Start with license readiness
Your license type determines whether you can practice independently, need supervision, or should launch inside a group practice first. Confirm the current rules with the state board before accepting clients.
This table is a launch-readiness starting point, not a substitute for current board review.
| Credential | Independent practice? | Supervision issue? | Entity/business note | Bomi relevance | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCSW | Generally yes, once the full Montana LCSW license is active. | Montana law requires, among other items, a qualifying social work degree, 3,000 hours of supervised work experience, and passage of the required exam. Montana law also states that a clinical social work licensee may engage in independent practice as defined by board rule. | Good candidate for solo or group launch once license, NPI, CAQH, W-9, entity, bank, EHR, clearinghouse, and payer records match. | Strong fit for CAQH cleanup, payer enrollment, EFT/ERA, claim setup, eligibility, denials, and revenue workflow support. | Montana social work licensure statute |
| SWLC / LCSW Candidate | No independent solo-practice launch. Treat as a supervised path. | Montana candidates must have an approved training and supervision plan, complete supervised work, pass the required exam, and apply for full licensure to keep practicing. Candidate supervision must meet Montana supervisor-qualification rules. | Do not create payer-facing solo-practice assumptions for SWLCs. Use supervised or group-practice framing and verify payer rules. | Bomi may help if a supervised group billing model is payer-ready, but independent payer enrollment should wait until the correct licensure path is clear. | Montana Board of Behavioral Health checklist |
| LMSW | Not the same as LCSW independent clinical practice. | Montana distinguishes master's social work from clinical social work. The checklist path for LMSW includes supervised experience and the ASWB Master's exam; independent clinical practice language belongs to the clinical social work license. | Use caution before positioning LMSW as a solo independent clinical therapy launch credential. Confirm scope, payer rules, and supervision requirements. | Bomi can support credentialing and payer workflows only after the practice model and payer rules are clear. | Montana behavioral health definitions |
| SWLM / LMSW Candidate | No independent solo-practice launch. Treat as a supervised path. | Candidate practice should remain tied to the active candidate license, supervision plan, and board requirements until full licensure. | Use supervised or group-practice language. | Bomi support depends on the supervising practice's payer and billing structure. | Montana Board of Behavioral Health checklist |
| LCPC | Generally yes, once the full Montana LCPC license is active. | Montana law requires a qualifying counseling degree, 3,000 hours of supervised work experience, and passage of the required exam. The Board checklist references NCE or NCMHCE exam pathways. | Good candidate for solo or group launch once license, entity, NPI, CAQH, W-9, malpractice, EHR, clearinghouse, and bank records are aligned. | Strong fit for credentialing, payer enrollment tracking, claim testing, denial follow-up, and revenue reporting. | Montana counseling licensure statute |
| PCLC / LCPC Candidate | No independent solo-practice launch. Treat as a supervised path. | Montana candidate rules require supervision; eligible supervisors include active, good-standing Montana licensees in the listed disciplines who meet experience or supervision-training requirements. | Do not imply a PCLC can open a solo independent practice. Verify payer rules for candidate services. | Bomi may support a supervised group workflow, but payer enrollment depends on payer-specific rules. | Montana Board of Behavioral Health checklist |
| LMFT | Generally yes, once the full Montana LMFT license is active. | Montana law requires qualifying education, passage of the exam, and 3,000 hours of direct supervised experience, including at least 1,000 hours of face-to-face client contact. | Good candidate for payer launch once license, entity, NPI, CAQH, W-9, bank, EHR, and clearinghouse records match. | Strong fit for payer credentialing, commercial payer follow-up, EFT/ERA, claims, denials, and recredentialing tracking. | Montana LMFT licensure statute |
| MFLC / LMFT Candidate | No independent solo-practice launch. Treat as a supervised path. | Candidate practice should remain supervised until the candidate completes the required experience, exam, and full licensure process. | Use supervised or group-practice language; do not create independent payer setup assumptions. | Bomi can support a group's payer workflow if the group, supervisor, payer, and billing structure are compliant. | Montana Board of Behavioral Health checklist |
| Licensed Psychologist | Generally yes, once the Montana psychologist license is active. | Montana's psychologist materials describe a doctoral pathway, supervised professional experience, EPPP, and Montana jurisdictional course requirements. | Confirm Board license status before payer applications. Align license, NPI, CAQH, W-9, entity or sole-proprietor details, bank, EHR, and clearinghouse records. | Strong fit for credentialing, commercial payer enrollment, Medicaid workflow, claims, denials, and revenue operations. | Montana Board of Psychologists |
| Postdoctoral psychology supervisee / pre-licensed psychologist | No independent solo-practice launch. | Montana psychology supervision rules state that solo private practice does not qualify for supervised experience, the supervisee must be an employee, and the supervisee may not bill independently. | Do not create independent solo payer enrollment assumptions for psychology supervisees. | Bomi support depends on the supervising practice's payer and billing structure. | Montana psychology postdoctoral supervision |