{
  "_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": "IA",
  "name": "Iowa",
  "url": "https://www.socialworktestprepacademy.com/licensing/ia",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "checked": true,
  "lastChecked": "2026-09-19",
  "board": {
    "name": "Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals",
    "url": "https://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards-and-commissions/board-behavioral-health"
  },
  "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": 350,
  "unknownFeeCount": 0,
  "conflictFeeCount": 0,
  "fees": [
    {
      "name": "License fee for license to practice social work (LMSW initial)",
      "amount_usd": 120,
      "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    {
      "name": "ASWB Masters (intermediate level) examination",
      "amount_usd": 230,
      "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    }
  ],
  "supervision": {
    "experience_hours": {
      "value": 3000,
      "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "client_contact_hours": {
      "value": 1500,
      "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "supervision_hours": {
      "value": 110,
      "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "minimum_months": {
      "value": 24,
      "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "maximum_months": null,
    "notes": [
      "895.6(6) grandfather clause: 'Any new or additional requirements imposed by this rule do not apply to supervision that started prior to July 20, 2022'; the current 3,000/1,500/110-hour figures are the post-7/17/24-rule standard.",
      "Supervisors must hold an active independent-level social work, MFT, or mental-health-counselor license in Iowa, have a minimum of three years of independent practice, and have completed at least a six-hour CE course (or one graduate-level course) in supervision (895.6(2)).",
      "This is a materially reduced hour requirement vs. the older 4,000-hour/2-6-year rule still quoted by third-party prep sites: the current codified rule (481-895.6, effective 7/17/24) sets 3,000 total hours, 1,500 direct client contact, minimum 2 years; confirmed directly from the rule text, not from an aggregator.",
      "Sections 895.1 through 895.9 carry no exam-elimination route and no provisional or exam-alternative pathway. The rest of chapter 895 has not been read.",
      "Iowa's rule calls the ASWB Clinical examination the 'clinical level examination' for the independent-level social worker."
    ]
  },
  "hours": "3,000 hours, 1,500 client contact, 110 supervision, for the LISW",
  "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": [
    "Complete a CSWE-accredited master's (or board-approved doctoral) degree in social work.",
    "Submit a completed licensure application and the nonrefundable fee to the Iowa Board of Social Work (481-895.3).",
    "Pass the ASWB examination at the master level, termed the intermediate level examination by Iowa rule (481-895.4(1)b).",
    "Receive the LMSW license; no post-degree supervised hours are required for this credential (those apply at the independent/LISW rung)."
  ],
  "ladder": [
    {
      "rung": "bachelors",
      "abbr": "LBSW",
      "title": "Licensed Bachelor Social Worker",
      "exam": "Bachelors",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
    },
    {
      "rung": "masters",
      "abbr": "LMSW",
      "title": "Licensed Master Social Worker",
      "exam": "Masters",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
    },
    {
      "rung": "clinical",
      "abbr": "LISW",
      "title": "Licensed Independent Social Worker",
      "exam": "Clinical",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals · LMSW applicant resources",
      "url": "https://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards-and-commissions/board-behavioral-health"
    },
    {
      "label": "481 IAC 895 (Licensure of Social Workers, eff. 7/17/24)",
      "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
    },
    {
      "label": "481 IAC 507.19 (Social work license fees, eff. 7/31/24)",
      "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf"
    },
    {
      "label": "LMSW fees · ASWB Masters (intermediate level) examination",
      "url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictions",
      "url": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/"
    }
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Iowa",
        "postal_code": "IA"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "masters",
        "title": "Licensed Master Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LMSW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals",
        "source_url": "https://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards-and-commissions/board-behavioral-health"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "License fee for license to practice social work (LMSW initial)",
          "amount_usd": 120,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "Biennial license renewal, master's level",
          "amount_usd": 120,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "ASWB Masters (intermediate level) examination",
          "amount_usd": 230,
          "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        }
      ],
      "application_sequence": [
        "Complete a CSWE-accredited master's (or board-approved doctoral) degree in social work.",
        "Submit a completed licensure application and the nonrefundable fee to the Iowa Board of Social Work (481-895.3).",
        "Pass the ASWB examination at the master level, termed the intermediate level examination by Iowa rule (481-895.4(1)b).",
        "Receive the LMSW license; no post-degree supervised hours are required for this credential (those apply at the independent/LISW rung)."
      ],
      "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": [
          "Rule chapter was renumbered/transferred effective 7/17/24 from Professional Licensure Division[645] Chapter 280 to Inspections and Appeals[481] Chapter 895; cited to the current 481-895 chapter throughout.",
          "No exam-alternative/provisional pathway or exam elimination was found for Iowa in the sections read (895.3-895.9); Iowa's rule instead lets prior-state licensure (verified, not re-examined) satisfy the exam requirement under narrow endorsement conditions; this is standard endorsement, not a stated policy shift, so not flagged as an exam-alternative pathway.",
          "Iowa's rule calls the ASWB Masters examination the 'intermediate level examination'."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": null,
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "Application for licensure (481-895.3)",
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": {
        "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
        "summary": "895.3(3): the board accepts verification of license from the jurisdiction where the applicant was most recently licensed (direct from that board, or web-based verification meeting listed criteria) in lieu of re-examination for licensure by endorsement; 895.3(7) also allows ASWB Social Work Registry verification in lieu of direct transcript/license verification."
      },
      "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": "481 IAC 895 (Licensure of Social Workers, eff. 7/17/24)",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
        },
        {
          "label": "481 IAC 507.19 (Social work license fees, eff. 7/31/24)",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Iowa",
        "postal_code": "IA"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "clinical",
        "title": "Licensed Independent Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LISW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals",
        "source_url": "https://dial.iowa.gov/about-dial/boards-and-commissions/board-behavioral-health"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "License fee for license to practice social work (LISW initial)",
          "amount_usd": 120,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "Biennial license renewal, independent level",
          "amount_usd": 144,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "Reactivation fee, independent level",
          "amount_usd": 204,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf",
          "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 LMSW (master level) licensure first; the supervised clinical experience cannot begin until after master-level licensure (895.6(1)a).",
        "Submit a written supervision plan to the board before beginning supervision (895.6(3)).",
        "Complete at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical practice over a minimum of two years (895.6(1)b,c).",
        "Accrue at least 1,500 hours of direct client contact and at least 110 hours of direct supervision (max 50 of which may be group supervision), including at least 24 hours of live/recorded direct observation (895.6(1)d,e).",
        "Submit the completed supervision report and apply for LISW licensure; pass the ASWB Clinical (independent level) examination (895.4(1)c)."
      ],
      "aswb_exam": {
        "level": "Clinical",
        "fee_usd": 260,
        "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "supervision_requirement": {
        "experience_hours": {
          "value": 3000,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "client_contact_hours": {
          "value": 1500,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "supervision_hours": {
          "value": 110,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "minimum_months": {
          "value": 24,
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "maximum_months": null,
        "notes": [
          "895.6(6) grandfather clause: 'Any new or additional requirements imposed by this rule do not apply to supervision that started prior to July 20, 2022'; the current 3,000/1,500/110-hour figures are the post-7/17/24-rule standard.",
          "Supervisors must hold an active independent-level social work, MFT, or mental-health-counselor license in Iowa, have a minimum of three years of independent practice, and have completed at least a six-hour CE course (or one graduate-level course) in supervision (895.6(2)).",
          "This is a materially reduced hour requirement vs. the older 4,000-hour/2-6-year rule still quoted by third-party prep sites: the current codified rule (481-895.6, effective 7/17/24) sets 3,000 total hours, 1,500 direct client contact, minimum 2 years; confirmed directly from the rule text, not from an aggregator.",
          "Sections 895.1 through 895.9 carry no exam-elimination route and no provisional or exam-alternative pathway. The rest of chapter 895 has not been read.",
          "Iowa's rule calls the ASWB Clinical examination the 'clinical level examination' for the independent-level social worker."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": [
        "Active license as an independent level social worker, marital and family therapist, or mental health counselor in Iowa.",
        "Minimum of three years of independent practice.",
        "Completed at least a six-hour continuing education course in supervision, or one graduate-level course in supervision.",
        "Knowledgeable of the applicable ethical code and licensing rules governing the supervisee."
      ],
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "Supervision plan (895.6(3))",
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
        },
        {
          "name": "Supervision report (895.6(4))",
          "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": {
        "source_url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
        "summary": "895.3(3): board accepts direct or qualifying web-based verification of license from the applicant's most recent licensing jurisdiction in lieu of re-examination/transcript re-review, subject to disclosure of any pending/public complaints."
      },
      "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": "481 IAC 895.6 (Supervised clinical experience, eff. 7/17/24)",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/01-08-2025.481.895.pdf"
        },
        {
          "label": "481 IAC 507.19 (Social work license fees, eff. 7/31/24)",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.507.pdf"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "dataProblems": []
}