LCSW vs LPC: Which License Should You Pursue?

If you want to provide therapy, you're almost certainly choosing between two licenses: the LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) and the LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). Both let you diagnose mental health conditions, provide psychotherapy, and practice independently. Both require a master's degree, a licensing exam, and thousands of hours of supervised clinical experience.

But the paths to get there are different, and the practical implications — insurance panel access, government employment, career flexibility, and earning potential — diverge in ways that matter. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to make a genuinely informed decision.

Education: MSW vs Master's in Counseling

The LCSW requires a Master of Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited program. Most MSW programs are 60 credits and take two years. If you already have a BSW, you can often complete an advanced standing MSW in about one year. The curriculum splits time between clinical coursework and generalist social work foundations — policy, advocacy, community organizing, and systems theory. You'll complete 900+ hours of supervised field placement.

The LPC requires a Master's in Counseling or Clinical Mental Health Counseling from a CACREP-accredited program. CACREP programs require 60 credits and take two to three years. The curriculum is clinical from the start — counseling theories, therapeutic techniques, assessment, diagnosis, group counseling. You'll complete at least 700 hours of clinical practicum and internship.

The practical difference: counseling students spend more time learning therapy skills during the degree itself. MSW students get broader exposure to the social work profession, with clinical depth coming in the second year and during post-degree supervised practice.

Licensing Exams

LCSW candidates take the ASWB Clinical Exam — 170 multiple-choice questions over four hours. First-time pass rates run 70-85% depending on the program and demographics.

LPC candidates take either the NCE (National Counselor Examination) or the NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination), depending on state requirements. The NCE has a 91-92% first-time pass rate and tests general counseling knowledge. The NCMHCE is considerably harder — 11 clinical case simulations with a 66-77% first-time pass rate.

Supervised Hours After Graduation

Both licenses require post-degree supervised clinical experience before you can practice independently. The requirements are roughly comparable:

• LCSW: Typically 3,000-4,000 hours of supervised clinical practice over a minimum of two years, plus 100-150 hours of direct clinical supervision.
• LPC: Typically 2,000-4,000 hours (most states require 3,000) over a minimum of two years.

State variation is significant for both licenses. Always check your state licensing board's specific requirements before choosing a program.

Salary Comparison

The BLS reports a median salary of $61,330 for all social workers and $55,960 for mental health and substance abuse social workers specifically. Mental health counselors earn a median of $59,190.

At the agency level, salaries are remarkably similar — and, frankly, low for the education required. Starting agency pay for both credentials typically ranges from $40,000 to $48,000. The real salary differentiation happens in private practice, where both LCSWs and LPCs can earn $80,000-$120,000+ depending on caseload, specialty, and market.

Job Growth

This is where the numbers diverge sharply. The BLS projects 17% job growth for counselors through 2034 — nearly three times the 6% projected for social workers. The counseling profession is expanding rapidly, driven by expanded insurance coverage, telehealth adoption, and legislative recognition like the 2024 Medicare billing change.

That said, social workers are employed in far more settings — hospitals, VA facilities, schools, child welfare, and government agencies — so the raw number of job openings is larger even with slower percentage growth.

Insurance Panels and Medicare

This has historically been the biggest practical difference between the two licenses, and it's worth understanding why.

LCSWs have been eligible to bill Medicare since 1989. For decades, this gave LCSWs a structural advantage in private practice — if you couldn't bill Medicare, you couldn't serve a significant portion of the population.

LPCs could not bill Medicare at all until January 1, 2024. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 finally added LPCs and LMFTs as Medicare-eligible providers. This was a massive change after years of advocacy.

Today, both credentials are reimbursed at 75% of the psychologist rate for the same CPT codes — roughly $115.72 for a 60-minute individual therapy session (CPT 90837). The rates are identical.

However, the real-world advantage for LCSWs persists in insurance panel credentialing. It is generally easier for an LCSW to get credentialed on commercial insurance panels than an LPC. This isn't about reimbursement rates — it's about getting accepted in the first place. Panels that are "closed" to new LPCs may still accept LCSWs.

VA and Government Employment

If working for the federal government, military, or VA system is on your radar, the LCSW has a clear advantage. The VA is the largest employer of master's-prepared social workers in the nation, with over 18,000 social workers in the system. LPCs weren't even eligible for VA employment until 2006, and hiring numbers remain much lower.

Federal job listings for mental health positions disproportionately favor the LCSW credential. Hospital systems and healthcare organizations also tend to prefer LCSWs, partly because of longer institutional familiarity with the credential.

Career Flexibility

This is the argument that MSW advocates make most often — and it holds up. The MSW opens doors beyond therapy: case management, hospital discharge planning, school social work, child welfare, policy, program administration, community organizing. If you decide therapy isn't for you (or you need a break from clinical work), you have options.

The LPC credential is narrower. It's designed for counseling and therapy. If you love doing therapy and know that's what you want long-term, this isn't a downside — the focused clinical training is actually an advantage. But if you're uncertain, the MSW provides a wider safety net.

Interstate Portability

Both professions are working on interstate compacts to make practicing across state lines easier:

• Counseling Compact: 37 states plus D.C. have enacted legislation as of early 2026. The compact is further along in implementation.
• Social Work Licensure Compact: 28 states have adopted it, with full rollout anticipated in 2026.

Currently, the LPC has a portability edge. But keep in mind that both professions use different titles in different states (LPC, LPCC, LCPC, LMHC for counselors; LCSW, LICSW, LISW for social workers), which creates confusion regardless of compacts.

Scope of Practice: What's Actually Different?

On paper, the scope of practice is nearly identical: both LCSWs and LPCs can provide psychotherapy, assess and diagnose mental health disorders, develop treatment plans, and practice independently after full licensure.

The philosophical difference matters more than the legal one. LCSWs are trained to see clients within the context of their social systems — family dynamics, housing stability, access to resources, community supports. LPCs are trained to focus on the individual's psychological experience — therapeutic techniques, inner patterns, cognitive restructuring.

In practice, experienced clinicians of both types often converge on similar approaches. But the training lens shapes how you think about problems, and that lens stays with you.

Which Should You Choose?

There is no universally "better" license. The right choice depends on your specific goals:

Choose the MSW/LCSW path if:

• You want maximum career flexibility beyond therapy
• You're interested in VA, military, hospital, or government employment
• You want easier insurance panel credentialing in private practice
• You value systems-level thinking about client problems
• You already have a BSW and can complete an advanced standing MSW in one year

Choose the counseling/LPC path if:

• You know you want to do therapy and you want more clinical training during the degree itself
• You prioritize the Counseling Compact's stronger interstate portability
• You're entering a field with 17% projected job growth
• You want to start clinical work from day one of your graduate program

The most honest advice from practitioners who've been through it: if you want only to do therapy, counseling programs prepare you better clinically. If you want options, go MSW. Program quality matters more than credential type — a strong MSW from a top program will outperform a weak counseling degree from an unaccredited school, and vice versa.

Compare Programs

Ready to explore your options? Browse our ranked program lists:

• Best Online MSW Programs — CSWE-accredited programs ranked by outcomes, affordability, and clinical training
• Best Online Counseling Programs — CACREP-accredited programs ranked for aspiring LPCs
• Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Salary Guide — detailed pay data by state, experience, and employer
• Mental Health Counselor Salary Guide — salary breakdowns for LPCs across settings