Hawaii

Substance Abuse Counseling Certification in Hawaii

Hawaii only has one level of certification the Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC). There are a number of educational, training and supervised experience requirements that must be fulfilled to become certified in Hawaii.

Are you interested to learn about Addiction and Substance Counseling education? See schools both local and online who educate to further become a counselor or other type of professional in related career fields. You can request information, with no obligation, to begin or continue a degree program.


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Note: Academic certificates are not the same as professional certification. Certificates offered through schools are designed to teach job skills but do not grant the authority to practice. Only those who have been granted licensure or professional certification through a state licensing board have the legal authority to provide substance abuse counseling services.

CSAC Requirements

  • High school diploma or GED. An advanced degree is preferred as you can substitute it for a year of experience (more info below) and it also opens doors to more positions and higher wages.
  • 270 hours of ADAD-approved addiction counseling education that must fall within these five areas: Professional Responsibility, Counseling, Case Management, Client education and Assessment.
  • You are required to have six hours of Professional Ethics and Issues; Confidentiality including 42CF, Part2 and STD training with the inclusion of HIV/AIDS.
  • You must have taken one course in Multicultural Competency.
  • You will be required to show proof of 400 or more hours of work in the 12 Core Functions, with a minimum of 20 hours in each function: Screening; Intake; Orientation; Assessment; Treatment Planning; Counseling; Case Management; Crisis Intervention; Client Education; Referral; Reports and Record Keeping; Consultation.
  • You supervisor must be CSAC in Hawaii with an active certification.
  • You will need 6000 hours of clinical supervised field experience this is inclusive of the 400 hours outlined above.
  • If you have an Associate’s degree in Addiction Counseling you may reduce this to 4000 hours.
  • If you have a Bachelor’s degree in a Human Services or Behavioral Science related field you will only need 4000 hours.
  • If you have a Master’s degree in a Human Services or Behavioral Science related field you will only need 2000 hours.
  • You must sign the CSAC Code of Ethics.
  • You must pass the International Written Certification Examination for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors.
  • You must also pass the Case Presentation Method Oral Examination.
  • You can find the application form here.