Mississippi Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

Mississippi Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Licensure Process

This represents the highest professional class in social work where you will be required to carry out advanced tasks relatively close to what physicians do. Learn about the requirements for getting licensed as an LCSW in the following sections.

Education Requirements

Since you will be required to carry out more advanced tasks of a clinical and/or administrative nature, more is expected of you concerning education. You must hold at least a master’s or doctorate from a CSWE-accredited program taken at an approved institution y the time you are applying. The licensing board expects that such training will be instrumental in preparing you to do well during your supervised experience period.

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

Examination Requirements

Applicants for an LCSW license must achieve passing scores in the ASWB advanced generalist or clinical examination which consists of 170 multiple-choice questions to be answered over 4 hours in a Pearson Vue computer-based test. You are to register for the test after your license application has been approved for $260.

A successful application means that you will receive an Authorization to Test from ASWB which contains information about scheduling your test. You can access practice materials here. The result of your test will be sent to the board within two weeks of the date of your exam.

Experience Requirements

The board requires all applicants for an LCSW license to have completed two years of supervised experience in their chosen practice area (clinical or administrative). The board maintains a list of board-approved LCSW supervisors from which you can choose. Once you find your supervisor, you must file a supervision contract and supervision plan with the board for a $75 processing fee. The supervision cannot commence until these documents have been accepted.

The supervised experience period must not exceed 36 months and must include at least 1000 hours of face-to-face patient interactions. Finally, there must be at least four documented evaluations throughout the supervised experience period.

Reference Requirements

Applicants are required to provide three signed professional reference letters preferably from licensed mental health practitioners who have known them for at least a year or during the supervised experience period. At least one of those references must come from an LCSW who is not their supervisor.

Apply for Licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Download the appropriate form from the website and mail a completed copy to the board address together with the documents on the accompanying checklist. Note that all applicants for an LCSW license must be LMSW license holders of good standing in addition to other requirements.

A copy of your supervision contract and supervision plan must be made available to the board before the commencement of the supervised experience.

Copies of at least four evaluations during the supervised experience must also be sent to the board.

Once the supervised experience is completed, you must send a copy of the Termination of Supervision Contract to the board.

The board requires all applicants to perform a fingerprint-based criminal background check at least 180 days from the day their application is received. This must be done with the appropriate authorities in the state. You must also be found to have a clean record after a board-conducted Sex Offender Registry check.

You are required to provide three reference letters from licensed professionals who have known you for at least a year. At least one of the references must come from an LCSW other than your supervisor.

You must also achieve a passing score in the ASWB Advanced Clinical Test

Once all requirements are fulfilled, you can expect your license as soon as possible.