Authority, credentials, and scope
Regulator, governing authority, credential names, regulated titles, scope boundaries, exemptions, and prohibited activities.
Social-work board and credential levels
Published research · ConfirmedThe State Board of Social Work Examiners administers the SWC, LSW, LCSW, and provisional social-work routes.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- No separate future date recorded
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11
Application and practice status
Application, education, examination, background check, fees, temporary authority, endorsement, and supervised versus independent practice.
LSW and LCSW are not interchangeable
Published research · ConfirmedA social-work license title does not by itself establish clinical independence; the LCSW scope, supervision, and payer rules must be distinguished from LSW and candidate practice.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- No separate future date recorded
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11
Supervision and workforce evidence
Supervisor qualifications, written agreements, settings, hours, reporting, license verification, and hiring or credentialing evidence.
Candidate registration matters for supervised hours
Published research · ConfirmedClinical post-degree experience generally must be accumulated under the SWC or another status DORA expressly recognizes for the hours to count.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- No separate future date recorded
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11
Cross-border and practice structure
Telehealth location rules, registration, compact privileges, ownership, entity naming, fee sharing, and multidisciplinary practice.
SWC permits now point to December 31, 2027
Published research · ConfirmedDORA revised active SWC permits to expire December 31, 2027 and identifies renewal as available at that time.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- No separate future date recorded
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11
Client-facing operations and records
Disclosure, consent, telehealth, emergencies, advertising, confidentiality, access, retention, minors, subpoenas, closure, fees, billing, and termination.
Colorado offers out-of-state telehealth registration
Published research · ConfirmedA qualifying out-of-state social worker may apply for Colorado telehealth registration but must follow Colorado standards, disclosure, emergency, and remote-only limitations.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- 2026-01-01
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11
Maintenance, complaints, and monitoring
Renewal, continuing education, audits, inactive status, reinstatement, complaints, discipline, effective dates, exclusions, and unresolved interpretations.
Social Work Compact multistate licenses are not yet available
Enacted, not operational · ConfirmedColorado enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, but the compact commission reports that multistate licenses are not yet available.
- Applies to
- Use for SWC, LSW, LCSW, Provisional Social Worker research in CO.
- Known exclusions
- A payer, facility, employer, local government, or another professional board may impose additional requirements.
- Effective date
- No separate future date recorded
- Fact checked
- 2026-08-11