Two Forms, Two Different Moments
An LMSW working toward LCSW under the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) touches two forms with similar names and opposite jobs. The Clinical Supervision Plan comes first. It is signed by the LMSW and the LCSW-S before any hours accrue, and it gates whether the hours that follow count toward licensure at all. The Clinical Supervision Verification Form comes at the end of a supervisory relationship. It reports what actually happened: months, supervision hours, and clinical experience hours.
Mixing the two up, or filing the Plan late, is the most common paperwork mistake on this track. The rest of this page walks through both, field by field, plus what the other social work paperwork asks for along the way.
One structural point makes the Texas social work track different from the LPC and LMFT tracks it sits alongside. The Texas LMSW license is a full, renewable practice license, not a time-limited associate registration. The pre-LCSW status is not a license type of its own; it is an LMSW who has filed a Clinical Supervision Plan with an LCSW-S. There is no separate associate number beyond the Texas LMSW license itself, which is exactly why the Plan carries so much weight: it is the document that turns an ordinary LMSW license into a license on the LCSW path.
The Clinical Supervision Plan
The current Clinical Supervision Plan is Clinical-Supervision-Plan_SafeHarbor-form-2021July.docx, a Word document from July 2021, available on the SW Forms and Publications page. It is signed by both the LMSW and the LCSW-S, and it must be signed and filed before hours begin accruing (22 TAC 781.405(a), 781.403(b)(2)). BHEC files one Plan per supervisor, submitted at the LCSW application.
The Plan captures the LMSW's and LCSW-S's identifying details, the supervisor's record-keeping duties, and a confirmation that at least one practice location provides 4 or more hours a week of direct clinical practice (781.401(a)(1)(C); Plan form). Rule 781.405(a) also lets the Council accept "a form with substantially equivalent information," which is why some agencies file their own internal version rather than the Council's. And the Plan is not a one-time filing: it must be updated on a change of agency, job, goals, or method (22 TAC 781.403(b)(2)).
If you searched for a clinical supervision plan example because your agency wants to use its own paperwork, the question that matters is whether that internal document carries the same information as the Council's form, since 781.405(a) is worded around substance, not a specific template. An LMSW and LCSW-S weighing an agency version against the Council's own Plan should compare it field by field against the description above before assuming it qualifies.
When Your Supervisor Is Not Your Employer
An LCSW-S who is not employed by your agency, an outside supervisor brought in specifically for clinical supervision, needs written employer approval on letterhead before supervision begins (22 TAC 781.403(a)(2)). That approval letter is part of the supervisor's file alongside the Plan, job description, practice locations, and the supervisor's own log of your sessions (781.403(b)(1)).
The Clinical Supervision Verification Form, Field by Field
The current Verification form is SW-Clinical-Superision-Verification-form-9.25.25.docx, dated September 25, 2025, also a Word document. Yes, the misspelling of "Superision" is in BHEC's own filename. If your search results turn up that spelling, you have found the right file.
Each LCSW-S completes and signs one Verification form covering the period they supervised you. Here is what it asks for.
| Field | What It Captures |
|---|---|
| Dates | From and to dates of the supervision this form covers |
| Total months | Whole numbers only, not weeks or days |
| Total supervision hours | Counting toward the 100-hour minimum (22 TAC 781.401(a)(1)(D)) |
| Total clinical experience hours | Counting toward the 3,000-hour total (22 TAC 781.401(a)(1)(C)) |
| Reservation | A Yes/No box |
| Initials and signatures | Entered by the LMSW and the LCSW-S |
The completed form is mailed or emailed to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov. Keeping the two numbers straight before that point is easier with hours tracking for Texas associates built around the same per-supervisor totals the form asks for.
The Two Numbers on the Verification Form, and Why They Are Separate
Total supervision hours and total clinical experience hours are not the same number, and the Verification form keeps them apart on purpose. Supervision hours count toward the 100-hour minimum (22 TAC 781.401(a)(1)(D)) and are capped at 10 counted in any one month or 30-day period (781.403(b)(8)). Clinical experience hours count toward the 3,000-hour total (781.401(a)(1)(C)) and are not split into direct and indirect the way some other Texas tracks are; see what counts as clinical hours for LCSW in Texas for how that single figure is defined. Whole months matter on top of both numbers, because supervision must extend to at least 24 full months even if the hours finish earlier (781.403(b)(7)).
Here is a clean version of the arithmetic across two supervisors, the kind Texas LCSW supervision requirements lays out in full.
| Supervisor | Months | Supervision Hrs | Clinical Experience Hrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First supervisor | 12 | 50 | 1,500 |
| Second supervisor | 12 | 50 | 1,500 |
| Combined | 24 | 100 | 3,000 |
Twenty-four months meets the minimum duration exactly (781.401(a)(1)(C); 781.403(b)(7)). Fifty supervision hours a year averages a little over 4 hours a month, well under the 10-hour monthly cap, and the two totals reach 100 hours combined. 1,500 plus 1,500 reaches the full 3,000-hour requirement. None of that works if an LMSW keeps one combined running number instead of two totals split by supervisor, since each Verification form only certifies what one LCSW-S personally supervised.
Who Files, and How Long a Supervisor Has
The LCSW-S, not the LMSW, submits the signed Verification form, and must do so within 30 days of the LMSW's request (22 TAC 781.405(c)). That clock starts when you ask for the form, so asking early, rather than waiting until the LCSW application is otherwise complete, keeps a slow-moving supervisor from becoming a bottleneck.
As of September 2026, BHEC's online supervision module for social work was unavailable, so both the Plan and the Verification form went by email to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov rather than through the licensing portal.
One more timing note worth keeping in mind: 22 TAC 781.402, 781.403, 781.405, 781.406, and 781.407 are all new rules, effective March 18, 2026. The Verification form on file, dated September 25, 2025, predates those rules. Pull the current file from the SW Forms and Publications page each time you need one rather than reusing a saved copy, in case BHEC issues a new version to match the updated chapter.
The 30-day clock also has a practical wrinkle worth planning around: it applies to the Verification form, not the Plan. There is no comparable deadline forcing an LCSW-S to sign the Plan quickly at the start of supervision, which is exactly why the burden falls on the LMSW to get that first signature before any hours are logged, rather than waiting for a form the rule does not put on a clock.
The Rest of the Social Work Paperwork
The Plan and the Verification form are not the only documentation in an LMSW's file. Here is the rest of it.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Social Work Checklist and Licensure Process | SW-Application-Checklist-20260720sf.pdf, July 20, 2026 |
| Supervisor contacts | Names and contact information for every supervisor |
| Dates | Beginning and ending dates with each supervisor |
| Job description | A written description of the position |
| Weekly average | Average hours of social work activity per week |
| Evaluations | Written evaluations from each supervisor |
| On request | Employment or pay documentation, if the Council asks for it |
The application-stage documentation rows above come from 22 TAC 781.405(b)(1) through (3). None of it replaces the Plan or the Verification form; it sits alongside them in the file the Council reviews at your LCSW application.
What People Mean by "Supervision Contract" and "Supervision Log"
Two terms come up often in searches about this track, and neither points to a separate document you are missing. On the social work path, the Council form is the supervision agreement: the Clinical Supervision Plan is what other tracks would call a supervision contract, since it is the signed agreement that establishes the relationship before hours begin.
The running log people ask about is your supervisor's own record-keeping obligation, not a form you submit. Rule 781.403(b)(1) requires the supervisor to keep a log of experience and supervision hours, including the date and duration of each meeting and accumulated clinical hours. That log helps your LCSW-S arrive at accurate totals when it is time to complete the Verification form. Neither a personal log kept by the LMSW nor a spreadsheet is the submission BHEC reviews; the Plan and the Verification form are.
Common Mistakes With These Forms
These are the errors that turn a straightforward LCSW application into a delayed one.
Starting hours before the Plan is signed and filed
Hours accrued before the Clinical Supervision Plan is in place do not count toward the 3,000-hour total (22 TAC 781.405(a)).
Treating the Plan as a one-time filing
The Plan must be updated on a change of agency, job, goals, or method (22 TAC 781.403(b)(2)), not left as-is once signed.
Using an outside supervisor without employer approval
A supervisor who is not your employer needs written approval on letterhead before supervision begins (22 TAC 781.403(a)(2)).
Mixing up the two numbers on the Verification form
Total supervision hours count toward the 100-hour minimum; total clinical experience hours count toward the 3,000-hour total. They are not the same figure.
Waiting on an online portal that was not working
As of September 2026, the online supervision module for social work was unavailable. Confirm with your supervisor that both forms go to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov by email.
Downloading an old copy of the Verification form
The current file is dated 9/25/2025, and it predates rules effective March 18, 2026. Pull the current version from the SW Forms and Publications page rather than a saved copy.
How HourJourney Tracks This for the LMSW to LCSW Path
HourJourney keeps the two Verification-form numbers separate by supervisor from the day you log your first week:
- ✓Total clinical experience hours and total supervision hours tracked separately per supervisor, not as one combined figure
- ✓Whole-month counts per supervisor, building toward the 24-full-month floor
- ✓A running check against the 10-hour monthly supervision cap
- ✓A generated Clinical Supervision Verification Form as a PDF replica carrying the same information, one per supervisor, with initials and signatures left blank
- ✓A record that survives a change of supervisor without reconstruction
Built for Texas pre-licensed clinicians.
Related Guides
Texas LCSW Hours Requirements
The full 3,000-hour and 100 supervision-hour breakdown behind these forms.
Texas LCSW Supervision Requirements
The 100-hour minimum, the monthly cap, and who can supervise you.
LMSW to LCSW in Texas
The full path from the LMSW license to LCSW.
The Texas LMSW License
What the LMSW license is and how it differs from an associate registration.
What Counts as Clinical Hours for LCSW in Texas
How the 3,000 clinical experience hours are defined.
Hours Tracking for Texas Associates
How HourJourney logs and totals your Texas supervision hours.
FAQ: The Texas LCSW Clinical Supervision Plan and Verification Form
What is a Clinical Supervision Plan in Texas?▾
The Clinical Supervision Plan is the form an LMSW and an LCSW-S sign together to start the LCSW supervision process. It records the LMSW's and LCSW-S's information, the supervisor's record-keeping duties, and confirms at least one practice location where the LMSW provides 4 or more hours a week of direct clinical practice. The current version is Clinical-Supervision-Plan_SafeHarbor-form-2021July.docx, from July 2021 (22 TAC 781.405(a)).
When do you have to file the Clinical Supervision Plan?▾
Before hours accrue. The Plan must be signed by the LMSW and the LCSW-S before supervised clinical experience begins counting toward the 3,000-hour total (22 TAC 781.405(a), 781.403(b)(2)). One Plan is submitted per supervisor, filed at the LCSW application.
Can you use your own supervision plan form instead of the Council's?▾
Yes, within limits. Chapter 781 lets the Council accept a form with substantially equivalent information to its own Plan (22 TAC 781.405(a)), which is why some agencies use an internal template. The safer path is the Council's own form unless your agency's version has already been used successfully by other LMSWs on the same path.
Who fills out the LCSW Verification form?▾
The LCSW-S supervisor completes and signs the Clinical Supervision Verification Form, the same as the Plan. The LMSW's role is to keep accurate running totals of clinical experience hours and supervision hours so the supervisor has correct numbers to enter for the period they supervised.
How long does a supervisor have to submit the Verification form?▾
A supervisor must submit the signed Verification form within 30 days of the LMSW's request (22 TAC 781.405(c)). The clock starts when the LMSW asks, not automatically at the end of supervision, so ask for the form as soon as you need it rather than assuming your supervisor will file it unprompted.
Where do you send the Texas LCSW supervision forms?▾
Both the Clinical Supervision Plan and the Clinical Supervision Verification Form go to socialwork@bhec.texas.gov, by mail or email. As of September 2026, BHEC's online supervision module for social work was unavailable, so email was the working path for both forms.
Do you need one set of forms per supervisor?▾
Yes. The Plan and the Verification form are each filed per supervisor (22 TAC 781.403(b)(1)). An LMSW supervised by two LCSW-S supervisors over their 3,000 hours needs a signed Plan and a signed Verification form from each one, not a single combined set.
Does BHEC accept a supervision log instead of these forms?▾
No. A running log of supervision dates and hours is something your supervisor is required to keep as part of their own file (22 TAC 781.403(b)(1)), and it helps produce accurate numbers for the Verification form. It is not a substitute for the Plan or the Verification form themselves, and neither is a personal spreadsheet.
On another Texas track? See Supervised Experience Verification form.
Requirements verified against the consolidated Social Work Rulebook (March 2026) and the BHEC SW Forms and Publications page, current as of September 2026. Rules and forms can change. Always confirm current requirements at bhec.texas.gov before making decisions about your licensure path. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.