Getting licensed as a social worker in Missouri

Compact member

Checked against the Missouri Committee for Social Workers on .

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Your board, the portal you apply in, the fees, the supervised hours, and the order to do them in.

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Your first license

Licensed Master Social Worker

LMSW

Exam required before the license

The ASWB Masters exam is required before the license.

Known fees

Fees the Missouri Committee for Social Workers publishes for the LMSW
Application/Initial License Fee$70
ASWB Masters examination$230
Known total$300

What else it takes

Supervised hours
3,000 hours over at least 24 months, for the LCSW
ASWB exam level
Masters
Licensure compact
Member jurisdictionMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
Last checked
1

Next step

Earn a master's (or doctorate) degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program. Submit the Application for Licensure - LMSW/LBSW to the Committee for Social Workers.

The ladder

Missouri has 4 rungs. 4 need an ASWB exam.

  1. bachelors

    LBSW

    ASWB Bachelors

    Licensed Baccalaureate Social Worker.

  2. masters

    LMSW

    ASWB Masters

    Licensed Master Social Worker.

  3. advanced

    LAMSW

    ASWB exam, level not confirmed

    Licensed Advanced Macro Social Worker (exam requirement not read on a board page).

  4. clinical

    LCSW

    ASWB Clinical

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Requirements change

Nothing on our law calendar changes Missouri's exam requirement today. The change that does touch you is national: ASWB launched the 2026 exams on August 3, 2026 with three content areas and 122 items, and held fees at $230 Masters and $260 Clinical. ASWB's announcement.

Law calendar read . If Missouri moves, this page moves with it.

Already passed? Track your supervised hours toward your clinical license.

Missouri asks for 3,000 hours of supervised experience. The board sets no total for supervision hours.

Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 19, 2026.

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Programs in Missouri

How first-timers from each accredited program here did on the ASWB exam. A rate built on fewer than 10 first-time exams is one or two people, so those programs show how close they are to that floor instead of a percent. Source: ASWB, 2025 report.

See all 21 programs in Missouri

Sources

We read the board's own pages. Nothing here is a guess.

SWTPA is not affiliated with any state board or with ASWB. Requirements change; the board's page is the source of record. This record is also available as JSON.

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