Substance Abuse Counselor Requirements in West Virginia: Credentials, Hours and Exams

West Virginia now has two layers.

Today, WVCBAPP — a private, IC&RC member board — certifies counselors as ADC, AADC and Clinical Supervisor (plus specialty credentials such as CCJP).

Enrolled SB 897 (2026) then created W.

Va.

Code §16-67, which requires a person to be licensed or certified under the article to practise alcohol and drug counseling (§16-67-2) and protects a list of titles including "licensed alcohol and drug counselor" and "certified alcohol and drug counselor" (§16-67-16).

The Bureau for Behavioral Health need not be able to fully administer the program until July 1, 2027, and no rules had been published as of the sources read, though §16-67-6 already lets an applicant substitute current WVCBAPP certification for the new law's certification requirements before that date.

In practice, WVCBAPP's private certifications remain the credential counselors hold and rely on until the state program is running.

The new law layers its education requirements rather than swapping one for another.

To be eligible for state certification, an applicant needs 360 hours of commissioner-approved education, at least 240 of which relate to alcohol and drug counseling knowledge and skills (§16-67-5(3)).

To be eligible for the state licence, an applicant needs everything the certification requires — §16-67-4(2) incorporates all of §16-67-5, including the 360 hours — plus a master's degree from an accredited institution in social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling, psychology or a related field, including at least 18 graduate semester hours in counseling-related subjects, except that a WVCBAPP-certified clinical supervisor as of July 1, 2027 may substitute that certification for the master's (§16-67-4(1)).

Today, WVCBAPP's ADC sheet asks for 300 hours of training, 70 SUD-specific; its AADC sheet asks for a master's degree plus 300 clock hours of training, 180 SUD-specific.

Because the Bureau's rules are not written yet, the 360-hour figure has no accompanying curriculum standard published.

To be eligible for certification under the new law, an applicant needs 300 hours of supervised practical training the commissioner deems acceptable, plus three years of supervised paid work experience or unpaid internship working directly with alcohol and drug clients — except that a master's degree may substitute for one of those three years (§16-67-5(1)-(2)).

The statute gives no separate experience requirement for the licence beyond the certification eligibility requirements plus the master's degree (§16-67-4(2)).

Today's WVCBAPP figures run differently: the ADC asks for 6 years of qualifying experience, with an accredited degree counting for 3 of the 6, and 3 of the 6 years must be SUD-specific; the AADC asks for 6 years of direct experience, including 1 year post-master's.

Until the Bureau's rules exist, applicants relying on the new law's figures have no published guidance on what training or work counts as "acceptable."

The only exam requirement the new law states is that an applicant successfully complete "a department-prescribed examination" (§16-67-5(4)) — no exam name, vendor, passing score or attempt limit is given, because the Bureau has not published rules.

Today, WVCBAPP requires the IC&RC International ADC Examination for the ADC and the IC&RC International AADC Examination for the AADC.

Whether the department will adopt an IC&RC exam or create its own once it writes its exam rule under §16-67-23(2) is not stated in the sources read.

The new law defines "Supervision" as regular on-site observation by a licensed alcohol and drug counselor or other licensed behavioral health professional whose scope covers screening, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of substance use and co-occurring disorders, including review of records, reports, treatment plans or recommendations — answering who may supervise.

Separately, §16-67-3 ties supervision to private practice: a certified counselor may practise privately only while supervised by a licensed counselor.

What is not yet settled is the nature of the supervised experience itself: §16-67-23(14) leaves that to a department rule not yet written, on top of the 300 hours of practical training and three years of work experience already fixed by §16-67-5.

Today, WVCBAPP requires 100-300 hours of ADC supervision across its counseling domains, depending on education, and 100 hours of AADC supervision; its Clinical Supervisor (CS) certification itself requires a current ADC, AADC or CCJP credential, 5 years (10,000 hours) of counseling experience, 2 years (4,000 hours) of supervisory experience, 30 hours of didactic training, 51% West Virginia residency or work, and the IC&RC CS exam.

The new law's definition of "practice of alcohol and drug counseling" answers the diagnosis question for a licensed counselor directly: it is the clinical evaluation of substance use and co-occurring disorders, including "screening, assessment and diagnosis, treatment planning, counseling, therapy, trauma-informed care and psychoeducation."

A certified counselor's half of the same definition is narrower — "the professional application ... of methods that assist an individual, family, or group to develop an understanding of alcohol and drug dependency problems" — with no diagnosis language.

Private practice is restricted further: only a licensed counselor may practise privately outright, or a certified counselor may do so while practicing under the supervision of a licensed counselor (§16-67-3).

The new law lets the commissioner license or certify, without examination, any applicant who at the time of application is already licensed or certified by a governmental agency or private organization in another state, territory or jurisdiction whose standards the commissioner judges "substantially similar to, or higher than" West Virginia's (§16-67-15).

Today, WVCBAPP is West Virginia's IC&RC member board, and it accepts IC&RC-reciprocal transfers (ADC, AADC, CS, CCJP, plus PS and PRSS) from counselors certified in other member-board states.

Because the Bureau's rules are not written, what documentation or process §16-67-15 will actually require is not stated in the sources read; an IC&RC transfer today runs through WVCBAPP, not a state agency.

The new law puts continuing education requirements for licensees and certificate holders on the list of things the department must set by rule (§16-67-23(9)), and no such rule had been published as of the sources read.

Today, WVCBAPP requires ADC and AADC holders to re-certify every two years with 40 hours of continuing education, including 6 hours of SUD-specific ethics, 6 hours of ASAM 4 training and 6 hours of SUD-specific training.

Once the department's CE rule exists, it may or may not track WVCBAPP's figures; until then, counselors relying on the grandfathering provisions should keep their WVCBAPP credential current.

Enrolled SB 897 passed March 14, 2026, was approved by the governor April 1, 2026, and took effect 90 days later, June 12, 2026, creating W.

Va.

Code §16-67, West Virginia's first alcohol and drug counselor law.

The Bureau for Behavioral Health must be fully able to administer the program by no later than July 1, 2027 (§16-67-24).

Four sections bridge the gap: §16-67-6 lets a pre-2027 certification applicant substitute current WVCBAPP certification for §16-67-5's requirements; a WVCBAPP-certified counselor with a master's, certified as a substance abuse counselor by July 1, 2027 and in good standing at application, is deemed licensed (§16-67-12); one without a master's, under the same conditions, is deemed certified only (§16-67-13); and someone not WVCBAPP-certified by that date can still become certified — never licensed — with five years full-time or eight years part-time paid work experience, under supervision, as an alcohol and drug counselor, plus a passing exam by July 1, 2027 (§16-67-14).

The introduced bill used a December 31, 2026 deadline; the enacted text uses July 1, 2027.

Two things are easy to get wrong here.

First, older guides that say West Virginia has no counselor licensure are out of date: SB 897 created W.

Va.

Code §16-67, in effect since June 12, 2026, even though the Bureau need not fully administer it until July 1, 2027.

Second, §16-67-2's practice requirement carries several exemptions: §16-67-18 exempts anyone licensed in West Virginia to practice medicine and surgery, psychology, marital and family therapy, clinical social work, professional counseling, advanced practice or registered nursing, or a similar Chapter 30 healthcare profession; §16-67-19 exempts a supervised student intern or trainee, designated as such, in an accredited course of study; §16-67-20 exempts state-agency rehabilitation counselors, as of July 1, 2027, acting as alcohol and drug counselors; and §16-67-21 exempts paid counselors at a licensed behavioral health center and uncompensated self-help groups. §16-67-16's title-protection list is also broader than the two credential names, covering titles like "chemical dependency counselor" and "substance abuse/substance use disorder counselor" too.