Kentucky LADC, LCADC & CADC Continuing Education Requirements
Kentucky addiction counselors must complete 60 continuing education hours every 3 years to renew their LADC / LCADC / CADC license, including 3 hours of ethics.
60hours every 3 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 60
3ethics
The renewal cycle is triennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
Where this comes from
- State source
- Kentucky board rule
- Last verified
- October 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.1
Every figure on this page is read from this rule, and the page refreshes when the ruleset changes. How we verify
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Requirements
Kentucky LADC, LCADC & CADC requirements
Total
60 hoursYou need 60 hours every 3 years. The renewal cycle is triennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
Topic minimums, counted within the 60
The remaining 57 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
- Ethics
- 3
- You need 3 hours each cycle.
Limits on how the hours are earned
- Live
- min 30 hrs
At least 30 hours must be earned live.
Cycle and record rules
- Renewal
- The renewal cycle is triennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
- Renewal fee
Renewal fees by license status Status / fee Amount and conditions LCADC license renewal, three years $300. The renewal fee for a licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor shall be $300 for a three (3) year period. LCADC late renewal penalty $50. Added to the $300 fee during the ninety-day grace period (Section 4(2)(l)). LADC or CADC renewal, three years $200. The renewal fee for certification as a certified alcohol and drug counselor, or licensure as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, shall be $200 for a three (3) year period. LADC or CADC late renewal, total $250. Total including penalty for renewal during the ninety-day grace period, not an amount added to the $200. Three-year amounts from 201 KAR 35:020 Section 4(2). The headline renewal and late figures are the LCADC's; the CADC and LADC late figure is quoted as a total including the penalty.
We verified these fees on 2026-10-15. Board fee schedule.
- Approved providers
- A program relevant to alcohol and drug counseling is approved without further review when it is provided, approved or sponsored by NAADAC and its member boards, the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC), the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse and its subcontractors, a community mental health center, the Kentucky School of Alcohol and Drug Studies, an Addiction Technology Transfer Center, a state or United States regional addiction training institute, CAPTASA or the National Conference on Addiction Disorders (201 KAR 35:040 Section 2(4)). An academic course from an accredited postsecondary institution needs no board review (Section 2(5)). Any other program, including home study and in-service training from an unlisted organization, counts only with board approval, sought before the program (Section 3) or afterwards (Section 4). The credential holder "shall determine prior to attending a specific continuing education program" that it is board-approved or offered by a board-approved organization (Section 1(4)).
- Recordkeeping
- Keep CE documentation for 5 years after each course's completion date.
- Board audit
- The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
- Late renewal
- The board allows a 90-day grace period after expiration. 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 your renewal.
Your result appears here as you enter hours.
Open the full Addiction Counselor CE hours calculatorKentucky LADC, LCADC & CADC required trainings and mandates
Beyond the 60-hour CE total, Kentucky requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.
Recurring mandates outside the 3-year cycle
- You need 6 hours of suicide prevention every 6 years.
Full board policy details
- Renewal cadence and the register date: credentials renew "every three (3) years" (KRS 309.085(1)) on the licensee's own issue anniversary. A registration, certificate or license "not renewed within ninety (90) days after the holder's renewal date shall be deemed cancelled" (201 KAR 35:020 Section 4(1)(a)). The expiration date the Department of Professional Licensing register prints is that cancellation date, about three years and three months after issue, not the renewal date. The hours are owed by the renewal date, three years after issue.
- Live format: at least half of the required hours must be "live synchronous or face-to-face continuing education presentations" (201 KAR 35:040 Section 2(3)), thirty of the sixty. A recorded webinar or home-study course counts only toward the remaining thirty, and a home study course from a provider not on the Section 2(4)(b) list needs board approval (Section 2(6)(a)1).
- Academic coursework: an academic course from an accredited postsecondary institution that is an alcohol and drug counseling course or relevant to alcohol and drug counseling "shall not require board review or approval" (201 KAR 35:040 Section 2(5)(a); 201 KAR 35:010 Section 1(1)), and "one (1) credit hour equaling fifteen (15) continuing education hours" (Section 2(5)(c)). Enter the converted hours.
- Presenting and publishing, both subject to board review (201 KAR 35:040 Section 2(6)): a credential holder who presents a program or academic course earns "two (2) continuing education hours for each contact hour of instruction, unless it is repeated instruction of the same course"; authorship of a relevant publication earns five hours per published abstract or book review in a refereed journal, ten per book chapter or monograph, fifteen per article in a refereed journal and twenty per published book. The rule sets no cap on either. Enter the converted hours once the board approves them.
- No carryover: "Continuing education hours earned in excess of those required pursuant to Section 1 of this administrative regulation shall not be carried forward" (201 KAR 35:040 Section 7).
- Certified clinical supervisor and approved supervisors: a certified clinical supervisor owes "a minimum of nine (9) continuing education hours ... during the three (3) year licensure period for renewal, at least three (3) hours of which shall be the board sponsored clinical supervision training", and "These hours may be included in the continuing education hours required for the certified alcohol and drug counselor, licensed alcohol and drug counselor, or licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor credential held by the certified clinical supervisor" (201 KAR 35:040 Section 1(2)). A board-approved supervisor "shall obtain a minimum of three (3) board-sponsored continuing education hours in supervision theory or techniques in each three (3) year renewal cycle" or lose the approval (201 KAR 35:070 Section 4(2)). Neither is tracked here; a supervisor should log the board-sponsored hours inside the sixty.
- Dual licensure: 201 KAR 35:040 says nothing about hours earned for a professional counselor, social work, marriage and family therapy or psychology renewal and neither reduces nor combines the sixty hours for a dual licensee. Each KBADC credential renews on its own issue anniversary, and a person holding two KBADC credentials (for example a CADC and a later LADC) renews each one on its own date. A course counts toward the KBADC renewal only if it is relevant to alcohol and drug counseling and comes from a Section 2(4)(b) provider or carries board approval; another board's approval is accepted only for the six-hour suicide course, which may be approved by the Kentucky boards of social work, marriage and family therapy, licensed professional counselors, pastoral counselors, psychology or occupational therapy (Section 1(6)).
- Initial credentialing, not renewal: applicants complete six hours of ethics, three of domestic violence and two of HIV training before issuance (KRS 309.083(7), 309.0830(6), 309.0832(6)) and comply with the KRS 210.366 suicide training (KRS 309.083(10), 309.0830(9), 309.0832(9)). The domestic violence and HIV hours are not renewal requirements. An applicant licensed on or after June 25, 2013 who completed a six-hour academic suicide program within the six years before applying may delay the first training for six years after initial licensure (KRS 210.366(3)(b)).
- Scope of the three credentials: the practice of alcohol and drug counseling "Means the assessment and counseling of an individual, family, or group dealing with an alcohol or drug problem or addiction" and "Does not include the diagnosis or treatment of a mental health condition, or the administration or interpretation of psychological tests" (KRS 309.080(11)). The LCADC, LADC and CADC are not supervisee credentials: the supervisor-of-record duties of 201 KAR 35:070 Section 8 apply to the licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor associate, the temporary certified alcohol and drug counselor and the certified alcohol and drug counselor associate I and II. An LCADC with twelve months of post-licensure experience or the board-sponsored supervision training, and a CADC or LADC with two years' post-certification experience and that training, may be approved to supervise (201 KAR 35:010 Section 1(14); 35:070 Section 4(1)).
- Reinstatement and reactivation (201 KAR 35:040 Section 9): reinstating a cancelled LCADC, LADC or CADC requires either sixty hours earned in the three years before the request or thirty hours within six months after reinstatement, and failing the thirty within six months terminates the credential. Reactivating from voluntary inactive status requires twenty hours in the year before the request, at least ten of them live synchronous or face-to-face. These hours "shall be in addition to the continuing education requirements established in Section 1 ... and shall not be used to comply with the requirements of that section" (Section 9(8)). Retired status (CADC-R, LADC-R, LCADC-R) carries no CE requirement, but returning to practice means meeting the current initial credentialing requirements (201 KAR 35:080 Section 5).
Kentucky LADC, LCADC & CADC CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Kentucky LADC / LCADC / CADC licensees need?
Kentucky requires 60 continuing education hours every 3 years to renew a LADC / LCADC / CADC license. The renewal cycle is triennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
How many ethics hours are required for Kentucky LADC / LCADC / CADC licensees?
Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.
How often do Kentucky LADC / LCADC / CADC licensees renew?
The renewal cycle is triennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
How much does Kentucky LADC / LCADC / CADC license renewal cost?
| Status / fee | Amount and conditions |
|---|---|
| LCADC license renewal, three years | $300. The renewal fee for a licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor shall be $300 for a three (3) year period. |
| LCADC late renewal penalty | $50. Added to the $300 fee during the ninety-day grace period (Section 4(2)(l)). |
| LADC or CADC renewal, three years | $200. The renewal fee for certification as a certified alcohol and drug counselor, or licensure as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, shall be $200 for a three (3) year period. |
| LADC or CADC late renewal, total | $250. Total including penalty for renewal during the ninety-day grace period, not an amount added to the $200. |
Three-year amounts from 201 KAR 35:020 Section 4(2). The headline renewal and late figures are the LCADC's; the CADC and LADC late figure is quoted as a total including the penalty.
We verified these fees on 2026-10-15. Board fee schedule.
Can Kentucky LADC / LCADC / CADC licensees complete CE online or by home study?
At least 30 hours must be earned live.
Sources and verification
- State source
- Kentucky board rule
- Fee schedule
- Kentucky board fee schedule
- Last verified
- October 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.1
We reviewed this page against the Kentucky 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
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Kentucky 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.Kentucky mental health workforce data →18,646 active providers, or 404.7 per 100,000 residents, ranked 29 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.
Other Kentucky CE requirement pages
Addiction Counselor CE requirements in other states
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- Arkansas
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- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
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- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
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- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
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