Washington LICSW Requirements: Hours, Supervision, Exam and Fees

The Qualifying Degree

A CSWE-accredited master's degree, or a social work doctorate from an accredited university, comes before the LSWAIC associate license issues (WAC 246-809-320(2)). Every hour that counts toward the 3,000-hour total is earned after that degree; the verification form DOH candidates use states plainly that "the information listed below must reflect only postgraduate supervision and professional experience" (DOH 670-011, page 2).

The LSWAIC Associate License

Washington calls the pre-license credential a "licensed social worker associate independent clinical" license (LSWAIC; the statute writes it as "licensed social work associate-independent clinical," RCW 18.225.020). An associate is "a prelicensure candidate who is working towards full licensure in their profession, has a graduate degree in a mental health field ... and is gaining the supervision and supervised experience necessary" to become an LICSW; associates "may not independently provide social work ... for a fee, monetary or otherwise" and must work under an approved supervisor (WAC 246-809-010(1); see RCW 18.225.145(2)). The applicant submits a declaration that they are working toward full licensure (RCW 18.225.145(1)), and no supervised experience is required before becoming an associate (WAC 246-809-330(3)).

The LSWAIC license is valid for one year and is renewed every year on the date of issuance, not on a birthday (WAC 246-809-990(2)). It can be renewed with no limit on the number of times (RCW 18.225.145(6)(a)); the former six-renewal limit ended June 6, 2024, and anyone cut off by that limit before it ended is treated as if their license had simply expired and can return to active status (RCW 18.225.145(6)(b)). Renewal itself costs 16 hours of continuing education a year, with 6 hours of professional ethics and law owed every two years, 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, and 2 hours of health equity every four years; an LSWAIC also owes 6 hours of suicide assessment, treatment and management training before the first renewal (WAC 246-809-632(1) to (5)).

The 3,000-Hour Requirement

An LICSW candidate needs "a minimum of 3,000 hours of experience, over a period of not less than two years" (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)). The statute states the same floor at RCW 18.225.090(1)(a)(ii)(C): the 3,000-hour total and the two-year minimum both come directly from these two sources.

Every one of the 3,000 hours has to be postgraduate. Experience gained before the degree does not count, and the verification form adds that "experience gained through inappropriate supervision will not count" (DOH 670-011, page 2).

1,000 Hours of Direct Client Contact

Inside the 3,000-hour total, "one thousand hours must be direct client contact supervised by a licensed independent clinical social worker" (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)(i)). The rule ties those direct hours to supervision by an LICSW.

The supervisor also has to be practicing lawfully wherever the hours are earned. The verification form is direct about it: "the supervisor must be licensed and legally able to practice in the location where supervision hours are being earned" (DOH 670-011, page 2).

100 Hours of Direct Supervision: 70 With an LICSW, 60 One-to-One

Separate from the 1,000 direct client contact hours, an LSWAIC needs "one hundred hours of direct supervision" (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)(ii)). Of those 100 hours, "seventy hours must be with an independent clinical social worker"; the remaining 30 hours may be with an equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner, meaning a licensed mental health counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed psychologist, licensed physician practicing as a psychiatrist, or licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)(ii)(A); WAC 246-809-310).

"Sixty hours of the 100 hours of direct supervision must be in one-to-one supervision," and the rest may be one-to-one or group (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)(ii)(C)). On the social work track, one-to-one supervision means "face-to-face or virtual supervision with an approved supervisor, involving one supervisor and one licensure candidate" (WAC 246-809-310), the strictest of the three tracks: counseling and marriage and family therapy both allow up to two candidates in their individual sessions, but social work allows exactly one.

Group supervision has its own definition: "face-to-face or virtual supervision with an approved supervisor, involving one supervisor and no more than six licensure candidates" (WAC 246-809-310).

Supervision in Brief: the One-Per-80 Rate and Who Qualifies

Every Washington track, including social work, also runs on a standing frequency: "regular supervision, meeting at least one hour for every 80 hours of the licensure candidate's clinical practice time" (WAC 246-809-020(2)(b)). That rate sets how often supervision has to happen; it does not replace the 100-hour total above.

An approved supervisor must be licensed without restrictions, active and in good standing for two years, and must have at least two years of clinical experience after becoming licensed (WAC 246-809-334(1), (4)(c)). The statute adds, for a supervisor who is themselves an LICSW, "at least one year of experience in supervising the clinical social work of others" (RCW 18.225.090(1)(a)(ii)(C)). A supervisor cannot be "a blood or legal relative or cohabitant of the licensure candidate, licensure candidate's peer, or someone who has acted as the licensure candidate's therapist within the past two years" (WAC 246-809-334(2)); "peer" is defined as "a co-worker who is not the licensure candidate's employer or supervisor" (WAC 246-809-310). Before supervision starts, the supervisor signs a declaration on DOH form 670-091 (WAC 246-809-334(3)).

For supervisor training requirements and the declaration, see Washington LSWAIC supervision requirements.

The Exam: ASWB Advanced or Clinical

Washington accepts either the ASWB advanced or the ASWB clinical examination (WAC 246-809-340(1)). The rule names the two accepted exams and nothing else: it does not publish a question count, a passing score, a format or an administration date, and those figures belong to the testing organization rather than to DOH.

Applying for the LICSW

The full license application uses DOH packet 670-085, the Social Worker License Application Packet (March 2025). The associate license, by comparison, uses packet 670-105 (March 2025).

Each supervisor completes a separate Verification of Social Worker Supervised Postgraduate Experience form, DOH 670-011 (May 2023), for each practice setting the candidate worked in: "use a separate form for each supervisor ... for each practice setting." The form has boxes for direct client contact, one-on-one supervision, group supervision, other hours and a total, plus a checkbox for whether the applicant is applying as an LASW or an LICSW. A supervisor can submit the form by mail or email it as a PDF attachment to SWapplication@doh.wa.gov.

Before DOH issues the full license, the applicant completes 36 hours of continuing education, including 6 hours of professional law and ethics, "after meeting academic requirements and before the department issues their license" (DOH continuing education page; DOH 670-209, December 2018).

What DOH Charges

Figures come from the fee schedule at WAC 246-809-990. All fees are nonrefundable (WAC 246-809-990(3)).

LICSW Renewal: Yearly, on Your Birthday

Once the LICSW issues, the license renews yearly on the license holder's birthday rather than on the date of issuance (WAC 246-809-990(1)). Continuing education runs 32 hours every two years, including 6 hours of professional ethics and law and 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, plus 2 hours of health equity every four years and 6 hours of suicide-related training every six years (WAC 246-809-630(3)).

The LASW: a Different License, Different Numbers

Washington's licensed advanced social worker (LASW) is its own top-tier license under the same statute chapter (RCW 18.225.005), not a step on the way to the LICSW. Its total is the same 3,000 hours, but its direct and supervision hours are lower.

The LASW total is 3,000 hours with 800 hours of direct client contact and 90 hours of direct supervision, 40 of them one-to-one, with no two-year duration floor stated (WAC 246-809-330(1)(c); RCW 18.225.090(1)(a)(i)). DOH's form notes that someone who becomes an LASW will have to reapply to become an LICSW to practice under the LICSW definition later (DOH 670-011). For the full comparison, see LSWAIC vs LICSW in Washington.

Two Pieces of Arithmetic, Not Rules

The one-per-80 supervision rate is a frequency, not a total, and it is worth seeing why. 3,000 hours divided by 80 hours of clinical practice time per supervision hour comes to 37.5 supervision hours by the rate alone. That is arithmetic, not a rule, and it is measured against clinical practice time specifically, a term the rule does not define further; it does not equal the 3,000-hour total or the 1,000 direct-hour figure. The actual requirement stands on its own: 100 hours of direct supervision, 70 with an LICSW and 60 one-to-one (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)(ii)).

Duration works the same way. An LSWAIC logging 30 hours a week reaches 3,000 hours in 100 weeks, about 23 months, arithmetic that lands slightly before the rule's actual floor of "not less than two years" (WAC 246-809-330(2)(c)). Because the rule requires the 3,000 hours to be earned over not less than two years, reaching the hour count sooner does not shorten that period.

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FAQ: Washington LICSW Requirements