Substance Abuse Counselor Requirements in Texas: Credentials, Hours and Exams
Texas licenses substance abuse counselors as Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (LCDCs), and the licence is required to practise chemical dependency counseling.
You register first as a Counselor Intern, finish coursework and a practicum unless a related bachelor's waives them, hold at least an associate degree, then log 4,000 supervised hours and pass a written exam and case presentation.
HHSC runs the program under rules that moved to 26 TAC chapter 562 in January 2025.
TCBAP's IC&RC certifications are separate and voluntary.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Counselor Intern (registration) leading to the Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC), plus the Certified Clinical Supervisor and Clinical Training Institution credentials for supervisors and sites.
A state licence under Tex.
Occ.
Code chapter 504, administered by HHSC under 26 TAC chapter 562.
TCBAP, the IC&RC member board, issues separate private certifications.
Counselor Intern: a high school diploma or equivalent plus 270 classroom hours and a 300-hour practicum (a related bachelor's waives both).
LCDC: an associate degree or higher.
4,000 hours of approved supervised experience, counted only after Counselor Intern registration; the supervisor must be on site until the intern has 2,000 hours.
A written chemical dependency counselor exam approved by the department plus a written case presentation; at most four attempts, all within five years of registration.
LCDCs may not treat mental health disorders outside chemical dependency, and private practice within the licence is recognized.
Whether an LCDC may diagnose: Not stated in the sources read.
The chapter does not apply to a licensed physician, psychologist, professional counselor or social worker (§ 504.002(b)(4)).
The state licence is not an IC&RC credential; TCBAP is the Texas IC&RC member.
Texas licenses out-of-state counselors whose credential is substantially equivalent (§ 504.160).
A two-year licence.
CE per period: 40 hours with an associate or bachelor's degree, 24 hours with a master's or higher (§ 504.205(b)).
The Texas credential ladder
- Counselor Intern(CI)Pre-licensure
A registration, not a licence: the status under which supervised hours toward the LCDC start to count, at a registered clinical training institution or under a certified clinical supervisor (26 TAC §§ 562.6, 562.10).
- Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor(LCDC)Independent
The only Texas SUD counselor licence, required to practise chemical dependency counseling unless an exemption applies, and recognized for private practice within its scope (Tex.
Occ.
Code § 504.151; 26 TAC § 562.1(37)).
- Certified Clinical Supervisor(CCS)Supervisor
A certification an LCDC needs to supervise interns; it requires current IC&RC or member-board clinical supervisor certification (26 TAC § 562.12(a)(2)).
- Clinical Training Institution(CTI)Other
A registration for the site, not a person: a place where a Counselor Intern's supervised hours can be earned (26 TAC § 562.10).
One licence, a registration below it, and a private board beside it
Texas has one SUD counselor licence, the LCDC.
Below it sits the Counselor Intern registration, the status under which training hours count; beside it sit the Certified Clinical Supervisor credential for supervisors and the Clinical Training Institution registration for sites.
The licence is practice-protected: outside the § 504.002 exemptions, you may not practise chemical dependency counseling without it.
The Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals is a separate, private IC&RC member board; its certifications do not replace the licence, though § 504.1511 lets their labels be affixed to it.
The same letters mean different tiers in different states; see CADC vs LADC vs LCDC vs CAC.
“A person may not engage in the practice of chemical dependency counseling unless the person is licensed as a chemical dependency counselor under this chapter.”
From high school diploma to associate degree
The Counselor Intern registration starts at a high school diploma or its equivalent, plus 270 classroom hours of chemical dependency curricula (or 18 semester hours) and a 300-hour supervised field-work practicum.
A bachelor's in chemical dependency counseling, sociology, psychology or another approved related major exempts you from the 270 hours and the practicum.
The licence itself needs an associate degree or higher.
So the degree floor for the LCDC is an associate degree, but a related bachelor's shortens the path to the intern registration.
For which entry tiers take no degree at all, see can you be an addiction counselor without a degree?
“successfully complete 270 classroom hours, or 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours), of chemical dependency curricula”
4,000 hours, and they start counting at registration
The LCDC takes 4,000 hours of approved supervised experience working with chemically dependent individuals.
Hours count only after you register as a Counselor Intern, and only at a registered Clinical Training Institution or under a Certified Clinical Supervisor, so work done before registration does not count toward the total.
A related bachelor's waives the coursework and practicum but not these hours.
The waiver of the 4,000 hours is narrower: the department may grant it to holders of a master's or doctoral degree in social work or a counseling-related field with 48 semester hours of graduate-level courses.
For the whole path from coursework to credential, see how to become a substance abuse counselor.
“complete 4,000 hours of approved supervised experience working with chemically dependent individuals”
A written exam and a case presentation, four attempts in five years
You must pass the written chemical dependency counselor examination the department approves and submit an acceptable written case presentation.
The attempts are capped: four tries, all within five years of registration, so the clock starts when you register as an intern, not when you finish your hours.
The statute lets the department contract with an IC&RC-approved organization to run the exam, but the exam's name is not stated in the text read; check HHSC's candidate instructions for the current exam.
“An applicant may only take the examination four times, and all testing must be completed within five years from the date of registration”
On-site supervision until 2,000 hours
For the first 2,000 hours the supervisor has to be on site.
Through the first two 1,000-hour levels the supervisor must provide and document one hour of face-to-face individual or group supervision each week.
If you are choosing a first placement, confirm that the site can give an on-site supervisor and weekly documented supervision before you count on its hours.
“If the intern has less than 2,000 hours of supervised work experience, the supervisor must be on site.”
What an LCDC may do: addiction counseling, not mental health treatment
The rule draws a firm line: an LCDC is not qualified to treat mental health disorders or to provide family counseling where the presenting problem does not include chemical dependency.
Inside that line, private practice is recognized, with record-keeping standards in § 562.24.
Whether an LCDC may diagnose is not stated in the text read.
For co-occurring work, a counselor who also holds an LPC or LCSW practises under that licence, which the chapter exempts.
For what an addiction credential does and does not let you diagnose or bill, see can a certified addiction counselor diagnose or bill insurance?
“LCDCs are not qualified to treat individuals with a mental health disorder or provide family counseling to individuals whose presenting problems do not include chemical dependency.”
Moving to Texas: substantial equivalence, and why IC&RC is separate
Texas licenses counselors licensed or certified in another state whose credential is substantially equivalent, and § 504.158 offers a provisional licence to someone licensed elsewhere for at least two years who passes the exam.
Rule 562.15 lists the documents.
IC&RC reciprocity runs between member boards, and in Texas the member board is TCBAP, not HHSC, so an IC&RC transfer gets you a TCBAP certification, not the state licence.
For what IC&RC reciprocity transfers, and why NAADAC credentials do not, see IC&RC vs NAADAC.
Two-year renewal, CE by degree level
The licence runs for two years.
The continuing education requirement depends on your degree: 40 hours per period with an associate or bachelor's degree, 24 hours with a master's or higher.
A licensee who also holds an LMSW, LMFT, LPC, physician or psychologist licence completes at least 24 hours.
“(1) 40 hours if the license holder holds an associate's or bachelor's degree; and (2) 24 hours if the license holder holds a master's degree or a more advanced degree.”
The 2025 rule move: cite 26 TAC chapter 562
The LCDC rules moved from 25 TAC chapter 140, subchapter I, to 26 TAC chapter 562, effective January 31, 2025.
The transferred text still cross-refers to the old section 140 numbers in places, so guides that cite 25 TAC § 140.4xx are pointing at repealed locations.
No statutory amendment after 2011 appears in the chapter 504 history read.
What This Page Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
This page summarizes the Texas statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above, as read for this state-by-state substance abuse counselor requirements series, current as of September 2026.
It does not list application forms, fees beyond those cited above, or processing times, and it is not a substitute for the instructions the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Program) publishes.
Nor does it cover peer specialist certification in Texas.
Hour totals, exams and supervision rules change by statute and by board rule; for why the same letters mean different tiers from state to state, see CADC vs LADC vs LCDC vs CAC.
Confirm every requirement with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Program) before you count hours, register for an exam or apply — and before you take one of the substance abuse counselor jobs in Texas that asks for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a substance abuse counselor in Texas?
Yes, to practise chemical dependency counseling: the Occupations Code requires the LCDC unless an exemption applies, and licensed physicians, psychologists, professional counselors and social workers are exempt.
A TCBAP certification from the IC&RC member board does not replace the state licence.
HHSC's LCDC program administers the licence.
Can you become an LCDC in Texas without a bachelor's degree?
Yes.
The licence requires an associate degree or higher.
The Counselor Intern registration starts at a high school diploma or equivalent plus 270 classroom hours and a 300-hour practicum.
A related bachelor's waives the coursework and practicum, but everyone still needs the 4,000 supervised hours unless the master's-level waiver applies.
Do supervised hours before Counselor Intern registration count?
No. Under 26 TAC § 562.10, hours count toward the 4,000 only after you register as a Counselor Intern, and only at a registered Clinical Training Institution or under a Certified Clinical Supervisor.
Register before you start a placement you want to count, and keep the supervision documentation the rule requires.
Can an LCDC treat mental health conditions in Texas?
Not under the LCDC alone.
The rule says LCDCs are not qualified to treat individuals with a mental health disorder or to provide family counseling where the presenting problems do not include chemical dependency.
A counselor who also holds an LPC or LCSW practises under that licence, which the chapter exempts; confirm your scope with HHSC.
More Texas & Substance Abuse Counselor Resources
Sources
- Tex. Occ. Code ch. 504, Chemical Dependency Counselors (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- 26 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 562, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselors (Cornell LII) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Texas HHSC, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Program (retrieved 2026-09-24)
Sourced from the statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal or clinical advice — confirm current rules with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Program).