How to Find a Licensed Social Worker

An Online Resource from OnlineMSWPrograms.com

Social workers help people solve everyday problems from life changing events like adopting a child to coping with a loss or terminal illness. We know how important it is for people to find the help they need during difficult times, so we created an online resource to help people find social workers in their area. We have compiled a list of health services agencies and other community resources for all 381 metropolitan areas in the United States (over 500 cities). In addition, we have included links to State Health and Human Service Agencies for people who live in rural areas and do not have a local health services agency.

In order to practice in the United States, clinical social workers must be licensed. At the bottom of the page, we have compiled a list of all state specific Social Work Licensing Boards, which are responsible for protecting the public by regulating and licensing social workers. Each state provides a license verification search tool that can be used to confirm a social worker’s license is active and valid. We have included links to the license verification tools for each state in the table.

Local health services agencies provide services to people in need. Depending on the agency, these services could include: helping individuals with child care needs, employment and job training, food assistance programs, family and child services, helping seniors and adults with disabilities, housing and homeless services, community preparedness, veterans services, and more.

Read more on different Social Issues and How Social Workers Help.

Web Resources

Find Health Services

Verify a License

Resources on the Web for Finding a Licensed Clinical Social Worker

National Resources for Finding a Clinical Social Worker

a. Help Starts Here: The Social Worker Finder search tool was created in 2005 with a partnership between the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and HelpPro. The search tool now has over 5,000 clinical social workers and allows individuals to search by location, specialty, patient age group, expertise with specific populations (for example: cancer patients, suffers of chronic illnesses, veterans…) and whether or not the provider accepts insurance.

b. American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABE): The ABE offers an advanced certification for clinical social workers. The Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (BCD) is a national certification that social workers can pursue in addition to their required state license. BCD certified clinical social workers have to meet minimum qualifications in terms of the number of years and hours of practice (at least five years / 7,500 hours post graduation from a MSW program), and are also required to complete a minimum number of hours of continuing education classes.

State Specific Resources for Finding a Clinical Social Worker

a. The Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work’s Therapist Finder System: For individuals who live in Washington DC or Maryland, the Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work (GWSCSW) has a search tool with close to 400 licensed clinical social workers. Individuals can search by access needs (e.g. close to public transportation), types of insurance accepted, language preferences, areas of specialization (e.g. medical issues, adoption, career and work related issues), and more.

b. The Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals in Georgia, the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW) has a search tool with over 240 licensed clinical social workers. Individuals can search by name, location, and specialty.

c. The North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals who live in North Carolina, the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work (NCSCSW) has a search tool with close to 240 members. Individuals can search by name, age group served, and specialty.

d. The Missouri Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals in Missouri, the Missouri Society for Clinical Social Work has a directory of over 75 licensed clinical social workers. Individuals can browse by area of specialization and whether or not the provider accepts insurance.

e. The California Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals in California, the California Society for Clinical Social Work has a search tool with over 950 clinical social workers. Individuals can perform a simple or advanced search with the option to search by city, name, and therapy focus.

f. Alabama Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals in Alabama, the Alabama Society for Clinical Social Work has a directory of approximately 30 clinical social workers. Individuals can filter by specialty and location.

g. The New York State Society for Clinical Social Work: For individuals in New York, the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work (NYSSCSW) has a search tool with over 825 clinical social workers. Individuals can search by city, zip code, specialty, age group served, and by type of insurance accepted.

h. The Louisiana Association of Clinical Social Workers: For individuals in Louisiana, Tte Louisiana Association of Clinical Social Workers (LACSW) has a directory of approximately 30 clinical social workers. Individuals can filter the directory by city, age group served, therapeutic specializations, and work schedule.

 

Find a Local Health Services Agency

Search for both city and state health services agencies using the search box at the top of the table. The list of agencies also includes community resources and private facilities*. If no results are returned for your city, try expanding your search to the county or state level.

Coming Soon

If you manage a health services agency or a community resource that employs social workers and want to be added to our online resource, please use our contact us form to submit your information.

*Please note: OnlineMSWPrograms.com does not endorse, authenticate, represent, or take any responsibility for the information or services provided by the agencies, community resources and/or private facilities listed in the table above. In addition, OnlineMSWPrograms.com is not responsible or liable for acts and/or omissions of these health services agencies or the therapists employed by these agencies.

 

Social Worker License and Verification by State

State specific Social Work Licensing Boards are responsible for protecting the public by regulating and licensing health services professionals including social workers. All practicing social workers need to be licensed in their state of practice. The following table contains links to state specific licensing databases that one can use to confirm a social worker is actively licensed. Some of the search tools are specific to social workers, while others can be used to verify all types of healthcare professionals. To make it easy to look up a social worker’s license, we have included the relevant professions in the table below as each state uses a different classification for social workers.

Social Worker License and Verification by State
STATE STATE LICENSING BOARD WEBSITE RELEVANT PROFESSIONS / SEARCH CATEGORIES SOCIAL WORKERS IN STATE*
Alabama Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners Social Worker Specific Search 7,280
Alaska Board of Social Work Examiners Board of Social Work Examiners Social Workers (Board Code: CSW) 2,400
Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners Board of Behavioral Health Examiners License Type: Social Work 11,520
Arkansas Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board Social Worker Specific Search 3,920
California Board of Behavioral Sciences Board of Behavioral Sciences Limited to Behavioral Sciences Professionals including Social Workers 63,270
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies - Division of Professions and Occupations Department of Regulatory Agencies - Division of Professions and Occupations Social Work: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (CSW), Social Work: Licensed Social Worker (LSW), Social Work: Provisional Social Worker (SWP) 9,660
Connecticut Department of Public Health Department of Public Health Licensed Clinical Social Worker 10,560
Delaware Board of Clinical Social Work Examiners Board of Clinical Social Work Examiners Social Work Examiners 1,890
District of Columbia Department of Health - Board of Social Work Department of Health - Board of Social Work Social Work 3,020
Florida Florida Department of Health - Division of Medical Quality Assurance Florida Department of Health - Division of Medical Quality Assurance Certified Master Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Provisional Clinical Social Worker Licensee, Registered Clinical Social Worker Intern 20,380
Georgia Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists Clinical Social Worker, Master Social Worker 12,230
Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Professional and Vocational Licensing Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Professional and Vocational Licensing Licensed Bachelor Social Worker (Code: LBSW), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Code: LCSW), Licensed Social Worker (Code: LSW) 3,050
Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses - Idaho Board of Social Work Examiners Bureau of Occupational Licenses - Idaho Board of Social Work Examiners Social Workers 2,690
Illinois Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation Social Worker, Social Worker - Clinical 25,020
Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board License Types: Clinical Social Worker, Social Worker 9,710
Iowa Bureau of Professional Licensure - Iowa Board of Social Work Bureau of Professional Licensure - Iowa Board of Social Work Social Workers 7,660
Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board Limited to Behavioral Sciences Professionals including Social Workers 3,590
Kentucky Kentucky Board of Social Work Kentucky Board of Social Work Social Worker Specific Search 10,410
Louisiana Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners Social Worker Specific Search 6,050
Maine State Board of Social Worker Licensure State Board of Social Worker Licensure Regulator: Social Workers 4,160
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners Social Worker Specific Search 11,760
Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) Social Worker 26,350
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Social Worker 20,440
Minnesota Minnesota Board of Social Work Minnesota Board of Social Work Social Worker Specific Search 10,810
Mississippi Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists Limited to Social Workers and Family Therapists 5,180
Missouri Missouri Division of Professional Registration - Committee for Social Workers Missouri Division of Professional Registration - Committee for Social Workers Social Workers: Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Advanced Macro Social Worker, Master Social Worker, Social Worker (Baccalaureate) 14,500
Montana Montana Board of Social Work Examiners and Professional Counselors Montana Board of Social Work Examiners and Professional Counselors Licensing Board: Social Worker; Licensing Type: Licensed Clin Social Worker 2,610
Nebraska Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services Individual - Mental Health Practice: Master Social Worker, Master Social Worker - CMSW, Provisional Master Social Worker, Provisional Mental Health Practitioner Social Worker 4,080
Nevada State of Nevada's Board of Examiners for Social Workers State of Nevada's Board of Examiners for Social Workers Social Worker Specific Search 3,960
New Hampshire New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice All Professions: Clinical Social Worker, Independent Clinical Social Worker 1,330
New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners State Board of Social Work Examiners Social Work Examiners 12,620
New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners Board of Social Work Examiners Social Work Examiners 4,580
New York New York State Education Department - Office of the Professions New York State Education Department - Office of the Professions LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Master Social Worker, LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker), Social Worker (LCSW), Social Worker (LMSW) 50,760
North Carolina North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board Social Worker Specific Search 18,670
North Dakota North Dakota State Board of Social Work Examiners North Dakota State Board of Social Work Examiners Social Worker Specific Search 1,230
Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board Counselor, Social Worker, & Marriage & Family Therapist 24,030
Oklahoma Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers Social Worker Specific Search 8,020
Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers Board of Licensed Social Workers Social Worker Specific Search 8,370
Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Profession: Social Work 34,790
Rhode Island Board of Social Work Examiners Board of Social Work Examiners Profession: Social Work 3,110
South Carolina S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Social Worker 9,040
South Dakota South Dakota Department of Social Services - Social Work Examiners South Dakota Department of Social Services - Social Work Examiners PDF with "List of Current Licensees" 2,360
Tennessee Department of Health - Board of Social Workers Department of Health - Board of Social Workers Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Master Social Worker 10,240
Texas Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners Specific License Type: Social Worker 29,140
Utah Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing Social Work 3,520
Vermont Office of Professional Regulation Office of Professional Regulation Social Worker 1,970
Virginia Virginia Board of Social Work Virginia Board of Social Work Occupation: Associate Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Social Worker, Registered Social Worker 13,490
Washington Washington State Department of Health Washington State Department of Health Social Worker Advanced License - LW, Social Worker Associate Advanced License - SA, Social Worker Associate Independent Clinical License - SC, Social Worker Certificate - SW, Social Worker Independent Clinical License - LW 11,700
West Virginia WV Board of Social Work Examiners WV Board of Social Work Examiners Social Worker Specific Search 3,860
Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services Social Worker, Social Worker - Advanced Practice, Social Worker - Independent, Social Worker - Licensed Clinical 9,460
Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board Mental Health Professions Licensing Board Certified Social Worker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Provisional Clinical Social Workers 1,260

 

*Total number of social workers in each state is based off of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov, May 2012) and is a combination of Child, Family, and School Social Workers, Healthcare Social Workers, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers, and Social Workers, All Other.