Missouri LBSW Requirements & Hours Tracker

Becoming a Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker (LBSW) in Missouri is a two‑stage process:

1. Qualifying for the LBSW license itself.
2. (Optional) Completing supervised experience for “independent practice” status.

Missouri’s State Committee for Social Workers sets the rules through statute (Chapter 337, RSMo) and regulations (20 CSR 2263‑2.xxx). What follows organizes those rules into a step‑by‑step guide and highlights the exact types of hours and supervision the state requires.

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1. Baseline eligibility for an LBSW license

To be licensed as a baccalaureate social worker in Missouri, an applicant must provide evidence to the Committee that several statutory conditions are met. Missouri law requires that each applicant for licensure as a baccalaureate social worker:

• Hold “a baccalaureate degree in social work from an accredited social work degree program approved by the council of social work education” (CSWE). (documents.house.mo.gov)
• Pass the ASWB Bachelors examination (the exam approved by the Committee); a passing score is defined by the Committee. (documents.house.mo.gov)
• Be at least 18 years of age, of good moral character, a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien, and not have been convicted of a felony within the ten years immediately before applying. (documents.house.mo.gov)
• Submit the application form and licensing fee prescribed by the Committee. (documents.house.mo.gov)

Earlier versions of §337.665 listed a 3,000‑hour supervised experience requirement for initial LBSW licensure, but subsequent amendments removed that clause for basic LBSW licensure. Current law ties the 3,000‑hour requirement instead to independent practice status, not to getting the initial LBSW license. You should therefore confirm on the Missouri Division of Professional Registration (State Committee for Social Workers) website that the application for LBSW does not require experience hours beyond any field work in your CSWE‑accredited degree.

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2. What an LBSW is allowed to do in Missouri

Missouri statute §337.653 describes the scope of practice for a licensed baccalaureate social worker. In summary, with an LBSW license you may: (codes.findlaw.com)

• Perform assessment and evaluation from a generalist perspective (but not diagnosis or treatment of mental illness or emotional disorders).
• Conduct data gathering, assessment, and service planning for individuals, families, groups, and communities.
• Serve as a client advocate.
• Provide counseling (support, direction, guidance), specifically excluding psychotherapy.
• Conduct crisis intervention and screening, excluding the use of psychotherapeutic techniques.
• Work as a community organizer, planner, or administrator.
• Perform crisis planning, from disaster planning to anticipatory planning for family changes.
• Provide information and referral to other professional services.
• Perform case management and outreach.
• Train social work students and supervise other LBSWs.

However, independent practice at the baccalaureate level requires an additional formal supervisory experience (see below).

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3. Supervised experience for LBSW independent practice (3,000 hours)

Once you hold the LBSW license, Missouri law allows you to earn an additional designation for “independent practice” (IP) at the baccalaureate level. This is not automatic: it requires a formal supervised experience that the Committee must recognize.

3.1 Statutory requirement: 3,000 hours of supervised baccalaureate experience

Under §337.653(3) and §337.665(5), a licensed baccalaureate social worker can qualify for independent practice after completing a specific supervised experience:

• You must complete “three thousand hours of supervised baccalaureate experience”. (codes.findlaw.com)
• The hours must be obtained in no less than 24 months and no more than 48 consecutive calendar months. (codes.findlaw.com)
• The supervision must be with a “qualified baccalaureate supervisor” (a role defined in statute and regulation, typically a properly licensed and approved social worker). (codes.findlaw.com)

Once those supervised hours are completed to the Committee’s satisfaction, the Committee “shall issue a certificate to practice independently” and mark your license with “independent practice” or “IP”. (law.justia.com)

In other words, Missouri does not split the 3,000 hours into “direct” and “supervised” categories as some states do (for example, 1,500 direct + 1,500 supervised). Instead, Missouri’s regulation defines 3,000 total hours of supervised licensed social work experience, within specific time and supervision parameters.

3.2 Regulatory detail: what counts as supervised experience (20 CSR 2263‑2.030)

The regulations provide more explicit structure for how the 3,000 hours are accumulated:

• Minimum total supervised hours:

  • “The minimum acceptable supervised experience shall be three thousand (3,000) hours”. (regulations.justia.com)
  • Hours must be completed in no less than 24 and no more than 48 consecutive calendar months. (regulations.justia.com)
  • The 48‑month period can include stretches of unemployment or part‑time work; what matters is that the hours fall within the same 24–48 month consecutive window. (regulations.justia.com)

• Required supervision frequency and format: (law.cornell.edu)

  • At least 2 hours of individual, face‑to‑face supervision every 2 weeks, or
  • You may consolidate this to 4 hours of individual face‑to‑face supervision in a 4‑week period.
  • These supervision hours count toward the total supervised experience requirement.
  • Up to 50% of the supervision per month may be group supervision.
  • Group supervision is defined as at least 2 and no more than 6 supervisees.
  • Electronic supervision (video/online) is permissible if confidentiality and verbal/visual interaction are maintained.

• Nature of the supervision relationship:

  • Your practice must be under the “oversight, guidance, control, and full professional responsibility” of an approved supervisor. (regulations.justia.com)

The regulations do not subdivide the 3,000 hours into direct vs. indirect service. Instead, they treat the entire 3,000 hours as supervised licensed social work experience under defined supervisory conditions.

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4. Registration of supervision for LBSW independent practice (20 CSR 2263‑2.032)

Before your hours will count toward the 3,000‑hour requirement, your supervision must be registered with the Committee.

Key points from 20 CSR 2263‑2.032: (regulations.justia.com)

• Supervision must be approved before it begins.
  “Supervised social work experience shall be registered for approval by the committee prior to the beginning of supervision.”
• To register supervision for baccalaureate‑level independent practice, you must already hold an LBSW license.
  • The rule explicitly states that the applicant for registration of supervision must hold “Licensed baccalaureate social worker (LBSW) if seeking independent practice on a baccalaureate level.”
• You must:
  • Submit the Committee’s “registration of supervision” form, and
  • Pay the registration of supervision fee as prescribed by the Committee.
• If you change supervisors or practice settings:
  • You must file a change of status form and pay any required fee within 14 days of the change.
  • Failure to do so may result in those hours not counting toward the 3,000 hours.
• Supervision provided by someone who is not registered or not properly licensed can be grounds for discipline and may not be counted.

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5. Step‑by‑step pathway to LBSW and independent practice in Missouri

Step 1 – Complete an accredited BSW

• Finish a bachelor’s degree in social work from a CSWE‑accredited program (or foreign equivalent accepted by CSWE or the Committee). (documents.house.mo.gov)

Step 2 – Apply to the Committee and pass the ASWB Bachelors exam

• File the LBSW application with the State Committee for Social Workers and pay the fee.
• Obtain authorization and take the ASWB Bachelors examination; pass with at least the score recognized by the Committee. (documents.house.mo.gov)

Step 3 – Obtain initial LBSW license

• Once the Committee verifies that you:
  • meet the degree requirement,
  • passed the exam,
  • meet age, character, and legal status requirements, and
  • paid the license fee, it will issue your LBSW license. (documents.house.mo.gov)

At this point you can practice baccalaureate‑level social work without independent practice status, generally under agency structures and any employer or regulatory supervision required for your role.

Step 4 – Decide whether you want independent practice (IP)

If you want to practice more autonomously at the baccalaureate level (for instance, in settings or roles where Missouri expects baccalaureate‑level independent practice), you will need the “independent practice” certificate attached to your LBSW license.

Step 5 – Register your supervision before you start counting hours

• Once licensed as an LBSW and ready to begin supervised experience for IP:
  • Select a qualified baccalaureate supervisor who meets the Committee’s requirements (see 20 CSR 2263‑2.031 for the full supervisor qualifications, not reproduced here). (regulations.justia.com)
  • Submit the registration of supervision form and fee to the Committee.
• Wait for Committee approval of the supervision registration so that all eligible hours will count.

Step 6 – Accrue 3,000 hours of supervised baccalaureate experience

• Practice social work under your approved supervisor’s order, control, oversight, guidance, and professional responsibility. (regulations.justia.com)
• Accumulate at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience within 24–48 consecutive months.
• Ensure your supervision pattern complies with 20 CSR 2263‑2.030:
  • At least 2 hours of individual face‑to‑face supervision every two weeks (or 4 hours every four weeks), with up to half of the supervision allowed as group supervision. (law.cornell.edu)

These hours are not split in regulation into “direct” versus “indirect” categories; they are described as supervised licensed social work experience. Direct client work and other social work functions may all fall within this supervised experience so long as they are performed under approved supervision and within the defined time frame.

Step 7 – Apply for the “independent practice” (IP) certificate

• After successfully completing the 3,000 hours, submit documentation to the Committee showing:
  • total hours,
  • dates (confirming they fall within the 24–48 month window), and
  • verification from your qualified baccalaureate supervisor(s).
• Upon approval, the Committee issues you a certificate to practice independently, adding “independent practice” or “IP” to your LBSW license. (law.justia.com)

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6. How Missouri’s hour requirements compare to your example

Your example mentioned “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience” as a hypothetical breakdown. Missouri does not structure its LBSW pathway that way.

Instead:

• Initial LBSW licensure:

  • Requires your accredited BSW, passing the ASWB Bachelors exam, meeting character/age/legal criteria, and paying the fee.
  • Does not currently require a specified number of post‑degree practice hours for the basic license (any field education hours are part of your degree, not a separate Board‑defined 3,000‑hour requirement). (documents.house.mo.gov)

• Independent practice as an LBSW:

  • Requires 3,000 hours of supervised baccalaureate experience (one unified category of supervised licensed social work experience), within 24–48 months, under a qualified baccalaureate supervisor, with a defined supervision schedule. (codes.findlaw.com)

Missouri’s focus is therefore on a single block of supervised experience totaling 3,000 hours, not on separate tallies of “direct” vs. “indirect” or “supervised” hours.

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7. Practical checklist (condensed)

For planning purposes, this is what you must satisfy according to the Missouri State Committee for Social Workers, stated in their own regulatory structure:

1. Education: BSW from a CSWE‑accredited program. (documents.house.mo.gov)
2. Exam: Pass the ASWB Bachelors exam approved by the Committee. (documents.house.mo.gov)
3. Character and legal status: 18+, good moral character, proper citizenship/residency, no felony in the last 10 years. (documents.house.mo.gov)
4. Application & fees: Submit LBSW application and licensing fee. (documents.house.mo.gov)
5. (Optional for IP) Registration of supervision:
   • Hold LBSW.
   • File registration of supervision form and fee before starting supervised experience. (regulations.justia.com)
6. (Optional for IP) Supervised experience:
   • Complete 3,000 hours of supervised licensed social work experience.
   • Within 24–48 consecutive months.
   • Under a qualified baccalaureate supervisor.
   • With at least 2 hours supervision every 2 weeks (or 4 hours per 4 weeks), with up to 50% group supervision, all under the supervisor’s professional responsibility. (law.cornell.edu)
7. (Optional for IP) IP certificate: Apply for and obtain the “independent practice” certificate; your license is then marked “IP.” (law.justia.com)

For the most up‑to‑date forms and fee amounts, always cross‑check with the Missouri Division of Professional Registration – State Committee for Social Workers, since fees, forms, and some wording may change even when the underlying 3,000‑hour framework stays the same.