Indiana licenses independent clinical social workers as the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), through the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Professional Licensing Agency). Indiana is not a Social Work Licensure Compact member. Below: what Indiana asks of a social worker already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Indiana Social Work License Requirements
Indiana licenses social workers at 3 levels: the LBSW (Licensed Bachelor Social Worker), the LSW (Licensed Social Worker) and the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).
LBSW: ASWB Bachelors. Requires a bachelor's degree in social work.
LSW: ASWB Masters. The board lists the LSW as its master's-level license.
LCSW: ASWB Clinical.
Independent clinical practice requires the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).
3,000 hours of post-master's supervised experience for the clinical license, including 96 hours of direct supervision.
Licensed elsewhere: Indiana offers reciprocity at each level if you hold an active license of the same level in another state and passed the matching ASWB exam. You send license verifications and have ASWB send your score report to the Professional Licensing Agency.
How Much Does an Indiana Social Work License Cost?
We have not published an Indiana figure yet
We have not verified Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Professional Licensing Agency)'s current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
Board: Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Professional Licensing Agency)
We handle the Indiana application end-to-end.
Eligibility screening, document prep, board follow-ups, and tracking — so you don't lose a board meeting cycle to a missing form.
View full pricingWhere Indiana Applications Get Delayed
The two years of LCSW experience must be paid, full-time and supervised, at 1,500 hours per year, with at least 4 hours of face-to-face supervision by an LCSW each month for at least 24 months (96 hours at minimum). If you earn the hours in Indiana, you must hold an active LSW or temporary LSW permit.
Part-time experience counts only if you can document 4,500 total hours, 3,000 of them after your graduate degree.
Exam applicants can get a one-time, one-year temporary permit; reciprocity applicants and people who have already passed their exam cannot.
Supervisor attestations and verifications from other boards take the longest. Request them the week you decide to apply, not the week you file.
Renewing Your Indiana Social Work License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
40 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Social Work Compact and Indiana
Indiana is not a Social Work Licensure Compact member, so a multistate license will not cover practice here even once the Compact opens. Seeing clients located in Indiana takes an Indiana license, by endorsement where the state offers it or a full application where it does not.
Keeping it current
Indiana renews social work licenses every 2 years, with 40 hours of continuing education per cycle. All licenses expire April 1 of even-numbered years. The 40 hours are 20 per licensure year, with at least 10 Category I hours each year, including 1 hour of ethics and professional conduct per year. Someone licensed 12 to 24 months before the first renewal needs half the hours; under 12 months, none. Holding licenses in several states means several calendars and several sets of CE rules, which is most of what our annual compliance service tracks.
Indiana Social Work License FAQ
What social work licenses does Indiana issue?
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Can I use the Social Work Compact for Indiana?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Indiana?
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How many supervised hours does Indiana require for the clinical license?
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Where these facts come from
Checked against primary sources. Boards change rules between sessions, so we confirm the current process again before anything is filed.
- board home page — checked 2026-10-08
- LBSW, LSW and LCSW requirements and exams, reciprocity checklists, LCSW supervision and experience, temporary permits, April 1 even-year renewal, CE — checked 2026-10-08
- experience at 1,500 hours per year, 4,500-hour part-time option, 4 hours of supervision per month — checked 2026-10-08
- exam equivalency for reciprocity — checked 2026-10-08
- 40 CEUs per two-year period, ethics requirement, first-renewal proration — checked 2026-10-08
- Social Work Licensure Compact: Indiana has no active legislation — checked 2026-10-08
- Indiana is not a compact jurisdiction — checked 2026-10-08
What Working with Us Costs
Transparent, a la carte service fees. Board, exam and fingerprinting fees are paid directly to those organizations. Our concierge fee is separate and is the only thing you pay us.
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