Delaware LMSW Requirements & Hours Tracker

Licensure as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in Delaware is regulated by the Delaware Board of Social Work Examiners (formerly the Board of Clinical Social Work Examiners) under Title 24, Chapter 39 of the Delaware Code and the Board’s regulations at 24 DE Admin. Code 3900. (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

As of mid‑2025, the LMSW is an entry‑level master’s license: there is no Board‑mandated quota of post‑master practice hours (e.g., 1,500 “direct” + 1,500 “supervised”) for initial LMSW licensure. All explicit hour requirements in Delaware law attach to the clinical (LCSW) license, not to the LMSW. (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

Below is a structured guide focused on the LMSW, followed by a short section explaining where and how hours do matter (for LCSW).

---

1. License type and terminology

License title. In Delaware regulations, the master’s‑level license is defined as:

• “LMSW” = “licensed masters social worker.” (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

Delaware currently issues three levels of social work license: Licensed Bachelors Social Worker (LBSW), Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW), and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). (law.cornell.edu)

---

2. Core eligibility for LMSW

2.1 Education

You must have:

• A master’s degree in social work from a CSWE‑accredited program (or an equivalent foreign degree evaluated through CSWE’s International Social Work Degree Recognition and Evaluation Service). (dpr.delaware.gov)

The Board’s “Bachelors and Masters Social Worker” page requires an official transcript showing a master’s degree in social work from a CSWE‑accredited institution for master’s‑level licensure. (dpr.delaware.gov)

2.2 Examination

For LMSW, Delaware relies on the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) exam:

• The Board’s LMSW/LBSW page says you must pass the “ASWB social work examination”; this is the ASWB master’s‑level exam for master’s licensure. (dpr.delaware.gov)
• External summaries of Delaware requirements specify the ASWB Master’s exam for LMSW applicants. (publichealthonline.org)

Under the regulations, an applicant may sit for the ASWB exam up to 45 days before graduation from an MSW program. (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

2.3 Background and legal checks

For all Bachelors/Masters Social Worker applicants, including LMSW, the Board requires: (dpr.delaware.gov)

• A State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check (CBC) using the Board’s service code (checks done for other purposes do not satisfy this).
• A completed Delaware Child Protection Registry Consent Form.
• Licensure verifications from any jurisdiction where you now hold or have ever held a social work license.
• An official ASWB score verification sent directly from ASWB to the Board.

These are explicitly listed under “Requirements – All Applicants” on the Bachelors and Masters Social Worker page. (dpr.delaware.gov)

---

3. Application routes to an LMSW

All LMSW applications are submitted through DELPROS, the state’s online licensing portal. (dpr.delaware.gov)

3.1 Applying “by examination” (typical path for new MSWs)

You apply by examination if you: (dpr.delaware.gov)

• Need to take the ASWB social work exam, or
• Have passed the ASWB exam but do not hold a current license in another jurisdiction.

For this route you must:

1. Create a DELPROS account and start a “Bachelors or Masters Social Worker” application.
2. Upload/acknowledge required documents:
   • Official MSW transcript (CSWE‑accredited; transcript must clearly show a master’s degree in social work). (dpr.delaware.gov)
   • CBC and Child Protection Registry form.
   • Any needed license verifications.
3. Once the Board reviews your file and approves you to test, register with ASWB for the master’s exam.
4. Pass the exam within the allowed timeframe (currently, there is no numerical cap on attempts; SB 314 amendments removed the prior attempt limit in 2025). (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)
5. When ASWB sends your passing score to the Board and all other requirements are met, the Board issues your LMSW license.

3.2 Upgrade from Licensed Bachelors Social Worker (LBSW)

You can apply by upgrade to Licensed Masters Social Worker if you: (dpr.delaware.gov)

• Hold a current, active Delaware LBSW license, and
• Obtained that license by examination or grandfathering.

In that case you:

• Do not need to resubmit your transcript, but
• Must fully meet the education and examination requirements for the master’s level (MSW + ASWB exam) just as a new applicant would. (dpr.delaware.gov)

3.3 Reciprocity (already licensed elsewhere)

You apply by reciprocity if you: (dpr.delaware.gov)

• Have already passed the ASWB social work exam, and
• Hold a current masters‑level license in another state or U.S. jurisdiction.

In addition to the “All Applicants” items, reciprocity applicants must: (dpr.delaware.gov)

• Have ASWB send an official score verification to Delaware.
• Provide the laws/regulations for each jurisdiction where you hold the same license type; the Delaware Board decides if those standards are “substantially similar.”
• If not substantially similar, you must document at least five years of practice in the past seven years at that license level.

---

4. Hours and experience for the LMSW: what Delaware does and does not require

4.1 Post‑master supervised practice hours for initial LMSW licensure

Delaware does not specify any minimum number of post‑degree practice hours for applicants to become a Licensed Masters Social Worker.

Key points:

• The Board’s Bachelors/Masters Social Worker page lists:

  • Transcript requirements,
  • ASWB exam,
  • CBC and Child Protection Registry,
  • License verifications and score reports,

  but contains no requirement for post‑master supervised practice hours or years of experience for LMSW applicants. (dpr.delaware.gov)

• The Board’s own regulations chapter, 24 DE Admin. Code 3900, includes an entire section “3.0 Licensure of Licensed Clinical Social Workers” where the 3,200‑hour clinical experience requirement is laid out in detail, but it does not create any parallel hour requirement for LBSW or LMSW. (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

• A current licensure‑disclosure summary used for federal compliance (Walden University) describes Delaware’s Masters Social Worker License as requiring:

  • An MSW from a CSWE‑accredited program,
  • No postgraduate training or coursework,
  • No postgraduate work experience, and
  • A “relevant ASWB examination,”
    and links directly to the Board’s Bachelors/Masters Social Worker page. (waldenu.edu)

Taken together, the Board’s own rules and its licensure guidance confirm that there is no 1,500/1,500‑style hour split, nor any other post‑master hour minimum for LMSW licensure.

If you see references online to, for example, “two years of experience” for Delaware LMSWs, those are not supported by the current Board regulations or its application instructions and likely reflect outdated or generalized information. (socialworkdegree.net)

4.2 Hours that do exist before licensure: MSW field education

Although Delaware does not count post‑degree hours for LMSW, your MSW must be CSWE‑accredited. CSWE‑accredited MSW programs are required to include at least 900 clock hours of supervised field education (practicum/internship), which is effectively your pre‑licensure practice training. (online.simmons.edu)

That fieldwork is embedded in the degree and is governed by CSWE standards rather than by separate Delaware hour regulations.

---

5. Where hours do matter: clinical (LCSW) licensure after the LMSW

Because your question specifically asked about “type of hours” and the Board’s verbiage, it’s important to note how hours are defined for the next license level, LCSW, even though they are not required for the LMSW itself.

Under 24 DE Admin. Code 3900, an LCSW applicant must: (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)

• Complete “not less than 3,200 hours of post‑degree supervised clinical social work experience” over no fewer than 2 and no more than 5 years.
• All 3,200 hours must be under “professional supervision acceptable to the Board.” The regulation defines this as a professional relationship in which a clinical supervisor evaluates and directs the social worker’s services and helps develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities for ethical and competent practice.
• Within those 3,200 hours, “1,600 of the required 3,200 hours must be clinical experience hours completed under the direct professional supervision” of a qualified supervisor.
• Direct supervision is defined as oversight of the supervisee’s application of clinical social work principles, methods, or procedures to clients, supporting the continued development of clinical knowledge and skills.
• Of the 1,600 clinical hours, “at least 100 hours shall be 1‑to‑1 supervision” with an approved supervisor, conducted face‑to‑face or by live video conferencing. Phone or email supervision is expressly not permitted.
• Supervision must be documented on the Board’s Supervisory Reference Form; hours with an unqualified supervisor do not count.

These hour definitions and supervision standards apply when an LMSW later decides to upgrade to an LCSW, but they are not prerequisites for the initial LMSW license.

---

6. Scope‑of‑practice and supervision changes affecting LMSWs

A 2024 law (Senate Bill 314) made an important change to what LMSWs can do in Delaware:

• SB 314 removed “supervision” from the scope of practice of a master’s social worker and prohibits an LMSW from providing supervision to an LCSW applicant, with a limited grandfathering period for supervision that began before the law took effect. (dpr.delaware.gov)
• The Board’s news notice explains that an LMSW who was supervising a clinical applicant on or before the enactment date could continue until a specified cutoff, but new supervision arrangements must now use an LCSW, psychologist, or psychiatrist per the regulations. (dpr.delaware.gov)

This impacts who can count as a supervisor for LCSW hours, but does not create or change any hour requirement for the LMSW license itself.

---

7. After licensure: continuing education hours for LMSWs

While not part of the initial LMSW application, Delaware does impose continuing education (CE) hour requirements to maintain an active LMSW license:

• For each full two‑year renewal cycle (Feb. 1 to Jan. 31 of the next odd‑numbered year), LMSWs must complete 30 hours of approved CE, including: (dpr.delaware.gov)
  • At least 6 hours in professional ethics,
  • At least 1 hour in mandatory reporting,
  • No more than 10 hours from self‑directed activity.
• The CE page also gives prorated CE tables depending on when in the cycle your license was issued (e.g., 24, 18, 12, or 0 hours for a first renewal, depending on issue date).

These are educational hours, not supervised practice or clinical contact hours, but they are the only numeric hour requirements that apply directly to holding an LMSW license.

---

Bottom line for LMSW in Delaware

To become a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in Delaware under the Board of Social Work Examiners:

• You need:

  • An MSW from a CSWE‑accredited program (with its built‑in field education),
  • A passing score on the ASWB Master’s‑level social work exam,
  • A State & FBI criminal background check,
  • A Delaware Child Protection Registry consent form, and
  • Any required license and score verifications.

• You do not need:

  • Any Board‑specified amount of post‑master supervised practice hours or a particular split between “direct” and “supervised” hours for initial LMSW licensure.

Hour counting and detailed supervision definitions in Delaware law are reserved for LCSW applicants; an LMSW typically accumulates those 3,200/1,600/100 hours after initial master’s licensure if they choose to move into clinical social work. (archive.regulations.delaware.gov)