Getting licensed as a social worker in Rhode Island

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Checked against the Rhode Island Board of Examiners in Social Workers (RI Department of Health) 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 Clinical Social Worker (Rhode Island's master's-level entry credential, held while accruing LICSW hours)

LCSW

Exam comes after the first credential

The ASWB exam is waived for the LCSW until August 15, 2030 (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-39.1-8(e), amended 2025); the board's rule still shows August 15, 2025, so confirm with the board.

Known fees

Fees the Rhode Island Board of Examiners in Social Workers (RI Department of Health) publishes for the LCSW
Application fee$70
Known total$70

What else it takes

Supervised hours
3,000 hours, 1,500 client contact, supervision: no single total, for the LICSW
ASWB exam level
None for now (confirm with the board)
Licensure compact
Member jurisdictionMultistate licenses are not yet being issued. Last checked against the compact's own site.
Last checked
1

Next step

Graduate with a master's degree from a CSWE-accredited school of social work, or a doctorate in clinical social work (R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-39.1-8(b)(1)). Submit an application on Department forms with identification, official transcripts, and license-history verification from any state where the applicant holds or held a license (216-RICR-40-05-7 Section 7.4.3).

The ladder

Rhode Island has 2 rungs. 1 needs an ASWB exam.

  1. masters

    LCSW

    No ASWB exam for now (confirm with the board)

    Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Rhode Island's master's-level entry credential, held while accruing LICSW hours). Practice is supervised at this rung.

  2. clinical

    LICSW

    ASWB Clinical

    Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.

Requirements change

Nothing on our law calendar changes Rhode Island'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 Rhode Island moves, this page moves with it.

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

Rhode Island asks for 3,000 hours of supervised experience. Supervision hours: no single total.

Checked against the published rule. Last checked September 27, 2026.

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Programs in Rhode Island

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 3 programs in Rhode Island

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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