Arkansas LADAC & LAADAC Continuing Education Requirements
Arkansas addiction counselors must complete 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LADAC / LAADAC license, including 6 hours of ethics and 15 hours of substance use disorders.
30hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 30
15substance use disorders
6ethics
Next deadline: December 31, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by December 31 of odd years.
Where this comes from
- State source
- Arkansas board rule
- Last verified
- October 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.4
Every figure on this page is read from this rule, and the page refreshes when the ruleset changes. How we verify
It's free for 30 days, and you don't need a card.
Requirements
Arkansas LADAC & LAADAC requirements
Total
30 hoursYou need 30 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by December 31 of odd years.
Topic minimums, counted within the 30
The remaining 9 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
- Substance Use Disorders
- 15
- You need 15 hours each cycle.
- Ethics
- 6
- You need 6 hours each cycle.
Limits on how the hours are earned
- Live
- min 15 hrs
- First time presentation
- max 10 hrs
- Publication
- max 10 hrs
- Professional leadership service
- max 10 hrs
- Volunteer service
- max 32 hrs
At least 15 hours must be earned live.
Cycle and record rules
- Renewal
- The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by December 31 of odd years.
- Approved providers
- Hours count from the sponsors the board lists in Rule 4 section K: the Arkansas Substance Abuse Certification Board, the Arkansas Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock MidSOUTH Summer School and MidSOUTH Addiction Training Network, the Arkansas Mental Health Counselors Association, the Veterans Administration, NAADAC, the National Board for Certified Counselors, the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychological Association. "All other continuing education courses not sponsored by the above would require prior approval by the SBEADAC." Hours must fall inside the January 1 to December 31 biennium, and "The same continuing education course will not be allowed more than once during the two (2) year renewal period."
- Recordkeeping
- Keep CE documentation for 2 years after each renewal.
- Board audit
- The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
- Late renewal
- A late renewal adds a $50 late fee.
To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.
Your hours
Check where you stand
Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before December 31, 2027.
Your result appears here as you enter hours.
Open the full Addiction Counselor CE hours calculatorFull board policy details
- Renewal: "Counselors licensed under Act 1588 of 1999 shall be required to submit biennially at the time of renewal, a license renewal fee" with the Licensure Renewal Form, the Continuing Education Documentation Form and the Contact Information Form, in one packet to the Department of Health, SBEADAC, 4815 W. Markham, Box 42A, Little Rock, AR 72205 (Rule 4 section J; Ark. Code Ann. 17-27-413(a): renew "every two (2) years"). "If all licensure renewal materials and fees are not submitted by December 31 of the year prior to the year for which the license is being renewed, the Counselor's license expires, effective December 31 of that year" (J). The board prefers packets by November 1 and, per the 2025 form, by its December meeting for documents dated January 1. The cycle is the calendar biennium ending December 31 of odd years (2024 to 2025, 2026 to 2027), one statewide tile.
- Online courses: "No more than fifty percent (50%) of the total requisite hours may be obtained through online courses" (Rule 4 section K). "Online" here is the asynchronous, self-paced course; a webinar counts as face-to-face only when "both live and interactive" (K(f)), and the board's documentation form separates "In Person Classes or Interactive Classes" from "On line Classes". The engine enforces the limit as the 15-hour live floor above: with 30 hours required, at most 15 may be self-study or recorded.
- Live and interactive: "At least 15 hours must be in person, by webinar or by ZOOM (any interactive class)" (Continuing Education Documentation Form). Log in-person attendance as IN person and a live interactive webinar as live; both satisfy the floor.
- Approved sponsors (Rule 4 section K(c) as codified): Arkansas Substance Abuse Certification Board; Arkansas Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors; the University of Arkansas at Little Rock MidSOUTH Summer School and MidSOUTH Addiction Training Network; Arkansas Mental Health Counselors Association; Veterans Administration; NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals; National Board for Certified Counselors; National Association of Social Workers; American Psychological Association. "All other continuing education courses not sponsored by the above would require prior approval by the SBEADAC. The burden of proof for validating the quality/quantity of education hours would be shared by the Counselor and the education services provider." The engine therefore requires a named provider of one of these kinds on every credit.
- Accepted activities (Rule 4 section K(d)): attending workshops "provided by a qualified professional from state and/or nationally recognized training programs"; presenting such workshops at two hours per hour of the initial presentation, all first-time courses capped at 10 hours per renewal period; formal academic coursework at an accredited institution at 15 CE hours per course credit hour, counted only after the course is completed; publishing a journal article or book in addiction treatment, 10 hours, maximum 10 per two-year period; professional service in leadership positions, 10 hours; and volunteer services under Ark. Code Ann. 20-8-804 at one CE hour per eight hours served, maximum 32. Each activity is entered through the matching credit conversion so the caps bind.
- Course repeats and timing: "The same continuing education course will not be allowed more than once during the two (2) year renewal period. If the course name is the same, the licensee has the responsibility to make sure the content has changed since the last date the course was taken" (Rule 4 section K(e)). A credit hour is 60 minutes of actual activity, breaks excluded, and credits must be at least 15 minutes.
- Dual licensure: Rule 4 contains no shared-hours concession and no reduced total for a LADAC who also holds an Arkansas LPC, LCSW or LMFT; the 30 hours, 15 substance-use hours and 6 ethics hours are owed in full on this license. Because NBCC, NASW and APA are approved sponsors, counselor, social-work and psychology CE from those sponsors is accepted toward the 30 when the content is relevant, and substance-use content earned for another license also satisfies the 15 here. The statute separately lets "persons licensed under other health or behavioral science boards" practice alcoholism and drug abuse counseling without this license "so long as those persons maintain current licensure in their respective fields" (Ark. Code Ann. 17-27-403(f)), so a dual licensee who drops the LADAC is not barred from the work.
- Uniformed service: "A (full/partial) exemption from continuing education requirements will be allowed for a deployed uniform service member or spouse until one hundred and eighty (180) days following the date of the uniformed service member's return from deployment", and the license expiration is extended by the same 180 days (Rule 4 section H, Act 135 of 2021). Renewal fees are waived for a licensee "actually serving in the armed forces of the United States" (Ark. Code Ann. 17-27-413(b)). The engine does not read deployment status; the licensee asks the board for the extension.
Arkansas LADAC & LAADAC CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC licensees need?
Arkansas requires 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LADAC / LAADAC license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by December 31 of odd years.
How many ethics hours are required for Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC licensees?
Of the total, 6 hours must be in ethics.
How often do Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC licensees renew?
The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by December 31 of odd years.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Arkansas requires 15 hours of substance use disorders.
Can Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC licensees complete CE online or by home study?
At least 15 hours must be earned live.
Sources and verification
- State source
- Arkansas board rule
- Fee schedule
- Arkansas board fee schedule
- Last verified
- October 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.4
We reviewed this page against the Arkansas board source, and we refresh it from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it
Make your next renewal easier.
Add your Arkansas LADAC / LAADAC license and every requirement on this page becomes a checklist on your record.
30 days free, no credit card.
Arkansas guides & data
What to keep for a CE audit →Learn what boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and what the notice looks like, then use the printable checklist.Arkansas mental health workforce data →11,122 active providers, or 357.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 35 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.
Other Arkansas CE requirement pages
Addiction Counselor CE requirements in other states
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming