Michigan LLBSW Requirements & Hours Tracker

In Michigan, the Limited Bachelor’s Social Work license (LLBSW) is a training license that allows you to accumulate the supervised work experience required for full bachelor’s social work licensure. It does not itself require prior practice hours to obtain, but it tightly controls how the post‑degree hours must be earned once you have the license.

Below is a step‑by‑step outline of what the Michigan Board of Social Work (through LARA’s Bureau of Professional Licensing) requires, with the key hour and supervision rules spelled out in the Board’s own terms.

---

1. What the LLBSW is for

Michigan’s rules describe the limited bachelor’s license this way:

• “The limited bachelor’s social work license is for the purpose of accumulating supervised work experience hours for licensure pursuant to Rule 338.2941.” (michigan.gov)
• By rule, a limited bachelor’s social worker “shall accumulate supervised work experience in compliance with the requirements in R 338.2941.” (legislature.mi.gov)

Rule 338.2941, in turn, is the rule that defines the supervised experience required for a full bachelor’s social work license, including the total number of hours and how they must be structured.

---

2. Basic eligibility: education

To qualify for an LLBSW, you must have completed a qualifying bachelor’s social work program:

• Rule 338.2939 requires that an applicant for a limited bachelor’s social worker license “have completed a baccalaureate degree program from a program of social work that complies with the standards in R 338.2923.” (legislature.mi.gov)
• Rule 338.2923 adopts the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) educational standards by reference, so a CSWE‑accredited BSW program will typically meet this requirement; a non‑CSWE program can be accepted if the Board finds it substantially equivalent. (legislature.mi.gov)

In practice, this means you must already have your BSW (or an equivalent social work bachelor’s degree the Board accepts) before you can get an LLBSW.

---

3. Applying for the LLBSW: procedural requirements

The Limited Bachelor’s Social Work Licensing Guide from LARA lays out the application requirements.

3.1 Application and fee

• Submit an online application for a Limited Bachelor’s Social Work License via MiPLUS (Michigan’s online licensing system). (michigan.gov)
• Pay the application fee plus 1‑year license fee:
  • Limited Bachelor’s Social Work license: $44.00 (by credit/debit card). (michigan.gov)

3.2 Requirements that apply to all LLBSW applicants

According to the Board’s LLBSW guide, you must also: (michigan.gov)

• Complete a criminal background check
  • Instructions are sent after you submit your online application (exceptions apply for some recent relicensure cases).
• Answer Good Moral Character questions
  • If you answer “yes,” you must submit documentation showing you are currently able and likely to serve the public fairly, are rehabilitated, or that the prior offense is not reasonably related to social work practice.
• Complete one‑time Human Trafficking Training
  • Required beginning December 22, 2021; training must meet Administrative Rule 338.2929.
• Complete Implicit Bias Training
  • For initial licensure, at least 2 hours of implicit bias training within the 5 years immediately preceding issuance of the license or registration (per rule and the licensing guide).
• Provide a Social Security number or an SSN affidavit (if legally exempt or you do not have an SSN).
• Demonstrate English language proficiency
  • Generally satisfied if your required health‑professional education was taught in English, or you have sufficient credits from an English‑speaking institution, or you pass an approved English proficiency exam.
• If you hold or have ever held any other professional license in any U.S. state or another country, arrange verification of licensure to be sent directly by that licensing agency, showing no current sanctions or pending discipline.

3.3 “By examination” for LLBSW

Under “Additional Requirements for Licensure by Examination” in the LLBSW guide, the Board currently lists: (michigan.gov)

• Professional education (the program/school you attended).
• Final, official transcripts sent directly from the school, meeting Board standards.

For the limited bachelor’s license, there is no separate examination requirement listed in the LLBSW guide; the ASWB bachelor’s examination is required later when you apply for the full bachelor’s social work license, not for the limited license. (michigan.gov)

---

4. How long the LLBSW lasts and renewals

Both the rules and the LLBSW guide put strict time limits on how long you can hold a limited bachelor’s license:

• Rule 338.2939(4) states that a limited bachelor’s license issued “for the purpose of accumulating supervised work experience hours for licensure pursuant to R 338.2941 is valid for 1 year” and “may be renewed no more than 6 times.” Relicensure is counted the same as renewal. (legislature.mi.gov)
• The LLBSW licensing guide repeats this: renewal cycle is 1 year, and you may renew a maximum of 6 times (including relicensure). (michigan.gov)

In other words, you typically have up to 7 years total (initial issue plus up to six renewals) to complete your supervised experience under a limited bachelor’s license.

Renewals also require:

• Online renewal application and fee (currently $27.50 per year for a Limited Bachelor’s Social Work Renewal). (michigan.gov)
• Ongoing compliance with Good Moral Character, human trafficking training, and implicit bias training attestation for each renewal cycle, as described in the guide. (michigan.gov)

---

5. The supervised experience you will accumulate under the LLBSW

5.1 Total hours required for full bachelor’s licensure

Michigan law and rules require both a minimum time frame and a specific total number of supervised hours for full bachelor’s licensure:

• Public Health Code §333.18509(1)(a) requires “at least 2 years of full‑time postbachelor’s degree experience, or the equivalent in part‑time hours” in bachelor‑level social work under a licensed master’s social worker. (legislature.mi.gov)
• Rule 338.2941 implements this as “at least 4,000 hours of post‑degree supervised work experience accrued over not less than 2 years.” (legislature.mi.gov)

So the Board’s standard is clear:

• You must ultimately log 4,000 hours of supervised work experience after your degree,
• Over at least 2 years,
• And these hours must be accumulated while holding your Michigan LLBSW, under the defined supervision conditions.

Michigan does not split these 4,000 hours into separate categories such as “1,500 hours direct client contact and 1,500 hours supervised experience.” Instead, it defines:

• A single pool of 4,000 supervised hours, and
• Specific types of work that “count” and specific supervision and scheduling rules for those hours.

5.2 Where and under whom hours may be earned

The rules specify both the setting and the supervisor:

• A limited bachelor’s licensee must accumulate supervised work experience in “an agency, health facility, institution, or other entity approved by the board pursuant to section 18506.” The Board approves entities where a master’s social worker practices at the master’s level. (legislature.mi.gov)
• Under Rule 338.2941(3), supervised work experience for a bachelor’s license: (legislature.mi.gov)
  • Must be earned only while holding a Michigan limited bachelor’s social work license issued under Rule 338.2939.
  • Must be completed under the supervision of a Michigan‑licensed master’s social worker whose license is in good standing for the entire supervision period.

The Board’s Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience for Bachelor’s Social Worker License form reinforces this: it certifies that the experience was obtained “under my supervision and while my master’s social work license was active and in good standing” and that it was earned while the applicant held a Michigan limited bachelor’s license. (michigan.gov)

5.3 What activities count as supervised work experience

Rule 338.2941(2) defines supervised work experience for a bachelor’s license as including, but not limited to, the following kinds of work: (legislature.mi.gov)

• Assessment, planning, and intervention with individuals, couples, families, or groups to enhance or restore social functioning.
• Case management of health and human services.
• Providing information about and making referrals to resources.
• Planning and collaborating with communities, organizations, or groups to improve social or health services.
• Helping clients access, coordinate, or develop resources to address interpersonal or community problems.

These are the Board’s core examples of the “practice of social work at the bachelor’s level” that may be counted toward your 4,000 supervised hours.

5.4 How the hours must be structured (time and pacing)

The rules and the supervisor form lay out the pace at which you may accumulate hours:

• You must average at least 16 hours per week but not more than 40 hours per week of supervised work experience. (legislature.mi.gov)
• You may not accumulate more than 2,080 hours in any 12‑month period (essentially, one full‑time work year). (legislature.mi.gov)

The supervisor verification form echoes this: it states that qualifying experience was accumulated in no fewer than 16 and no more than 40 hours per week, and no more than 2,080 hours in a calendar year. (michigan.gov)

This is why the Board describes the 4,000 hours as being accrued “over not less than 2 years”: at maximum allowable full‑time pace (2,080 hours/year), you need at least two years to reach 4,000 hours under these caps.

5.5 Supervision requirements and “supervisory review”

The Board’s rules are also very specific about supervisory contact:

1. Definition of supervisory review

   • “Supervisory review” is defined as meetings (individual or group) between the limited licensee and their Michigan‑licensed bachelor’s or master’s social worker supervisor, during which active work functions and work records of the supervisee are reviewed. (legislature.mi.gov)

2. Required format of supervision

   Under Rule 338.2941(4): (legislature.mi.gov)

   • You may meet with your supervisor:
     • Individually and in person,
     • Individually via live, simultaneous telecommunications (e.g., secure video), or
     • In a group format, as long as at least 50% of your supervision includes individual contact during which your active work functions and records are reviewed.

3. Minimum supervisory time

   The same rule requires that:

   • Supervisory review must total at least 4 hours per month, and
   • At least 2 of those hours must be individual supervision (either in person or live telecommunication, one‑on‑one). (legislature.mi.gov)

   The supervisor verification form repeats this structure, confirming that:

   • Supervision included “at least four hours of supervisory review of active work functions and records” each month, and
   • At least two hours per month were individual supervision conducted in person or via live, simultaneous telecommunications. (michigan.gov)

There is no separate requirement such as “X hours of direct client contact plus Y hours of supervision.” Instead, the Board requires:

• 4,000 hours total supervised work experience;
• Defined types of qualifying activities;
• A controlled weekly pace (16–40 hrs/week and ≤2,080 hrs/year); and
• Ongoing, structured supervision that meets those monthly hour and format standards.

---

6. Moving from LLBSW to full Bachelor’s Social Work License

Once you have completed the supervised experience under your LLBSW, you apply for the full bachelor’s social worker license by examination.

The Bachelor’s Social Work Licensing Guide specifies that, for licensure by examination, you must: (michigan.gov)

• Provide professional education details and have final, official transcripts sent;
• Have each licensed supervisor submit a Supervisor’s Verification of Social Work Experience for Bachelor’s Social Worker License form, verifying a total of 4,000 hours of post‑degree supervised work experience; and
• Have ASWB bachelor’s examination scores sent directly to the Board, evidencing a passing score on the approved exam.

Those 4,000 hours must have been accumulated in the way described above (under an LLBSW, under a Michigan‑licensed MSW in good standing, in approved settings, with proper supervisory review and time limits). (michigan.gov)

---

7. Summary of the hour and supervision requirements tied to the LLBSW

• Purpose of LLBSW: to let you accumulate 4,000 hours of post‑degree supervised bachelor‑level social work experience required for a full bachelor’s license. (michigan.gov)
• Total hours: 4,000 supervised hours, over at least 2 years, after completing your BSW. (legislature.mi.gov)
• Weekly/hourly limits: average at least 16 and no more than 40 hours per week; no more than 2,080 hours in any 12‑month period. (legislature.mi.gov)
• What counts: direct practice at the bachelor’s level (assessment, planning, intervention, case management, information and referral, community/organizational work and resource coordination) as defined in R 338.2941(2). (legislature.mi.gov)
• Supervision: must be under a Michigan‑licensed master’s social worker in good standing; at least 4 hours of supervisory review per month, of which at least 2 hours must be individual supervision in person or via live telecommunication; group supervision allowed if at least 50% of total supervision includes individual contact reviewing your active cases and records. (legislature.mi.gov)
• License length: LLBSW valid for 1 year; renewable up to 6 times (including relicensure), for a maximum of 7 years in limited status. (legislature.mi.gov)

Altogether, the Michigan Board of Social Work’s framework for the LLBSW is not a split-hour model (like “1,500 direct / 1,500 supervised”), but a single 4,000‑hour supervised experience requirement with tightly defined content, supervision, and pacing conditions, all of which must be met while holding the limited bachelor’s license.