Moving Mid-Supervision: Will Your Hours Count?

You are 1,800 hours into a 3,000-hour requirement and your family is moving. The hours you have are real, but whether they count depends entirely on the rules of the state you are moving to, and on paperwork that is far easier to get now than after you leave.

The good news is that most boards do accept post-MSW clinical experience earned in another state. The conditions are where people get caught.

What do boards usually require of out-of-state hours?

Three things come up again and again: the experience was earned after the MSW, in a setting legally authorized to provide clinical services where you were, under a supervisor the new board considers qualified. Then you have to prove all three on the new board's forms.

• New York accepts experience from another jurisdiction if it was obtained after the master's degree, "in a setting authorized in such jurisdiction to provide such services," and under "a qualified supervisor acceptable to the Department." The applicant and supervisor must document the out-of-state setting's authority. Supervisors verify the experience on Form 4B.
• Maryland accepts hours earned in another state or country with documentation that you met that jurisdiction's licensing, certification or registration requirements while you earned them (COMAR 10.42.01.05).
• Virginia accepts supervision completed out of state if it met that jurisdiction's requirements (18VAC140-20-50).
• Louisiana counts supervision from outside the state if the supervisor held a license substantially equivalent to its LCSW-BACS at the time and completed the board's forms, including its out-of-state supervisor license verification.
• Florida credits post-master's experience earned in another state if it meets Florida's statutory standard, and accepts a supervisor licensed where the supervision took place.
• North Carolina asks out-of-state applicants for an employment verification covering the prior six years and a clinical social work supervision form from each supervisor in the prior four years (21 NCAC 63 .0207).

Does it matter whether I was licensed while earning them?

Very often. Maryland's rule requires you to have met the other jurisdiction's licensing requirements. Many states, including Connecticut, Indiana and Michigan, count hours earned in-state only while you hold the right credential, so expect a board to ask whether you held the credential the other state required for hours earned there. If your current state required a master's license or registration for the work, make sure you had it for every hour you plan to claim.

Will my supervisor qualify in the new state?

Possibly not, and this is the most common reason hours are discounted. Supervisor rules vary on license type, years licensed and training:

• California requires at least 1,700 of the 3,000 hours to be supervised by an LCSW (Bus. & Prof. Code 4996.23).
• Massachusetts wants the 100 hours of supervision from someone who holds or meets the requirements for its LICSW.
• Arizona wants at least 50 of the 100 supervision hours from an LCSW licensed by the Arizona board, which an out-of-state supervisor will not be.
• Delaware no longer accepts master's-level social workers as supervisors for LCSW candidates.
• New York accepts only LCSWs, psychologists and psychiatrists as supervisors.

If your supervisor is not a clinical social worker, or has been licensed only briefly, ask the destination board before you rely on those hours.

Do supervision ratios and formats carry over?

The new board measures your past supervision against its rule, not your old one. If your current state allowed more group supervision, more video supervision or a lower ratio than the destination does, part of your supervision may not count even if your hours do. New York, for example, wants 100 hours of in-person individual or group supervision. Florida requires at least half of supervision to be in person. See virtual supervision toward the LCSW.

Can I keep my old supervisor after I move?

Sometimes, but now you are practicing in the new state, so its rules govern. Ohio, for instance, says that if training supervision is occurring in Ohio, the supervisee and the supervisor must both be licensed in Ohio. You will also usually need the new state's master's-level license, registration or supervision plan before new hours count. Check both before you schedule the next session.

Is there a shortcut if I finish first?

Yes: finishing your hours and getting your clinical license before you move usually beats transferring a partial count. Once you hold an independent clinical license, you apply by endorsement, and some states then look mainly at your license and years licensed rather than at each supervision hour. Texas waives the experience requirement for an LCSW who has been licensed elsewhere for at least one year immediately before applying, and Washington treats one year of active independent clinical licensure in another state as meeting its experience requirement. California's licensure-by-credential path is for people who have held a clinical license for at least two years. Run the numbers on both paths; the counseling-side version of this decision, which works the same way for social workers, is at our sister site White Glove Counseling.

What should I collect before I leave?

1. Your complete hour log, with direct client contact and supervision broken out, signed by your supervisor through your last day.
2. A completed verification on your current board's form, even if you will not apply there.
3. The destination board's verification form, filled in and signed by your supervisor now. Ask for it before you leave, not by mail a year later.
4. Your supervisor's license number, license type, issue date and any supervisor designation, plus a copy of their license verification.
5. Documentation that your setting was authorized to provide clinical services, which New York in particular asks for.
6. Proof of the license or registration you held while earning the hours.

Then ask the destination board, in writing, how many of your hours it will credit. See documenting supervision, and the license guide for your new state. If you want someone to assemble the file and get that answer, start at contact.