{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-1876","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 59, § 59-1876","heading":"Certificate or license to practice as alcohol or drug","body":"counselor - Application - Requirements - Scope of practice.\n\nA. Unless exempt pursuant to Section 1872 of this title, any\n\nperson wishing to practice alcohol and drug counseling in this state\n\nshall obtain a certificate or license to practice pursuant to the\n\nprovisions of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors Act.\n\nB. An application for a certificate or license to practice as a\n\ncertified or licensed alcohol and drug counselor shall be made to\n\nthe Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors in\n\nwriting. Such application shall be on a form and in a manner\n\nprescribed by the Board. The application shall be accompanied by\n\nthe fee required by the Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors Act,\n\nwhich shall be retained by the Board and not returned to the\n\napplicant.\n\nC. Each applicant for a certificate or license to practice as a\n\ncertified or licensed alcohol and drug counselor shall:\n\n1. Pass an examination based on standards established by the\n\nInternational Certification and Reciprocity Consortium, any\n\nsuccessor organization to the International Certification and\n\nReciprocity Consortium or another national or international\n\norganization recognized by the Board to have similar standards equal\n\nto or higher than the International Certification and Reciprocity\n\nConsortium;\n\n2. Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;\n\n3. Not have engaged in, nor be engaged in, any practice or\n\nconduct which would be grounds for denying, revoking or suspending a\n\nlicense pursuant to the provisions of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug\n\nCounselors Act; and\n\n4. Otherwise comply with the rules promulgated by the Board\n\npursuant to the provisions of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug\n\nCounselors Act.\n\nD. In addition to the qualifications specified by the\n\nprovisions of subsection C of this section, an applicant for a\n\nlicense to practice as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor shall:\n\n1. Have at least a master's degree in alcohol and substance\n\nabuse counseling or other clinical counseling field recognized by\n\nthe Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors that\n\nincludes, at a minimum, the following knowledge areas and graduate\n\ncredit hours from a college or university accredited by an agency\n\nrecognized by the United States Department of Education:\n\na. three courses in foundational knowledge, including one\n\ncourse in alcohol and drug addiction, one course in\n\ndrug and alcohol counseling theory, and one course in\n\nthe pharmacology of drugs and abuse,\n\nb. three courses in assessment and treatment of\n\nbehavioral health problems, which may include group\n\ndynamics, individual and family counseling skills,\n\nspecific counseling approaches, assessment methods,\n\ncommunity resources and referral, or other courses\n\nprimarily related to the assessment and treatment of\n\nbehavioral health problems,\n\nc. one course in human development,\n\nd. one course in psychopathology,\n\ne. one course in multicultural and cultural competency\n\nissues,\n\nf. one course in family systems theory,\n\ng. one course in addiction in the family theory,\n\nh. one course in addiction in the family counseling,\n\ni. one course in ethics, which includes established\n\nethical conduct for alcohol and drug counselors,\n\nj. one course in research methods, and\n\nk. one three-hour practicum/internship in the field of\n\ndrug and alcohol counseling of at least three hundred\n\n(300) clock hours.\n\nAll courses shall be graduate level courses and shall be three\ntheory,\n\nh. one course in addiction in the family counseling,\n\ni. one course in ethics, which includes established\n\nethical conduct for alcohol and drug counselors,\n\nj. one course in research methods, and\n\nk. one three-hour practicum/internship in the field of\n\ndrug and alcohol counseling of at least three hundred\n\n(300) clock hours.\n\nAll courses shall be graduate level courses and shall be three\n\n(3) semester hours or four (4) quarter credit hours which shall\n\ninclude a minimum of forty-five (45) class hours for each course;\n\n2. Have successfully completed at least one (1) year of full-\n\ntime supervised work experience providing behavioral health\n\nservices. For the purpose of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug\n\nCounselors Act, one (1) year of full-time work experience shall mean\n\ntwo thousand (2,000) hours of work experience, of which at least one\n\nthousand (1,000) hours shall consist of direct client contact; or\n\n3. Be a licensed mental health professional as defined in\n\nSection 1-103 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes and have\n\ncompleted a minimum of fifteen (15) hours in master's level\n\nsubstance abuse specific coursework, including, but not limited to,\n\nchemical addiction, counseling, alcohol/drug counseling theory,\n\npharmacology of drugs and abuse, assessment and treatment of alcohol\n\nand drug problems, theories in family addiction, and/or family\n\naddiction counseling.\n\nE. The scope of practice of a licensed alcohol and drug\n\ncounselor who meets the educational requirements set forth in\n\nparagraph 1 of subsection D of this section may include the\n\nassessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders.\n\nLicensees who have been determined by the Board to meet these\n\nrequirements shall have the designation \"licensed alcohol and drug\n\ncounselor/mental health\" or \"LADC/MH\" noted on their license and\n\nwallet card.\n\nF. The scope of practice of a licensed alcohol and drug\n\ncounselor who made application for license or who was licensed prior\n\nto the effective date of the educational requirements set forth in\n\nparagraph 1 of subsection D of this section shall not include the\n\nassessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders\n\nunless:\n\n1. The licensed alcohol and drug counselor holds a master's\n\ndegree that meets the educational requirements for licensure in the\n\nfollowing behavioral health professions:\n\na. licensed professional counselor as defined in Section\n\n1902 of this title,\n\nb. licensed clinical social worker as defined in Section\n\n1250.1 of this title,\n\nc. licensed marital and family therapist as defined in\n\nSection 1925.2 of this title, or\n\nd. licensed behavioral practitioner as defined in Section\n\n1931 of this title; or\n\n2. The licensed alcohol and drug counselor holds a valid Co-\n\nOccurring Disorders Certification based on standards established by\n\nthe International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium, any\n\nsuccessor organization to the International Certification and\n\nReciprocity Consortium, or any other national or international\n\norganization recognized by the Board to have similar standards equal\n\nto or higher than the International Certification and Reciprocity\n\nConsortium.\n\nG. In addition to the qualifications specified in subsection C\n\nof this section, each applicant for a certificate to practice as a\n\ncertified alcohol and drug counselor shall have:\n\n1. At a minimum, a bachelor's degree in a behavioral science\n\nfield that is recognized by the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol\n\nand Drug Counselors as appropriate to practice as a certified drug\n\nand alcohol counselor in this state;\n\n2. Successfully completed at least two (2) years of full-time\n\nsupervised work experience. For the purpose of the Licensed Alcohol\n\nand Drug Counselors Act, \"two years of full-time work experience\"\n\nshall be defined as four thousand (4,000) hours of work experience\na Board of Licensed Alcohol\n\nand Drug Counselors as appropriate to practice as a certified drug\n\nand alcohol counselor in this state;\n\n2. Successfully completed at least two (2) years of full-time\n\nsupervised work experience. For the purpose of the Licensed Alcohol\n\nand Drug Counselors Act, \"two years of full-time work experience\"\n\nshall be defined as four thousand (4,000) hours of work experience\n\nof which at least two thousand (2,000) hours shall consist of\n\nproviding alcohol and drug counseling services to an individual\n\nand/or the individual's family;\n\n3. Successfully completed at least two hundred seventy (270)\n\nclock hours of education related to alcohol and drug counseling\n\nsubjects, theory, practice or research;\n\n4. Successfully completed, as part of or in addition to the\n\neducation requirements established in paragraph 3 of this\n\nsubsection, a minimum of forty-five (45) clock hours of specialized\n\ntraining approved by the Board in identifying co-occurring disorders\n\nand making appropriate referrals for treatment of co-occurring\n\ndisorders; and\n\n5. Successfully completed at least three hundred (300) hours of\n\nsupervised practicum experience in the field of drug and alcohol\n\ncounseling.\n\nH. Any licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselor wishing\n\nto be certified for co-occurring disorders in this state may obtain\n\nsuch certification pursuant to the provisions of the Licensed\n\nAlcohol and Drug Counselors Act.\n\nI. An application by a licensed or certified alcohol and drug\n\ncounselor for certification for co-occurring disorders shall be made\n\nto the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors in\n\nwriting. Such application shall be on a form and in a manner\n\nprescribed by the Board. The application shall be accompanied by\n\nthe fee required by Section 1884 of this title, which shall be\n\nretained by the Board and not returned to the applicant.\n\nJ. Each applicant for certification for co-occurring disorders\n\nshall:\n\n1. Be a licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselor in\n\ngood standing with the Board;\n\n2. Meet the requirements promulgated by the Board to establish\n\nthe applicant's competency to include treatment of co-occurring\n\ndisorders within his or her scope of practice;\n\n3. Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;\n\n4. Not have engaged in, nor be engaged in, any practice or\n\nconduct which would be grounds for denying, revoking or suspending a\n\nlicense pursuant to the provisions of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug\n\nCounselors Act; and\n\n5. Otherwise comply with the rules promulgated by the Board\n\npursuant to the provisions of the Licensed Alcohol and Drug\n\nCounselors Act.\n\nK. Applicants with degrees from schools outside the United\n\nStates may qualify with Board approval by providing the Board with\n\nan acceptable comprehensive evaluation of the degree performed by a\n\nforeign credential evaluation service that is acceptable to the\n\nBoard, and any other requirement the Board deems necessary.","path":["OK Code","Title 59"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os59.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"105664ec8c4a55ae708f010293281c036ce06f3a01e4ea9adff251d96596ae7b","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-1875","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-59-59-1877"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}