Mississippi requirements

LCSW requirements in Mississippi

What it takes to become a Licensed Certified Social Worker in Mississippi: supervised experience over 24 months, plus supervision, time limits, exams and whether you can be supervised by video. Every figure is sourced to the state board and dated.

Sourced to Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists (Social Work Discipline Specific Committee)Checked September 25, 2026Not individually reviewed by a clinicianAbout this site

Licensed Certified Social Worker (clinical social worker) · Mississippi · regulated by Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists (Social Work Discipline Specific Committee) · high confidence

Pre-license credentialLMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) in approved LCSW candidacy
Supervised experiencesupervision period of minimum 24 months (max 36) during which the LMSW completes at least 1,000 hours of face-to-face client contact
Direct client contactminimum of one-thousand (1,000) hours of face-to-face client contact
Supervisionminimum of one hundred (100) hours face-to-face with the LCSW supervisor
Minimum time24 months
Time limit36 consecutive months; one extension of up to 6 months for extenuating circumstances
ExamsASWB Clinical examination, taken after board approves termination of supervision

Supervision

  • How much: minimum of one hundred (100) hours face-to-face with the LCSW supervisor
  • How often: minimum of one hour per week face-to-face supervision; evaluations every 6 months
  • Group supervision: up to 50% in group format; group = 3 to 7 supervisees; individual = up to 2 supervisees
  • Who may supervise: Board-approved LCSW Supervisor: ≥2 yrs LCSW practice, 16-hr board-approved supervision course, license in good standing; max 7 LCSW candidates

When hours count and what to keep

  • Before your degree: not counted (post-master's; plan must be board-approved before starting, no retroactive approval)
  • Paperwork: Application to Enter into Contract for Supervision toward LCSW; Plan of Supervision (Guide for Supervision); four 6-month evaluations; Termination of Supervision Contract; Verification of Face to Face Client Contact (Attachment H); Supervisory Documentation Log (Attachment G)

Can you be supervised remotely in Mississippi?

Only partly. Some supervision or presence must be in person or on site. What shapes this: in-person minimum, state-only supervisor credential, prior board approval, video limited.

  • Video supervision: Alternate means by audiovisual electronic device (e.g., Skype, FaceTime, WebEx) allowed if live and interactive, but no more than 1/4 of the required 100 hours (25 hours); rest must be direct face-to-face
  • Phone only: allowed within the 25-hour alternate-means cap (communication may be 'verbally or visually interactive')
  • In-person minimum: ≥75 of the 100 required supervision hours face-to-face; on-site visit to the supervisee's practice location at least once per 6-month period when supervisor and supervisee are not in the same agency
  • Supervisor licensed in Mississippi? required
  • Supervisor credential: Board-approved LCSW Supervisor (≥2 yrs LCSW practice, 16-hr Board-approved course, application + fee); out-of-state supervisors must also be MS-licensed and pass the MS LCSW supervisor test
  • Supervisee cap: no more than 7 LMSWs in LCSW candidacy per supervisor
  • Board approval first: Contract, Board-approved Plan of Supervision and written Board approval of the candidate required before supervision begins; no retroactive approval (up to 4 hrs credit for developing the plan); 6-month evaluations approved before the next period
  • If you live outside Mississippi: Electronic social work practice is subject to the rules of both the state where the social worker provides services and where the client receives them; no rule on the candidate's own location

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

Since 7/1/2020 only LCSWs who pass the ASWB Clinical exam may hold out as 'clinical social worker'; Advanced exam takers may not.

In the board’s own words

“a minimum of one hour per week face-to-face supervision with the LCSW supervisor for a minimum of one hundred (100) hours” — Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“The supervision period must be for a minimum period of twenty-four (24) months and may not exceed thirty-six (36) consecutive months.” — Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“the LMSW must complete a minimum of one-thousand (1,000) hours of face-to-face client contact” — Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(d)✓ matched in the source
“No more than one-fourth (1/4) of the required hours may be by alternate means to direct face-to-face contact” — Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“No more than one-fourth (1/4) of the required hours may be by alternate means to direct face-to-face contact for a total of twenty-five (25) hours” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“Supervision may include alternate means of supervision by audiovisual electronic device (i.e. skype, facetime, webex, etc.)” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“provided that communication is verbally or visually interactive between the supervisor and the supervisee.” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“Such face-to-face supervision must include onsite visits to the supervisees practice location at least once per six (6) month supervision period” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“For supervisors and supervisees who are not employed within the same agency, there must be a written plan approved by the Board” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(E)(2)(c)✓ matched in the source
“the applicant must be licensed in the state of Mississippi and pass the Mississippi LCSW supervisor test.” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(B) (Out-of-state Supervisor)✓ matched in the source
“Supervision for the LCSW candidate must be provided by an LCSW who is a Board-approved LCSW Supervisor.” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(D)✓ matched in the source
“Supervisor may not supervise more than seven (7) LMSWs who are in candidacy for the LCSW at any one time.” — 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 1902, Rule 2.3(D)(5)✓ matched in the source

4 more quotes are in the state explorer.

Other licenses in Mississippi

Sources

Checked against Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists (Social Work Discipline Specific Committee)’s rules, statutes and publications on September 25, 2026. The board decides; if your situation is unusual, confirm with them.

Track your hours as you earn them

Practice Harbor is free while you are pre-licensed. It counts your clinical hours from the sessions you mark as attended, and you can add outside hours by hand.

General information, not legal advice. Requirements are summarized from each state’s licensing board, statutes and regulations on the date shown; the board decides, and rules change. Becoming Licensed is not affiliated with any licensing board.