Free Practice Questions for IC&RC ADC

IC&RC sets the content blueprint and minimum standards but does not directly enroll candidates. You apply through the IC&RC member board where you live or work (for example, CCAPP in California, the Florida Certification Board, the Pennsylvania Certification Board, the Iowa Board of Certification, or the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board). Your member board verifies eligibility, collects fees, and pre-registers you; Prometric then delivers the exam at a Prometric test center or by remote proctoring where the board allows it.

The ADC is a 150-item computer-based multiple-choice exam with a 3-hour administration. Of the 150 items, 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items. The November 2022 candidate guide lists four content domains: Scientific Principles of Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders (25%), Evidence-Based Screening and Assessment (20%), Evidence-Based Treatment, Counseling, and Referral (30%), and Professional, Ethical, and Legal Responsibilities (25%). Questions have three or four answer choices with one best answer, and there is no penalty for guessing.

The passing score is a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 scale. IC&RC sets the cut score with a Modified Angoff study, not as a fixed percentage of questions answered correctly, and scaled scoring lets scores from different exam forms be compared. Candidates get preliminary results right after a computer-based exam; the official pass or fail report comes from the member board, and candidates who fail also receive a scaled score and the percentage answered correctly in each domain.

Exam fees are set by your IC&RC member board, not by IC&RC, and IC&RC does not publish a single candidate fee. Boards also set their own application and credentialing fees. Prometric charges a $35 fee to reschedule or cancel an exam. Confirm current fees with your specific member board before applying.

The ADC candidate guide effective November 2022 weights four domains: Domain I, Scientific Principles of Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders (25%); Domain II, Evidence-Based Screening and Assessment (20%); Domain III, Evidence-Based Treatment, Counseling, and Referral (30%); and Domain IV, Professional, Ethical, and Legal Responsibilities (25%). Refer to the current IC&RC ADC Candidate Guide for the task statements under each domain.

They are separate credentialing systems. The IC&RC ADC is offered only through IC&RC member boards, is scored on a 200-800 scale with 500 to pass, and carries IC&RC reciprocity between member boards. NAADAC's NCC AP administers its own national credentials such as the NCAC I and NCAC II with their own eligibility rules and exams. States differ on which exam they accept for licensure or certification, so check your state board's requirements before choosing.

IC&RC requires a minimum 90-day wait after an exam before retesting, member boards may lengthen that wait, and it cannot be waived. After four consecutive failed attempts, the administering board must require remedial action before another attempt, and some boards require it after three. You schedule a retake through your member board and pay its fee again for each attempt.

Not automatically. The ADC is accepted by the IC&RC member boards that offer it, a directory that includes US state boards plus US military, American Indian, and international credentialing boards, but each board names its own credential (for example CADC, LCDC, or LADC) and sets its own requirements. IC&RC reciprocity lets a counselor certified at the reciprocal level transfer to another member board, subject to that board's application rules. Check the IC&RC member board directory for your jurisdiction.