Substance Abuse Counselor Requirements in Hawaii: Credentials, Hours and Exams

Hawaii has no substance abuse counselor licence.

ADAD, within the Department of Health, certifies counselors and program administrators, and HAR chapter 11-177.1 lays out fourteen categories: the CSAC routes at §§ 11-177.1-16 (high school), -17 (bachelor's) and -18 (master's); categories for licensed physicians, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors and APRNs at §§ -10 to -15; and the CSAPA, CPS, CCS, CCJP and co-occurring disorders diplomate credentials.

Because ADAD is Hawaii's IC&RC member board, the state certification and the IC&RC-recognized credential come from the same body.

The sources read contain no rule requiring this certification to practise.

Every CSAC route requires a minimum of 270 hours of substance abuse specific education, and all three carry the same add-ons: six hours on professional ethics, six hours on Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 2, and six hours on HIV and AIDS.

ADAD's 2024 application instructions total the education requirement at 300 hours, 270 of them SUD-specific — the rule text and the form do not state the figure the same way, so check both when you document.

The instructions also cap distance learning at 50%, or 135 hours.

The high school route requires six thousand hours of clinically supervised work experience providing direct alcohol and drug treatment services.

A bachelor's degree with a major in social work, psychology, counseling psychology, substance abuse counseling or another counseling or mental health field drops the total to 4,000 hours; a master's or higher in those majors drops it to 2,000.

A certificate in substance abuse counseling from an accredited school may be substituted for 2,000 hours of the high school route.

Two timing rules from ADAD's 2024 instructions matter for planning: you must be currently employed in the qualifying position when you apply, and only employment within the last three years may be counted toward the total.

The rule requires an exam for every category and gates testing behind an approved application: no permanent revocation in the previous five years, a criminal history check, at least one exam cycle per year, 21 days' notice, and an application and fee that stay valid for three years.

ADAD's 2024 instructions name the exam as the IC&RC Examination — computer-based, 150 multiple-choice questions, 3 hours permitted — and the IC&RC member-board directory lists ADC as the exam behind the Hawaii CSAC, though no ADAD document read names the level.

The testing fee is $125.

If you do not pass, you wait 90 days to request a new testing application.

Retakes are bounded on both sides: § 11-177.1-21 keeps re-examination within the valid three-year period of the original application, and a candidate who fails three consecutive times must obtain 480 additional hours of clinically supervised work experience and possibly further education before reapplying.

On top of the work-experience total, the applicant documents 400 hours of supervised practical training in the Twelve-Core function areas, with a minimum of 20 hours in each core function; those hours may be counted within the route's larger total.

The supervisor of those hours must be a certified substance abuse counselor certified in a category eligible for reciprocity, and the clinical supervisor documenting your experience must be employed or contracted by the program or agency where it is gained.

ADAD's renewal instructions confirm the flip side: holders of the licensed-professional CSAC categories "will not be eligible for reciprocity or to supervise a candidate working on the 12 Core Functions."

If you are choosing a first supervisor, that category restriction is the one to check.

No scope-of-practice section was located in HAR chapter 11-177.1 or in ADAD's materials.

The rule's own definition is the closest text: a CSAC provides the twelve-core functions and, at a minimum, the four services in the quote, as they relate to substance abuse treatment.

Whether a CSAC may diagnose is not stated in the sources read.

One concrete scope application does appear: since October 1, 2017, ADAD has maintained a list of CSACs who perform the mandatory assessments of people charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, as a private enterprise on a client self-pay basis.

Because ADAD is the IC&RC member board, an IC&RC transfer lands directly in state hands.

All three CSAC routes gate reciprocity the same way — §§ 11-177.1-16(g), -17(i) and -18(i) open it to a counselor in good standing with an IC&RC member board — and the Hawaii certificate issued on approval cannot outlast your original: its expiration is capped at the original's current expiration date.

ADAD's certification page supplies the process: request a reciprocity application from your current board, complete it together, and ADAD reviews it and advises whether additional requirements are needed before you become a Hawaii CSAC.

The IC&RC member-board directory adds two practical notes: Hawaii has a 51% residency requirement for all certified professionals and reciprocity applicants, and AADC-level holders reciprocate into ADAD at the ADC level because no AADC reciprocal credential is offered.

The directory lists reciprocal CSAC, CCS, CCJP and CPS credentials; the licensed-professional categories at §§ 11-177.1-10 to -15 state the opposite — they are not eligible for reciprocity.

Every category certifies for two years at a time.

At renewal, a CSAC documents 40 ADAD-approved continuing education hours, six of them in SUD Ethics.

General physician and general psychologist CSACs document sixteen contact hours completed within the current certification period (HAR §§ 11-177.1-11(d)(3), -13(d)(3)); the CSAC with a License (LCSW, LMFT, LMHC) and APRN categories document 16 ADAD-approved hours, six in SUD Ethics, plus a licence copy.

The specialty physician and psychologist categories differ: their rules set no CE hours — recertification takes the specialty certification or proficiency certificate plus the current Hawaii licence (§§ 11-177.1-10(c), -12(c)) — while ADAD's renewal table lists 16 ADAD-approved hours, six in SUD Ethics, plus the licence copy and the Proficiency Certificate.

The CPS, CCS, CCJP and CSAPA credentials renew with 40 hours each — six in Prevention Ethics for the CPS, six in SUD Ethics for the other three.

CEs must fall within the current renewal period; duplicates and CEs under 1.0 hour do not count.

The renewal fee is $25.

The rules exist on ADAD's site as the 2010 amended-and-compiled HAR chapter, and no post-2010 amendment to chapter 11-177.1 appears in the sources read.

What has moved is process: since June 26, 2023, failing to submit required documentation can result in rejection of the application or hinder its review; the renewal instructions were revised October 1, 2024; and the fillable certification application was updated September 16, 2026, with the work-verification form updated September 10, 2026.

ADAD also warns that response times can run up to 8–12 weeks given candidate volume, and all applications, renewals and educational documents must be mailed to the office.