Louisiana CSW Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

Louisiana treats the Certified Social Worker (CSW) as a temporary, master’s‑level credential that allows recent MSW graduates to practice at the LMSW scope while they work toward passing the ASWB Master’s exam. It is regulated by the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) under both statute and administrative code.

Below is a step‑by‑step explanation of what the Board requires to become a CSW, followed by a focused section on “hours” (including the LCSW hour requirements you’ll eventually need if you continue on to clinical licensure).

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1. How Louisiana Defines a CSW

Louisiana statute defines “certified social worker (CSW)” as:

a temporary certification which entitles the master of social work graduate to perform the duties and responsibilities within the scope of practice of the licensed master social worker for up to three years, while pursuing licensure. (law.justia.com)

Separately, the CSW’s qualification and scope section in the Revised Statutes states that a certified social worker:

• Must be of good moral character, with a criminal history screening that contains no disqualifying information.
• Must hold a master’s degree from an accredited graduate school of social work. (law.justia.com)

The same statute authorizes a CSW to engage in “advanced social work practice” and specifies that a CSW may:

• Practice clinical social work and psychotherapy within an agency under the supervision of a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), and
• Work only as an employee in an agency setting (not independent private practice). (law.justia.com)

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2. Baseline Eligibility Requirements for CSW

2.1 Education

To qualify for CSW, you must:

• Hold a master’s degree in social work (MSW) from a graduate school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (law.justia.com)

The Board’s regulations treat CSW as linked to the LMSW requirements. The Administrative Code says:

“The board may issue certification to an applicant who meets all requirements for the LMSW except for passing the examination approved by the board.” (law.cornell.edu)

And LMSW requirements include the MSW from a CSWE‑accredited program and good moral character (with fingerprint‑based background check). (law.cornell.edu)

2.2 Good Moral Character & Criminal Background Check

For all levels (including CSW/LMSW), Louisiana requires:

• Evidence of good moral character, and
• A state and federal fingerprint‑based criminal records check; the Board considers that information in licensure decisions. (law.cornell.edu)

The “good moral character” clause is explicit in the LMSW and RSW provisions and is incorporated by reference when CSW is defined as an LMSW‑equivalent applicant pending the exam.

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3. How You Actually Become a CSW (Process)

Step 1 – Complete an MSW

Finish an MSW at a CSWE‑accredited graduate school of social work. (law.justia.com)

Step 2 – Create an Online Account With LABSWE

Using LABSWE’s online portal, you:

• Create an account,
• Request that your school send official MSW transcripts directly to the Board,
• Submit the required personal information, photo, and background‑check materials. (publichealthonline.org)

Step 3 – Apply for CSW

Publicly available guidance summarizing LABSWE’s process indicates:

• You apply online for CSW after your MSW.
• Once the application is approved, LABSWE issues your CSW credential. (publichealthonline.org)

(Older Board materials described CSW as essentially being granted automatically when the Board approves an LMSW applicant who has not yet taken/passed the exam; functionally, in current practice you still apply via the online system and are credentialed as a CSW while you work toward passing the ASWB Master’s exam.) (law.cornell.edu)

Step 4 – Exam Obligations While You Hold the CSW

Louisiana’s Administrative Code and licensure guides lay out strict timelines:

• Exam requirement deferred: To qualify for CSW you must meet all LMSW requirements except passing the ASWB Master’s exam. (law.cornell.edu)
• Take the exam within the first 6 months: You must take the Board‑approved Master’s‑level exam within the first 6 months after your CSW is issued. (law.cornell.edu)
• Then at least annually: You must thereafter attempt the exam at least once each year during the 3‑year CSW period. (law.cornell.edu)
• Maximum CSW duration – 3 years: You can hold the CSW for no more than three years from the date of the original certificate. (law.cornell.edu)
• Failure to test or pass:
  • If you do not take the exam within the first 6 months, or
  • You do not take it annually thereafter,
  • The Board states that the CSW certificate is “subject to recall” and will be recorded as invalid in the Board’s database. (law.cornell.edu)
  • If you fail to pass the exam within three years, your CSW is recalled and you may apply instead for the Registered Social Worker (RSW) credential. (law.cornell.edu)

Once you pass the exam, you can apply to convert your CSW to LMSW. (law.cornell.edu)

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4. Scope of Practice and Supervision While You’re a CSW

Under Louisiana law, a certified social worker may:

• Engage in “advanced social work practice” involving assessment, treatment planning, case management, counseling, advocacy, teaching, research, supervision, consultation, program administration, and similar functions. (law.justia.com)
• Practice clinical social work and psychotherapy, but only:
  • Within an agency setting, and
  • Under the supervision of an LCSW. (law.justia.com)

Board‑oriented summaries explain that:

• A CSW or LMSW who provides psychotherapy must be supervised by a clinical social worker, and
• Must receive at least two hours of supervisory sessions per month, with each session between 30 minutes and two hours, when engaged in psychotherapy. (mswguide.org)

Those monthly supervision sessions are ongoing practice requirements, not a fixed “X total hours” you must accumulate before you can call yourself a CSW.

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5. “Hours” Requirements: CSW vs. LCSW

This is the key point for your question:

5.1 Hours Required to Become a CSW

Louisiana does not require a specific number of practice or supervision hours to obtain the CSW credential itself.

For initial CSW certification, the controlling law and regulations require:

• MSW degree (from CSWE‑accredited program),
• Good moral character with a clean (or non‑disqualifying) criminal background check,
• Meeting all other LMSW prerequisites except the exam, and
• Compliance with the exam‑attempt schedule while holding the CSW. (law.cornell.edu)

There is no language in the Louisiana statutes or Administrative Code that says, for example, “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience” or any numeric practice‑hour requirement as a prerequisite to being certified as a CSW. The only hour‑based requirements appear in the rules for LCSW, not CSW. (law.cornell.edu)

If you’re seeing other states describe pre‑licensure hours at the master’s level (e.g., Kentucky, Texas), that is not how Louisiana structures the CSW. In Louisiana, the CSW is time‑limited and exam‑driven, not hour‑driven.

5.2 Hours Required Later, for LCSW (Clinical Licensure)

The hour requirements you’ll eventually encounter—if you move from CSW → LMSW → LCSW—are laid out in the Louisiana Administrative Code for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Those rules state that an LCSW applicant must submit documentation verifying:

1. “at least 5760 hours of post graduate social work practice”, and
2. “at least 3840 hours of supervised post graduate social work experience”,
3. With that supervised experience provided by a Board‑Approved Clinical Supervisor (BACS), and
4. A passing score on the Board‑approved clinical examination. (law.cornell.edu)

Key clarifications:

• The 5,760 hours are total post‑graduate social work practice hours.
• The 3,840 hours are supervised post‑graduate social work experience hours; they are a subset of the total 5,760, not in addition to them.
• These hours are accumulated after you hold the LMSW license; CSW time alone does not count toward LCSW unless and until you have converted to LMSW and are working under an approved LCSW‑BACS supervision plan. (mswguide.org)

So if you want the concrete statement in the style of your example, for Louisiana’s clinical license it would be:

• 5,760 hours of post‑graduate social work practice, including
• 3,840 hours of supervised post‑graduate social work experience under a Board‑Approved Clinical Supervisor,
  as specified in the Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 46, Part XXV, §305(D)(3)–(5). (law.cornell.edu)

Again, those hours are not required to become a CSW, but they are crucial if your end goal is LCSW.

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6. Renewal and Continuing Education (CSW)

Once you are a CSW, you must renew your credential annually, on the Board’s renewal cycle (August 31). Secondary sources summarizing LABSWE’s rules state:

• All LABSWE credentials (RSW, CSW, LMSW, LCSW) are renewed annually.
• Renewal requires 20 hours of continuing education (CE) each year, typically including at least 3 hours in ethics. (online.lsu.edu)

These CE hours are maintenance requirements, not pre‑licensure experience hours. They keep your CSW active while you work toward passing the Master’s exam.

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7. Snapshot Checklist: Becoming a CSW in Louisiana

To obtain the CSW (Certified Social Worker) credential with the Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners, you must:

1. Earn an MSW

   • From a CSWE‑accredited graduate school of social work. (law.justia.com)

2. Meet character and background requirements

   • Be of good moral character.
   • Complete a state and federal fingerprint‑based criminal background check with no disqualifying information. (law.justia.com)

3. Apply through LABSWE’s online system for CSW

   • Create an online account.
   • Arrange for official MSW transcripts to be sent directly to the Board.
   • Submit all required forms, fees, photo, and background documents. (publichealthonline.org)

4. Receive CSW certification

   • The Board may issue CSW certification to an applicant who meets all LMSW requirements except passing the exam. (law.cornell.edu)

5. Comply with exam timing rules

   • Take the ASWB Master’s exam within the first 6 months after CSW is issued.
   • Attempt the exam at least once per year thereafter.
   • Pass within three years or risk recall of your CSW and transition to RSW eligibility instead. (law.cornell.edu)

6. Practice within CSW scope

   • Work only in an agency setting as an employee.
   • You may provide clinical social work and psychotherapy, but only under supervision of an LCSW, with regular supervisory sessions if providing psychotherapy. (law.justia.com)

7. Maintain your CSW

   • Renew annually (August 31).
   • Complete 20 hours of CE each year (including required ethics hours) to keep the credential active while you pursue the exam and any later steps toward LMSW and LCSW. (online.lsu.edu)

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In summary, Louisiana does not impose any fixed practice‑hour requirement to become a CSW. The CSW is a time‑limited, exam‑pending MSW credential. The only explicit hour requirements in Louisiana’s social work licensing rules are for clinical licensure (LCSW): 5,760 post‑graduate practice hours, including 3,840 supervised hours under a Board‑Approved Clinical Supervisor. (law.cornell.edu)