Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (clinical social worker) · Massachusetts · regulated by Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers · medium confidence
| Pre-license credential | LCSW (Licensed Certified Social Worker) |
|---|---|
| Supervised experience | At least 3,500 hours of clinical social work services over not less than two years from LCSW licensure |
| Supervision | 100 hours of individual face-to-face clinical supervision by an LICSW (or LICSW-eligible exempt individual) |
| Minimum time | 2 years from LCSW licensure |
| Exams | ASWB Clinical examination, passed not more than 2 years before application |
Supervision
- How much: 100 hours of individual face-to-face clinical supervision by an LICSW (or LICSW-eligible exempt individual)
- How often: At least 1 hour per week of face-to-face individual supervision (pro rata for part time: ≥1 hour per 35 hours worked, not less than 1 hour/month)
- Group supervision: Not counted: the 100 hours must be individual supervision
- Who may supervise: LICSW, or person LICSW-eligible but exempt as a public employee, or independent clinical SW licensee of a substantially equivalent jurisdiction
When hours count and what to keep
- Before your degree: Not counted: hours start at LCSW licensure
- Paperwork: Board application with 3 professional references (one from a clinical supervisor); documentation of hours and supervision
Can you be supervised remotely in Massachusetts?
Yes. Required supervision can be done entirely by live video, with no in-person minimum.
- Video supervision: Rule requires 'face-to-face' individual clinical supervision (1 h/week or pro rata); board policy (May 25, 2021) accepts supervision by videoconferencing but not telephone, and a practice advisory recommends the first supervision session be in person (advisory, not law).
- Phone only: not allowed (board will not accept supervision by telephone)
- In-person minimum: none binding; practice advisory recommends the initial supervision hour be in person
- Supervisor licensed in Massachusetts? not required: MA LICSW, LICSW-eligible exempt public employee, or an independent clinical licensee of a substantially equivalent jurisdiction
- Supervisor credential: none
- Board approval first: none found (hours documented at LICSW application)
The client’s location decides which state’s rules apply. This is not legal advice; confirm with the board before building a program. Compare every state on the remote-supervision map.
Recent and pending changes
258 CMR 9.00 amended (Mass. Register #1546, 4/25/2025). No pending amendments listed on the board's regulations page (checked 2026-09-25).
Where the rules are unclear
Massachusetts’s own documents disagree or are silent on these points. Ask the board if they affect you:
- M.G.L. c.112 §131 requires three years of full-time clinical social work experience (≥2 post-MSW); 258 CMR 9.03(3) requires 3,500 hours over ≥2 years from LCSW licensure. Does a third year (e.g., MSW field placement) have to be documented?
- Is the May 2021 'emergency' teletherapy policy still in force now that the emergency has ended (it was issued to apply after June 15, 2021)?
In the board’s own words
“at least 3500 hours of clinical social work services ... over a period of not less than two years from the date on which he or she was licensed by the Board as an LCSW” — 258 CMR 9.03(3) (official PDF)✓ matched in the source
“a minimum of 100 hours of individual face-to-face clinical supervision” — 258 CMR 9.03(4) (official PDF)✓ matched in the source
“provides at least one hour per week, or equivalent pro rata amount for part-time employees, of face-to-face individual clinical supervision” — 258 CMR 12.02(1) (official PDF)✓ matched in the source
“passed the Clinical licensure examination administered by the Association of Social Work Boards ... not more than two years prior to the date of his or her application” — 258 CMR 9.03(5) (official PDF)✓ matched in the source
“the Board will accept ... supervision through videoconferencing toward supervision requirements. The Board will not accept supervision by telephone.” — Board Emergency Policy on Teletherapy (5/25/2021)✓ matched in the source
“has had three years of full-time experience in the field of clinical social work ... at least two of which are subsequent to receiving the master's degree” — M.G.L. c.112 §131✓ matched in the source
“and supervision through videoconferencing toward supervision requirements. The Board will not accept supervision by telephone.” — SW Board Emergency Policy on Teletherapy (May 25, 2021)✓ matched in the source
“The Board will not accept supervision by telephone.” — SW Board Emergency Policy on Teletherapy (May 25, 2021)✓ matched in the source
“the Board recommends that the initial hour of face to face supervision occur in person and not via video conferencing” — SW Board Practice Advisory on Video Supervision✓ matched in the source
“an individual who holds a license from another jurisdiction which authorizes that individual to provide clinical social work services as an independent practitioner” — 258 CMR 9.03(4)(c)✓ matched in the source
“as an employee of an agency, health care facility or unrelated individual, under the clinical supervision of another social worker” — 258 CMR 12.02(1)✓ matched in the source
“the Board will accept social work services through telephone or videoconferencing toward experience requirements” — SW Board Emergency Policy on Teletherapy (May 25, 2021)✓ matched in the source
Other licenses in Massachusetts
- LMHC (professional counselor)
- LMFT (marriage and family therapist)
- Psychologist
- All Massachusetts licenses · every state
Sources
- 258 CMR 9.00 (official mass.gov PDF, Mass. Register #1546, 4/25/2025)
- 258 CMR 12.00 (official mass.gov PDF, MA Reg. #1355, 12/29/2017)
- M.G.L. c.112 §131
- Board Policies and Guidelines (Social Workers): Emergency Policy on Teletherapy (5/25/2021) and Practice Advisory on video supervision
Checked against Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers’s rules, statutes and publications on September 25, 2026. The board decides; if your situation is unusual, confirm with them.