The amount of licensing supervision required depends your license type and whether you practice in a nonclinical or a clinical setting:

• LSWs and LGSWs in nonclinical practice are required to maintain supervision at a rate of at 4 hours per every 160 hours of social work practice, which is about a month if you work full-time (40 hours per week)
  • If you work full-time, you need to receive 4 hours of supervision per month
  • If you work more or less than full-time, adjust the amount of supervision you receive per month in proportion to the number of hours you work
    • Example 1: If you work 20 hours per week, you need to receive 2 hours of supervision per month to maintain the required rate of 4 hours of supervision per every 160 hours of practice
    • Example 2: If you work 60 hours per week, you need to receive 6 hours of supervision per month to maintain the required rate of 4 hours of supervision per every 160 hours of practice

• LGSWs and LISWs in clinical practice are required to maintain supervision at a rate of at 4 to 8 hours per every 160 hours of social work practice, which is about a month if you work full-time (40 hours per week)
  • If you work full-time, you need to receive a minimum of 4 hours of supervision per month, and you may receive up to a maximum of 8 hours of supervision per month
    • At the minimum of 4 hours of supervision per month, it will take about 8,000 hours of practice (about four years full-time) to complete the total 200 hours of supervision required to be eligible for the LICSW
    • At the maximum of 8 hours of supervision per month, it will take about 4,000 hours of practice (about two years full-time) to complete the total 200 hours of supervision required to be eligible for the LICSW
  • If you work more or less than full-time, adjust the amount of supervision you receive per month in proportion to the number of hours you work
    • Example 1: If you work 20 hours per week, you need to receive 2 to 4 hours of supervision per month to maintain the required rate of 4 to 8 hours of supervision per every 160 hours of practice
    • Example 2: If you work 60 hours per week, you need to receive 6 to 12 hours of supervision per month to maintain the required rate of 4 to 8 hours of supervision per every 160 hours of practice

Licensing supervision can only be counted toward license requirements when you are authorized by law to practice social work. Generally, this is social work practice after the effective date of your license, which is the date the Board receives your initial license fee. Supervised practice completed with a temporary license may also be counted toward requirements for permanent licensure. Go to When is a License Required? to find out when you need to be licensed in Minnesota.

No, licensing supervision and social work practice go hand-in-hand, so you do not need to receive licensing supervision if you do not have a social work position. For example, if you are unemployed, on leave, or working in a non-social work job, you do not need to receive licensing supervision. When you complete your license renewal application, you will be asked to provide information about any time during your license renewal term when you were not practicing social work in Minnesota.

If you are not sure if a position is social work practice, go to When is a License Required? and review the definitions of social work practice and clinical social work practice in Minnesota Statutes section 148E.010, subdivisions 11 and 6. Keep in mind that even if your employer doesn't require a license, your job title is not social worker, or your job does not require direct client contact, your position may still be considered social work practice by law, in which case you are required to be licensed and comply with supervised practice requirements.

Social work practice is defined in Minnesota Statutes section 148E.010, subdivision 11. Nonclinical social work practice includes:

1. Providing assessment and intervention through direct contact with clients, developing a plan based on information from an assessment, and providing services which include, but are not limited to, assessment, case management, client-centered advocacy, client education, consultation, counseling, crisis intervention, and referral
2. Providing for the direct or indirect benefit of clients through administrative, educational, policy, or research services including, but not limited to:
   • Advocating for policies, programs, or services to improve the well-being of clients
   • Conducting research related to social work services
   • Developing and administering programs which provide social work services
   • Engaging in community organization to address social problems through planned collective action
   • Supervising individuals who provide social work services to clients
   • Supervising social workers in order to comply with the supervised practice requirements specified in sections 148E.100 to 148E.125
   • Teaching professional social work knowledge, skills, and values to students

No. LGSWs in nonclinical practice who have completed nonclinical supervised practice requirements are not required to obtain an LISW. You are eligible to apply for an LISW once you have completed nonclinical supervised practice requirements according to the requirements outlined under the Nonclinical Supervision tab above, but you may also maintain your LGSW. You do not need to receive additional supervision once you have completed 100 hours of supervision over 4,000 hours of nonclinical practice unless you begin practicing in a clinical setting.

Clinical social work practice is defined in Minnesota Statutes section 148E.010, subdivision 6. 

Clinical practice means applying professional social work knowledge, skills, and values in the differential diagnosis and treatment of psychosocial function, disability, or impairment, including addictions and emotional, mental, and behavioral disorders. Treatment includes a plan based on a differential diagnosis. Treatment may include, but is not limited to, the provision of psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups. Clinical social workers may also provide the services described in the definition of practice of social work.

Only LICSWs may practice clinical social work independently (without licensing supervision). LGSWs and LISWs are authorized to practice clinical social work but must comply with clinical supervised practice requirements. LSWs are not authorized to practice clinical social work.

Direct clinical client contact is defined in Minnesota Statutes section 148E.010, subdivision 7a as in-person or electronic media interaction with a client, including client system and service providers, related to the clients mental and emotional functioning, differential diagnosis, and treatment. Of the 4,000 to 8,000 hours of supervised clinical practice required for LGSWs and LISWs practicing in a clinical setting, at least 1,800 hours must be direct clinical client contact.

Yes. LGSWs and LISWs who practice in a clinical setting are required to obtain an LICSW within 4,000 to 8,000 hours of practice. You are eligible to apply for an LICSW when you have completed 200 hours of supervision over 4,000 to 8,000 hours of practice according to the requirements outlined under the Clinical Supervision tab above. Clinical supervision is an ongoing requirement until an LICSW is obtained, so even once you are eligible to apply for an LICSW, you must continue to receive supervision at a minimum of 4 hours per every 160 hours of practice until your LICSW is granted.

Supervision Plan and Supervision Verification forms are used to report your licensing supervision to the Board, which are like bookends—a Supervision Plan form tells the Board that you have started social work practice and are receiving supervision, while a Supervision Verification form reports the supervised practice hours you have completed. 

You are required to submit a Supervision Plan form within 60 days of beginning a social work position to report your plan for licensing supervision to the Board. A Supervision Plan form reports your employment details, who will be providing your supervision, how many hours and what types of supervision each supervisor will provide, and so on. Your supervisor or supervisors need to complete a section of the Supervision Plan form to attest to the supervision they will provide to you. You also need to submit a new Supervision Plan within 60 days of any changes to your supervision or practice so the Board has your most up-to-date plan, for example, if you start receiving supervision from a new supervisor, if you start a new job, or if you change the amount or type of supervision you will be receiving. 

You need to submit Supervision Verification forms when you renew your license or when you apply for either an LISW or LICSW. Supervision Verification forms are required at the time of license renewal to show the Board that you have been receiving licensing supervision during your past renewal term, so you need to submit Supervision Verification forms at license renewal even if you have not completed your supervised practice requirement yet. You will submit additional Supervision Verification forms for any time periods, social work positions, or supervisors not already on file with the Board at subsequent license renewals or if you apply for an LISW or LICSW to show that you have completed supervised practice requirements.

You can also submit Supervision Verification forms at any time if you stop receiving supervision from a particular supervisor to avoid having to contact a former supervisor at the time of a future license renewal or application, but the Board will not review Supervision Verification forms until license renewal or application for LISW or LICSW. 

Review the information under the Documenting Supervision tab above for more details on submitting supervision forms. 

For Supervision Plan forms submitted to report your plan for licensing supervision to the Board:

• If you have more than one social work position, you need to submit a separate Supervision Plan form for each social work position
• If you have multiple supervisors for one social work position, you can include them on one Supervision Plan form (each licensing supervisor will need to complete the supervisor section of the Supervision Plan form to attest to how many hours and what type of supervision they will provide to you)

For Supervision Verification forms submitted to report supervised practice you have completed:

• A separate Supervision Verification form must be submitted for each social work position and each licensing supervisor
• For example, if you have two social work positions, and two licensing supervisors per position, you would submit a total of four Supervision Verification forms (each licensing supervisor will need to complete the supervisor section of each Supervision Verification form to attest to how many hours and what type of supervision they provided to you)

You need to submit Supervision Verification forms to report the supervised practice that you have completed to the Board. Supervision Verification forms are only required—and will only be reviewed by the Board—at the time of license renewal or if you apply for an LISW or LICSW, so it is your responsibility to keep track of your supervised practice in the interim. 

If you are an LGSW or LISW practicing clinical social work, supervised practice is an ongoing requirement until you obtain an LICSW, so you need to maintain supervision until your LICSW is granted even after you have completed the requirements to be eligible for an LICSW. 

If you are unable to get in touch with a former supervisor to complete a Supervision Verification form to document licensing supervision you received, the Board may accept alternative verification of supervised practice, which must include a detailed description of the efforts made to locate the previous supervisor and the outcome as well as alternative verification of supervision which may include, but is not limited to:

• Supervision verification documents on record with another regulatory board
• Detailed statements and supervision verification forms completed by another supervisor or agency director who has knowledge of your practice and licensing supervision

A licensing supervisor can be someone within your agency or employer or outside of it. Your licensing supervisor does not need to be your administrative supervisor at your job but can be someone that you contract with for the specific purpose of supervision. Utilize your professional network to find a licensing supervisor—you might consider a partner agency, a professional organization, or perhaps your academic institution as resources. You can also use the Board's Public License Lookup to search for eligible licensing supervisors, however, keep in mind this resource is only intended to provide a list of licensed social workers who have attested to meeting the requirements to provide licensing supervisor and does not mean the individual is available to provide licensing supervision.

Up to 25% of your supervised practice requirement may be provided by an alternate licensing supervisor, which is a "mental health professional" as defined in Minnesota Statutes sections 245.462 and 245.4871 who is qualified to provide supervision according to their licensing board, including:

• Registered psychiatric nurse
• Licensed psychologist
• Psychiatrist
• Licensed marriage and family therapist
• Licensed professional clinical counselor

Up to 100% of your supervised practice requirement may be completed with an alternate supervisor if one of the following applies:

• There are 5 or fewer licensed social workers in the county where the supervisee practices (go to Public License Lookup and check the 'Licensing Supervisor' option and select your county to determine the number of eligible licensing supervisors by county)
• The supervisor is an unlicensed social worker who is employed in, and provides supervision in, a setting exempt from licensure and has equivalent qualifications
• The supervisor is a social worker engaged in authorized social work practice in a state or province surrounding Minnesota
• The licensee is engaged in authorized social work practice outside of Minnesota and the supervisor meets equivalent qualifications