Social work licensure in Maryland

Requirements last verified August 16, 2026 against the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners.

License levels

• LBSWLicensed Bachelor Social Worker

  The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.

• LMSWLicensed Masters Social Worker

  The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.

• LCSWLicensed Certified Social Worker

  The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.

  An MSW and LMSW plus at least two years of social work experience supervised by an LCSW or LCSW-C. Despite the abbreviation, this is NOT Maryland’s clinical license.

• LCSW-CLicensed Certified Social Worker–Clinical

  The board lists this level but does not state its ASWB exam on the pages we checked — confirm with them directly.

  Maryland’s clinical license: an MSW and LMSW plus at least two years of CLINICAL social work experience supervised by an LCSW-C.

Worth knowing about Maryland

Maryland is the second state where “LCSW” does not mean what it means elsewhere. Here the LCSW is the Licensed Certified Social Worker — a non-clinical advanced license — and the clinical one carries a suffix: LCSW-C, Licensed Certified Social Worker–Clinical. The difference is real, not cosmetic: the LCSW requires two years of general social work experience, the LCSW-C two years of clinical experience under an LCSW-C. Confirm with the Board which examination each requires; the Board’s regulations delegate the choice of examination to ASWB without naming a level, so we are not going to guess it for you.

Common questions about Maryland

Which ASWB exam do I need for Maryland?

Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners lists its license levels without naming which ASWB exam each requires, on the pages we were able to read. Confirm the exam category with the board directly before registering.

What social work licenses does Maryland issue?

LBSW (Licensed Bachelor Social Worker); LMSW (Licensed Masters Social Worker); LCSW (Licensed Certified Social Worker); LCSW-C (Licensed Certified Social Worker–Clinical).

Is this information current?

These requirements were last checked against Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners on 2026-08-16. Licensure rules change without much notice, so treat the board as the authority and this page as a starting point.