What Is an LLMSW in Michigan?

What the LLMSW License Is

LARA's Bureau of Professional Licensing issues the limited master's social worker license under R 338.2947. The full license it leads to is defined as a person "licensed under this article to engage in the practice of social work at the master's level" (MCL 333.18501(1)(c)); LARA's active-license report labels the limited version "Masters Social Worker Ltd." LLMSW is the common abbreviation for it, not a term the statute or rules define.

A person holds the LLMSW after finishing a master's or doctoral degree from a CSWE-accredited program or a board-approved equivalent (R 338.2923; R 338.2947(1)(b)) and before completing "at least 4,000 hours of post-degree supervised work experience accrued over not less than 2 years" (R 338.2949(1)(b)). The statute states the same floor as "at least 2 years of full-time postmaster's or postdoctoral degree experience, or the equivalent in part-time hours" (MCL 333.18509(1)(b)). As of September 23, 2026, LARA counted 7,140 active LLMSW holders and 23,421 active LMSW holders statewide (BPL active license counts, September 23, 2026).

Who Holds an LLMSW and What It Permits

An LLMSW practices social work at the master's level in "an agency, health facility, institution, or other entity approved by the board", which the board approves whenever it is a place "where a master's social worker engages in the practice of social work at the master's level" (R 338.2947(3)). The work always happens under supervision; nothing in the rules describes an LLMSW practicing on its own.

Supervision has to come from "a Michigan-licensed master's social worker who holds a macro designation, clinical practice designation, or both, as applicable, and whose license is in good standing throughout the period of supervision" (R 338.2949(2)). Hours toward the clinical designation specifically need a supervisor who already holds the clinical designation (R 338.2953(b)(ii)). The rule sets no separate training requirement or years-of-practice minimum for an LMSW supervisor; holding the right designation in good standing is what qualifies someone to supervise. What that supervision has to include each month, and the weekly and annual limits on how fast the 4,000 hours can accrue, is covered in Michigan LLMSW supervision requirements.

The 1-Year Term and 6-Renewal Limit

The LLMSW is "valid for 1 year. This license may be renewed no more than 6 times. Relicensure of this limited license is counted the same as renewal" (R 338.2947(4)). The statute sets the same ceiling in different words: "renewable for not more than 6 years" (MCL 333.18509(2)).

The Clinical and Macro Designation Choice

The LLMSW itself carries no designation. That choice is declared on the verification form once the 4,000 hours are done: a "clinical practice designation" (R 338.2953), covering "assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, conditions, and addictions," with treatment methods that include "individual, couple, family, or group counseling and psychotherapy" (MCL 333.18501(1)(g)(iii)), or a "macro designation" (R 338.2951) covering different, non-clinical functions, or both.

The verification form filed after the 4,000 hours makes the applicant pick: "Social Work Function (Check One): Clinical / Macro" (Form LARA/BPL-SOCIALWORKMASTERSVERIF, Rev. 10/24). Only the clinical designation is earned through clinical practice, psychotherapy included. Michigan does not issue a separate license for clinical social work; the LMSW's clinical designation is the clinical credential, a point LMSW vs LCSW in Michigan covers in full.

LLMSW Fees

LARA processes every fee through MiPLUS by card only. The LLMSW application, which includes the first 1-year license, costs $44.00. Renewal costs $27.50, available up to six times. Relicensure, counted the same as a renewal, costs $64.00 (LLMSW guide, rev. 1/26/2026). LARA has not published a fee for the full LMSW application in any archived licensing guide, so this page lists only the LLMSW figures.

When LLMSW Hours Count

Hours only count while the license is active. "Supervised work experience may only be earned while holding a Michigan limited master's of social work license" (R 338.2949(3)(a)), and only "after completion of all the requirements for graduation as verified by the program" (R 338.2953(b)(i)). Work finished before the LLMSW issues, including anything completed during the degree itself, does not count toward the 4,000 hours.

Two more rules govern how fast those hours can build: "an average of at least 16 hours, but not more than 40 hours, of supervised work experience per week" (R 338.2949(3)(e)), and "not more than 2,080 hours of supervised work experience during any 12-month period" (R 338.2949(3)(d)). Someone accruing hours at the maximum weekly average still needs roughly 23 months to reach 4,000, which is arithmetic against the 2,080-hour annual cap, not a stated rule.

How the LLMSW Ends

Once the 4,000 hours are complete, the applicant's supervisor fills out the Supervisor's Verification of Social Work Experience for Master's Social Worker License (LARA/BPL-SOCIALWORKMASTERSVERIF, Rev. 10/24); a separate form covers each supervisor if more than one supervised the hours. LARA's guide tells the applicant what happens next: "Once you have accrued 4,000 hours ... submit the completed Supervisor's Verification of Social Work Experience for Master's Social Worker License form(s) to bpldata@michigan.gov and please put 'SW Exam Eligibility' in the email subject line" (LLMSW guide FAQ 13).

Passing the exam is the last step: the ASWB Clinical examination for the clinical designation, or the ASWB Advanced Generalist examination for the macro designation, each at "the passing score ... as defined by ASWB" (R 338.2925; R 338.2951(a); R 338.2953(a)). Once the exam is passed, LARA issues the LMSW, and the license that expired every year becomes one valid for three years at a time (LLMSW guide FAQ 1).

Common Mistakes About the LLMSW

Common errors about the LLMSW, and what the rules and guides actually say.

Related Michigan Social Work Guides

FAQ: What Is an LLMSW in Michigan?