Chapter 818 of the Laws of 2022 removed the requirement that a New York LCSW complete three extra years of supervised experience to earn the "R" psychotherapy privilege, effective January 1, 2023. NYSED stopped processing R applications, current holders keep the designation, and the Insurance Law no longer requires it for coverage of LCSW psychotherapy.
For years a New York LCSW's license number told insurers whether they had to pay for that clinician's psychotherapy. An LCSW with the "R" psychotherapy privilege qualified; an LCSW without it often did not. That distinction ended on January 1, 2023.
What did the R privilege require?
On top of the LCSW itself, three more years of supervised post-LCSW experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment planning. The requirements still sit in section 74.5 of the Commissioner's regulations, but they are no longer applied.
What did Chapter 818 change?
The New York State Education Department's social work FAQ summarizes it. Chapter 818 of the Laws of 2022 amended the Insurance Law's provisions on coverage for outpatient care by a licensed clinical social worker practicing within the scope set by Article 154 of the Education Law, and "specifically eliminated the requirement that the LCSW demonstrate three years of post-LCSW supervised experience" to earn the R, effective January 1, 2023.
The practical results, per NYSED:
- No new R privileges. The Office of the Professions "will no longer receive or process applications for the 'R' privilege."
- Existing holders keep it. An LCSW who earned the R "will retain that designation, but it is no longer required under the Insurance Law."
- A public list replaces it. Chapter 818 requires NYSED to provide a list of eligible LCSWs. That list is the ordinary license verification search: every LCSW licensed and registered in New York appears there, and "no additional designation is required."
What does this mean for billing insurance?
The Insurance Law no longer ties coverage to the R, so under the amended law the letter is not the condition for coverage of an LCSW's psychotherapy. That does not mean every plan's credentialing paperwork caught up on the same day. Plans regulated outside New York, such as self-funded employer plans and Medicare, are not governed by New York's Insurance Law provisions in the first place. Medicare has its own clinical social worker benefit, and enrollment runs through the CMS-855I; White Glove Credentialing handles that and commercial paneling at whiteglovecredentialing.com.
If a New York payer still asks for the R in 2026, point them to the NYSED FAQ and to your license verification. If it holds firm, that is a question for the plan's credentialing department or the Department of Financial Services, not the licensing board.
Does the R matter outside New York?
No other state issues it. On an endorsement application elsewhere, list your license as an LCSW. The R may help show post-licensure clinical experience, but experience is normally verified on the new board's own forms.
Does this change anything for LMSWs working toward the LCSW?
No. The LCSW itself still requires the ASWB Clinical exam and, per NYSED, at least 2,000 client contact hours of supervised experience in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment planning over 36 to 72 months, with 100 hours of supervision spread across at least 36 months. What disappeared was only the second three-year stretch after licensure. See LMSW vs. LCSW and the New York license guide.
Common questions
- Can I still apply for the LCSW-R in New York?
- No. Since January 1, 2023, the Office of the Professions does not receive or process applications for the R privilege.
- Do I lose my R if I already have it?
- No. NYSED says an LCSW who earned the R retains the designation. It simply is no longer required under the Insurance Law.
- Do New York insurers still require the R to pay an LCSW?
- The Insurance Law no longer requires it. If a New York-regulated plan still asks, refer it to NYSED's FAQ and your license verification. Self-funded plans and Medicare follow their own rules.
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