Virginia Establishes Licensure Pathway for Substance Abuse Practitioners
Summary
The Virginia Board of Counseling is directed to establish a new pathway for licensure by endorsement for substance abuse treatment practitioners. This pathway allows individuals with at least 10 years of certification as a substance abuse counselor, supervised experience, a master's degree, and a Master Addiction Counselor credential to obtain licensure without an examination.
What changed
Virginia House Bill 1282 directs the Board of Counseling to create a licensure by endorsement pathway for substance abuse treatment practitioners. This new pathway is available to applicants who have held certification as a certified substance abuse counselor for at least 10 years, possess at least five years of documented supervised experience, hold a master's degree in counseling, and have a Master Addiction Counselor credential from NAADAC. Crucially, this endorsement pathway will not require applicants to pass an examination.
Licensed healthcare providers and counselors in Virginia seeking to practice as licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners should review the specific requirements outlined by the Board of Counseling once established. While the bill directs the creation of this pathway, the exact implementation details and effective date for applications will depend on the Board's subsequent actions. This change aims to streamline the licensing process for experienced professionals in the field, potentially increasing the availability of qualified substance abuse treatment providers.
What to do next
- Monitor for the establishment of the licensure by endorsement pathway by the Virginia Board of Counseling.
- Review eligibility criteria for the new pathway if seeking licensure as a substance abuse treatment practitioner.
- Ensure all required documentation (certification, experience, degree, credential) is readily available.
Source document (simplified)
VA HB1282 | 2026 | Regular Regular Session
Virginia House Bill 1282
VA State Legislature page for HB1282
- Summary
- Sponsors
- Texts
- Votes
- Research
- Comments
- Track
Status
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)
Status: Enrolled on March 14 2026 - 75% progression
Action: 2026-03-25 - Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
Text: Latest bill text (Enrolled) [HTML]
Summary
Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement; licensure without examination. Directs the Board of Counseling to establish a pathway to licensure by endorsement as a licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner for applicants who have held certification as a certified substance abuse counselor for at least 10 years without a history of disciplinary action, have completed at least five years of documented supervised experience, hold at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of counseling, and hold a Master Addiction Counselor credential issued by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. The bill provides that such pathway to licensure by endorsement does not require examination.
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Title
Licensed substance abuse treatment practitioners; licensure by endorsement, etc.
Sponsors
| Del. Joshua Cole [D] | Del. Virgil Thornton [D] | Del. Rodney Willett [D] |
Roll Calls
2026-03-09 - Senate - Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-03-06 - Senate - Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-03-05 - Senate - Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-17 - House - Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 97 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2026-02-12 - House - Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N) (Y: 21 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-02-10 - House - Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) (Y: 10 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
History
| Date | Chamber | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-25 | | Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 |
| 2026-03-25 | House | Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 |
| 2026-03-17 | House | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Signed by President |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Signed by Speaker |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1282ER) |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Enrolled |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Read third time |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Rules suspended |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-27 | Senate | Assigned Education sub: Health Professions |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Referred to Committee on Education and Health |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-02-16 | House | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) |
| 2026-02-16 | House | Engrossed by House as amended |
| 2026-02-16 | House | committee amendment agreed to |
| 2026-02-16 | House | Read second time |
| 2026-02-15 | House | Read first time |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) (21-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1282) |
| 2026-01-23 | House | Assigned sub: Health Professions |
| 2026-01-14 | House | Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services |
| 2026-01-14 | House | Presented and ordered printed 26104275D |
Virginia State Sources
| Type | Source |
| --- | --- |
| Summary | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282 |
| Text | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282/text/HB1282 |
| Text | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282/text/HB1282E |
| Text | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282/text/HB1282ER |
| Amendment | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282/text/HB1282AHC1 |
| Amendment | https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1282/text/HB1282AH1 |
| Supplement | https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1135413.PDF |
| Supplement | https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1151092.PDF |
| Supplement | https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213201.PDF |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/H24002V2612414 |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/H24V2612971 |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/26110289 |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/S4V2625 |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/SV1052 |
| Roll Call | https://lis.virginia.gov/vote-details/HB1282/20261/SV1038 |
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