Minnesota Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) Guide - 2024

Minnesota Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) Licensure Process

Education Requirements

To qualify for an LICSW license you must hold an MSW from a CSWE or CASSW-accredited social work program. You will need to request that a copy of your original transcript be sent directly to the board. The transcript must contain your degree, major, and the date the degree was conferred.

In addition to the above, applicants for an LICSW license must provide documentation of having completed 360 clock hours in six clinical knowledge areas. The board provides the forms to be used on their website.

Here you can find all schools offering social work degree programs in Minnesota.

Experience Requirements

The board requires documentation of 200 hours of supervision over 4000 to 8000 hours of clinical practice from prospective LICSW license holders. This must include 1,800 direct clinical contacts with patients. This should be completed between 24-48 months and should be sufficient to prepare a clinical social worker to practice independently.

You must first find a suitable supervisor, preferably a licensed LICSW in Minnesota. Then you must submit a supervision plan to the board. The board must approve your supervisor and supervision plan for your supervised experience to count. Your supervisor will be required to verify that you have fulfilled all supervision requirements to the board.

Apply for Licensure as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker

Apply and pay online on the board website or download the application for licensure form and mail a filled copy to the board. For a mail application, a check or money order made payable to the board suffices.

Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check. If you already hold a social work license in Minnesota, you might be exempted from this requirement.

The board requires that an original copy of your transcript be sent to them from the institution where you obtained your MSW. The transcript must contain the degree, major, and date conferred. It can be sent by mail or email. No license will be issued without this on record.

The board also requires documentation of the completion of 360 clinical clock hours in six clinical knowledge areas. Download the required form here.

The board must be provided with documentation of 200 hours of supervision over 4000 – 8000 hours of clinical practice. You can download the relevant form here or fill out the Supervision Verification form online.

Finally, you must pay the initial license fee to activate your license. The fee for an LICSW license is $325. This makes your license valid for two years. It expires in your birth month, two calendar years from the issue date.

Examination Requirements

The qualifying test for a LICSW license to practice in Minnesota is the ASWB Clinical Level examination, a computer-based test administered by Pearson Vue. The testing fee is $260 and the examination lasts for 4 hours.

You can only register for the test after your application for licensure has been approved by the board. You can register online or send in a completed copy of the registration form by fax or mail. You will receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) if your registration is accepted. This is a notification containing information about scheduling your test. The ASWB provides materials for preparing for the test on their website.