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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 18. Professional And Occupational Licensing
Agency 115. Board of Counseling
Chapter 60. Regulations Governing the Practice of Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioners
12/11/2024

18VAC115-60-50. Prerequisites for licensure by endorsement.

Every applicant for licensure by endorsement shall submit:

1. A completed application;

2. The application processing and initial licensure fee as prescribed in 18VAC115-60-20;

3. Verification of all mental health or health professional licenses or certificates ever held in any other jurisdiction. In order to qualify for endorsement, the applicant shall have no unresolved disciplinary action against a license or certificate. The board will consider history of disciplinary action on a case-by-case basis;

4. Further documentation of one of the following:

a. A current substance abuse treatment license in good standing in another jurisdiction obtained by meeting requirements substantially equivalent to those set forth in this chapter;

b. A mental health license in good standing in a category acceptable to the board that required completion of a master's degree in mental health to include 60 graduate semester hours in mental health as documented by an official transcript; and

(1) Board-recognized national certification in substance abuse treatment;

(2) If the master's degree was in substance abuse treatment, two years of post-licensure experience in providing substance abuse treatment;

(3) If the master's degree was not in substance abuse treatment, five years of post-licensure experience in substance abuse treatment plus 12 credit hours of didactic training in the substance abuse treatment competencies set forth in 18VAC115-60-70 C as documented by an official transcript; or

(4) Current substance abuse counselor certification in Virginia in good standing or a Virginia substance abuse treatment specialty licensure designation with two years of post-licensure or certification substance abuse treatment experience; or

c. Documentation of education and supervised experience that met the requirements of the jurisdiction in which he was initially licensed as verified by an official transcript and a certified copy of the original application materials and evidence of post-licensure clinical practice for 24 of the last 60 months immediately preceding his licensure application in Virginia. Clinical practice shall mean the rendering of direct clinical substance abuse treatment services or clinical supervision of such services;

5. Verification of a passing score on a substance abuse licensure examination as established by the jurisdiction in which licensure was obtained. The examination is waived for an applicant who holds a current and unrestricted license as a professional counselor within the Commonwealth of Virginia;

6. An affidavit of having read and understood the regulations and laws governing the practice of substance abuse treatment in Virginia; and

7. A current report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB).

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 7, eff. January 19, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 17, Issue 18, eff. June 20, 2001; Volume 24, Issue 24, eff. September 3, 2008; Volume 25, Issue 20, eff. July 23, 2009; Volume 26, Issue 1, eff. October 14, 2009; Volume 32, Issue 24, eff. August 24, 2016; Volume 34, Issue 6, eff. December 28, 2017.

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