{
  "_schema": {
    "about": "Social work licensing requirements per US jurisdiction, for the FIRST credential an MSW graduate holds in that jurisdiction.",
    "nullRule": "null means we have not read that figure off the board's own page. It never means zero. Do not substitute a default, an average or another state's number.",
    "attribution": "Social Work Test Prep Academy is not affiliated with any state licensing board or with ASWB. We read each board's published pages and record what they say; the board's page is the source of record. Requirements change.",
    "fields": {
      "abbr": "Two-letter USPS code, uppercase.",
      "name": "Jurisdiction name.",
      "url": "Absolute URL of the human-readable page.",
      "json": "Absolute URL of the full record for this jurisdiction.",
      "checked": "true when we have read this board's own pages and published the record. false means no data yet, not \"no requirements\".",
      "firstCredential": "The first credential an MSW graduate holds here (abbreviation, title, and the ASWB exam category needed to hold it: \"none\" when it is issued without one, null when an exam applies but no board rule names its level, or when the sources disagree on whether one applies).",
      "examRequiredFirst": "true when the ASWB exam gates that first credential. false when the jurisdiction licenses or registers you first and the exam comes later (Michigan, California, Florida, Illinois). null when there is no yes-or-no ASWB answer; examOrderReason says why.",
      "examOrderReason": "Why examRequiredFirst is null (null when it is true or false). \"applicant\": the rule turns on the applicant (Connecticut's degree-date cutoff, Minnesota's provisional route, Colorado's jurisprudence exam). \"provider_unconfirmed\": an exam comes first but the rule names only one approved by the board, not ASWB (Louisiana). \"unchecked\": we have not read the board, or the first rung (Nebraska PCMSW). \"sources_conflict\": the primary sources disagree on whether the exam applies, so neither reading is stated (no jurisdiction today). The per-state JSON `summary` states the rule.",
      "knownFeesUsd": "Sum of ONLY the fixed fees the board publishes for that first credential, in US dollars. null when it publishes none. A level-dependent ASWB exam fee (a fee line with amount_by_level) is never in it; it is charged in addition.",
      "hours": "Plain-language supervised-hour requirement on the path, or the not-checked sentence.",
      "lastChecked": "ISO date WE last read the board pages behind this record. It is not a board review, approval or sign-off.",
      "compactMember": "true when the jurisdiction has enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact. null when not checked.",
      "compactStatus": "Social Work Licensure Compact status: \"enacted\", \"pending_legislation\" or \"no_active_legislation\", with the page it was read from and the ISO date checked. null when not checked.",
      "compactLicenses": "Whether multistate compact licenses are being issued anywhere yet, with the compact's own statement quoted and the ISO date checked.",
      "ladder": "Every rung of the licensure ladder in order. `exam` is the ASWB category required to HOLD that rung (\"none\" = no ASWB exam; null = an exam applies but no board rule names its level); `supervised` means practice only under supervision. Optional: `examChoice` (\"board\" | \"applicant\") says who picks from a multi-level `exam`; `checked: false` marks a rung we have not read a record for (not checked yet, never another license's steps); `examProvider: \"unconfirmed\"` marks a rule that names only an exam approved by the board, so ASWB is not asserted.",
      "fees": "The board's own fee lines for the first credential, each with the page it was read from. amount_usd is null when the board does not publish the amount (counted in unknownFeeCount), or when conflict is true: the sources state different amounts, so neither is used (counted in conflictFeeCount, never in knownFeesUsd). A line with amount_by_level is an ASWB exam fee that depends on the level, kept out of knownFeesUsd.",
      "aswbExam": "The exam for the first credential: level (null when no rule names it) and fee. provider \"unconfirmed\" when the rule names only an exam approved by the board, not ASWB. null when the credential is issued without an exam or its rung is not checked yet.",
      "supervision": "The supervised-experience package on the path, each figure with its own source page. A figure the board does not publish is null, and so is one with conflict: true, where the sources state different figures and neither is used (the hours line says it is not confirmed).",
      "applicationSequence": "The board's published order of operations, in the board's own terms.",
      "sources": "The board and statute pages this record was read from.",
      "records": "The raw rulebook records for this jurisdiction, unmodified.",
      "dataProblems": "Every field we could not state plainly, one entry per field: `credential` is the record it belongs to, `path` the field inside that record, `kind` why (unchecked, unpublished, not_applicable, conflict, stale_source, no_single_total), `note` the specifics, `sources` what each source says, verbatim, `askTheBoard` the question to put to the board (or null), `checked` the ISO date we read them. Empty when there are none."
    }
  },
  "abbr": "AL",
  "name": "Alabama",
  "url": "https://www.socialworktestprepacademy.com/licensing/al",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "checked": true,
  "lastChecked": "2026-09-19",
  "board": {
    "name": "Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
    "url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/"
  },
  "firstCredential": {
    "abbr": "LMSW",
    "title": "Licensed Master Social Worker",
    "rung": "masters",
    "exam": "Masters"
  },
  "examRequiredFirst": true,
  "examOrderReason": null,
  "summary": "The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.",
  "aswbExam": {
    "level": "Masters",
    "feeUsd": 230
  },
  "knownFeesUsd": 230,
  "unknownFeeCount": 0,
  "conflictFeeCount": 0,
  "fees": [
    {
      "name": "ASWB Masters examination",
      "amount_usd": 230,
      "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    }
  ],
  "supervision": {
    "experience_hours": {
      "value": null,
      "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
      "notes": "The Board publishes a supervision rate and window, not an experience-hour total."
    },
    "client_contact_hours": {
      "value": null,
      "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
      "notes": "The Board publishes no client-contact figure."
    },
    "supervision_hours": {
      "value": null,
      "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
      "notes": "The Board publishes a rate, not a cumulative total: '4 hours per month for 24 months', to be 'completed within a 36-months' period. Multiplying the two would be arithmetic, not a published figure, so the total stays null."
    },
    "minimum_months": {
      "value": 24,
      "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "maximum_months": null,
    "notes": [
      "FAQ states a monthly rate ('four (4) hours per month for 24 months') plus a completion window ('All supervision must be completed within 36-months'), not a single cumulative hours figure or a hard maximum-months cap distinct from that window; left null rather than computed by multiplying rate x months.",
      "Secondary sources claim a 3,000-hour / 96-hour total consistent with ASWB's national comparison chart, but the Board's own FAQ states no cumulative total, so the total stays null rather than being borrowed from a source the Board does not publish.",
      "Effective 2023 the Board added a 3-hour continuing-education requirement on the most recent DSM for LICSWs, per the FAQ.",
      "The supervision figures are quoted from socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/: '4 hours per month for 24 months', to be 'completed within a 36-months' period. No dollar fee figures appear anywhere on the Board's FAQ or online-applications pages; they are absent from those pages, not merely unfetched."
    ]
  },
  "hours": "No hour total set (4 hours per month for 24 months), for the LICSW",
  "compactMember": true,
  "compactNote": null,
  "compactStatus": {
    "status": "enacted",
    "sourceUrl": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/",
    "checkedOn": "2026-09-19"
  },
  "compactLicenses": {
    "issued": false,
    "statement": "The Social Work Licensure Compact has been enacted in at least seven states and has reached activation status, however multistate licenses are not yet being issued. The implementation process for the compact will take 12 to 24 months before multistate licenses are able to issued.",
    "sourceUrl": "https://swcompact.org/",
    "checkedOn": "2026-10-18"
  },
  "applicationSequence": [
    "Earn an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program.",
    "Submit the Online Application for Social Work Exam to the Board.",
    "Pass the ASWB Masters examination and become license eligible.",
    "Receive LMSW license; designate a clinical or non-clinical practice track."
  ],
  "ladder": [
    {
      "rung": "bachelors",
      "abbr": "LBSW",
      "title": "Licensed Bachelor Social Worker",
      "exam": "Bachelors",
      "supervised": true,
      "source": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
    },
    {
      "rung": "masters",
      "abbr": "LMSW",
      "title": "Licensed Master Social Worker",
      "exam": "Masters",
      "supervised": true,
      "source": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
    },
    {
      "rung": "clinical",
      "abbr": "LICSW",
      "title": "Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker",
      "exam": "Clinical",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners · LMSW applicant resources",
      "url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Frequently Asked Questions - Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
      "url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
    },
    {
      "label": "LMSW fees · ASWB Masters examination",
      "url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictions",
      "url": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/"
    }
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Alabama",
        "postal_code": "AL"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "masters",
        "title": "Licensed Master Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LMSW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
        "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "ASWB Masters examination",
          "amount_usd": 230,
          "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        }
      ],
      "application_sequence": [
        "Earn an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program.",
        "Submit the Online Application for Social Work Exam to the Board.",
        "Pass the ASWB Masters examination and become license eligible.",
        "Receive LMSW license; designate a clinical or non-clinical practice track."
      ],
      "aswb_exam": {
        "level": "Masters",
        "fee_usd": 230,
        "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "supervision_requirement": {
        "experience_hours": null,
        "client_contact_hours": null,
        "supervision_hours": null,
        "minimum_months": null,
        "maximum_months": null,
        "notes": [
          "The Board publishes no application or exam fee amounts on its FAQ or its online-applications pages. The only dollar figures there are pass-through 'Alabama Interactive' processing fees and an unrelated $25 per two-year inactive-status fee. Fees stay null. The figures that circulate on secondary sites ($75/$78.50/$125) are not the Board's and are not used.",
          "The fee schedule and the license classification live in Alabama Admin. Code 850-X-2 and 850-X-3, but admincode.legislature.state.al.us renders through JavaScript and returns empty content to an automated fetch. Reading it needs a real browser."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": null,
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "Online Application for Social Work Exam",
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/applications-and-forms/online-applications/"
        },
        {
          "name": "Online Application for Social Work License",
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/applications-and-forms/online-applications/"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": null,
      "compact_status": {
        "member": true,
        "multistate_licenses_available": null,
        "source_url": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "last_verified": "2026-09-19",
      "sources": [
        {
          "label": "Frequently Asked Questions - Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
          "url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
        }
      ],
      "gaps": {
        "supervision_requirement": {
          "kind": "not_applicable",
          "note": "The LMSW has no supervised-experience requirement; supervision belongs to the LICSW record.",
          "sources": [],
          "checked": "2026-09-29",
          "ask_the_board": null
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Alabama",
        "postal_code": "AL"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "clinical",
        "title": "Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LICSW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
        "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "Inactive status registration (per 2-year period)",
          "amount_usd": 25,
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "ASWB Clinical examination",
          "amount_usd": 260,
          "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        }
      ],
      "application_sequence": [
        "Hold an LMSW and designate the clinical practice track.",
        "Accrue supervised clinical experience under an LICSW supervisor.",
        "Complete supervision at the rate of 4 hours/month for 24 months (within a 36-month window).",
        "Pass the ASWB Clinical examination.",
        "Apply for LICSW licensure."
      ],
      "aswb_exam": {
        "level": "Clinical",
        "fee_usd": 260,
        "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "supervision_requirement": {
        "experience_hours": {
          "value": null,
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
          "notes": "The Board publishes a supervision rate and window, not an experience-hour total."
        },
        "client_contact_hours": {
          "value": null,
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
          "notes": "The Board publishes no client-contact figure."
        },
        "supervision_hours": {
          "value": null,
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
          "notes": "The Board publishes a rate, not a cumulative total: '4 hours per month for 24 months', to be 'completed within a 36-months' period. Multiplying the two would be arithmetic, not a published figure, so the total stays null."
        },
        "minimum_months": {
          "value": 24,
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "maximum_months": null,
        "notes": [
          "FAQ states a monthly rate ('four (4) hours per month for 24 months') plus a completion window ('All supervision must be completed within 36-months'), not a single cumulative hours figure or a hard maximum-months cap distinct from that window; left null rather than computed by multiplying rate x months.",
          "Secondary sources claim a 3,000-hour / 96-hour total consistent with ASWB's national comparison chart, but the Board's own FAQ states no cumulative total, so the total stays null rather than being borrowed from a source the Board does not publish.",
          "Effective 2023 the Board added a 3-hour continuing-education requirement on the most recent DSM for LICSWs, per the FAQ.",
          "The supervision figures are quoted from socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/: '4 hours per month for 24 months', to be 'completed within a 36-months' period. No dollar fee figures appear anywhere on the Board's FAQ or online-applications pages; they are absent from those pages, not merely unfetched."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": [
        "Must be an active LICSW to supervise toward the LICSW credential.",
        "A supervising LICSW needs 3 hours of supervision-focused CE if actively providing supervision."
      ],
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "Online Supervisor Registration",
          "source_url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/applications-and-forms/online-applications/"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": null,
      "compact_status": {
        "member": true,
        "multistate_licenses_available": null,
        "source_url": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "last_verified": "2026-09-19",
      "sources": [
        {
          "label": "Frequently Asked Questions - Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners",
          "url": "https://socialwork.alabama.gov/licensees/frequently-asked-questions/"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "dataProblems": [
    {
      "credential": "LMSW",
      "path": "supervision_requirement",
      "kind": "not_applicable",
      "note": "The LMSW has no supervised-experience requirement; supervision belongs to the LICSW record.",
      "sources": [],
      "askTheBoard": null,
      "checked": "2026-09-29"
    }
  ]
}