Credentials

Certified Addiction Professional (CAP)

The Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) credential is for professionals who provide direct, clinical counseling to persons affected by substance use. CAPs demonstrate the clinical skills necessary to provide a full range of recovery-oriented, substance use clinical services, including but not limited to screening, assessment, intake, treatment/discharge/recovery planning, individual and group counseling, case management and referral to necessary resources, and psychoeducation.

The CAP designates competency in the domains of Clinical Evaluation; Treatment Planning; Counseling; Case Management and Referral; Client, Family and Community Education; Documentation; and Professional Responsibility.

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

All CAP applicants or certified professionals are eligible to apply for the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) credential.

CAP applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field. Related fields are listed in the CAP Standards and Requirements Tables. If your degree isn’t specifically listed as a related degree but you think your coursework makes your degree equivalent, you may request a Related Degree Equivalency Review.

NEW CAP Application Documents

Beginning July 1, 2023, new CAP standards and requirements are open. There are two certification pathways or tiers that are designated by academic degrees. Each tier determines specific training, work experience, and on-the-job supervision requirements.

  • The Tier I pathway is for applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specified counseling-related field. The additional requirements are streamlined to recognize the counseling-related course content in the designated bachelor’s degree programs.
  • The Tier II pathway is for applicants who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in a health and human services field. Additional requirements must be met in full as the designated degree programs for this tier generally have less counseling-related course content.

Applying for certification is a multi-step process that requires you to submit information and supporting documentation directly to the FCB and to request documentation from other individuals, which they will need to submit directly to the FCB on your behalf.

Please carefully review all of the credential documents before applying for certification.

CAP Standards and Requirements Table

Mandatory Forms – Tier I

Mandatory Forms – Tier II

Test Preparation

CAP Scholarship Program for 2024-2025 is Now Open

The scholarship program, granted through the Florida Department of Children and Families, Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, is open from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This scholarship can be used for applications, exams, upgrades, renewals, and reinstatements. A new Scholarship Application form is now available that is enabled for typing information directly into. Please read the Instructions for completing the Scholarship Application Form before beginning to use it.

CAP Scholarship Application

Please note the scholarship application is not the same as applying for the credential. If your scholarship is approved, you must apply for the credential online through your FCB account.

How to Apply

  1. If you don’t already have one, create an online account.
  2. Create an electronic application for certification (from your online account).
    • Complete all required fields of information.
    • Upload required documents.
    • Pay the certification fee.
  3. Provide mandatory forms to eligible people to complete and submit to FCB on your behalf.

Key Information

  1. You can expect to be contacted by your FCB Certification Specialist within 30 days of submitting your online application and fee payment.
  2. The credential is awarded after all requirements have been submitted and approved.