Iowa Social Work Licensure

One role the NASW Iowa Chapter assumes is the monitoring of licensure of Iowa social workers. The Chapter continues to advocate on behalf of the profession, and strives to assure ethical practice in Iowa.


Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals

The entity responsible for all aspects of social work licensing in Iowa is the Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals. Their contact information is:

Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals


Phone: (515) 281-4422




For information on what qualifies as CEUs for social workers in the state of Iowa go to

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/rule/03-11-2020.645.281.3.pdf

For information on Supervision:

Board of Social Work Supervision Plan Form
Board of Social Work Supervision Report Form

License Exam Preparation Course

Annually, the Iowa Chapter hosts a Licensure Examination Preparation Course, generally in the month of March.
Key highlights from the training include:

  • Targets the latest requirements by ASWB
  • Overview of Test Construction
  • Standardized Test Taking Strategy
  • Assessment, Diagnosis, Social Work Intervention Strategy
  • Models & Methods of Social Work Practice
  • Human Growth & Development Issues
  • Social Work Values & Ethics
  • Minority Issues
  • Research & Supervision

The NASW Iowa Chapter does have a relationship with an on-line provider, known as PassitPro.  In full disclosure, NASW IA does receive a $30 portion of the proceeds for any registration that comes from the state of Iowa. (So using this provider supports the NASW IA Chapter! ) 

This provider comes highly recommended from our colleagues in Ohio.  

Click here to visit:  PassItPro


Supervision Resources

The Iowa Chapter is currently offering Supervision Training. The initial training is a one-day, 6.0 CEU course.  All LISWs, LMHCs or LMFTs providing clinical supervision to LMSWs, LMHC-Ts or LMFT-Ts working towards their full clinical license must initially take a 6.0 hours class or have taken an equivalent supervision class during graduate school. 

Highlights of the training:

  • Discuss the purpose, role, and functions of Supervision;
  • Theories and models of supervision;
  • Oversight and guidance of supervisees who diagnose, create treatment plans, and treat clients;
  • Individual and group supervision facilitation;
  • Parallel process and the importance of modeling strengths-based principles in supervision;
  • Ethical issues that arise in supervision;
  • Cross-cultural supervision practices;
  • A review of recent literature regarding the practice of supervision in social work.

The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals is maintaining a list of behavioral health professionals who complete this training and are available for supervision services.

Visit the Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals website for further details and to access the list: 


Please note that supervisors are on this list upon their request; they have not been vetted by NASW-IA in any way.

Additionally, NASW Iowa Chapter has developed several 3 hours classes for supervisors.  All supervisors working with LMSWs working towards their LISW must initially take a 6.0 hours class and then 3.0 hour supervision classes every licensure period there after.  Go to the Calendar page for the classes that we have scheduled. 

As of now, we are offering these classes as live-webinars.  We generally offer on in-person 6.0 class per year. We intend to record these webinars so they can be watched on-demand.  

Association of Social Work Board

The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) is the association of regulatory boards for the social work profession. The ASWB is also responsible for the development and implementation of social work licensure exams used in most states in the United States. Additionally, the organization is a resource for legal regulation of the social work profession. 

The Council on Social Work Education

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association representing over 3,000 individual members as well as 158 graduate and 453 undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States.