NAADAC Approved CEU Courses: Complete Provider Guide

If you hold a CADC, NCAC, or MAC credential through NAADAC, your continuing education hours need to come from approved providers. The same applies to counselors in many states that accept CE hours toward state-specific credential renewal from NAADAC-approved providers. This guide covers what NAADAC approval actually means, what it covers, and how to make sure your hours will count.

Table of Contents
  1. What NAADAC Approval Means
  2. Which Credentials Require NAADAC-Approved CE Hours?
  3. Types of NAADAC-Approved CE Courses
  4. How to Verify a NAADAC-Approved Provider
  5. How Many CE Hours Do NAADAC Credentials Require?
  6. What to Look for in a CE Program
  7. Common Mistakes That Lead to Rejected Hours
  8. Finding Approved CE Courses for Your Credential
  9. Tracking and Documenting Your CE Hours
  10. State Boards That Accept CE Hours from NAADAC-Approved Providers

What NAADAC Approval Means

NAADAC is the National Association for Addiction Professionals. When a training provider is approved by NAADAC, it means NAADAC has reviewed that provider’s courses and determined they meet the content and quality standards required for continuing education credit toward NAADAC credentials and renewals.

NAADAC-approved providers go through an application and review process and are assigned a provider number. That number appears on certificates of completion and should be on all course materials from the provider.

CEU Matrix’s NAADAC-approved course library (Provider #94564) is accepted for NAADAC credential renewal and by any state board that accepts CE hours from NAADAC-approved providers.

Which Credentials Require NAADAC-Approved CE Hours?

NAADAC-approved continuing education counts toward renewal for:

  • NCAC I (National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level I)
  • NCAC II (National Certified Addiction Counselor, Level II)
  • MAC (Master Addiction Counselor)
  • NCC AP (National Certified Peer Support Specialist, Advanced)
  • NDAMHRS (National Diplomate of the American Association of Masters in Psychology and Health Care)

CE hours from NAADAC-approved providers are also accepted by a large number of state boards for state-specific credential renewals including CADC renewals, CDCA renewal in Ohio, CADC (formerly CSAC) renewal in North Carolina, and others. Many states explicitly include NAADAC approval on their lists of accepted CE sources, which is why NAADAC-approved providers tend to have the broadest reach across state lines.

CADC certification requirements vary by state, so confirm your specific renewal hour counts and ethics minimums with your credentialing board before enrolling.

Types of NAADAC-Approved CE Courses

NAADAC-approved courses span a wide range of content areas. Most renewal requirements specify that hours come from approved content categories, and not just any training will count.

Common approved content areas include:

  • Ethics in addiction counseling: ethics hours are required in nearly every renewal cycle, typically 3 to 6 hours minimum
  • Co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders: increasingly required as integrated care becomes the standard
  • Evidence-based treatment practices: motivational interviewing, CBT for SUD, contingency management
  • Cultural competency and diversity: required by many state boards
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Pharmacology and substance-specific content (opioids, alcohol, stimulants)
  • Supervision and clinical leadership: for counselors in supervisory roles
  • Telehealth and technology in counseling: newer category added by many boards post-pandemic

Not all content areas count toward all credentials. If your credential specifies a certain number of ethics hours or domain-specific content, verify that the courses you are taking meet those requirements before enrolling.

How to Verify a NAADAC-Approved Provider

Before enrolling in any CE course, verify the provider is current on NAADAC’s approved provider list. Three steps:

  1. Check the provider’s NAADAC number. It should be clearly displayed on the website and on your certificate of completion. CEU Matrix‘s NAADAC number is #94564.
  1. Check NAADAC’s provider registry. NAADAC maintains an online list of current approved providers. Search by provider name or number to confirm active status.
  1. Confirm the course format is accepted. NAADAC approves both in-person and online self-study formats, but your specific credential renewal requirements may cap online hours. Always verify against your credential’s renewal rules, not just NAADAC’s general policy.

How Many CE Hours Do NAADAC Credentials Require?

Renewal cycles and hour requirements by NAADAC credential:

Credential Renewal Cycle CE Hours Required
NCAC I 2 years 40 hours
NCAC II 2 years 40 hours
MAC 2 years 40 hours
NCC AP 2 years 40 hours

All renewal cycles require that a portion of hours cover ethics. NAADAC specifies at least 6 hours of ethics per renewal cycle for most credentials, though some states require more.

What to Look for in a CE Program

Not all continuing education programs are created equally. When evaluating a provider, consider:

Approval breadth. A provider approved by NAADAC, NBCC, IC&RC, and your state board gives you maximum flexibility. If you hold multiple credentials or move between states, you want hours that count across the board. CEU Matrix is approved through NAADAC (Provider #94564), NBCC (Provider #6310), IC&RC, and several state boards including OCDP Ohio (Provider #50-19236), TCB Texas (Provider #1758-07), and NCSAPPB North Carolina.

Self-paced availability. For working counselors, the ability to complete hours on your own schedule matters. Online self-study formats allow you to work through courses between sessions or on evenings and weekends.

Certificate delivery. You need a certificate of completion for every course that shows the provider’s approval number, course title, credit hours, and your name. Verify you receive one automatically after completing each course, not through a manual request process.

Content relevance. Choose courses that are both required by your board and genuinely useful in your clinical work. Ethics, trauma-informed care, and co-occurring disorders are perennial requirements and also areas where current practice continues to evolve.

Common Mistakes That Lead to Rejected Hours

A few recurring problems that cause CE hours to be rejected at renewal:

  • Outdated provider. Approval status must be current at the time you take the course, not just when you enrolled. Always verify before starting.
  • Wrong format. If your credential caps online hours and you complete more than allowed online, those excess hours will not count.
  • Missing documentation. Keep every certificate of completion. Boards require documentation of each approved course, and replacement certificates can be difficult to obtain after the fact.
  • Incomplete ethics hours. Ethics is the most commonly undercounted category at renewal. Count your ethics hours specifically, not just your total.

Finding Approved CE Courses for Your Credential

If you know which credential you are renewing and what content areas it requires, the most efficient approach is to search within an approved provider’s catalog by category. CEU Matrix organizes courses by content area and credential type, so you can identify qualifying hours quickly rather than scanning a generic course list.

For counselors holding state-specific credentials alongside NAADAC credentials, confirm that the same courses satisfy both requirements (often they do), which reduces total hours needed across renewal cycles.

Tracking and Documenting Your CE Hours

Completing the hours is only half the task. The other half is maintaining records that will hold up if a board audits your renewal submission.

Start Early and Track by Credential

Start keeping certificates from the first course you complete, not just the ones near your renewal date. Replacement certificates require contacting the original provider, and turnaround times vary. Some providers respond within days; others can take two to three weeks, which creates problems if you are close to a renewal deadline.

If you hold multiple credentials, track which certificates apply to each one. A counselor holding both an NCAC I through NAADAC and a state CSAC may be able to apply the same course hours toward both renewals simultaneously. That only works if you have verified the course is accepted by both credentialing bodies and you keep a record of which credential each certificate was applied to.

Self-Reporting and Audit Risk

Most state boards and NAADAC accept self-reporting of hours at renewal. You typically declare your completed hours on the renewal form but do not submit the underlying certificates unless the board requests documentation during an audit. “Accepted on self-report” does not mean the certificates are optional. It means you are attesting to having them. Keep every certificate on file.

Log completion dates carefully. Boards count hours from your last renewal date, not from the start of the calendar year. Hours completed before your current renewal period opened generally do not count toward the renewal in progress, even if they fall within the same year.

A practical documentation setup: maintain a spreadsheet or dedicated folder with one row or file per course. For each entry, record the certificate image, provider name and approval number, course title, credit hours, completion date, and which credential or credentials it counts toward. This takes a few minutes per course and eliminates the scramble that happens when a renewal deadline is two weeks out.

CEU Matrix issues certificates immediately upon course completion. Each certificate includes the NAADAC provider number, course title, credit hours, and completion date in a format that satisfies renewal documentation requirements across the boards that accept CE hours from NAADAC-approved providers.

State Boards That Accept CE Hours from NAADAC-Approved Providers

NAADAC approval is not just a NAADAC credential requirement. A significant number of state boards explicitly include NAADAC-approved providers on their accepted CE source lists, which means hours from an approved provider can count toward state credential renewal without requiring state-specific approval for each course.

Several boards that explicitly accept NAADAC-approved providers include:

  • Ohio OCDP (CDCA and LCDC II renewal): The Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board includes NAADAC-approved providers on its accepted continuing education source list.
  • Texas TCBAP (LCDC renewal): The Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals accepts NAADAC-approved continuing education hours for LCDC renewal.
  • North Carolina NCSAPPB (CADC renewal): The North Carolina Substance Abuse Professional Practice Board accepts NAADAC-approved providers for CSAC continuing education.
  • New York OASAS (CASAC renewal): CE hours from NAADAC-approved providers are widely accepted for the continuing education component of CASAC renewal through the New York Office of Addiction Services and Supports.
  • IC&RC member boards: The International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium’s member boards, which credential counselors across dozens of states, broadly recognize CE hours from NAADAC-approved providers for continuing education at renewal.

The caveat that applies in every case: board policies can change between renewal cycles. A provider or CE category that was accepted at your last renewal may have updated requirements by your next one. Always verify your specific board’s current approved provider list before enrolling, not just once at the start of a renewal period.

This broad multi-board recognition is part of why providers like CEU Matrix seek NAADAC approval alongside state-specific approvals. A single approved course can satisfy renewal requirements for counselors in multiple states, which matters for counselors who hold credentials in more than one state or who are considering reciprocity.

Counselors working toward initial certification, rather than renewal, have a different set of education hour requirements to meet before the credential is issued. The state-specific guides for CADC in North Carolina, CASAC in New York, and CDCA in Ohio cover those pre-credentialing requirements in detail.

Scroll to Top