets the board license you without taking the exam if you are or were licensed in a state that belongs to the Association of Social Work Boards, and all four of these hold:

1. the education and experience requirements of your other license are substantially equivalent to those for the Massachusetts level you want;
2. its scope of practice is substantially equivalent;
3. you got it by passing the ASWB exam required for that Massachusetts level; and
4. it is in good standing, with no revocation, suspension, surrender or other disciplinary restriction.

For a clinical license earned with the ASWB Clinical exam in a state whose hours and supervision roughly match, this is the route. The judgment calls are in "substantially equivalent." A state that required fewer supervised hours than Massachusetts's 3,500 is where the board may look harder. Gather your original license file, with hours and supervision documented, before you apply, because you may be asked for it.

If your license was issued without the Clinical exam (some states have had exam waivers or legacy paths), condition 3 fails and you are back on the regular route with a fresh exam.

Is Massachusetts joining the compact?

A Social Work Licensure Compact bill is pending in the Massachusetts legislature; the Compact Commission's map lists Massachusetts as "pending," citing S 252. Nothing is enacted. Even after enactment, Massachusetts would need to build its own process, and the Commission has not issued any multistate license anywhere. For now, a Massachusetts license is the only way to treat clients located in Massachusetts.

Keeping the license

• Licenses renew every two years on your birthday (the first license runs at least 24 months).
• LICSWs need 30 CE hours per licensure period; LCSWs need 20, LSWs 15 and LSWAs 10. First-period hours are prorated by when you were licensed.
• Miss renewal and you are unlicensed the next day. Within a year you can reinstate with fees; between one and two years you reapply with proof of CE; after two years you must retake the ASWB exam for your level.

White Glove CME has a Massachusetts social worker CE guide for the course rules.

A Massachusetts LICSW is usually a License by Endorsement engagement for us. We confirm the tier and test the "substantially equivalent" question against your original file before you file. The basics are on the Massachusetts page.