Section 3: Membership of the Institute.

(1) Members of the Institute shall be drawn from diverse discipline in areas of social work and related matters including community development, adult education, sociology, psychology and medical social welfare.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person admitted as a member of the Institute shall-
(a) possess adequate interest, knowledge and understanding of social work and related matters; and
(b) be registered as a member in any of the categories of -
(i) Fellow,
(ii) Full Member,
(iii) Member, or
(iv) Associate Member.
(3) A person registered under this Act as a member of the Institute is entitled to be enrolled as-
(a) a Fellow, if he satisfies the Council that he-
(i) holds an approved academic qualification,
(ii) has been an Associate Member of the Institute for at least five years,
(iii) has attended all mandatory continuous professional programmes, seminars and symposia organised by the Institute,
(iv) has paid all the Institute's annual subscription, dues and levies, and
(v) has been in continuous active practice on his own account as a social work practitioner, employee or in partnership with other social workers;
(b) as a Full Member, if he-
(i) has passed all the stages of the Institute examination and inducted, and
(ii) is a fit and proper person to be enrolled as Full Member; and
(c) as an Associate Member if he-
(i) is enrolled as a student of the Institute,
(ii) has satisfied the Council that he is a fit and proper person to be enrolled as Associate Member.
(4) The Institute may register a member as an Honorary Fellow or Corporate Member.
(5) An Honorary Fellow shall be a person who has-
(i) been in continuous employment of a reputable organisation as a social worker for at least 15 years preceding the date of his application or nomination to the Institute for registration as an honorary fellow, or
(ii) contributed to human capacity development in Nigeria and is an employer of labour with knowledge of social work.
(6) Corporate membership shall consist of Ministries, Departments, Agencies or companies which-
(a) are in a functional working relationship with the Institute,
(b) at the date of application, employ at least 25 persons,
(c) has been licensed to carry out a business with high corporate social content in Nigeria in the case of a company, and
(d) satisfied any other condition which the Council may approve :
Provided that corporate membership shall be conferred at the discretion of the Council and that admission shall not confer automatic professional membership of the Institute on any member of the company or organisation.
(7) A corporate member shall ensure that its employees are registered with the Institute to promote ethical standards and self-regulation in social work practice.
(8) A person shall, when enrolled or registered, as the case may be, receive a certificate in such form as the Council may approve for the purpose.
(9) Every member is required to attend a number of mandatory training programs as may be specified by the Council which shall serve as a prerequisite for upgrading and recertification.