{
  "_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": "MN",
  "name": "Minnesota",
  "url": "https://www.socialworktestprepacademy.com/licensing/mn",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "checked": true,
  "lastChecked": "2026-09-19",
  "board": {
    "name": "Minnesota Board of Social Work",
    "url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/"
  },
  "firstCredential": {
    "abbr": "LGSW",
    "title": "Licensed Graduate Social Worker",
    "rung": "masters",
    "exam": "Masters"
  },
  "examRequiredFirst": null,
  "examOrderReason": "applicant",
  "summary": "Minnesota: a provisional license under Minn. Stat. 148E.0551 substitutes 2,000 hours of supervised practice for the ASWB exam, so the exam is a route rather than a gate.",
  "aswbExam": {
    "level": "Masters",
    "feeUsd": 230
  },
  "knownFeesUsd": 305,
  "unknownFeeCount": 0,
  "conflictFeeCount": 0,
  "fees": [
    {
      "name": "LGSW application fee",
      "amount_usd": 75,
      "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    {
      "name": "ASWB Masters examination",
      "amount_usd": 230,
      "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    }
  ],
  "supervision": {
    "experience_hours": {
      "value": 4000,
      "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "client_contact_hours": {
      "value": 1800,
      "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "supervision_hours": {
      "value": 200,
      "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
      "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
    },
    "minimum_months": null,
    "maximum_months": null,
    "notes": [
      "148E.110 sets hour-based benchmarks (4,000-8,000 total, 1,800 direct clinical contact, 200 supervision at a 4-8hr/160hr ratio) but the source did not surface an explicit calendar minimum/maximum month requirement; left null rather than derived by arithmetic.",
      "experience_hours records the 4,000-hour floor; the same section also caps countable postgraduate practice at 8,000 hours.",
      "EXAM-ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY, from the text of 148E.0551 itself: Provisional License route lets an applicant substitute additional supervised practice for the ASWB exam, for LSW/LGSW/LISW/LICSW. 148E.055 subd. 4b/5b admit applicants who complete 148E.0551 subd. 1-6 instead of the exam. Per 148E.0551 itself: provisional license expires 3 years after its effective date (sunset per-license, not a program sunset); applicant must complete 2,000 hours of supervised social work practice with supervisor evaluations every 6 months and a final evaluation/attestation after the 2,000 hours; applicant pays the standard fee under 148E.180. The 37.5-hours-supervision figure from search results was NOT found in 148E.0551 text and is dropped rather than sourced from an aggregator."
    ]
  },
  "hours": "4,000 hours, 1,800 client contact, 200 supervision, 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": [
    "Complete a CSWE-accredited (or board-recognized) MSW or DSW degree.",
    "Submit the LGSW application and required fee to the Minnesota Board of Social Work.",
    "Complete a criminal background check under Minn. Stat. 214.075 unless already MN-licensed.",
    "Pass the ASWB Masters examination (must be taken within 6 months before completing degree requirements and no more than 8 years old at application).",
    "Receive the LGSW license."
  ],
  "ladder": [
    {
      "rung": "masters",
      "abbr": "LGSW",
      "title": "Licensed Graduate Social Worker",
      "exam": "Masters",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
    },
    {
      "rung": "advanced",
      "abbr": "LISW",
      "title": "Licensed Independent Social Worker (non-clinical independent level)",
      "exam": "Advanced Generalist",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
    },
    {
      "rung": "clinical",
      "abbr": "LICSW",
      "title": "Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker",
      "exam": "Clinical",
      "supervised": false,
      "source": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Minnesota Board of Social Work · LGSW applicant resources",
      "url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.055 (LGSW licensure requirements)",
      "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
    },
    {
      "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.180 (fees)",
      "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180"
    },
    {
      "label": "MN Board of Social Work standard license fees",
      "url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/fees/standardlicensefees.jsp"
    },
    {
      "label": "LGSW fees · ASWB Masters examination",
      "url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Social Work Licensure Compact · member jurisdictions",
      "url": "https://swcompact.org/compact-jurisdictions/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.110 (supervised clinical practice hours)",
      "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110"
    }
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Minnesota",
        "postal_code": "MN"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "masters",
        "title": "Licensed Graduate Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LGSW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Minnesota Board of Social Work",
        "source_url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "LGSW application fee",
          "amount_usd": 75,
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "LGSW biennial license renewal (24-month term)",
          "amount_usd": 189,
          "source_url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/fees/standardlicensefees.jsp",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "ASWB Masters examination",
          "amount_usd": 230,
          "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        }
      ],
      "application_sequence": [
        "Complete a CSWE-accredited (or board-recognized) MSW or DSW degree.",
        "Submit the LGSW application and required fee to the Minnesota Board of Social Work.",
        "Complete a criminal background check under Minn. Stat. 214.075 unless already MN-licensed.",
        "Pass the ASWB Masters examination (must be taken within 6 months before completing degree requirements and no more than 8 years old at application).",
        "Receive the LGSW license."
      ],
      "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": [
          "Minnesota also has a Provisional (exam-alternative) pathway under Minn. Stat. 148E.0551 for LSW/LGSW/LISW/LICSW that substitutes additional supervised practice for the ASWB exam; see the ladder entry and the dedicated note on the clinical record. The board's own provisional-license pages (mn.gov/boards/social-work/applicants/applyforprovisional/) answer an automated fetch with a bot challenge and need a real browser. The pathway and its statutory basis (148E.0551) come from the statute text itself; the exact fee and hour figures printed on the board page are null rather than taken from an aggregator."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": null,
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "LGSW application (Minn. Stat. 148E.055)",
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": {
        "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
        "summary": "LGSW by endorsement: hold an active out-of-state graduate/master's-level license and, per the statute summary reviewed, may be exempt from supervised-practice requirements with 4,000+ hours of nonclinical graduate/master's-level practice in another jurisdiction."
      },
      "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": "Minn. Stat. 148E.055 (LGSW licensure requirements)",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
        },
        {
          "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.180 (fees)",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180"
        },
        {
          "label": "MN Board of Social Work standard license fees",
          "url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/fees/standardlicensefees.jsp"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "state": {
        "name": "Minnesota",
        "postal_code": "MN"
      },
      "license_target": {
        "track": "clinical",
        "title": "Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker",
        "abbreviation": "LICSW"
      },
      "board": {
        "name": "Minnesota Board of Social Work",
        "source_url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/"
      },
      "fees": [
        {
          "name": "LICSW application fee",
          "amount_usd": 75,
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        {
          "name": "LICSW biennial license renewal (24-month term)",
          "amount_usd": 335,
          "source_url": "https://mn.gov/boards/social-work/fees/standardlicensefees.jsp",
          "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 or qualify for a graduate degree in social work (or DSW).",
        "Complete 360 clock hours in required clinical knowledge areas (differential diagnosis, treatment planning, clinical intervention, evaluation, ethics/values, cultural assessment).",
        "Practice clinical social work and complete the supervised practice requirements of Minn. Stat. 148E.100-148E.125.",
        "Pass the ASWB Clinical examination (valid only within 8 years of application).",
        "Apply to the Board for LICSW licensure by examination under Minn. Stat. 148E.055 subd. 5."
      ],
      "aswb_exam": {
        "level": "Clinical",
        "fee_usd": 260,
        "source_url": "https://www.aswb.org/exam/",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
      },
      "supervision_requirement": {
        "experience_hours": {
          "value": 4000,
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "client_contact_hours": {
          "value": 1800,
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "supervision_hours": {
          "value": 200,
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110",
          "verified_date": "2026-09-19"
        },
        "minimum_months": null,
        "maximum_months": null,
        "notes": [
          "148E.110 sets hour-based benchmarks (4,000-8,000 total, 1,800 direct clinical contact, 200 supervision at a 4-8hr/160hr ratio) but the source did not surface an explicit calendar minimum/maximum month requirement; left null rather than derived by arithmetic.",
          "experience_hours records the 4,000-hour floor; the same section also caps countable postgraduate practice at 8,000 hours.",
          "EXAM-ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY, from the text of 148E.0551 itself: Provisional License route lets an applicant substitute additional supervised practice for the ASWB exam, for LSW/LGSW/LISW/LICSW. 148E.055 subd. 4b/5b admit applicants who complete 148E.0551 subd. 1-6 instead of the exam. Per 148E.0551 itself: provisional license expires 3 years after its effective date (sunset per-license, not a program sunset); applicant must complete 2,000 hours of supervised social work practice with supervisor evaluations every 6 months and a final evaluation/attestation after the 2,000 hours; applicant pays the standard fee under 148E.180. The 37.5-hours-supervision figure from search results was NOT found in 148E.0551 text and is dropped rather than sourced from an aggregator."
        ]
      },
      "supervisor_eligibility": null,
      "forms": [
        {
          "name": "LICSW application by examination (Minn. Stat. 148E.055 subd. 5)",
          "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
        }
      ],
      "processing_benchmark": null,
      "endorsement_rules": {
        "source_url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055",
        "verified_date": "2026-09-19",
        "summary": "LICSW by endorsement (subd. 5a): hold an active independent clinical-level license in another jurisdiction and a master's degree from an accredited institution."
      },
      "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": "Minn. Stat. 148E.055 (LISW/LICSW licensure requirements incl. by-provisional-completion subd. 4b/5b)",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.055"
        },
        {
          "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.110 (supervised clinical practice hours)",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110"
        },
        {
          "label": "Minn. Stat. 148E.180 (fees)",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.180"
        }
      ],
      "gaps": {
        "supervision_requirement.minimum_months": {
          "kind": "unpublished",
          "note": "Minn. Stat. 148E.110 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110) states hour totals (4,000 to 8,000) but no calendar minimum.",
          "sources": [],
          "checked": "2026-09-29",
          "ask_the_board": null
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "dataProblems": [
    {
      "credential": "LICSW",
      "path": "supervision_requirement.minimum_months",
      "kind": "unpublished",
      "note": "Minn. Stat. 148E.110 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148E.110) states hour totals (4,000 to 8,000) but no calendar minimum.",
      "sources": [],
      "askTheBoard": null,
      "checked": "2026-09-29"
    }
  ]
}