Michigan licenses master's social workers with a clinical designation, a macro designation or both, and bachelor's social workers, through LARA's Bureau of Professional Licensing. New graduates start on a limited license while they build supervised hours, and Michigan does not use the ASWB Masters exam at all. Everything below comes from the board's own pages and rules, checked October 18, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
Check with your board. Social Work Ticket is a study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) or any state social work board; ASWB is their mark, used here only to name the exam. Laws on confidentiality, reporting and licensing differ by state; follow your state's law, your agency and your supervisor.
Michigan at a glance
License
ASWB exam
What it takes
LLMSW (Limited Master's Social Worker)
None
A CSWE-accredited MSW; one-year license, renewable up to 6 times, for building supervised hours. $44.
LMSW, clinical designation
Clinical
4,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience in clinical work. $99.
LMSW, macro designation
Advanced Generalist
4,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience in macro (administrative) work. $99.
LBSW (Bachelor's Social Worker)
Bachelors
A CSWE-accredited BSW and 4,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience (with a limited LLBSW first). $99.
Michigan does not accept the ASWB Masters exam. Adding the second designation later takes 2,000 more supervised hours over at least a year and the other exam ($16.50).
Michigan, step by step
Michigan Board of Social Work (LARA Bureau of Professional Licensing)
Limited license first: with a CSWE-accredited MSW, apply on MiPLUS for the Limited Master's Social Work License ($44 for the application and one year). It lasts one year and can be renewed no more than six times ($64 each). Supervised hours count only while you hold it, under a Michigan-licensed master's social worker with the same designation (clinical, macro or both).
Training required of every applicant: a human trafficking training that meets Michigan's rule, and 2 hours of implicit bias training within the five years before the license is issued. A criminal background check follows the online application.
Supervised experience:4,000 hours of post-degree supervised social work experience in the area of the designation you want; each Michigan supervisor sends the board a Supervisor's Verification of Social Work Experience form.
The exam: the ASWB Clinical exam for the clinical designation or the ASWB Advanced Generalist exam for the macro designation, with scores sent directly from ASWB. Michigan does not accept the Masters exam.
LMSW: the Master's Social Work License by exam costs $99; it renews every three years with 45 CE hours (including ethics, human trafficking and pain management) and implicit bias training. All requirements must be finished within 2 years of applying, or the fee is forfeited.
LBSW: a CSWE-accredited BSW, 4,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience at the bachelor's level, and the ASWB Bachelors exam; $99.
The steps that hold nearly everywhere: a CSWE-accredited degree, your board's approval (or ASWB's, in a few states), the ASWB exam at the level your license needs, then the license. Every ASWB level has 122 questions (110 scored) in 4 hours; Bachelors and Masters cost $230, Advanced Generalist and Clinical $260, and you wait at least 90 days to retake (ASWB Examination Guidebook, August 2026). A passing score counts in every state for the same exam level. The full walk-through: How to get your social work license.