Michigan LMSW-Macro Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

Michigan licenses “LMSW–Macro” as a Licensed Master’s Social Worker (LMSW) with a macro specialty designation. The license itself is LMSW; “Macro” is the specialty area alongside the clinical option.

Below is a step‑by‑step explanation of what the Michigan Board of Social Work (through LARA) actually requires, with the board’s own terminology and how the hours are structured.

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1. How Michigan’s Master-Level Licensure Is Structured

Michigan recognizes:

• LLMSW – Limited Licensed Master’s Social Worker (temporary, supervised license)
• LMSW – Licensed Master’s Social Worker, with one or both specialties:
  • Macro
  • Clinical

You can be licensed:

• As LMSW–Macro only
• As LMSW–Clinical only
• Or with both specialties, if you meet extra requirements

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2. Educational Prerequisite

To hold an LMSW–Macro, you must have:

• A master’s degree in social work (MSW) from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). (yumpu.com)

All qualifying experience must be completed after the MSW is awarded. (yumpu.com)

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3. First License: LLMSW (Macro Track)

Most applicants first become Limited Licensed Master’s Social Workers (LLMSW). Michigan requires that experience gained in Michigan only counts toward full LMSW if you held an appropriate limited MSW license while accruing it. (yumpu.com)

Key points for the limited license:

• You apply for the LLMSW and indicate your intended area of practice (macro or clinical) on the application. (yumpu.com)
• The LLMSW is issued for one year and can be renewed up to six times. (yumpu.com)

Board definition of “macro” practice

In its instructions, the Board describes macro practice (for both limited and full licenses) as work such as:

“Community organization; program planning and development; administration of community services or programs; assessment of client needs for macro community programs or services…” (yumpu.com)

The full paragraph goes on to include coordination/evaluation of services, advocacy, social welfare policy, organizational analysis, and training related to community needs and problems. (yumpu.com)

Your LLMSW job duties should clearly fall within this macro scope if you plan to qualify for an LMSW–Macro.

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4. Core Experience Requirement: 4,000 Hours of Supervised Macro Practice

To become a fully licensed LMSW–Macro, the Michigan Board requires:

• “2 or more years (4,000 hours) of post‑degree social work experience under the supervision of a licensed MSW.” (yumpu.com)

Important details about these hours, straight from the Board’s forms and instructions:

4.1. Type of hours (what “counts”)

The 4,000 hours must be:

• Post‑MSW social work practice
• At the master’s macro level (macro functions as described above)
• Supervised by a licensed master’s social worker (LMSW) — and for macro designation, the supervisor is expected to be experienced in that same macro field (yumpu.com)

Michigan does not split the requirement into separate buckets such as “X hours of direct experience + Y hours of supervision.” Instead:

• The 4,000 hours are total practice hours in macro social work, and
• Within that period, the Board sets minimum supervision patterns (see below).

4.2. Where and while holding which license

• Work experience must have been earned while holding a Michigan limited master’s social worker license if the work was done in Michigan. (michigan.gov)
• If the experience is in another state, the supervisor must hold an equivalent license, certificate, or registration in that state. (michigan.gov)

4.3. Timeframe and weekly limits

The Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience form spells out the timing rules:

• Experience was accumulated in not less than 16 hours per week
• Not more than 40 hours per week
• Not more than 2,080 hours in a calendar year (michigan.gov)

Because 2,000 hours ≈ one work‑year at 40 hours/week, 4,000 hours necessarily take at least two years to complete under these caps, which matches the “2 or more years (4,000 hours)” language in the instructions. (yumpu.com)

4.4. Supervision requirements (how supervision is structured)

On the same verification form, the supervisor must certify that:

• They are practicing social work at the master’s level as defined in statute (macro or clinical, as applicable). (michigan.gov)
• They supervised the applicant’s work at the macro level (for a macro designation).

The form also states that supervision:

• Included at least four hours of supervisory review of active work functions and records per month, and
• At least two of those hours per month were face‑to‑face individual supervision;
• Any group supervision could be used for up to 50% of the supervision, with the rest being individual contact focused on reviewing active work and records. (michigan.gov)

So, conceptually:

• All 4,000 hours are supervised macro practice hours.
• There is no separate requirement like “1,500 hours of direct experience plus 1,500 hours of supervised experience.”
• Instead, the Board requires:
  • A total of 4,000 hours of practice, and
  • A minimum pattern of ongoing supervision layered on top (≥ 4 hours/month, including ≥ 2 hours/month of individual supervision).

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5. Documenting the Experience

To apply for the full LMSW–Macro, each supervisor must submit:

• A Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience for Master’s Social Worker License form to the Board, directly from the supervisor, verifying:
  • The total number of hours completed
  • The dates of supervision
  • The type of practice (macro)
  • That the applicant held a limited master’s license during Michigan‑based work
  • That supervision met the Board’s monthly and weekly requirements (michigan.gov)

If you had more than one macro supervisor or employer, each must submit a separate verification form.

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6. Examination Requirement: ASWB Advanced Generalist

For a primary macro designation, the Board requires that the applicant must:

• Pass the ASWB Advanced Generalist Examination (not the Clinical exam). (yumpu.com)

The Board’s instructions specify that:

• Applicants for licensure with a primary macro designation must pass the ASWB Advanced Generalist Examination;
• Once the Board has the rest of the documentation (transcripts, verification of hours), it notifies ASWB of exam eligibility. (yumpu.com)

ASWB sends your official score report directly to the Michigan Board.

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7. Other State-Mandated Trainings and Checks

Because social work is a health profession under the Michigan Public Health Code, applicants for an LMSW–Macro license must also complete regulatory requirements that apply to all Michigan social workers:

1. Criminal background check & fingerprints

   • Required for all health‑profession licenses; typically completed at the limited‑license or first full license stage. (yumpu.com)

2. Human trafficking training (one‑time)

   • Michigan requires at least 2 hours of training in identifying victims of human trafficking for licensed social workers, usually satisfied once before initial licensure. (ssw.umich.edu)

3. Implicit bias training (recurring)

   • For new applicants on or after June 1, 2022, you must complete at least 2 hours of implicit bias training within the 5 years prior to license issuance. (nasw-michigan.org)
   • For each renewal, you must complete 1 hour of implicit bias training for each year of the license cycle (typically 3 hours per 3‑year cycle for fully licensed social workers). (nasw-michigan.org)

4. Continuing education for renewal (after you are licensed)

   • Every three years, LMSWs must show 45 hours of CE, including ethics, pain management, and human trafficking content. (ssw.umich.edu)

These trainings and checks are in addition to the 4,000 supervised hours and ASWB exam.

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8. Summary of Hour and Supervision Requirements for LMSW–Macro

For a first‑time LMSW–Macro (primary macro designation):

• 4,000 hours of post‑MSW supervised social work experience
  • At the master’s macro level (macro‑type functions)
  • Under supervision of a licensed MSW (LMSW), typically macro‑credentialed (yumpu.com)
• Experience must:
  • Be obtained over at least 2 years
  • Be earned at 16–40 hours per week, with a max of 2,080 hours per year (michigan.gov)
  • Be completed while holding a Michigan limited master’s social worker license, if the work is in Michigan (michigan.gov)
• Supervision during that experience must include:
  • ≥ 4 hours of supervisory review per month of active cases and records
  • ≥ 2 hours/month of face‑to‑face individual supervision
  • Group supervision may make up no more than 50% of total supervision (michigan.gov)
• There is no separate requirement like “1,500 hours direct + 1,500 hours supervised”; rather, all 4,000 hours are supervised macro practice hours with defined supervision patterns.

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9. If You Already Hold One Specialty and Want to Add Macro

If you already hold an LMSW–Clinical and want to add a macro specialty (or vice versa), the Board’s instructions allow a second designation:

• Your LMSW supervisor must verify an additional 2,000 hours (1 year) of post‑degree social work experience in the new specialty area
• Within those 2,000 hours, you must have at least 50 hours of supervisory review
• You must also have passed the appropriate ASWB exam for the second specialty (Advanced Generalist for macro, Clinical for clinical) (yumpu.com)

Those hours are again defined globally as supervised social work experience in the macro area; they are not broken down further into specific “direct” vs “indirect” counts.

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10. Putting It All Together

To become licensed as an LMSW–Macro in Michigan through the Board of Social Work, you must:

1. Complete an MSW from a CSWE‑accredited program.
2. Obtain an LLMSW, indicating macro as your intended practice area.
3. Accrue at least 4,000 hours of supervised, post‑degree macro‑level practice over no fewer than two years, meeting the Board’s weekly and supervisory requirements.
4. Have each supervisor file the Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience form verifying your hours and macro duties.
5. Pass the ASWB Advanced Generalist exam.
6. Satisfy state‑wide requirements: fingerprint/background check, human trafficking training, and implicit bias training.
7. Submit the LMSW application and fees; once the Board has your transcripts, verification forms, and exam scores, it can confer the LMSW license with macro designation.

That combination—education, 4,000 supervised macro practice hours under the Board’s conditions, and the macro‑appropriate ASWB exam—is what the Michigan Board of Social Work requires for the LMSW–Macro credential.