Social Work Licensure in South Carolina: LCSW Requirements, Hours and Exams
South Carolina licenses social workers at four levels: the Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW), the Masters Social Worker (LMSW), and two independent licenses — the LISW-CP for clinical practice, the LISW-AP for non-clinical advanced practice.
The clinical license is the LISW-CP: 45 academic contact hours each of psychopathology and psychodiagnostics, 3,000 hours under clinical supervision after LMSW licensure over a minimum two-year and maximum four-year period, 100 face-to-face supervision hours, and a board-prescribed exam.
The compact act is enacted with non-model language; no multistate licenses are issued yet.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Independent Social Worker—Clinical Practice (LISW-CP).
Its defined practice includes assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, counseling and psychotherapy, and may include private practice (S.C. Code §40-63-20(25)).
Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW), Masters Social Worker (LMSW), and Independent Social Worker—Advanced Practice (LISW-AP).
The LISW-AP is independent but non-clinical; an LMSW may not practice privately or independently; a BSW may not diagnose or treat mental illness.
Every tier: a social work degree from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body, or a program whose standards are at least equivalent — the board page says CSWE accredited or substantially similar.
The LISW-CP adds 45 academic contact hours each of psychopathology and psychodiagnostics; the LISW-AP adds 90 in advanced social work practice with communities and organizations.
3,000 hours of social work practice under clinical supervision, after LMSW licensure, over a minimum two-year and maximum four-year period, including at least 100 hours of face-to-face direct clinical supervision equitably distributed.
The supervision plan must be filed with the board before the supervision period begins.
No minimum of direct-client hours is stated in §40-63-240.
The statute requires an examination prescribed by the board; the board's page says an initial-licensure applicant must pass the appropriate ASWB exam and lists Bachelors ($230), Masters ($230), Clinical ($260) and Advanced ($260).
The sources read do not state which exam level attaches to which license.
A Clinical Practice Supervisor: an LISW-CP who has passed the prescribed exam, holds at least 4,500 hours of clinical practice earned over not less than three years beyond receipt of the LISW-CP, and has 45 academic or 45 continuing-education contact hours in supervision (§40-63-240(D)).
Enacted with non-model text: the Social Work Interstate Compact Act, 2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), effective May 22, 2025.
The commission's May 2026 FAQ flags South Carolina's legislation for material language changes; as of September 2026 it is not on the commission's member list, and no multistate licenses have been issued anywhere.
Every two years (§40-63-250(D)), with a minimum of 40 contact hours of accepted professional continuing education per renewal period, one of them in suicide assessment, treatment and management treatment (Reg.
110-1(B)).
The South Carolina credential ladder
- Baccalaureate Social Worker(LBSW)Other
The bachelor's-level license, on a baccalaureate degree in social work from an accredited program; baccalaureate social workers are not qualified to diagnose and treat mental illness or provide psychotherapy, and baccalaureate practice is confined to organized settings and may not be practiced independently or privately (S.C. Code §40-63-20(23)).
- Masters Social Worker(LMSW)Other
A full master's-level license, and the license under which LISW-CP hours must be earned — the 3,000 hours must occur after LMSW licensure.
An LMSW's practice may include clinical social work only under clinical supervision in an organized agency setting, and may not be practiced privately or independently (S.C. Code §40-63-20(26)).
- Independent Social Worker—Clinical Practice(LISW-CP)Independent
The clinical license: its defined practice covers assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, individual, marital, couple, family and group counseling and psychotherapy, and may include private practice (S.C. Code §40-63-20(25)).
- Independent Social Worker—Advanced Practice(LISW-AP)Independent
The independent but non-clinical license, for work with community and organizational systems and other indirect services; its practice may include private practice, but a holder may not practice clinical social work independently (S.C. Code §40-63-20(24)).
- Clinical Practice SupervisorSupervisor
An approved status, not a license, for an LISW-CP with at least 4,500 hours of clinical practice earned over not less than three years beyond receipt of the LISW-CP plus 45 academic or 45 continuing-education contact hours in supervision; only this status supervises hours toward the LISW-CP (§40-63-240(D)).
The parallel Approved Advanced Practice Supervisor attaches to the LISW-AP (§40-63-240(C)).
Four licenses, and independent does not mean clinical
South Carolina issues four licenses: the Baccalaureate Social Worker, the Masters Social Worker, and the two independent licenses created side by side in §40-63-240 — Independent Social Worker—Clinical Practice (LISW-CP) and Independent Social Worker—Advanced Practice (LISW-AP).
The definitions draw hard lanes between them.
Baccalaureate social workers are not qualified to diagnose and treat mental illness or provide psychotherapy, and baccalaureate practice is confined to organized settings.
An LMSW may practice clinical social work only under clinical supervision in a recognized, organized agency setting and may not practice privately or independently.
The LISW-AP is independent but non-clinical: its practice may include private practice, yet its holder may not practice clinical social work independently.
The LISW-CP's practice may also include private practice — and its holder may not practice advanced practice social work independently.
For how pre-licensure titles line up across states, see the LMSW, LPC-A and AMFT title alphabet.
“LMSW's may engage only in supervised practice in such agencies and may not practice privately or independently.”
One degree rule, then two course-hour add-ons
Every tier requires a degree in social work — baccalaureate for the LBSW, masters or doctorate for the LMSW, LISW-CP and LISW-AP — from a program accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body for social work programs, or from a program whose standards are at least equivalent; the board's page reads that as a CSWE-accredited program or one whose standards are substantially similar.
What separates the two independent licenses from the LMSW is coursework, not degree level.
The LISW-CP's coursework must include 45 academic contact hours each of psychopathology and psychodiagnostics.
The LISW-AP's must include 90 academic contact hours of course work in advanced social work practice with communities and organizations.
A graduate planning toward the LISW-CP should check a transcript for those two 45-hour blocks before relying on any program to satisfy them.
For why boards write program accreditation into the degree rule, see CSWE vs CACREP vs COAMFTE accreditation.
3,000 hours, 100 face-to-face, and the plan comes first
The LISW-CP applicant must show satisfactory completion of 3,000 hours of social work practice under clinical supervision.
The hours must have occurred after licensure as a Masters Social Worker, over a minimum two-year and maximum four-year period, and must include face-to-face meetings between the approved clinical supervisor and the supervisee for a minimum of 100 hours of direct clinical supervision equitably distributed.
The supervision plan is filed with the board before the period of supervision begins, amended by a notice of the end of supervision and a termination evaluation if the supervisor changes, and submitted with a termination evaluation at the end.
During the supervision period the applicant also needs 15 academic contact hours or 20 continuing-education contact hours in professional ethics, or a board-sponsored specialty course in professional ethics.
The statute states no minimum of direct-client hours within the 3,000, and the board may accept equivalent supervised experience in extraordinary circumstances.
For what counts as a supervised hour, and what changes at independent licensure, see associate vs. independently licensed therapists.
“must have occurred after licensure as a Masters Social Worker and over a minimum two-year and maximum four-year period”
A board-prescribed exam — the board names ASWB but does not map the levels
Each tier requires the applicant to have successfully passed an examination prescribed by the board.
The board's examination page says an applicant for initial licensure must pass the appropriate ASWB exam, and it lists four: Bachelors at $230, Masters at $230, Clinical at $260 and Advanced at $260.
What the sources read do not do is state which exam level attaches to which license — the page lists degree and coursework requirements for each tier and names the four exams, but never pairs them.
With four licenses and four exams the inference is natural, but it is not in the text, so confirm your exam level with the board before registering with ASWB.
The board page lists those amounts under its Fee Information but does not say what they cover; whether ASWB charges an additional registration cost is not stated there, so confirm total exam costs with the board and ASWB.
For how the counselor, social work and MFT licensing exams compare, see ASWB vs NCE vs NCMHCE vs the MFT national exam.
“An applicant for initial licensure must pass the appropriate Association of Social Work (ASWB) exam.”
Who may supervise: an LISW-CP with 4,500 hours and supervision training
Qualifying supervision toward the LISW-CP comes from a Clinical Practice Supervisor — an LISW-CP who has passed the prescribed exam, has a minimum of 4,500 hours of clinical practice earned over not less than three years beyond receipt of the LISW-CP, and holds 45 academic or 45 continuing-education contact hours in supervision.
The parallel Approved Advanced Practice Supervisor stands on the LISW-AP with the same structure.
That is narrower than the on-the-job supervision an LMSW works under: Regulation 110-30 lets a supervisor employed by the agency who holds an active, unencumbered South Carolina license as a physician, LISW, psychologist, psychiatrist, LPC, LMFT or licensed addiction counselor supervise an LMSW's clinical or advanced practice, without direct reporting so long as they are part of the supervision chain, and bill for the services.
Ask an employer which kind of supervision a job offers — only the first counts toward the LISW-CP.
Whether you or your employer pays for that supervision is covered in who pays for clinical supervision.
“have a minimum of four thousand five hundred hours of clinical practice earned over a period of not less than three years beyond receipt of an LISW-CP”
Independent practice: two lanes, and telehealth reaches across state lines
Independent practice in South Carolina means holding an LISW — the statute's private-practice definition attaches to both independent licenses: the provision of clinical or advanced social work services by a Licensed Independent Social Worker who assumes responsibility for the services in exchange for direct payment or third-party reimbursement.
An LMSW's clinical work stays inside social, medical or governmental agencies under supervision, per the practice definition and Regulation 110-30.
Title protection is broad: no one may use the licensed titles or the initials LBSW, LMSW or LISW without a license.
And the practice act reaches telehealth: a person providing social work services to a client in South Carolina by telephonic, electronic or other means, regardless of the social worker's location, who is not licensed or registered by the state, is practicing without a license.
Licensees may not prescribe or dispense medications.
“A Licensed Independent Social Worker—AP may not practice clinical social work independently.”
Moving to South Carolina: equivalent designation only, or telehealth registration
An applicant licensed in another jurisdiction applies under §40-63-260 with the same degree requirement, an examination prescribed by the board, evidence that all social work licenses are current and in good standing, and proof that no professional license granted in any other state has been suspended, revoked or restricted for any reason except nonrenewal or a failure to obtain required continuing education.
The limit that matters most to a relocating clinician: licensure is available only at the equivalent designation — the South Carolina license must correspond to the one already held.
Separately, an out-of-state LISW-CP who keeps a home-state license can register with the board to provide independent services by behavioral telehealth to South Carolina clients: an application, an active unencumbered license substantially similar to the LISW-CP, no disciplinary action in the prior five years, and a ten-dollar fee.
For how endorsement works when you move, see moving states as a therapist: license transfer and endorsement.
“An applicant for licensure under this section is only eligible for licensure at the equivalent designation recognized in the jurisdiction in which he or she is currently licensed.”
Compact: enacted under a different name, flagged, not yet issuing
South Carolina has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact — under a different name and with different terms.
2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), effective May 22, 2025, is cited as the Social Work Interstate Compact Act, and it speaks of an Interstate Compact License and a Multistate Authorization to Practice rather than the model's Multistate License.
The commission's May 2026 FAQ says states that passed the compact with material language changes may have to change something in their legislation before they can become part of the Compact, and names South Carolina.
So South Carolina is not on the commission's list of member jurisdictions as of September 2026, and the compact is not operational anywhere: no multistate licenses have been issued as of the research date.
Practicing in South Carolina still takes a South Carolina license or the telehealth registration above.
The groundwork is in the code — §40-63-32 already requires SLED and FBI fingerprint checks for initial licensure or compact participation.
For the compact’s status nationally and what it will allow, see the Social Work Licensure Compact.
““Interstate Compact License” means a license to practice as a regulated social worker issued by a home state licensing authority that authorizes the regulated social worker to practice in all party states under a multistate authorization to practice.”
Renew every two years: 40 hours, one on suicide assessment
Licenses renew every two years, on payment of the renewal fee and fulfillment of the continuing education the board determines by regulation.
The regulation requires a minimum of 40 contact hours of accepted professional continuing education per renewal period, one of them in suicide assessment, treatment and management treatment.
The statute carries its own requirement of at least one contact hour in suicide assessment, treatment, and management treatment, which may be completed virtually — inserted by 2024 Act No. 158, effective May 20, 2024, and applying to license renewal cycles ending after 2025; the regulation holding the 40-hour rule was amended effective May 24, 2024 and May 23, 2025.
Lapse has consequences: lapsed more than one year, the board may impose further educational requirements for reinstatement; lapsed more than two, the person must reapply for licensure.
“the licensee must complete a minimum of 40 contact hours of accepted professional continuing education per renewal period. One of these hours must be in suicide assessment, treatment and management treatment.”
What changed from 2023 to 2026
Four changes fall in the window.
2024 Act No. 158 (S.408) added the statutory suicide-assessment continuing-education hour, effective May 20, 2024, applying to renewal cycles ending after 2025.
Regulation 110-1 was amended effective May 24, 2024 and May 23, 2025, and the board added Regulation 110-30 effective May 24, 2024, spelling out the settings and the seven supervisor credentials under which an LMSW may practice clinically or in advanced practice.
2025 Act No. 66 (H.3752), effective May 22, 2025, enacted the Social Work Interstate Compact Act as Article 3 of the chapter and added the fingerprint background-check requirement for initial licensure or compact participation.
As of the research date the commission had not added South Carolina to its member list, and no multistate licenses are issued.
Applications, background checks and the small print
Every tier's application shares baseline requirements: a written application in the form the board prescribes, age at least twenty-one, good moral character, and fees.
Initial licensure — and participation in the compact article — adds fingerprint-based criminal records checks by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI, with the costs borne by the applicant.
Once licensed, the license must be displayed in a prominent place at the primary place of practice, and the holder must indicate their category of licensure after their name or signature on all professional documents.
Clients receive a professional disclosure statement covering address, telephone, fee schedule, training and specializations, plus a statement of their rights and how to file a complaint.
None of it is glamorous, but each item is a compliance rule a new licensee can set up on day one.
“In addition to other requirements established by law, a person applying for initial licensure as a social worker pursuant to this chapter or participation in the Social Work Interstate Compact set forth in Article 3 must undergo a state criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and a national criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”
What This Page Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
This page summarizes the South Carolina statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above, as read for this state-by-state social work licensure series, current as of September 2026.
It does not list application forms, fees beyond those cited above, or processing times, and it is not a substitute for the instructions the South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners (LLR) publishes.
Nor does it cover counselor licensure in South Carolina, MFT licensure in South Carolina, or what therapists earn in South Carolina.
Hour totals, exams and supervision rules change by statute and by board rule; for how the counselor, social work and MFT licences differ, see LCSW vs. LPC vs. LMFT: which therapy licence to get.
Confirm every requirement with the South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners (LLR) before you count hours, register for an exam or apply — and before you take one of the licensed clinical social worker jobs in South Carolina that asks for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the LISW-CP take after the LMSW in South Carolina?
The statute sets the window: the 3,000 hours of social work practice under clinical supervision must have occurred after licensure as a Masters Social Worker and over a minimum two-year and maximum four-year period (§40-63-240(A)(6)).
On top of the hours sit 100 face-to-face supervision hours, equitably distributed, and 15 academic or 20 continuing-education contact hours in professional ethics earned during the supervision period.
File the supervision plan with the board before the first hour, or the arrangement may not count.
Confirm timing with the board.
Who can supervise my LISW-CP hours in South Carolina?
Only a Clinical Practice Supervisor: an LISW-CP who has passed the prescribed examination, holds a minimum of 4,500 hours of clinical practice earned over not less than three years beyond receiving the LISW-CP, and has obtained 45 academic or 45 continuing-education contact hours in supervision (§40-63-240(D)).
The Regulation 110-30 list of agency supervisors for LMSWs — physician, LISW, psychologist, psychiatrist, LPC, LMFT or licensed addiction counselor — does not by itself qualify anyone to supervise LISW-CP hours.
Verify your supervisor's status with the board.
Can the 100 supervision hours be done by video?
The sources read do not answer that. §40-63-240(A)(6)(b) requires face-to-face meetings between the approved clinical supervisor and the supervisee for the 100 hours of direct clinical supervision, and telesupervision is not addressed in the statute text.
Do not assume video sessions count; put the question to the South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners before filing your supervision plan.
What is fixed in the text is that the plan is filed before supervision begins and the 100 hours must be equitably distributed.
I am licensed in another state — can I practice in South Carolina?
Two routes.
Full licensure runs through §40-63-260: the degree, a board-prescribed examination, all licenses current and in good standing, and no suspensions, revocations or restrictions — and you are eligible only at the designation equivalent to the one you hold.
Narrower is the behavioral telehealth registration in §40-63-35: an out-of-state LISW-CP with a substantially similar active license, no discipline in the prior five years and a ten-dollar fee may serve South Carolina clients remotely.
The compact's multistate license is not yet issuing anywhere.
Is there an intern or temporary license while I earn hours?
The chapter read creates four licenses — LBSW, LMSW, LISW-CP and LISW-AP — and describes no intern registration.
The LMSW is the license you hold while earning LISW-CP hours: the 3,000 hours must occur after LMSW licensure, and an LMSW may practice clinical work under supervision in an organized agency setting (§40-63-20(26); Reg.
110-30).
The fee regulation lists temporary licenses among its fee items, but the sources read do not describe who may hold one, so ask the board.
More South Carolina & Licensed Clinical Social Worker Resources
Sources
- South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 40, Chapter 63 (Social Workers), §§40-63-20 to -300 and Article 3 (§§40-63-510 to -640), via the South Carolina General Assembly (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- South Carolina Code of Regulations, Chapter 110 (State Board of Social Work Examiners), Regs. 110-1 and 110-30 (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- SC LLR Board of Social Work Examiners — Examination page (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Social Work Licensure Compact commission, home page (current status) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Social Work Licensure Compact commission, Compact Jurisdictions (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- ASWB / CSWA / NASW — Social Work Licensure Compact FAQs (published May 2026) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
Sourced from the statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal or clinical advice — confirm current rules with the South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners (LLR).