When can I apply for my NY LCSW?

When three things are true: at least 2,000 client-contact hours, at least 100 hours of supervision, and at least 36 months of supervised experience, all within six years.

• At least 2,000 hours of client contact in diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment planning, over a continuous period of at least 36 months and not more than 72 months (8 NYCRR 74.3; NYSED's FAQ). The months are a floor of their own: finishing the hours sooner still means waiting for month 36.
• At least 100 hours of face-to-face individual or group clinical supervision, which may be by secure video, distributed appropriately over the whole period (8 NYCRR 74.6).
• Experience in New York must be gained as a licensed master social worker (LMSW) or as a limited permit holder, except in limited circumstances (8 NYCRR 74.3). The LMSW limited permit lasts up to 12 months and can't be renewed. NYSED decides whether weeks before your LMSW count, so the calculator shows your date both ways, as the app does.
• It assumes the same hours every week from now on. Weeks off, a lighter stretch or a gap between jobs move your date later. In the app, a gap between jobs doesn't count toward the months, and the six-year limit keeps running through it.
• It counts the six years from the Monday of the week you started, as the app does: the safer reading. It doesn't check your supervisor, your setting, or what your hours were spent on.
• After the requirements are met come NYSED's review of your application and the ASWB Clinical exam. NYSED publishes no timeline for its reviews, and it decides every application.

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Sources

• 8 NYCRR 74.3, experience requirements (opens in a new tab)
• 8 NYCRR 74.6, supervision requirements (opens in a new tab)
• NYSED: social work licensure FAQ (opens in a new tab)
• NYSED: LCSW license requirements (opens in a new tab)