Addiction Counselor

The IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) examination is offered by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC). It is based on alcohol and drug counselor job descriptions and analyses.

IC&RC contracts with Schroeder Management Technologies to develop, administer, and score the exam through ISO-Quality Testing (IQT).

As part of the credentialing process, candidates must also meet certain requirements in competence and ethical conduct, work experience, and education. Please consult with your state board for further details on eligibility.

There are 150 questions on the ACD Exam. Twenty-five of these are pretest questions that do not count toward your score.

There will be twenty-five pretest questions that are neither scored nor weighted; however, you will not know which ones these are, so you must answer every question to the best of your ability. Pretest questions are used to determine whether these new questions should be used for future exams.

This test measures the knowledge and skills that are expected of credentialed addiction counselors. The certification examination will test you in four domains.

·        Domain I: Scientific Principles of Substance Use and Co-occurring Disorders (38 questions)

·        Domain II: Evidence-based Screening and Assessment (30 questions)

·        Domain III: Evidence-based Treatment, Counseling, and Referral (45 questions)

·        Domain IV: Professional, Ethical, and Legal Responsibilities (37 questions)

The exam is administered by the IC&RC. It is a computer-based test offered throughout the nation on a continuous basis by ISO Quality Testing. You can register for the exam, pay the registration fee, and check exam locations and dates at www.iqttesting.com. You may cancel or reschedule your exam up to five days prior to test day.

You will need to print your Candidate Admission Letter from your online account and bring it, along with your identification, to the testing site on exam day. You may not bring personal items with you into the testing center. No books, papers, or cell phones are allowed.

Yes, you can retake addiction counseling exam. You must wait at least 90 days before retaking the exam.

Each multiple-choice question is worth one raw point. The total number of questions you answer correctly is added up to obtain your raw score. Raw scores are scaled from 200 – 800. The scaling takes question difficulty into account, so not every question is weighted equally.

A passing score is 500.  

You will receive your preliminary scores immediately after the computer-based examination. Official scores become available two to three weeks after the exam and are reported by ISO to IC&RC.