Arkansas LSW Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

In Arkansas, the Licensed Social Worker (LSW) credential is the bachelor’s-level social work license administered by the Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board (SWLB). It is designed as an entry-level professional license: you do not need any pre-licensure practice hours to qualify. All specific hour requirements in Arkansas law and Board rules apply to the Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) level, not to the LSW.

Below is a step-by-step guide drawn directly from Arkansas statute and Board rules, with emphasis on hours, supervision, and the Board’s own language.

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1. Credential overview and level of practice

The LSW is the foundational social work license in Arkansas. Arkansas Code § 17-103-306(a)(1) directs the Board to issue a Licensed Social Worker license to applicants who meet a set of qualifications focused on:

• Education (bachelor’s in social work),
• Examination,
• Criminal background check, and
• Fitness/character. (law.justia.com)

No part of the LSW section of this statute requires any minimum number of supervised practice hours or months of supervised experience. Those requirements appear only in subsection (c) for LCSW. (law.justia.com)

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2. Education requirement

To be eligible for LSW you must hold a qualifying social work degree:

• The Board “shall issue a Licensed Social Worker license” to an applicant who:
  “Has a baccalaureate degree in a social work program from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association for Social Work Education,” or, for older degrees, a pre-June 17, 1986 baccalaureate degree in a social work program from an accredited institution. (law.justia.com)

Practically, that means:

• A CSWE-accredited BSW (or Canadian equivalent) is required, unless you fall into the pre-1986 grandfathering clause.

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3. Examination requirement (ASWB Bachelor’s exam)

Arkansas law requires passage of a licensing exam appropriate to the LSW level:

• The LSW applicant must have “passed an examination approved by the board for this purpose and level of practice.” (law.justia.com)

In practice:

• Arkansas uses the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Baccalaureate examination for LSW licensure. (careersinpsychology.org)
• Board rules state that “The Board shall utilize a nationally recognized examination service to administer a licensure examination” and that the exam “may be taken up to three (3) times.” (law.cornell.edu)

The Board follows ASWB's 90-day wait before a failed exam can be retaken. The Board's rules, application and checklist do not list a separate Arkansas jurisprudence exam for social workers. (SWLB Rules, Section IV; Application Checklist, 05/2025)

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4. Criminal background check and character/fitness

Statute requires a background check and outlines character and fitness standards:

• The applicant must have “applied for a criminal background check and [meet] the qualifications for issuance of a license under § 17-103-307.” (law.justia.com)
• Additional requirements for LSW include that the applicant:
  • Is “physically and mentally competent to provide social work services with reasonable skill and safety;”
  • Is not affected by a mental or physical condition that impairs competency;
  • Has not pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been found guilty of specified felonies or offenses (inc. violence, dishonesty, fraud, abuse of the vulnerable) under § 17-3-102;
  • Does not use drugs or alcohol to an extent that affects professional competency; and
  • “Has not engaged in fraud or deceit in making the application.” (law.justia.com)

The Board’s online application portal reiterates that “ALL applicants must apply for a criminal background check” and that results must be received before the Board will review the application. (ark.org)

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5. Hour and supervision requirements specific to LSW

5.1 Pre-licensure practice or supervision hours

For LSW, Arkansas law does not require any pre-licensure practice hours.

• In § 17-103-306, the LSW subsection (a)(1) lists education, exam, background check, and fitness/character requirements, but no supervised-experience or hours requirement.
• In contrast, the LCSW subsection explicitly requires “at least twenty-four (24) months of supervised social work experience” and “at least four thousand (4,000) hours in a social work position” under LCSW supervision. (law.justia.com)

Because the statute clearly sets a 24-month/4,000-hour requirement only for LCSW and is silent on any such hours for LSW, the Board’s current framework is:

• Required pre-licensure direct experience hours for LSW: 0
• Required pre-licensure supervised experience hours for LSW: 0

There is no “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience”-type requirement for Arkansas LSW. That kind of numeric hours standard is reserved for post-master’s LCSW supervision.

5.2 Supervision after you are licensed as an LSW

Although there is no pre-licensure hours requirement, Arkansas does set expectations for supervision after you are licensed.

The Social Work Licensing Board's current rules (effective January 1, 2022) define supervision as:

“a professional relationship between a supervisor and a supervisee designed to promote responsibility, competency and accountability to the agency, clients and community.” (law.cornell.edu)

For all Licensed Social Workers (LSW) and Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSW), the rule provides:

• “Once licensed as an LSW or LMSW, including provisional license, the LSW or LMSW must obtain supervision from a licensed social worker or other qualified professional from a related field.”
• “The supervision may be within or outside the agency.” (law.cornell.edu)

More specifically for LSW practice:

• The rule calls for bachelor's-level and master's-level practice to be supervised “by an LMSW, an LCSW or other qualified professional from a related field on a minimum of a weekly basis.” (In the rule as published, the first of these items reads “LCSW”, which appears to be a typo for LSW, since the same section says LCSW supervision “is not mandatory.”)
• An LSW in a non-clinical position “does not require direct supervision but must report to a supervisor.” This Board supervision is separate from any supervision your employer requires. (law.cornell.edu)

Key points:

• Supervision is required (“must obtain supervision”), and the rule speaks in terms of frequency (“minimum of a weekly basis”) rather than total hours or months.
• There is no requirement that LSWs accumulate a particular number of supervised-practice hours to maintain LSW status.
• Numeric hour thresholds (e.g., 4,000 hours, 100 hours of direct supervision) apply only to LCSW candidates’ supervision, not to LSWs. (law.cornell.edu)

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6. Provisional LSW license

Arkansas law allows a one-time provisional license at the LSW level:

• The Board “shall issue a Provisional Licensed Social Worker license one (1) time only to an applicant who qualifies under this subsection.”
• “A Provisional Licensed Social Worker license is good for one (1) year and up to three (3) attempts to pass the examination approved by the board for this purpose and level of practice.” (law.justia.com)

The Board’s application site reflects this, describing “Licensed Social Worker (LSW) {includes Provisional}” and tying eligibility to the BSW degree requirement. Under the Board's rules and checklist, the provisional license is issued when your application is approved (after your background check results are in), expires exactly one year from issuance and cannot be renewed. Provisional licensees must also obtain supervision. (SWLB Rules, Sections III and VI.A; Application Checklist, 05/2025) (ark.org)

Again, there is no listing of any practice-hours requirement before issuance of the provisional or full LSW license.

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7. Application process in practice

Putting the legal and rule language into a practical sequence:

1. Complete an accredited BSW (or qualifying pre-1986 degree). (law.justia.com)
2. Confirm eligibility using the Board’s “New License Application” portal and checklist. (ark.org)
3. Submit the LSW application and fee online.
4. Complete the criminal background check using instructions sent by the Board; results must be on file before the Board reviews your application. (ark.org)
5. Obtain authorization for the exam from the Board once your application is approved.
6. Register for and pass the ASWB Baccalaureate exam (the Board-approved exam for this level). (careersinpsychology.org)
7. Receive your LSW license once the Board has your passing exam score and all other requirements (including background check) are met.

If you qualify, you may practice under a Provisional LSW while working toward exam passage, but only for up to one year and three exam attempts. (law.justia.com)

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8. Post-licensure obligations (briefly)

Once licensed as an LSW:

• You must obtain supervision (at least weekly) from an LMSW, LCSW, or other qualified professional from a related field, per the Supervision rule; in a non-clinical job you must at least report to a supervisor. (law.cornell.edu)
• You must complete 30 hours of social work continuing education every two years, including at least 3 hours in ethics and no more than 15 hours of independent study, to renew your license. (SWLB Rules, Section VIII.B) (healthy.arkansas.gov)

Again, these obligations are time-based in the sense of calendar periods (e.g., CE every two years, supervision weekly), but not quantified as “X total hours of supervised experience” for LSWs.

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9. Summary of hour-related requirements for Arkansas LSW

• Direct practice hours required before initial LSW licensure:
  • 0 hours (no statutory or regulatory requirement).
• Supervised clinical or non-clinical experience hours required before LSW licensure:
  • 0 hours (all quantified supervised-experience requirements, 24 months / 4,000 hours, are for LCSW, not LSW). (law.justia.com)
• Post-licensure supervision for LSWs:
  • Must be supervised at least weekly by an LMSW, LCSW, or other qualified related-field professional (non-clinical roles report to a supervisor); no total-hours minimum is specified. (law.cornell.edu)

So, unlike some states that require hundreds or thousands of hours of supervised practice just to obtain a bachelor’s-level social work license, Arkansas’s LSW path is structured around education, examination, background check, and ongoing supervised practice frequency, not a pre-licensure hour count.