Board Rules: Licensure, Supervision, and Independent Practice
Board rules: licensure, supervision, and independent practice
The board's rules sit in Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 781. They govern application and examination (the ASWB exam matched to license level plus the Texas jurisprudence exam), background checks, renewal on a two-year cycle with continuing education including required ethics hours, supervision, and the standards for independent practice.
The most heavily tested rule set is the clinical supervision pathway to the LCSW: 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience completed over no less than 24 months, including 100 hours of supervision, with part of that supervision provided individually rather than all in a group, plus regular ongoing contact. The supervisor must be an LCSW who meets the board's experience requirement - an LMSW cannot supervise clinical hours toward the LCSW. Supervision must be documented: a supervision plan or contract, session logs, and periodic evaluations. Supervisors must avoid supervising relatives, employees, or anyone with whom they have a dual relationship, and must limit the number of supervisees so that oversight stays meaningful.
Traps: arithmetic shortcuts (3,000 hours squeezed into 12–18 months does not qualify - the 24-month minimum is a separate requirement from the hours); counting non-clinical hours toward the clinical total; substituting group supervision for the individual component; or assuming an LBSW or LMSW can provide clinical supervision.
Worked example: An LMSW logs 3,000 clinical hours in 20 months with 60 supervision hours. The application fails on two grounds: the 24-month minimum has not elapsed, and supervision hours fall below 100. Rule of thumb: check three boxes separately - total clinical hours, elapsed months, supervision hours - before treating an applicant as eligible.