More Information About IACC

Reciprocity Renewal of Certificate Suspension or Revocation of Certificate Fee Scheduling Late Renewal Penalties

Reciprocity ^

The IACC shall have a process available to recognize the credentials of Certified Counselors/Administrators from other alcohol/substance abuse certification boards, State certification bodies, or National Certification Reciprocity Consortium groups, providing that agreements have been established with the groups in advance.

The IACC shall have the responsibility to promote reciprocity of certification with States, and/or National Reciprocity Consortium groups.

Applicants for reciprocity should contact the state from which they seek certification for details of the application process.

IACC shall grant reciprocity certification if the individual’s current certification requirements meet, or exceeds the IACC’s standards for Certification.

The IACC Headquarters shall maintain a list of States and Certification Reciprocity Consortiums which have agreements with the IACC for Reciprocity of certification.

Renewal of Certificate ^

Certification (except for probationary Certified Counselor) is good for two years. For the purposes of quality assurance in the area of continued capacity building of IACC’ Certified Counselors it will be necessary to reapply for recertification every two years from the date of original certification. Requirements pertaining to reapplication include:

  1. Renewal of certification will be required every two (2) years. Application for renewal must be made Ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of certification date and accompanied by a bank check, postal money order, or program check.
  2. Applicants for renewal shall have previously been certified by the IACC Board and such certification shall still be in effect and good standing at the time of application.
  3. Certification that has lapsed, in excess of ninety (90) days, for that has been withdrawn by the IACC Board for any reason whatsoever, will not be renewed. Applicants whose certification status falls under these two conditions must submit a new application subject to all the provisions of such application.
  4. Renewal applicants must provide documentary evidence of the following:
    1. Sixty clock hours of continuing education, including at least thirty clock hours in which alcoholism or drug and counseling chemically dependent people or families is the primary part of the course content, as evidenced by the course description and/or syllabus. The remaining thirty clock hours may be in subject areas that will increase the counselor’s knowledge and skills in counseling the chemically dependent person or family.
    2. For any portion of these sixty (60) clock hours of continuing education, college credit-bearing courses will have the value of one and one-half, i.e. one college credit contact hour will equal one-and-one half hours of continuing education.
    3. No course or workshop previously taken may be repeated to meet these requirements.
    4. An acceptable workshop must be conducted by an instructor who is either a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor or approved as a trainer by IACC or IHS.
    5. In-service training does not satisfy this requirement, but short courses and workshops that carry college credit and approved by the certification body meet the above requirements. (Note: A copy of the certificate of completion of the course, and/or a copy of the credit transcript needs to be submitted in support of the record of the course.)
    6. One (1) letter of endorsement from the applicant’s supervisor and verification of employment shall accompany this application.
    7. The Certification Board, at its discretion, will require a personal interview with the applicant.
    8. In the event information, which is from reliable sources, indicates that the applicant may have social/psychological/physical problems, which may be a negative factor in the performance of the counselor’s duties additional evaluation criteria shall be imposed by the Certification Board. The additional evaluation criteria can be medical evaluations, psychological testing, and/or investigation of the allegations.
    9. Adhere to professional and ethical standards of conduct. To include safeguarding clients and other staff members. If the applicant has been aware of any infringement on a client’s safety and did not take action to relieve this danger that is a violation of the Code of Ethics.
    10. Grace Period: All certifications are for a two (2) year period and should be renewed a minimum of ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date. A thirty (30) day Grace Period is permitted before late penalties are imposed. If the application is received more than thirty (30) days after the expiration date of the certification a late fee of $400 will be charged, after 90 days late the counselor will need to re-apply as a new candidate.

Certification activities: Currently 50 Applicants have taken the IC&RC/AODA written exam with a total of 42 pass/8 fail.

The written exam pass rate is 84%. Congratulations to those of you who passed this challenging exam! I encourage those who did not pass to stick with it, study hard and try, try again. Many candidates were within a few points of passing; which means a little more study time may result in success.

Suspension or Revocation of Certification ^

The certification Board shall be empowered to revoke, or suspend an individual’s certification for just cause. Conditions for revocation or suspension of certification shall include, but shall be limited to the following:

  1. Obtaining or attempting to obtain Certification or renewal by deliberate misrepresentation of certification criteria or by misrepresenting Code of Conduct/Ethical violations.
  2. Conviction of a felony during certification period.
  3. Use of alcohol and/or chemicals during the period of certification.
  4. Violations of the Substance Abuse Counselor’s Code of Ethics.
  5. Involvement in sexual abuse situations while certified or not previously disclosed during the application process.
  6. Incompetence in the field of Certification, such as Counselor or Administrator.
  7. Lack of providing Client Safe environment, to include sexual abuse of a client either by another client or staff member. If a certified counselor is aware that a client (regardless of age) is being sexually or physically abused and does not make this information known to appropriate officials, he/she is in violation of the Code of Ethics.
  8. Appeal Process. The appeal process for those refused certification or who have had certification revoked or suspended shall be as follows: Appeals must be made to the Certification Board by the person so affected in writing and withing thirty (30) days of the action of denial, revocation, or suspension.

Fee Scheduling ^

Please contact the IACC office to see if you are eligible for financial assistance with any fees.

All Registrants, Certified Counselors, Program Administrators and/or Associate Members will be charged a yearly membership fee of $250.00 due on January 1 of each year. These fees are a part of the fee structure of for your status.

Late Renewal Penalties ^

Please contact the IACC office to see if you are eligible for financial assistance with any fees.