Georgia LCSW Supervision Requirements for LMSWs (2026)

The Rule in One Sentence

The Board states the LCSW experience and supervision requirement in one rule. An applicant must present evidence of having practiced clinical social work for "a minimum of 3000 hours post social work master's degree supervised experience acquired over a period of no less than 36 months or more than 108 months, the first 2000 hours of experience must be under supervision and direction in the practice of clinical social work" (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 135-5-.04(2)(b)1).

That same sentence continues: "Applicant must submit documentation of having acquired 120 hours of supervision during this time, no more than 50% of which may be group supervision and at least 50% must be provided by a licensed clinical social worker who meets requirements to be a duly qualified supervisor" (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)1). The 2,000 hours are the first portion of the 3,000, not an additional total. The 120 supervision hours are acquired during that same 36 to 108 month period, split between individual and group supervision and between eligible supervisor types, as covered below.

The 3,000 Hours and the 36 to 108 Month Window

The rule also describes the total as years rather than hours: "three years' full-time supervised experience ... Of the three years of supervised experience, only the first two must be under direction." (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b); O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-12(a)(2)(B)). Read together, the two framings describe the same requirement: a minimum three-year, 3,000-hour clock, with the first two years, or first 2,000 hours, carrying the direction requirement in addition to supervision.

Georgia sets no direct client-contact minimum inside the 3,000 hours for the LCSW track.

The statute also sets a recency window on the application as a whole: "At least one year of experience shall have occurred within two years immediately preceding application for licensure as a clinical social worker or the applicant shall have met the continuing education requirement established by the board for clinical social work during the year immediately preceding application" (O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-12(a)(2)(B)).

The 120 Supervision Hours: Two Limits

The 120 hours carry two limits at once, and they apply to different things. The first caps how many hours may be group supervision: "no more than 50% of which may be group supervision" (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)1). The second sets a floor on who provides the hours: "at least 50% must be provided by a licensed clinical social worker who meets requirements to be a duly qualified supervisor" (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)1). A supervisor who is an eligible Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist can provide hours toward the 120-hour total, but those hours do not count toward the 50% that must come specifically from a duly qualified LCSW.

Arithmetic, labeled as arithmetic: 120 hours total, no more than 60 of which may be group supervision (the 50% group cap), and at least 60 of which must come from a duly qualified LCSW (the 50% LCSW minimum). These two limits sort the same 120 hours along different axes, group versus individual on one, and supervisor credential on the other, so a single hour of supervision can count toward both, either, or neither limit depending on its format and who provided it.

A valid mix: 65 hours of individual supervision, all provided by a duly qualified LCSW, plus 55 hours of group supervision from a mix of eligible supervisors. The totals add to 120. Group supervision sits at 55 hours, under the 60-hour cap. The LCSW-provided total is at least 65 hours from the individual supervision alone, above the 60-hour minimum, regardless of who supervised the group hours.

An invalid mix: 40 hours of individual supervision plus 80 hours of group supervision. The totals still add to 120, but group supervision at 80 hours exceeds the 60-hour cap, so the mix fails the 50% group limit even before checking who provided any of the hours.

A second invalid mix shows the other limit failing on its own: 120 hours, entirely individual supervision, which clears the group cap by definition, but only 40 of those hours provided by a duly qualified LCSW and the rest by an eligible Marriage and Family Therapist supervisor. Forty hours sits below the 60-hour LCSW minimum, so the mix fails that limit even though it passes the group cap.

Direction Stops After Two Years

The rule pairs direction and supervision for the first portion of the experience, then separates them. The first 2,000 hours must be "under supervision and direction" (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)1), but the direction requirement stops there: "Of the three years of supervised experience, only the first two must be under direction" (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)). The 120 hours of supervision are documented "during this time," the same 36 to 108 month period as the 3,000-hour total (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)1).

Both supervisors and supervisees keep a contemporaneous record of "the date, duration, type (individual, paired, or group), and a brief summary of the pertinent activity for each supervision session to be submitted to the Board upon request. If there are any discrepancies in hours, contemporaneous documentation of supervision will be requested." (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(b)2). The rule uses "paired" in that records language without defining it separately from the individual and group categories the rest of the rule sets.

Who Can Provide LCSW Supervision

A supervisor must be "licensed as a Clinical Social Worker, Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, Psychologist, or Psychiatrist and must have practiced in their specialty for at least 2000 clock hours over a minimum of 2 years following licensure" (Rule 135-5-.04(5)(e)). All five license types are eligible to supervise, but only hours from a duly qualified Clinical Social Worker count toward the 50% LCSW minimum inside the 120 hours.

Individual supervision is "one supervisor meeting with a maximum of two supervisees" and group supervision is "one supervisor meeting with a maximum of six supervisees" (Rule 135-5-.04(5)(d)1,2).

The LMSW: Supervised Until Qualified for the Exam

An LMSW in Georgia is a full license, and "the first two years of practice after the issuance of the Master of Social Work license shall be under direction and supervision" (Rule 135-5-.03(1)(b)). After those two years, private practice is allowed, but "a master's licensee whose practice includes counseling or psychotherapeutic techniques may only engage in such practice under supervision and only for such period of time as is prescribed for qualification to take the clinical social work licensing examination" (Rule 135-5-.03(1)(c)).

To keep a private practice that includes counseling or psychotherapy going past that point, "a licensed master's social worker must apply for a Clinical Social Work license within 60 days of meeting the experience and supervision requirements for that license" (Rule 135-5-.03(1)(d)). That 60-day rule applies to continuing private practice that includes counseling or psychotherapy, not to every LMSW.

An LMSW supervisor must be "a licensed Clinical Social Worker, Professional Counselor, Marriage and Family Therapist, Psychologist or Psychiatrist," and supervision counted toward the LCSW must comply with Rule 135-5-.04, the same rule behind the 120-hour figure above (Rule 135-5-.03(3)(d)).

Documenting the Hours: Form C

The Board verifies LCSW supervision through CSW Form C, the Social Work Supervision Verification Form, completed once per clinical supervisor. Its printed layout carries separate INDIVIDUAL SUPERVISION and GROUP SUPERVISION lines, each with hours per week, From and To dates, and total hours, along with the supervisor's years of experience after license issuance (CSW Form C). Post-graduate experience with a director is verified separately, on CSW Form B, which the director completes and which states plainly: "(Unpaid or Volunteer experiences are NOT acceptable in meeting the directed work experience requirement)" (CSW Form B).

Georgia supervised experience verification forms collects the verification forms for every Georgia track.

Supervision by Phone, Computer, or Video

The Board's FAQ addresses this directly for social work: asked whether "AMFT, MFT, or MSW" supervision can happen by phone, computer, or video, the answer is "Yes, and the supervisor and supervisee should receive the CEU's training in TeleMental Health counseling" (Board FAQ).

Rule 135-11-.01 defines TeleMental Health Supervision as "the delivery of supervision via technology-assisted media by a supervisor at one site while the supervisee is located at a distant site" (Rule 135-11-.01(a)7). Before delivering it, a supervisor completes 9 hours of continuing education, including 3 hours in "Supervising TeleMental Health Therapy," and must obtain "verbal and written consent from the supervisee" (Rule 135-11-.01(b)2(i),(iv)).

The Doctoral Route and Extensions

A candidate with a qualifying doctorate and a supervised clinical internship follows a shorter path: 2,000 hours over 24 to 72 months, with 80 supervision hours, up to 50% of which may be group and 50% of which must come from an LCSW (Rule 135-5-.04(2)(c)1). The doctoral substitution replaces the standard 3,000-hour, 120-hour track for applicants who qualify for it; it does not add to those figures.

If circumstances run long, "the Board, in its sole discretion, may extend the period of time in which the applicant must have acquired supervision and/or experience with adequate showing of hardship or good cause" (Rule 135-5-.04(3)).

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FAQ: Georgia LCSW Supervision Requirements