Social Work Licensure in Indiana: LCSW Requirements, Hours and Exams

Indiana issues three social work licenses by degree level: the bachelor's degree social worker, the licensed social worker (LSW) and the licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).

The statute section for the bachelor's license, IC 25-23.6-5-1.5, could not be retrieved in the sources read, so its requirements are not stated here.

The LSW is a full license in its own right and, for hours earned in Indiana, the required vehicle: the experience rule says an individual obtaining the clinical social work experience in Indiana must be licensed as a social worker.

A temporary permit under section 11.5 also appears in the experience rule, and hours accumulated under it count for up to four years.

The LSW requires a master's degree in social work from an institution approved by the board, which the rule defines as CSWE-accredited or approved for candidacy at the time the degree was granted.

The statute keeps one older route: a bachelor's degree in social work earned before July 1, 2019, plus two years of practice under the supervision of an LSW, an LCSW or an equivalent supervisor.

The LCSW takes a doctoral degree in social work from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or at least a master's accredited or approved for candidacy by CSWE, with Canadian and foreign-equivalent programs named in the statute.

Either way, the graduate program must have emphasized direct clinical or client health services: required clinical coursework and a supervised field placement in the applicant's direct-practice concentration providing clinical services to clients.

A graduate whose program did not emphasize those services may return to a qualifying graduate program to complete them.

The statute requires at least two years of clinical social work experience after a graduate degree in social work, under a qualified supervisor as determined by the board; it states no hour total.

The rule supplies the hours: full-time paid experience of at least 1,500 hours per year, and part-time experience counts if the applicant verifies 4,500 total hours, 3,000 of them after the graduate degree.

Experience earned in Indiana must begin on the LSW license, and hours accumulated after that license do not expire, so a career pause does not erase the clock.

Under subsection (h), up to 100 percent of the supervised hours may be accounted for through virtual supervision, defined as synchronous audio and visual interaction in real time on a HIPAA-compliant platform; the rule's older face-to-face wording should be read beside the newer statute, so confirm the board's current position.

The rule requires LSW applicants to pass the intermediate level of the national examination provided by the Association of Social Work Boards, and LCSW applicants the clinical level.

Intermediate is ASWB's former name for the Masters exam, so a candidate registering with ASWB today is approved for the Masters exam.

A student in the final term of the final year of a qualifying program may sit the LSW exam with a letter of good standing from the director of the social work department or the director's designee.

Two process rules worth planning around: an applicant approved by the board must sit within one year of that approval or file a new application, and an applicant who fails the exam three times may be required to appear before the board before retaking.

The statute requires supervision by a qualified supervisor as determined by the board; the sources read do not state what qualifications the board looks for, so ask the board before signing a supervision plan.

The rule sets the cadence: face-to-face contact of at least four hours per month, for the purpose of assisting the supervisee in learning the skills of practice.

The rule also confines qualifying experience to employment in listed settings, from social service agencies, hospitals and mental health centers to schools, private practice and correctional institutions.

One placement limit: independent private practice of clinical social work may not be performed away from the qualified supervisor's premises unless a qualified supervisor is available where the work is done, but the limit yields to virtual supervision under subsection (h); confirm the board's position on virtual supervision in private practice before you count those hours.

Indiana spells out one duty that reaches any licensee who performs an evaluation to determine a mental health diagnosis, added by P.L.138-2021.

If the patient has not seen a physician, an advanced practice registered nurse or a physician assistant within the previous twelve months, or may have a physical condition requiring medical attention, the licensee must advise the patient to schedule a physical examination and offer to help with the scheduling, give the patient a list of practitioners with names, addresses and telephone numbers, coordinate care with the provider giving medical care unless the patient declines, and document all of it in the medical record.

It applies to any license the chapter issues, so it binds an LSW who is evaluating patients, not only the LCSW.

Indiana's endorsement rule is concrete: the board shall issue a license as a bachelor's degree social worker, social worker or clinical social worker not more than 30 days after the application is filed and completed, if the applicant holds a valid license from another state, passed an examination substantially equivalent to the level requested, has no pending disciplinary proceeding in another state and pays the fee.

There is also an exam-exemption route under IC 25-23.6-5-14 for a licensee who is licensed in another state, has engaged in the practice of social work or clinical social work for not less than three of the previous five years, has passed a substantially equivalent licensing exam, passes an Indiana laws-and-rules exam and meets the section's other conditions.

If you are relocating, ask the board which of the two routes fits your record before you apply.

As of September 2026, Indiana is not on the Social Work Licensure Compact commission's list of member jurisdictions: it has not enacted the compact.

There is no multistate-license route into or out of Indiana, and no multistate license has been issued anywhere as of the research date, so practicing in Indiana takes an Indiana license by the standard route or the endorsement routes above.

The compact itself has reached activation status nationally, and the commission estimates its data system will be complete in spring 2027 rather than giving a launch date.

Check the commission's jurisdiction list and the board before relying on either status.

A license is valid for the remainder of the renewal period in effect on the date it was issued, and renewal takes a fee paid on or before the expiration date plus at least 20 hours of continuing education per licensure year.

The sources read do not confirm how long the renewal period itself runs, so confirm your cycle with the board rather than assuming a length.

Continuing education sponsors need board approval, and an approval expires on April 1 of every even-numbered year; programs sponsored, accredited or approved by listed organizations, including the National Association of Social Workers, ASWB and accredited universities, are deemed approved without a separate application.

Three acts amended the chapter inside the window, as each section's amendment history records: the examination section's history lists P.L.11-2023, P.L.83-2024 and P.L.130-2025, the experience section's history lists P.L.83-2024, and the exam-exemption section's history lists P.L.11-2023.

The saved histories do not say which act added which subsection, so this page describes the sections as their current text reads rather than attributing specific changes.

The current text allows up to 100 percent of supervised hours through virtual supervision, and it lets a final-term student sit the LSW exam on a letter of good standing.

The rule chapter that carries the hour and supervision definitions, 839 IAC 1-3, was readopted on June 24, 2024, and the saved text is the current wording.

The compact status did not change: Indiana had not enacted it as of September 2026.

The experience rule references a temporary permit under section 11.5: hours accumulated under the chapter after obtaining one, and before it expires, may count toward the LCSW experience requirement for up to four years, and beyond that only with board approval.

The permit's own requirements were not among the sections retrieved, so its eligibility terms are not stated here; ask the board before planning a job start around one.

The same rule also allows a doctoral internship to be applied toward the supervised clinical social work experience, which matters for doctoral applicants structuring where their supervised hours come from.