Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC) - by examination:

Effective June 1, 2006 applicants for initial licensure in Tennessee (not renewal or reinstatement)
must obtain a criminal background check. The company which Tennessee has selected to conduct the
criminal background checks is Cogent Systems. To obtain a criminal background check, applicants
will have their fingerprints scanned by Cogent Systems.

• High school diploma or GED - Completed prior to the date of application
• 21 years of age
• Possess good moral character and professional ethics
• 270 contact hours of formal classroom training in chemical dependency
  • a minimum number of ten (10) contact
    hours documented on each Primary Function
  • The two hundred and seventy (270) contact hours may be acquired through a
    single training program giving the required number of hours or through a combination of
    short-term classroom training programs. There is no time limit in which education is to
    have been gained.
  • 6 hours Ethics - This six (6) hour requirement may be part of the two hundred and seventy (270) contact
    hours of education required for licensure.
• 6,000 clinically supervised counseling experience contact hours during which all 12 alcohol and drug abuse counseling Primary Functions have been performed over a time period of a minimum of 3 years -- hours may be paid or "volunteer", or combination thereof
• In order for “volunteer” (unpaid), clinically supervised counseling experience to be given credit, the “volunteer” experience must have been accrued in a facility or agency where the institution or agency head authorized the volunteer program, specifically
  appointed/designated in writing the person as a participant in that volunteer program, and where the services and duties were performed and supervised pursuant to written guidelines, i.e., a “job description”.
• Written, oral and jurisprudence exam.*

Licensure by reciprocity:

• 21 years of age
• Possess good moral character and professional ethics
• Hold current license, or equivalent, from another state. Other states standards must be comparable to or exceed requirements for licensure in Tennessee.
• An applicant shall successfully complete the jurisprudence examination

*Examinations:

1. Written examination.
   • After review and upon approval by the Board of the completed application and supporting credentials, the applicant shall be eligible to sit for the written examination. Notification of eligibility to take the examination will be provided to applicants in writing from the Board at least forty-five (45) days prior to the examination registration deadline date
   • The written examination adopted by the Board is the examination administered by NAADAC.
   • Admission to the written examination is governed by NAADAC. The application and therequired fee to sit for the written examination must be submitted directly to NAADAC.
   • The NAADAC or its designee will notify the candidates about the test site and provide the required admission notice approximately two (2) weeks prior to the examination date.
   • Passing scores on the examination are determined by the NAADAC and are adopted by the Board as constituting successful completion of the written examination.
   • NAADAC will notify both the Board and the candidate of his/her passing or failing status.

2. Oral examination.

   • An oral examination is required for each applicant other than those applying by reciprocity. The applicant shall be eligible to sit for the oral examination only after obtaining a passing score on the written examination.

   • The oral examination shall be administered by a panel consisting of

o       any three (3) members of the Board; or

o       a panel of three (3) examiners selected by the Board who

§         possess active, unrestricted, and unencumbered licenses to practice alcohol and drug abuse counseling in Tennessee that have not been disciplined, restricted, orencumbered for the past five (5) years; and

§         if licensed or certified to practice alcohol and drug abuse counseling in other states, possess active, unrestricted, and unencumbered licenses to practice alcohol and drug abuse counseling in such other states that have not been disciplined, restricted, or encumbered for the past five (5) years; and

§         if licensed or certified to practice any other health-related profession in Tennessee or in any other state, possess active, unrestricted, and unencumbered licenses to practice such health-related professions that have not been disciplined, restricted, or encumbered for the past five (5) years.

·        An oral examination is scheduled for each applicant as soon as reasonable after receipt of a passing score from the written examination. Notification of the test date and site of the oral examination will be provided to an applicant in writing from the Board at least thirty (30) days prior to the oral examination date.

·        The oral examination of an applicant shall cover:

o       The applicant’s knowledge of the content and interpretation of these rules and the NAADAC Code of Ethics.

o       The applicant’s knowledge and skill of the Primary Functions

o       Other practice-related areas, including but not limited to past work history, professional experiences and hypothetical situations.

·        The oral examination panel shall make a recommendation of pass or fail and the Board shall review such recommendation before making its decision. At its discretion, the Board may accept the examination panels recommendation, reverse the recommendation, or request another examination by a new panel. The written report of the oral examination panel, including the panel recommendation, becomes a part of the applicants licensure file. It is required that all oral examinations be audiotaped. At its discretion, the Board may review the entire contents of the audiotaped record before making its decision. The audiotaped record of every failed oral examination will be maintained at the Board office until the applicant has successfully passed the oral examination.

·        The Board will notify the applicant of his/her passing or failing status within ten (10) working days of the Board’s ratification of the oral examination results.

3. Jurisprudence Examination. All applicants for licensure must successfully complete the Boards jurisprudence examination as a prerequisite to licensure.

   • The Board shall include a jurisprudence examination with all applications for licensure that are mailed from the Board’s administrative office, or the applicant may obtain the jurisprudence examination from the Board’s Internet web page that can be accessed at www.Tennessee.gov.

   • The applicant shall include a completed jurisprudence examination when his/her completed application for licensure is returned to the Board’s administrative office.

   • There is no fee for the jurisprudence examination.

   • The scope and content of the examination shall be determined by the Board but limited to statutes and regulations governing the practice of alcohol and drug abuse counselors (T.C.A. §§ 68-24-604, et seq., and Chapter 1200-30-1 of the rules of the Tennessee Department of Health) and the NAADAC Code of Ethics. Copies of the applicable statutes, regulations, and the NAADAC Code of Ethics are available upon request from the Board’s administrative office.

   • The format of the examination shall be “open-book.”

   • Correctly answering ninety percent (90%) of the examination questions shall constitute successful completion of the jurisprudence exam.

4. Re-examination.

   • Written examination. Applicants who fail to pass the written examination may apply to the NAADAC for re-examination. Hand-scoring and/or appeal requests are to be directed to the NAADAC.

   • Oral examination.

o     Applicants who fail to pass the oral examination may apply to the Board for reexamination.

o      It is not required that an applicant repeat the written examination in order to repeat the oral examination.

o      Should the applicant fail a second oral examination, the Board shall deny licensure pursuant to rule 1200-30-1.07. In such event, the applicant must then retake the written examination if the applicant reapplies.

·        Jurisprudence Examination

o       Applicants who fail to successfully complete the jurisprudence examination must continue to retake the examination until it has been successfully completed before the application will be deemed complete and presented to the Board for review.

o        It is not required that an applicant repeat the written or oral examinations in order to repeat the jurisprudence examination.

5. If an applicant neglects, fails, or refuses to take any of the required examinations or fails to successfully complete the examinations within twelve (12) months after being approved, the application will be deemed abandoned. Such applicant may thereafter make a new application accompanied by the required fee. The applicant shall meet the requirements in effect at the time of the new application.