CAC Course Requirements & FAQs

LAC – Licensed Addition Counselor

Effective March 1, 2022

Clinical Master’s degree or higher in Substance Use Disorders/Addiction and/or related
counseling subjects (social work, mental health counseling, marriage & family,
psychology, medical doctor) from a regionally accredited institution of higher
learning.

Seven (7) specialty trainings:
(Must be taken by an OBH Approved
Trainer, no educational equivalency)

-Principles of Addiction Treatment (21 hrs)
-Infectious Diseases in Addiction Treatment (14 hrs)
-Pharmacology I (14 hrs)
-Advanced Pharmacology (14 hrs) – Prerequisite: Pharmacology I
-Advanced Professional and Ethical Practice (14hrs)
-Clinical Supervision I (21 hrs)
-Clinical Supervision II (14 hrs) – Prerequisite: Clinical Supervision I

Clinically Supervised Work
Experience Hours
● 2,000 direct clinically
supervised hours

2 hours of clinical supervision* per month for full time work

( Must be registered through DORA as an LAC candidate or be registered in another Mental Health category for the hours to be legally worked and counted.

Pass the MAC exam

Pass the jurisprudence exam
https://dpo.colorado.gov/Addiction
Counselor/ApplicationsDocs

Education Equivalency for Addiction Counselor Certification:
When an applicant submits college courses on an application to the Center for Credentialing
&Education (CCE) in lieu of one of the required training classes, it is the applicant’s
responsibility to demonstrate how their college course is equivalent to the Office of
Behavioral Health (OBH) approved core competencies for that class. They are advised to
compare the class syllabus to the core competency for the CAC required class. Anyone wishing
to use college equivalents must submit the following to CCE (please be advised this process
can take 4-6weeks)

CCE website: https://www.cce-global.org/businesssupportservices/licensureeducationreviews

CCE Application packet info: https://www.cce-global.org/Assets/StateLicensure/COappAddictionCounselorsInteractive.pdf

● An official transcript from an accredited college or university in a sealed envelope.
The courses must be in a behavioral health science or field. Each college class being
offered as the equivalent of a CAC training class must have a grade of C or above.
● A cover letter with an attached syllabus and a written description about why the
college class is equivalent to the CAC required class.
● A college course must offer college credits that are equivalent or greater than the
number of clock hours required for the OBH training class.

College equivalency hours:
● One semester credit hour = 15 clock hours
● Two semester credit hours = 30 clock hours
● Three semester credit hours = 45 clock hours
● One quarter credit hour = 8.5 clock hours
● Two quarter credit hours = 17 clock hours
● Three quarter credit hours = 25.5 clock hours

CAC required courses that may have college equivalency
(See core competencies posted on the OBH website):
https://cdhs.colorado.gov/behavioral-health/workforce-development
(Click on Certified Addiction Counselor Clinical Training Program, click on Core Competencies for CAC Required Training Classes)
● Addiction Counseling Skills (21 hrs)
● Case Conceptualization and Documentation (14 hrs)
● Culturally Informed Treatment (14 hrs)
● Ethical Practice in Addiction Treatment (14 hrs)
● Motivational Interviewing (21 hrs)
● Advanced Motivational Interviewing (14 hrs)
● Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (14 hrs)
● Advanced Case Conceptualization (14 hrs)
● Co-Occurring Disorders (14 hrs)
● Group Counseling Skills (21 hrs)
● Trauma Informed Care for Diverse Populations (14 hrs)
● Advanced Treatment Models (14 hrs)
● Treating Diverse Populations (14 hrs)