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

Both Montana rungs are licences issued by the Board of Behavioral Health, a state licensing board under the Department of Labor & Industry.

The entry rung is the Licensed Addiction Counselor Candidate (ACLC), which MCA 37-39-307(1) opens to a person who has completed the education requirements but not the supervised work experience; a candidate must submit a training and supervision plan (37-39-307(2)).

Per the board's general FAQ, candidates have the full scope of practice but must be supervised to practise under that licence.

The full licence is the LAC.

Practice is protected: outside the MCA 37-39-303 exemptions, the statute bars addiction counseling without a licence.

Apply before you graduate — the supervision FAQ recommends starting several months early, because hours cannot begin until the ACLC issues.

MCA 37-39-310(2) sets three degree routes: an associate degree in alcohol and drug studies, addiction or substance abuse; an associate degree in any area plus a certificate from an accredited program in alcohol and drug studies or addiction — the statute's (2)(a)(i) through (2)(a)(ii) range, which excludes substance abuse; or a baccalaureate or advanced degree in any area carrying 15 specified semester credits — six in human behavior, sociology or psychology, and three each in psychopathology, group counseling and counseling theory.

On top of the degree, ARM 24.219.5006(1), as amended effective 2024-02-10, requires a minimum of 285 contact hours of addiction studies: 60 in assessment, 90 in counseling, 30 each in alcohol and drug studies and in treatment planning and documentation, and 15 each in pharmacology, ethics, multicultural competency, co-occurring disorders and gambling disorder.

An applicant without the completed education may still be licensed by meeting board-rule work experience equivalent to the degree routes (37-39-310(3)).

The rule requires a minimum of seven months and 1,000 hours of supervised work experience in an addiction counseling qualified treatment program.

At least 500 of those hours fall in 11 skill areas: screening 30, assessment/patient placement 100, treatment planning 50, referrals 20, case management 50, individual counseling 60, group counseling 100, client education 35, documentation 35, professional and ethical responsibilities 10, multicultural competency 10.

The 1,000 hours must be completed in not more than two different qualified treatment programs.

Supervision runs at a 20:1 client-contact-to-supervision ratio and must include group and individual supervision plus 10 hours of direct observation.

ARM 24.219.5010(2) defines the qualifying settings: a primary focus in licensed addiction counseling; JCAHO-, CARF- or COA-approved settings; IHS or ITU settings; armed-forces or VA addiction counseling settings; licensed mental health centers; and organized group practices of two or more LACs with multidisciplinary supervision capacity.

Programs also need referral relationships and individualized treatment plans — problem formulations, goals, measurable objectives, progress notes and team reviews.

Confirm a prospective employer qualifies before counting on its hours.

The statute asks only that an applicant passed an approved examination, with the board setting by rule how much experience counts for it.

The board's checklist names the accepted seven: NCC AP Level 1 (NCAC I), NCC AP Level 2 (NCAC II), Northwest Certification II, Northwest Certification III, Southwest Certification II, IC&RC ADC and IC&RC AADC.

Passing the IC&RC ADC or AADC exam does not make the LAC an IC&RC credential — exam acceptance and board reciprocity are different things, and Montana has no IC&RC member board (see endorsement).

A NAADAC exam-use list still circulating describes Montana credentials as a 'Chemical Dependency Certification (NCAC I, NCAC II)'; that list is dated 2021 and wrong here — Montana licenses the LAC and accepts the seven exams on the checklist.

The amended ARM 24.219.421(2), effective August 22, 2026, binds anyone not currently supervising or without a supervision history before that date: an active licence in good standing where the supervision occurs, three years licensed excluding any period of licensure as a candidate, and board-approved supervision training of one semester graduate credit or 20 hours, not taken during the supervisor's own graduate program or candidacy.

The exception: supervisors who had been supervising in Montana under the board's previous requirements (before the change an either/or test applied; the Cornell LII copy still shows it).

For LAC candidates, ARM 24.219.421(6) names eligible supervisors: an LCSW, LCPC, LMFT, LAC, physician, psychologist or advanced practice registered nurse with a psychiatric-mental-health specialty; non-LAC supervisors add related-field training with addiction coursework equivalent to the 285 hours (checklist).

A supervisor may not be the candidate's parent, child, spouse or sibling, nor have a conflict of interest such as a cohabitation or financially dependent relationship (24.219.421(8)); a candidate cannot practise without a qualified supervisor of record, and Montana issues no separate supervisor licence.

The statute defines the practice in one line: 'addiction counseling' means using the knowledge and skill necessary to provide the therapeutic process of addiction treatment.

Nothing read adds a diagnosis authority or an independent- or private-practice clause for the LAC, so both remain unstated.

Candidates hold the full scope of practice, but only under supervision — a candidate cannot practise without a qualified supervisor (ARM 24.219.422(9)).

The board regulates individuals, not facilities, and refers Medicare, Medicaid and private-insurance billing questions to other agencies, so payment rules sit outside this licence.

Note the asymmetry: the training rule demands 15 hours of co-occurring-disorders study, yet no section read grants authority to diagnose a co-occurring condition — confirm scope with the board before relying on the licence for co-occurring work.

Montana does not appear on the IC&RC member-board directory, and IC&RC reciprocity runs only between member boards, so no IC&RC transfer can produce a Montana LAC.

Out-of-state licensees use the checklist's Option 2: a current, active licence in good standing from a state the board finds substantially equivalent — the general FAQ points to the board's substantial-equivalency determinations list under ARM 24.219.413.

A licence from a state with non-equivalent standards goes through Option 3, subject to board review, using the Work History Evaluation form listed for full licensure.

Two practical notes: you are practising in Montana whenever your client is physically in Montana, whatever your own location, and the general FAQ says a law allowing out-of-state licensees to register and practise for up to 21 days without a Montana licence has passed but registration is not yet in place.

The LAC renews annually: the board's forms page sets the annual renewal date at June 30 for Licensed Addiction Counselors (December 31 for the board's other licence types), and the general FAQ gives the LAC and LAC candidate window as May 1 through June 30.

CE is 20 hours a year, due before renewal, with up to 20 extra hours carried into the next year, and the requirement does not apply until after the first renewal.

Two hours of suicide prevention are due at the first renewal and every two years after.

The department may randomly audit up to 50 percent of renewed licensees, documentation must be kept for three years, and a hardship exemption can be requested.

Cite MCA 37-39, never the repealed chapter 35: the addiction counselor chapter was repealed and the LAC moved into Title 37, chapter 39, 'Behavioral Health', by Chapter 713, Laws of 2023 (HB 137), with 37-39-310 effective October 1, 2023.

The act carried a transition: individuals enrolled in a stand-alone certificate program before January 31, 2023 had to obtain the certificate by June 30, 2025 to be eligible under the prior licensure rules.

The administrative rules were rewritten effective February 10, 2024 — the date the current 285-hour and supervised-experience rules took their present form.

The supervisor-qualification change took effect August 22, 2026.

The code's history line also shows § 37-39-303 (exemptions) amended by Sec. 3, Ch. 668, L.

2025; the amendment's content is not described in the sources read.