If you are pursuing Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) certification through the Florida Certification Board, the very first thing to figure out is which tier applies to you. The answer comes down to one factor: the field your bachelor’s degree is in. Here is a complete, accurate breakdown based on the FCB’s own CAP Standards, Requirements, and Application Guide.

How Your Degree Determines Your Tier

The FCB splits eligible bachelor’s degrees into two categories.

Tier I Degrees: Counseling, Psychology, Social Work

Tier II Degrees: Behavioral Health, Child Development, Criminal Justice, Education, Child and Family Studies or Services, Guidance Counseling, Health Education or Health Sciences, Human Services, Nursing, Pharmacy or Pharmaceutical Sciences, Public Health or Community Health, Specialized Therapy (art, music, dance, equine, etc.), Sociology, and Vocational or Occupational Counseling, Rehabilitation, or Therapy

Your degree must come from an institution holding accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) at the time the degree was awarded.

Training Hours: The Real Breakdown

Tier I requires 150 total hours of content specific training. Tier II requires 250 hours. Both must be completed within 10 years prior to your application date, though coursework taken as part of your actual degree program never expires.

Here is exactly how those hours break down by topic:

• Understanding Addiction and Treatment Knowledge: 80 hours (both tiers)
• Application to Practice and Professional Readiness: 25 hours (both tiers), with 6 of those hours specific to professional ethics
• Documentation: 15 hours (both tiers)
• Client, Family, and Community Education: 15 hours (both tiers)
• Case Management: 15 hours (both tiers)
• Clinical Evaluation: Tier II only, 25 hours
• Treatment Planning: Tier II only, 15 hours
• Counseling: Tier II only, 30 hours
• Professional Responsibilities: Tier II only, 30 hours

Tier I totals 150 hours across five topics. Tier II adds four additional topics on top of those same five, bringing the total to 250 hours. This is the practical answer to why Tier II takes considerably more coursework: it is not that the same five topics require more time, it is that Tier II adds entirely new required content areas.

We offer a full CAP approved course library covering both tracks. Browse CAP courses here.

Work Experience Requirements

Beyond training hours, you also need relevant, verified work experience completed within the 10 years before you apply.

• Tier I: 2,000 hours (roughly one year of full time work)
• Tier II: 4,000 hours (roughly two years of full time work)

If you hold a Tier II degree, you can apply up to 2,000 hours of prior experience as a Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) or up to 2,000 hours as a case manager toward your total. Whichever hours remain must come from direct CAP level work in clinical evaluation, treatment planning, or counseling. Hours worked as a Behavioral Health Technician, CRSS, CRPS, CRRA, or under any other credential cannot be applied toward a CAP application at all. If you hold a Tier I degree, all of your experience must be at the CAP level, no substitutions.

On the Job Supervision

Every CAP applicant, regardless of tier, must complete 250 total hours of direct clinical supervision within the 10 years prior to application, documented by a qualified supervisor. No more than 3 hours per week or 156 hours per year can count. A qualified supervisor is a physician or physician’s assistant licensed under Chapter 458 or 459, a professional licensed under Chapter 490 or 491, a Psychiatric Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner meeting Board of Nursing requirements, or an existing MCAP or CAP.

Supervision hours are also broken down by domain, with different minimums depending on your tier. For Tier I: Clinical Evaluation 15 hours, Treatment Planning 15 hours, Counseling 25 hours, Case Management and Referral 10 hours, Client Family and Community Education 10 hours, Documentation 10 hours, and Legal and Professional Responsibility 15 hours. For Tier II, each of those minimums increases: Clinical Evaluation 25 hours, Treatment Planning 25 hours, Counseling 35 hours, Case Management and Referral 15 hours, Client Family and Community Education 15 hours, Documentation 15 hours, and Legal and Professional Responsibility 20 hours.

Recommendation Letters

You will need three professional letters of recommendation, submitted directly to the FCB by the recommenders themselves using the official Recommendation for Certification Form. Recommenders must know you professionally and cannot be a relative, a member of your household, or anyone in a romantic or familial relationship with you. They also cannot be in a subordinate position to you, and the same person cannot submit more than one recommendation for the same credential.

The Exam

Both tiers sit for the same 100 item, multiple choice CAP exam, with a two hour time limit and a passing score of 74 percent. Each question has one correct answer and two plausible but incorrect distractors, and every question is weighted equally. The exam covers seven performance domains: Clinical Evaluation (16 items), Treatment Planning (11 items), Case Management and Referral (15 items), Counseling (22 items), Client Family and Community Education (8 items), Documentation (14 items), and Professional Responsibilities (14 items). Roughly 35 percent of questions test simple recall, 50 percent test comprehension, and 15 percent test your ability to apply knowledge to a real situation.

You will see your unofficial score immediately after finishing. Official scores are processed weekly. If you do not pass, you receive a detailed Strengths and Opportunities Report broken down by domain and by cognitive level, so you know exactly where to focus before retesting. There is a mandatory 30 day waiting period between attempts.

What About MCAP?

If you hold a graduate degree, the FCB offers a third, more advanced track: the Master’s Level Certified Addiction Professional (MCAP). This is a separate credential from the two bachelor’s level CAP tiers described above, not a third CAP tier.

MCAP applicants complete 161 hours of graduate level training spread across eight performance domains: Understanding Addiction Knowledge (31 hours), Counseling (30 hours), Ethical and Professional Responsibilities (30 hours), Clinical Evaluation (25 hours), Treatment Planning (15 hours), Case Management and Referral (10 hours), Client, Family, and Community Education (10 hours), and Documentation (10 hours).

If you already hold a valid CAP credential in good standing, you do not need to start over. You only need to complete a 20 hour upgrade track: 16 hours of supervision training, 4 hours of HIV and AIDS content, and 2 hours of domestic violence content.

MCAPs are recognized as Qualified Professionals under Chapter 397, Florida Statutes, and can work within licensed substance use disorder treatment agencies or community mental health centers. One important limit to understand: the MCAP designation alone does not permit independent private practice. You would need a corresponding Florida license in a counseling discipline, such as an LMHC or LCSW, to practice independently. MCAPs can make diagnostic impressions and social considerations related to substance use, but cannot dispense or prescribe medication.

Like CAP, the MCAP credential renews annually by June 30, requiring 20 continuing education hours each year relevant to one or more MCAP performance domains.

We offer a full MCAP approved course library as well. Browse MCAP courses here.

What Happens After You Pass

Your CAP credential is issued for one year initially, then renews annually every June 30. To maintain it, you must complete 20 hours of continuing education every renewal period, covering content relevant to at least one CAP performance domain, and comply with the FCB Code of Ethical and Professional Conduct. A 30 day grace period exists for late renewal payments, but any renewal completed in July must include your CE documentation. If you have not renewed by August 1, your credential moves to inactive status and you will need to contact the FCB directly to reactivate it.

Individuals holding the CAP are recognized as a qualified professional under Chapter 397, Florida Statutes, and CAP services are billable under Florida’s State Medicaid Plan.