In Illinois a person must be licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to practice social work. Licensure as a clinical social worker requires:

• a master's degree in social work from an approved program and 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience; or,
• a doctoral degree in social work from an approved program and 2,000 hours of supervised clinical experience;
• payment of a fee; and,
• passage of an exam.

Licensure as a social worker requires an applicant to have:

• a degree from an approved masters program of social work; or,
• a degree from an approved undergraduate program and completion of at least three years of supervised professional experience;
• payment of a fee; and,
• passage of an exam.

Licensure must be renewed every two years and requires 30 hours of continuing education.

Additional licensing information can be obtained from: