License requirements
in plain English
📚 Find out what education you need
🕝 Know exactly how many hours you have to work
📝 Understand the forms to submit and keep on record
Washington Clinical Social Work Requirements: LICSW & LASW (2026)
Washington licenses social workers through the Department of Health (DOH) — not a board like California's BBS — under chapter 246-809 WAC. The two full social work licenses both require 3,000 hours of supervised experience. They differ in how much of that must be direct client contact, how the supervision must be structured, and the timeline — the LICSW must be earned over at least two years, while the LASW has no minimum time span.
Note: Washington's clinical social work license is the LICSW. There is no "LCSW" in Washington — that's California's title for the same profession.
Educational Requirements
- Master's or doctoral degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program.
- Official transcripts sent directly to the Washington DOH.
- Associates register first — the LSWAIC (associate independent clinical) is the path to the LICSW, and the LSWAA (associate advanced) is the path to the LASW — then accrue the supervised hours below.
Experience Requirements: LICSW vs. LASW
| Requirement | LICSW | LASW |
|---|---|---|
| Total supervised hours | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Minimum span of experience | 2 years | No minimum |
| Direct client contact (under an approved supervisor) | ≥ 1,000 (by an LICSW) | ≥ 800 (any approved supervisor) |
| Total direct supervision | ≥ 100 | ≥ 90 |
| ↳ by primary supervisor | ≥ 70 (LICSW) | no sub-minimum (any approved supervisor) |
| ↳ one-on-one (1:1) | ≥ 60 | ≥ 40 |
| ↳ from an equally qualified practitioner | ≤ 30 (1:1 or group) | no cap (counts in full) |
Source: WAC 246-809-330 (supervised experience) and WAC 246-809-310 (definitions). Substance use disorder professionals who meet the criteria in WAC 246-809-330 may qualify with reduced totals (2,600 hours for the LICSW, 2,880 for the LASW).
Who Can Supervise You
Hours only count as "supervised experience" when they're under an approved supervisor:
- LICSW — Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.
- LASW — Licensed Advanced Social Worker (counts as a primary supervisor for LASW candidates only).
- Equally qualified licensed mental health practitioner — a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), licensed psychologist, licensed physician practicing as a psychiatrist, or psychiatric nurse practitioner.
- One-on-one = one supervisor and one candidate. Group = one supervisor and no more than six candidates. Both may be face-to-face or virtual.
- Washington does not recognize a separate "triadic" category — log it as one-on-one or group depending on the count.
- For the LICSW, the 1,000 direct-client hours must be supervised by an LICSW specifically. Hours under any other supervisor type still count toward the 3,000 total, just not toward that 1,000-hour sub-requirement.
How Washington Differs from California
- No weekly caps. Unlike California's BBS, Washington publishes no 40-hour weekly maximum, no 6-hour weekly supervision maximum, and no rule voiding a week with missing supervision. The gates are who supervises you and the overall hour pools.
- Two-year minimum (LICSW only). The LICSW's 3,000 hours must be spread over at least two years — you can't compress them. The LASW has no minimum time span.
- Renewal. Washington DOH licenses renew annually on your birthday. See your LICSW or LASW continuing-education requirements for what you'll need after licensure.
How License Journey Helps You Track It
Washington's requirements aren't one number — they're a set of overlapping pools with different supervisor rules. License Journey tracks each one for you. Pick LICSW or LASW and your dashboard loads the exact thresholds above:
- Journey to 3,000 hours — your running total of supervised experience under approved supervisors.
- Direct Client Contact — progress toward the 1,000-hour (LICSW) / 800-hour (LASW) requirement. Because it knows each supervisor's license type, License Journey only credits LICSW-supervised hours toward the LICSW's direct-client requirement.
- Direct Supervision — your 100 (LICSW) / 90 (LASW) hours of supervision under an approved supervisor, with a one-on-one sub-bar (≥60 for the LICSW, ≥40 for the LASW). For the LICSW it also tracks the ≥70-hour LICSW-supervised minimum and the ≤30-hour equally-qualified cap.
- Span of Experience — for the LICSW, confirms your hours stretch across the required two years (the LASW has no time-span requirement).
- Automatic supervisor gating. Log who supervised each session and License Journey applies the rules for you — hours under a non-approved supervisor are flagged, and (for the LICSW) equally-qualified supervision stops counting once it reaches the 30-hour cap.
Start tracking your Washington hours →
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