Section 1375

Section 1375.30 Application for Examination/Permanent Licensure as a Professional Counselor

a) Each applicant seeking original licensure under Section 35 of the Act shall file an application with the Department, on forms provided by the Department, at least 90 days prior to an examination date. The application shall include:

1) For individuals who graduated or who were enrolled in a program prior to January 1, 1999 (these individuals have until January 1, 2003 to complete the educational requirements set forth in Section 1375.50(a); otherwise, the applicant will be required to meet the educational requirements set forth in Section 1375.50(b)):

A) Certification of education from a master's or doctoral degree program in counseling, psychology or rehabilitation counseling from a college, university or school recognized by the educational governing authority in the jurisdiction in which it is located, or certification of graduation and a transcript from a similar master's or doctoral degree program approved by the Department in accordance with Section 1375.50(b) of this Part; or

B) Certification of a baccalaureate degree from a college, university or school recognized by the educational governing authority in the jurisdiction in which it is located and 5 years of full time satisfactory supervised experience as a professional counselor subsequent to the degree in accordance with Section 1375.40 of this Part. However, experience earned prior to January 1, 1999 shall meet the following requirements:

i) An applicant shall document a total of 8400 clock hours of experience. No more than 1680 clock hours may be counted toward one year of experience. Part time experience shall be counted toward the experience requirement.

ii) The supervisor shall document the experience as satisfactory or better.

iii) Supervised work experience, for purposes of this Section, shall entail services to individuals, couples, groups, families and organizations in any one or more of the fields of professional counseling defined in Section 10 of the Act.

iv) Qualified supervisors are those individuals who, at the time of supervision, were master's level or doctoral level counselors (such as, but not limited to, licensed or registered marriage and family therapists, registered art therapists, pastoral counselors, school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, certified rehabilitation counselors), certified social workers or licensed clinical social workers, licensed clinical psychologists or licensed/registered psychologists, psychiatrists defined in Section 1-121 of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code or licensed clinical professional counselors.

v) An applicant may substitute, one time only, 15 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours of graduate courses related to counseling for one year of satisfactory supervised training.

vi) An applicant may begin gaining the required experience upon completion of the degree requirements. Verification of the date of completion of the degree, when different from the date of graduation, shall be certified to the Department by the applicant's educational institution.

2) Beginning January 1, 1999:

A) Certification of education and an official transcript from a master's or doctoral degree program in counseling, psychology, rehabilitation counseling or similar degree program approved in accordance with Section 1375.50(b) of this Part; or

B) Certification of education and an official transcript from a baccalaureate program in human services or similar degree program approved by the Department in accordance with Section 1375.50(b) of this Part and documentation of completion of 5 years of supervised professional experience subsequent to the degree in accordance with Section 1375.40 of this Part.

3) Beginning January 1, 2005:

B) Certification of education and an official transcript from a baccalaureate program in human services or similar degree program approved by the Department in accordance with Section 1375.50(c) of this Part and documentation of completion of 5 years of supervised professional experience subsequent to the degree in accordance with Section 1375.40 of this Part.

4) A complete work history since receipt of a qualifying degree for licensure (baccalaureate, master's or doctorate degree).

5) The required fee set forth in Section 1375.205.

6) Certification of licensure, on forms provided by the Department, from the state or territory of the United States in which an applicant was originally licensed and the state in which the applicant predominantly practices and is currently licensed, if applicable, stating:

A) The time during which the applicant was licensed in that jurisdiction, including the date of the original issuance in that jurisdiction;

B) A description of the examination in that jurisdiction; and

C) Whether the file on the applicant contains any record of disciplinary actions taken or pending.

b) Any individual who applies for a professional counselor license after January 1, 2008 shall meet the educational requirements set forth in Section 1375.50(c) (48 semester hours and 1 course in each area).

c) Individuals applying for licensure as a professional counselor may submit one of the following certifications (based on examination), in lieu of the documents required in subsections (a)(1) and (2):

1) Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRC)

2) National Certified Counselors (NCC)

An applicant submitting one of the certifications listed above will not be required to take and pass an additional examination administered by the Department. The Department, upon recommendation of the Board, has determined that the education and examination requirements are equivalent to the requirements for licensure as a professional counselor.

d) The Department, upon recommendation of the Board, has determined that the educational requirements of the following certifications meet the standards for an applicant to sit for the examination:

1) Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT);

2) Type 73 certificate issued by the Illinois State Board of Education as a School Counselor if the holder of the certificate has graduated from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) school counseling program or meets the educational standards set forth in Section 1375.50, School Psychologist or School Social Worker;

3) Fellow or Diplomate of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC).

An applicant who holds certification in any of the above groups needs to submit a copy of a certification in lieu of the documents required in subsections (a)(1) and (2). All certifications accepted by the Department shall be current.

e) When the accuracy of any submitted documentation or the relevance or sufficiency of the coursework or experience is questioned by the Department or the Board because of lack of information, discrepancies or conflicts in information given or a need for clarification, the applicant seeking licensure shall be requested to:

1) Provide such information as may be necessary; and/or

2) Appear for an interview before the Board to explain such relevance or sufficiency, clarify information or clear up any discrepancies or conflicts in information.

f) If an applicant has taken and passed the examination in accordance with Section 1375.50, the applicant shall file an application in accordance with subsection (a) above and shall have the examination scores submitted to the Department directly from the testing entity or from the state of original licensure.

(Source: Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 15483, effective September 19, 2003)