Addiction Counselor Requirements in Florida
Florida’s addiction counselors are committed to ensuring that those struggling with substance abuse disorder have the services and resources they need to find their own path toward recovery. Through evidence-based treatments and strategies, addiction counselors from the massive Miami metro area to Daytona Beach to St. Petersburg are helping countless Floridians reclaim their lives from addiction.
The Florida Certification Board certifies two levels of addiction counselors:
- Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC)
- Certified Addiction Professional (CAP)
The CAC is an intermediate credential for professionals who work alongside clinical staff, while the CAP is a senior credential reserved for professionals who provide direct clinical counseling. The CAP is recognized under Florida’s State Medicaid plan.
Select a Florida Addiction Counselor/Professional Topic Below…
- Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) Requirements
- Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) Requirements
- Application Process for Certification
- Additional Certifications
- Additional Information
Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) Requirements
The CAC credential allows you to work in collaboration with clinical staff and under the supervision of a CAP or other qualified professional to provide substance abuse treatment services.
Training/Education Requirements
To earn the CAC credential, you’ll need a high school diploma or the equivalent, along with:
270 hours of training distributed as follows:
- Clinical Evaluation: 25 hours
- Treatment Planning: 15 hours
- Counseling: 30 hours
- Case Management and Referral: 10 hours
- Client, Family and Community Education: 10 hours
- Documentation: 10 hours
- Ethical and Professional Responsibilities: 30 hours
- Understanding Addiction/Treatment Knowledge: 70 hours
- Application to Practice/Professional Readiness: 70 hours (must include at least four hours of HIV-AIDS and two hours of Domestic Violence)
All of the above training must have been completed through an FCB Approved Provider within the last 10 years.
Experience Requirements
You must also complete a period of experience; the required hours are dependent upon your highest level of education:
- High school/equivalent: 6,000 hours
- Associate’s/vocational degree in a related field or non-related bachelor’s degree: 5,000 hours
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field: 4,000 hours
- Master’s degree or higher in a related field: 2,000 hours
All experience must have occurred within the last five years; volunteer experiences and non-clinical internships do not count towards experience requirements.
*The FCB recognizes the following areas as being related to addiction counseling:
- Addiction Studies/Counseling
- Art/Dance Therapy
- Behavioral Healthcare
- Child Development/Family Relations
- Criminal Justice
- Counseling/Guidance
- Divinity/Religion/Theology (only with a concentration in counseling)
- Drama/Expressive Arts Therapy
- Gerontology
- Health Education
- Health Sciences
- Human Services
- Marriage and Family Counseling
- Medicine
- Mental Health Counseling
- Music Therapy
- Nursing
- Occupational Therapy
- Pastoral Counseling
- Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Recreational Therapy/Counseling
- Social Work
- Sociology
- Vocational Counseling
If your degree isn’t listed above, you can apply for a Degree Equivalency Review with the FCB.
On-the-Job Supervision Requirements
You must complete a period of on-the-job supervision in an individual or group setting; requirements are dependent upon your highest level of education:
- High school/equivalent: 300 hours
- Associate’s/vocational degree in a related field or non-related bachelor’s degree: 250 hours
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field: 200 hours
- Master’s degree or higher in a related field: 100 hours
Your on-the-job supervision hours must include at least 10 hours in each of the following areas:
- Clinical Evaluation
- Treatment Planning
- Counseling
- Case Management and Referral
- Client, Family and Community Education
- Documentation
- Ethical and Professional Responsibilities
Your on-the-job supervision period must be conducted by a qualified supervisor, identified as one of the following:
- Licensed physician or physician’s assistant
- Licensed advanced registered nurse practitioner
- Master’s Level Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP)
- Certified Addiction Professional (CAP)
All supervision must have occurred within the last five years.
Examination Requirement
You must take and pass the IC&RC’s Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) exam. You can purchase a study guide here.
Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) Requirements
The CAP credential is reserved for skilled professionals who offer counseling and related services to individuals affected by mental health conditions.
Education Requirements
To become a CAP, you must hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field. Related degrees must fall into one of two categories: (1) counseling degree fields (considered a Tier I pathway); or (2) behavioral health degree fields (considered a Tier II pathway).
You must document that you’ve completed content-specific training, either as part of your degree or outside of it. The number of hours of content-specific training varies according to the type of bachelor’s degree you earned:
- Counseling degree: 150 hours
- Behavioral health degree: 250 hours
Training must be broken down as follows:
- Understanding Addiction/Treatment Knowledge: 40 hours (counseling); 60 hours (behavioral health)
- Trauma-Informed Care: 7 hours (counseling); 7 hours (behavioral health)
- Suicide Prevention/Intervention: 7 hours (counseling); 7 hours (behavioral health)
- Crisis Management/Intervention: 7 hours (counseling); 7 hours (behavioral health)
- Application to Practice/Professional Readiness: 35 hours (counseling); 35 hours (behavioral health)
- Medication-Assisted Treatment/Harm Reduction: 6 hours (counseling); 6 hours (behavioral health)
- Documentation: 12 hours (counseling); 15 hours (behavioral health)
- Recovery Oriented Systems of Care/Person Centered Counseling: 12 hours (counseling); 15 hours (behavioral health)
- Case Management/Care Coordination: 12 hours (counseling); 15 hours (behavioral health)
- Professional Ethics/Ethics for Helping Professionals: 6 hours (counseling); 6 hours (behavioral health)
- Clinical Evaluation 0 hours (counseling); 26 hours (behavioral health)
- Treatment Planning 0 hours (counseling); 15 hours (behavioral health)
- Counseling 0 hours (counseling); 30 hours (behavioral health)
Experience Requirements
If you earned a degree in a counseling-related field, you’ll need at earn at least 2,000 hours of documented work experience. If you earned a degree in a behavioral health-related field, you’ll need at least 4,000 hours. All experience must have occurred within the last five years.
Direct Supervision Requirements
You must complete a period of direct supervision within the last five years (not to exceed three hours per week or 156 hours per year). If you earned a counseling-related degree, you must complete at least 100 hours of direct supervision. If you earned a behavioral-health related degree, you must complete at least 150 hours of direct supervision.
Examination Requirement
You must take and pass the FCB Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) exam, a 100-point, multiple-choice exam that tests your knowledge of:
- Clinical Evaluation
- Treatment Planning
- Case Management and Referral
- Counseling
- Client, Family and Community Education
- Documentation
- Professional Responsibilities
The CAC and CAP Application Process
All applications must be completed through the FCB’s online portal.
Mandatory forms for the CAC application process are found here.
Mandatory forms for the CAP application process are found here.
You will be notified by the FCB once your application has been approved. You will then receive information for registering to take the appropriate exam for certification.
Additional Certifications Offered by the Florida Certification Board
The FCB also offers a number of addiction-related credentials like the Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (CTTS), the Certified Gambling Addiction Counselor (CGAC), and Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS). Certifications in prevention, criminal justice, and other human service/ mental health fields are also available.
Additional Information
Questions? Contact the Florida Certification Board at 850-222-6314.