Clinical Supervision Requirements in Mississippi

Licensing Board Overview

Mississippi regulates mental health professions through two primary boards. Social workers and marriage and family therapists are governed by the Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists, while counselors are governed by the State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors.

LCSW: Licensed Certified Social Worker (Mississippi)

Mississippi's LCSW is governed by the Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists Rules, Part 1902, Chapter 2. In Mississippi, LCSW stands for Licensed Certified Social Worker. Candidates hold a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) credential while accruing supervised experience under a board-approved plan. Since September 1, 2026, a temporary rule requires LCSW candidates to meet current LMSW qualifications.

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Total supervised experience: At least 24 consecutive months of supervision, completed within 36 months. The board may grant an extension of up to 6 months
• Direct client contact: At least 1,000 hours of face-to-face client contact
• Supervision hours: At least 100 hours, with at least 1 hour of face-to-face supervision a week. No more than 25 hours may be by audio or video
• Individual and group: Individual supervision allows up to 2 supervisees. Group supervision is 3 to 7 supervisees. The board's rule, guide and contract form state the individual share differently, so confirm with the board how much may be group
• Approval first: The board does not approve supervision retroactively. Only up to 4 hours spent building the supervision plan count before approval
• Exam: The "clinical social worker" title requires the ASWB Clinical Examination. Confirm the exam for your path with the board

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Mississippi LCSW license and be a board-approved LCSW supervisor
• Must have at least 2 years of practice at the LCSW level
• Must complete a 16-hour board-approved supervisor training course and pass the supervisor test
• May supervise no more than 7 supervisees at a time

LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor (Mississippi)

Mississippi's LPC is governed by the State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors Rules, Title 30, Part 2201, Chapter 4. Candidates hold a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (P-LPC) credential while accruing hours. Supervised hours count only as a P-LPC under an LPC-S, with a supervision contract on file. The P-LPC can be renewed for up to 4 years.

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Total supervised experience: 3,000 hours of supervised experience, earned within the 7 years before you apply
• Direct client contact: At least 1,200 hours must be direct client contact
• Timeframe: Must be completed over a minimum of 18 months
• Supervision hours: At least 100 hours of individual (one-to-one) supervision. Group supervision of 2 to 6 supervisees may count for up to 50 of those hours
• Monthly minimum: At least 2 hours of supervision each calendar month (Rule 4.3, amended in 2026)
• Practice site: A government-governed site, or another site with an LPC on the premises, recorded on a Declaration of Practice. File a new declaration each time your site or supervisor changes
• Exam: NCE (National Counselor Examination) or NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination)

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Mississippi LPC license
• Must have at least 5 years of practice, at least 2 of them after licensure
• Must hold the LPC-S designation (formerly called Board Qualified Supervisor, or BQS)
• Must complete a 45-hour graduate course or board-approved supervision training, or hold the NBCC Approved Clinical Supervisor credential
• May supervise no more than 10 active supervisees, and may not supervise relatives or anyone in a dual relationship

LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Mississippi)

Mississippi's LMFT is governed by the Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists Rules, Part 1903, Chapter 2 (Rule 2.2). Candidates may hold a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Associate (LMFTA) credential while accruing hours, but the LMFTA is not required to earn post-graduate experience. Supervision must follow a Plan of Supervision approved by the board, and no more than 4 supervision hours count before approval.

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Total supervised experience: Minimum of 2 years of post-degree experience in an agency, institution or group practice. An LMFTA must practice in an agency setting
• Direct client contact: At least 1,000 hours of direct client contact. The current rules set no separate post-degree minimum for work with couples or families
• Supervision hours: 200 hours, at least 50 of them individual, averaging 1 hour a week or 2 hours every two weeks over at least 24 and no more than 36 consecutive months. Up to 100 supervision hours from your graduate program count toward the 200
• Individual and group: A supervision hour is 50 minutes. Individual supervision allows up to 2 supervisees, and group supervision is 3 to 8
• Supervisor credentials: At least 100 hours must be with an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. No more than half of the 100 post-graduate supervision hours may come from out-of-state supervision
• Exam: AMFTRB National Examination

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Mississippi LMFT license and be a Board Approved Supervisor
• Must have at least 4 consecutive years at the LMFT level, or 2 years of licensure for an AAMFT Approved Supervisor
• Must complete a 24-contact-hour board-approved supervisor course
• May supervise no more than 8 supervisees at a time

Mississippi-Specific Details

LPC-S (Formerly Board Qualified Supervisor)

Mississippi requires LPC supervisors to obtain the LPC-S designation, formerly called the Board Qualified Supervisor (BQS) credential, before they can provide clinical supervision. This requires an application process and significant training (a 45-hour course or board-approved training) beyond standard licensure.

Provisional Licensure

Mississippi utilizes a provisional licensure system for counselors (P-LPC) and associate licensure for MFTs (LMFTA). Counseling hours count only while you hold the P-LPC. MFT candidates do not need the LMFTA to accrue post-graduate experience, but their supervision must be under a board-approved plan.

More Than One Supervisor

For MFT, the board permits two concurrent supervisors as long as each has a Plan of Supervision approved by the board. Each supervisor documents only the supervision they provided, and work hours are verified per practice site by the site's director or supervisor. Changing supervisors needs a Termination of Supervision form and board approval of the new plan.

For counseling, each supervisor completes Form B for each work setting. Individual supervision by more than one supervisor for the same client hours, at the same site and in the same period, is not accepted. For social work, the rules describe one LCSW supervisor at a time, with a termination form and new contract when you change.

Forms, Logs and Notarization

Counselors log supervision weekly in the counseling board's online Supervision Reporting Log, and the LPC-S verifies it. Social work candidates keep a Supervisory Documentation Log, with each supervision meeting's date, time and topic initialed by both supervisee and supervisor. It is submitted with each of four six-month evaluations, and each evaluation must be approved before the next period starts. Several forms must be notarized, including MFT supervision and supervisor applications, social work supervisor employer verifications and paper counseling Form B.

Virtual Supervision in Mississippi

The rules differ by license. For counseling, distance supervision must be secure, synchronous video, provided by an LPC-S designated for distance professional services. For MFT, supervision by secure video counts as face-to-face. For social work, no more than 25 of the 100 supervision hours may be by audio or video.

Key Mississippi Board Contact Information

• Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists: swmft.ms.gov
• State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors: lpc.ms.gov

How to Become a Clinical Supervisor in Mississippi

Supervisor requirements in Mississippi vary by discipline, with LPCs requiring the most extensive experience (5 years, including 2 after licensure) and training (45 hours). Always confirm current standards with the respective board.

Becoming an LCSW Supervisor

• Hold an active Mississippi LCSW license
• Complete at least 2 years of practice at the LCSW level
• Complete a 16-hour board-approved supervisor training course and pass the supervisor test
• Submit the LCSW supervisor application to the Board, including a notarized employer verification
• Complete 2 hours of supervision continuing education every 2 years

Becoming an LPC-S

• Hold an active Mississippi LPC license
• Complete at least 5 years of practice, including at least 2 years after licensure
• Complete a 45-hour graduate course or board-approved supervisor training, or hold the NBCC Approved Clinical Supervisor credential
• Submit the application for the LPC-S designation to the LPC Board
• To supervise by video, hold the board's distance professional services designation (BC-TMH or 9 hours of training)

Becoming an LMFT Supervisor

• Hold an active Mississippi LMFT license
• Complete at least 4 consecutive years at the LMFT level (2 years of licensure for AAMFT Approved Supervisors)
• Complete a 24-contact-hour board-approved supervisor course
• Submit the notarized supervisor application to the Board
• Complete 2 hours of supervision continuing education every 2 years

Mississippi-Specific Considerations

• Pending MFT rules: A rewrite of the MFT rules proposed on July 6, 2026 would add 200 relational hours, allow group-practice settings, require Mississippi-resident supervisors, and require a revised plan within 30 days of an employment change. It was not final at our last review
• Interstate compacts: Mississippi is a member of the Counseling Compact (HB 1056, effective July 1, 2022) and the Social Work Licensure Compact (SB 2727, effective July 1, 2025). There is no MFT compact

How Guidara Helps Mississippi Supervisors

Guidara keeps your supervision records in one place: hour logs by category, signed supervision notes, and approved timesheets. It exports PDF records you can use when completing the boards' forms or entering hours in the counseling board's online log. Guidara does not file anything with the boards, and notarized forms still need a notary. Everything is stored digitally with timestamps and audit trails.