Application for Licensure as a Social Worker

PURPOSE: This rule outlines the procedures for application for licensure as a clinical social worker. (1) Application for social work licensure shall be made on the forms provided by the committee. Application forms shall be obtained from the Executive Director, State Committee for Social Workers, PO Box 1335, Jefferson City, MO 65102. (2) An application for licensure is not considered officially filed with the committee until it has been determined by the committee staff to be complete and the application is submitted on the form(s) provided by the committee. The application shall be accompanied by the application fee as set forth in the rules promulgated by the committee. (3) A separate application for licensure shall be made for each class of license sought. (4) The following documents shall be on file for an application to be considered complete and officially filed: (A) Completed application form, specifying the type of license sought; (B) Official transcript(s) sent directly from the educational institution(s); (C) Completed Attestation of Supervision form(s) sent directly from the attesting supervisor(s), if applicable; (D) Proof of completing two (2) hours of suicide assessment, referral, treatment, and management training taken within the prior two (2) years of application submission; (E) Verification of a passing score, as determined by the committee, on the examination administered by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB). Verification of score(s) shall be sent directly to the committee office by the ASWB. The required examinations are— 1. Licensed baccalaureate social worker—bachelors examination; 2. Licensed baccalaureate social worker independent practice—bachelors examination. A. An examination taken prior to the final semester of the degree program is not acceptable. A letter from a designated official at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited program indicating the individual is on track to graduate must be received by the committee; 3. Licensed master social worker—masters examination. A. An examination taken prior to the final semester of the degree program is not acceptable. A letter from a designated official at the CSWE accredited program indicating the individual is on track to graduate must be received by the committee; 4. Licensed advanced macro social worker—advanced generalist examination. A. An examination taken before the completion of at least two thousand two hundred fifty (2,250) hours and eighteen (18) months of the supervised work experience is not acceptable; and 5. Licensed clinical social worker—clinical examination. A. An examination taken before the completion of at least two thousand two hundred fifty (2,250) hours and eigh teen (18) months of the supervised work experience is not ac ceptable; (F) Proof of submission of fingerprints to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s approved vendor for both a Missouri State Highway Patrol and Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint background check. Any fees due for fingerprint background checks shall be paid by the applicant directly to the Missouri Highway Patrol or its approved vendor. All fees are nonrefundable; and (G) An applicant for licensure who answers “yes” to any question in the application which relates to possible grounds for denial of licensure under section 337.630, RSMo, shall submit a sworn affidavit setting forth in detail the facts that explain the answer and shall submit copies of appropriate documents related to that answer, if requested by the committee, which shall include, but is not limited to, the following: 1. Certified copies of final orders/judgments; 2. If no final order—Certified copy of clerk’s docket sheet and copy of complaint; and 3. If criminal conviction—A certified copy of final order and sentence or commutation of sentence. (5) Following the committee’s review process, the applicant will be informed by letter of licensure denial. The denial letter will identify the reasons for denial and the appeal process. (6) Any applicant for licensure shall complete and officially file the application for licensure within an application window of one (1) year from the date the application form is initially submitted to the committee. (A) If an applicant fails to submit all requirements needed for approval to take the exam within the one- (1-) year period, then the application will be voided. (B) Upon completion of the application for licensure, the committee will either approve or disapprove the applicant to sit for the applicable examination. AUTHORITY: section 337.600, RSMo 2016, and sections 337.612, 337.615, 337.627, and 337.630, RSMo Supp. 2023.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 263-2.050. Original rule filed Sept. 18, 1990, effective Feb. 14, 1991. Amended: Filed Dec. 2, 1991, effective May 14, 1992. Amended: Filed Jan. 11, 1995, effective June 30, 1995. Rescinded and readopted: Filed Dec. 30, 1998, effective July 30, 1999. Amended: Filed Oct. 30, 2002, effective June 30, 2003. Moved to 20 CSR 2263-2.050, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed Dec. 15, 2006, effective June 30, 2007. Amended: Filed Aug. 27, 2009, effective April 30, 2010. Emergency amendment filed Aug. 18, 2010, effective Aug. 28, 2010, expired Feb. 24, 2011. Amended: Filed Aug. 18, 2010, effective Feb. 28, 2011. Amended: Filed Sept. 27, 2017, effective March 30, 2018. Amended: Filed Feb. 22, 2019, effective Sept. 30, 2019. Amended: Filed March 25, 2021, effective Sept. 30, 2021. Amended: Filed Jan. 24, 2022, effective Aug. 30, 2022. Amended: Filed June 29, 2023, effective Dec. 30, 2023. *Original authority: 337.600, RSMo 1989, amended 1995, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010; 337.612, RSMo 1989, amended 1997, 2001, 2007, 2018; 337.615, RSMo 1989, amended 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023; 337.627, RSMo 1989, amended 1993, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2018; and 337.630, RSMo 1989, amended 1997, 2007, 2020.