Free Practice Questions for IC&RC AADC

IC&RC publishes minimum standards of a master's degree in a relevant field, 2,000 hours of supervised work experience specific to the AADC domains, 180 hours of education specific to the AADC domains (six of which must address counselor ethics and responsibilities), and 100 hours of supervision specific to the AADC domains with a minimum of ten hours in each domain. Candidates must also reside or work at least 51% of the time in the Member Board's jurisdiction. Your Member Board sets the final eligibility rules and may require more than the IC&RC minimum, so verify with the board before applying.

Yes. IC&RC updated the AADC blueprint for candidates testing on or after March 16, 2026. The four domains were reweighted from 23% / 18% / 28% / 31% to Screening, Assessment, and Engagement 22%, Treatment Planning, Collaboration, and Referral 24%, Counseling and Education 30%, and Professional Responsibilities and Ethical Considerations 24%. Every task statement was also reformatted into lettered topics, with some content moved between domains and a few tasks removed. The exam remains 150 questions (125 scored plus 25 pretest) in 3 hours with a 500 scaled cut.

ADC is the entry and intermediate addiction-counselor credential; AADC is the advanced credential requiring a master's degree. AADC items demand independent differential diagnosis, evidence-based intervention selection, integrated co-occurring care, clinical supervision judgment, and applied ethics rather than recall of basic counseling functions. Both examinations are 150 items (125 scored plus 25 pretest) administered in 3 hours by Prometric, use multiple-choice items with three or four answer choices, and use the same 200-800 scale with a 500 passing score.

The passing score is a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 scale, the same minimum used for every IC&RC examination. Prometric reviews the statistics for each question and each form and, through an equating process, adjusts the passing score so no form is harder or easier to pass. Candidates are never told how many questions they answered correctly; the Official Score Report shows the scaled score and the percentage correct in each content domain. IC&RC cautions that averaging those domain percentages does not reproduce the overall score, because the domains contain different numbers of questions.

Exam fees are set by your IC&RC Member Board, not by IC&RC, and vary widely by jurisdiction. Published examples include $180 in Georgia and $150 for members or $175 for non-members in South Carolina, so budget roughly $150-$300 for the examination itself. Board application and certification fees are charged separately and can add several hundred dollars. ISO-Quality Testing, Prometric’s delivery division, also charges a $35 fee to reschedule or cancel an appointment. Confirm current amounts with your Member Board before you register.

Counseling and Education is the largest domain at 30%, and its topics call for culturally sensitive modalities grounded in theory or research. In practice that means Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for SUD, Motivational Interviewing and Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Contingency Management, 12-Step Facilitation, Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention, family models such as MDFT, BSFT, and FFT, and trauma-informed approaches including Seeking Safety. Know each model's structure, indications, and evidence base well enough to select between them in a vignette.

Yes, at a clinical-counselor rather than a prescriber level. Domain I requires assessing appropriateness of Medication Assisted Treatment and Domain III requires educating clients and their supports about pharmacotherapies. Know the FDA-approved medications for opioid, alcohol, and tobacco use disorders (methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone, extended-release naltrexone, acamprosate, disulfiram, varenicline, NRT), the common psychiatric medications used in co-occurring care, relevant interactions and contraindications, and the counselor's role in adherence monitoring and coordination with prescribers.

Yes. IC&RC requires a minimum 90-day wait between attempts, and that waiting period cannot be waived, though an individual board may lengthen it. After four consecutive failed attempts, Administering Boards must require remedial action before another attempt; some boards impose remediation after three. The board determines what remediation is required. You pay the examination fee again for each attempt. Because failing candidates receive percentage-correct scores by domain, use those figures to target the weakest domains against the current Candidate Guide blueprint before retesting.