Michigan LMSW-Clinical Requirements & Hours Tracker

In Michigan, the “LMSW‑Clinical” is a Licensed Master Social Worker with a clinical practice designation issued by the Michigan Board of Social Work. The requirements are laid out in the Social Work General Rules and the Board’s Master’s Social Worker Licensing Guide, and they center on graduate education, a limited license, 4,000 hours of supervised post‑degree clinical experience, and the ASWB Clinical exam. (law.cornell.edu)

Below is a step‑by‑step guide organized around what the Board actually requires and how it defines the different types of hours.

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1. Understand the License Structure in Michigan

Michigan does not license a separate category called “LCSW.” Instead, it issues:

• Master’s Social Worker license (LMSW) with one or both practice designations:
  • Clinical practice designation (often informally called “LMSW‑Clinical”)
  • Macro practice designation

The Board’s rules refer to this as a “master’s social worker license” with a clinical practice designation, not as a separate license type. (law.cornell.edu)

To get the LMSW‑Clinical, you must first qualify for an LMSW and at the same time meet the specific requirements for the clinical designation.

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2. Education Requirement

The first step is the qualifying degree:

• You must complete a master’s or doctoral degree in social work from a program that meets the standards of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), as adopted by Michigan in Rule 338.2923. (law.cornell.edu)

The Master’s Social Worker Licensing Guide describes this simply as a master’s social work program whose transcripts are sent directly from the school to the Board. (michigan.gov)

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3. Obtain the Limited Master’s Social Worker License (LLMSW)

You cannot start counting the required 4,000 hours until you hold a Limited Master’s Social Worker license. Rule 338.2947 governs this step. (law.cornell.edu)

Key points:

• You must:
  • Submit the Limited Master’s Social Worker application and fee.
  • Have completed the qualifying master’s/doctoral social work degree. (law.cornell.edu)
• Your limited license:
  • Is issued for 1 year at a time.
  • May be renewed no more than 6 times for the purpose of accruing experience. (law.cornell.edu)
• You must accumulate supervised work experience in an agency, health facility, institution, or other entity approved under section 18506 of the Public Health Code—i.e., a setting where master’s‑level social work practice occurs. (law.cornell.edu)

All of your qualifying supervised hours for full LMSW (clinical) must be earned while holding this limited license.

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4. The 4,000 Required Hours: How Michigan Defines Them

Michigan does not split the requirement into separate “direct client contact hours” and “supervision hours” with specified numeric minimums, the way some states do. Instead, the rules require:

4.1 Total amount and timing

For a master’s social worker license (including clinical designation), Rule 338.2949 requires: (law.cornell.edu)

• “At least 4,000 hours of post‑degree supervised work experience accrued over not less than 2 years.”
• The experience must:
  • Be post‑degree (after you have completed all requirements for graduation).
  • Be supervised as specified in Rules 338.2949 and 338.2953.

This same 4,000 hours is used to qualify both for the LMSW generally and for the clinical practice designation when those hours are clinical in nature (see Section 5 below). You do not need 4,000 for a general LMSW plus another 4,000 for clinical; the Board’s rules treat it as a single 4,000‑hour requirement shaped to your chosen designation. (law.cornell.edu)

4.2 What “supervised work experience” looks like

Rule 338.2949 sets how those 4,000 hours must be accumulated: (law.cornell.edu)

• License status while accruing hours

  • “Supervised work experience may only be earned while holding a Michigan limited master’s of social work license.” (LLMSW)

• Weekly and yearly hour limits

  • You must average at least 16 hours per week but not more than 40 hours of supervised work experience.
  • You may not accumulate more than 2,080 hours in any 12‑month period.
  • If you have 4,000 hours but don’t meet these pacing rules, you can apply to the Board for a waiver.

• Supervision format and frequency

  • You must meet with your supervisor:
    • Individually in person, or
    • Individually via real‑time telecommunication, or
    • In a group modality, as long as 50% of the supervision includes individual contact reviewing your active work and records.
  • Supervisory review must be at least 4 hours per month, and at least 2 of those hours must be individual (in person or live telecommunication). (law.cornell.edu)

• Nature of the work

  • You must be functioning as a master’s social worker, using generally accepted social work knowledge and techniques consistent with your graduate training. (law.cornell.edu)

The Board also defines “under the supervision of a licensed bachelor’s or licensed master’s social worker” as an interactional professional relationship that provides evaluation and direction over practice, and that supports development of the supervisee’s knowledge, values, skills and abilities to practice ethically and competently. (mirules.elaws.us)

In other words, all 4,000 hours are supervised hours of professional social work practice, structured and reviewed as described in the rules. Michigan does not separately require, for example, “1,500 direct hours plus 1,500 supervised hours”; instead, it requires 4,000 supervised practice hours, within which supervision must occur at the frequency specified above.

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5. Requirements Specific to the Clinical Practice Designation

In addition to meeting the general LMSW requirements, you must satisfy Rule 338.2953 to obtain the clinical practice designation (LMSW‑Clinical). (law.cornell.edu)

5.1 Exam requirement

Rule 338.2953(a) requires that you:

• Pass the ASWB Clinical exam (the “clinical examination approved pursuant to R 338.2925”).

The licensing guide echoes this, noting you must have ASWB verification of passing scores on the Clinical Examination (or Advanced Generalist for macro), and that you can’t be made eligible for the exam until you have completed the 4,000 supervised hours. (michigan.gov)

5.2 Clinical hours: content and supervision

Rule 338.2953(b) adds clinical‑specific conditions to the same 4,000 hours: (law.cornell.edu)

• Amount and timing (again)

  • It repeats that you must have “at least 4,000 hours of post‑degree social work experience accrued over not less than 2 years” (for the clinical designation).

• When the hours can be earned

  • The experience must be earned after you have completed all requirements for graduation, as verified by your program.

• Who must supervise

  • The experience must be “completed in compliance with the requirements of R 338.2949” and under a Michigan‑licensed master’s social worker with a clinical designation whose license remains in good standing.

• What counts as clinical experience

  • The rule says that experience for the clinical designation must include one or more of a list of activities, such as (paraphrased):
    • Assessment, treatment and intervention methods in a formal professional relationship with individuals, couples, families, or groups.
    • Advocacy for client care and protection of vulnerable clients.
    • Forensic practice functions.
    • Activities aimed at increasing social well‑being.
    • Education and provision of resources.
    • Psychotherapy.
    • Case management for complex and high‑risk cases.
    • Service on community committees.
    • Providing clinical supervision or direction of clinical programs. (law.cornell.edu)

The Board does not assign separate numeric minimums to each of these; instead, it requires that your 4,000 hours of supervised post‑degree experience for the clinical designation include at least some of these clinically oriented activities, under an LMSW with clinical designation, and that those hours are accumulated under the general supervision rules in 338.2949.

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6. How the Hours and Supervision Typically Work in Practice

Putting the rules together, the Michigan Board’s structure for an LMSW‑Clinical looks like this:

• Total required experience:
  • 4,000 hours of post‑degree, supervised social work experience at the master’s level, accrued over at least 2 years, while holding an LLMSW.
• Type of work within those hours:
  • For clinical designation, your work must include clinical social work functions as defined in Rule 338.2953 (assessment, psychotherapy, treatment, case management for complex/high‑risk cases, etc.). (law.cornell.edu)
• Supervision structure inside those 4,000 hours:
  • At least 4 hours per month of supervisory review, with 2 hours per month of individual supervision (in person or live video/phone).
  • Group supervision is allowed for up to half of supervision time, but it must still involve review of your active work and records.
  • Work hours must average 16–40 per week, and you cannot exceed 2,080 hours in a 12‑month period. (law.cornell.edu)

So the “type” of hours required by the Michigan Board can be summarized as:

• 4,000 hours of post‑degree, supervised clinical social work practice at the master’s level (not split into separate “direct vs supervised” counts),
• With supervision that:
  • Occurs monthly,
  • Meets the 4‑hour‑per‑month / 2‑hour‑individual minimums, and
  • Is provided by an LMSW‑Clinical in settings approved for master’s‑level social work.

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7. Application and Documentation

When you are ready to convert your LLMSW and supervised experience into full LMSW‑Clinical licensure, the Board’s Master’s Social Worker Licensing Guide outlines the documentation required. (michigan.gov)

Key elements:

1. Online application for a Master’s Social Worker license via MiPLUS, selecting the appropriate designation (clinical).
2. Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience for Master’s Social Worker License:
   • Each Michigan supervisor must submit this form directly to the Bureau, verifying your 4,000 hours of post‑degree supervised work experience (or 2,000 hours for an additional specialty if you already hold one designation).
3. ASWB Clinical exam scores:
   • Sent directly from ASWB to the Board confirming a passing score on the Clinical Examination.
4. Background check, good moral character responses, human trafficking training, and implicit bias training as outlined in the guide.

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8. Adding Clinical Later as a Second Specialty

If you already hold an LMSW with a macro designation and want to add clinical (or vice versa), the Board requires additional, designation‑specific experience: (law.cornell.edu)

• 2,000 additional hours of post‑degree supervised work experience in the second specialty, accrued over at least 1 year with at least 50 hours of supervisory review, plus passing the appropriate exam for that second designation.

This is in addition to the initial 4,000 hours you completed for your first designation.

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9. Summary of “Type of Hours” for LMSW‑Clinical in Michigan

Based strictly on current Michigan Board rules and licensing guidance:

• Total hours required:

  • 4,000 hours of post‑degree, supervised social work experience at the master’s level,
  • Accrued over at least 2 years,
  • Earned while holding an LLMSW.

• Nature of those hours:

  • All are supervised professional practice hours, not divided numerically into “direct vs indirect” or “clinical vs supervision” buckets.
  • For the clinical designation, those supervised hours must include substantive clinical practice activities (assessment, treatment, psychotherapy, complex case management, etc.) as listed in Rule 338.2953. (law.cornell.edu)

• Supervision requirements inside the 4,000 hours:

  • Supervisor: Michigan‑licensed master’s social worker with clinical designation, in good standing.
  • Frequency: At least 4 hours of supervision per month, 2 hours individual.
  • Structure: Individual and/or group meetings that review your active cases and records, conducted in person or via live telecommunication.
  • Pace: 16–40 supervised work hours per week, no more than 2,080 hours per 12‑month period. (law.cornell.edu)

These are the core, Board‑defined hour and supervision requirements for becoming licensed as an LMSW‑Clinical in Michigan.