Alaska AC Requirements & Hours Tracker

Alaska has created a new Associate Counselor (AC) license, but as of November 23, 2025, the license is not yet operational. This makes the requirements—and especially the hour requirements—confusing if you are planning a counseling career in the state.

The points below summarize what is known now, what the statutes say about supervised hours, and what the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors has publicly stated about the future AC license.

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1. Current status of the Associate Counselor license (AC)

House Bill 126 (2024) amended Alaska law to add an “associate counselor” license under AS 08.29 and gave the Board of Professional Counselors authority to license associate counselors and to set the criteria for that license in regulation. (akleg.gov)

However, the Board’s own website currently states:

• “Associate Counselor (New License Type) – not yet available.”
• The Board explains that, although HB 126 has an effective date of July 1, 2025, the associate counselor license cannot be created until regulations are adopted describing the requirements to obtain this new license type and the fees for it.
• It further notes that Administrative Order 358 has frozen the promulgation of new regulations, so “the regulations needed to finalize the creation of the associate counselor license type are not yet in place,” and the Board cannot provide a timeline. (commerce.alaska.gov)

Because of this, the Board instructs applicants that:

Those working to obtain the postgraduate hours needed to qualify for a Professional Counselor license must continue to gain the unlicensed postgraduate hours under a board‑approved supervisor, in compliance with AS 08.29.110(a)(6). (commerce.alaska.gov)

Bottom line:
As of late 2025, you cannot yet apply for an AC/Associate Counselor license in Alaska, and the Board has not published final hour requirements specifically for the AC credential.

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2. The supervised-hour framework that already exists (for LPC)

Even though the AC license is not yet live, the underlying experience requirement to become a fully licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) is clearly defined in statute and still governs what you must ultimately complete.

Under AS 08.29.110(a)(6), as updated by HB 126, a candidate for a professional counselor license must either:

1. “successfully completed an associate counselor program authorized in regulations of the board,” or
2. have completed a specified amount of supervised experience.

Because the associate counselor program has not yet been defined in regulation, the only practical pathway is still the supervised‑experience option spelled out in the same subsection. (akleg.gov)

The statutory experience requirement is:

• Total supervised experience:
  “at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience in the practice of professional counseling performed over a period of at least two years under the supervision of a supervisor approved under [AS 08.29].” (unicourt.github.io)

• Direct counseling hours:
  Within the 3,000 hours, there must be “at least 1,000 hours of direct counseling with individuals, couples, families, or groups.” (unicourt.github.io)

• Supervision hours:
  There must also be “at least 100 hours of direct supervision” by a supervisor approved under board regulations. HB 126 removed the word “face‑to‑face” from the statute so that the details of what counts as “direct” supervision (e.g., whether video counts) can be set in regulation. (akleg.gov)

The Board’s FAQ and guidance are consistent with this statute:

• Applicants need 3,000 hours of supervised experience, including 1,000 hours of direct counseling and 100 hours of supervision, completed over at least two years. (commerce.alaska.gov)
• Supervised hours are only accepted if they were obtained under a board‑approved supervisor, and the supervision period “cannot be completed in less than 2 years.” (commerce.alaska.gov)

These numbers—3,000 total, 1,000 direct, 100 supervision—are the only concrete, legally effective hour requirements in Alaska’s counselor-licensure scheme at the moment.

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3. How these hours relate to the future Associate Counselor (AC) license

HB 126 rewrote AS 08.29.110(a)(6) to add a new option:

After obtaining the required degree, an applicant must have
“successfully completed an associate counselor program authorized in regulations of the board or completed at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience … with at least 1,000 hours of direct counseling and 100 hours of direct supervision.” (akleg.gov)

Key implications:

• The total supervised experience standard for full LPC licensure remains:
  3,000 hours total, 1,000 direct counseling, 100 supervision, over at least two years.
• The associate counselor program will be an alternative pathway to satisfy that requirement. The statute clearly links successful completion of the AC program with the experience requirement needed for LPC licensure.
• However, the bill does not itself specify the internal hour breakdown of the associate counselor program. It delegates that to “regulations of the board.” (akleg.gov)

Because those regulations have not been adopted:

• There is no official, enforceable statement today such as “1,500 hours of X and 1,500 hours of Y” specifically for AC license holders.
• Any specific hour formula for the AC license (e.g., required weekly supervision while holding the AC license, maximum caseload, proportion of indirect vs direct hours) has not been published by the Board. (commerce.alaska.gov)

All we know from law and the Board’s own page is:

• The Board “shall license professional counselors and associate counselors, [and] establish criteria for supervisor certification and associate counselor licensure” by regulation. (akleg.gov)
• Those regulations will “detail the requirements to obtain this new license type,” but cannot move forward until the current regulatory freeze is lifted. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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4. Practical pathway right now (while AC is not available)

Until the Associate Counselor license is implemented, your path in Alaska looks like this:

Step 1 – Earn the qualifying counseling degree

AS 08.29.110(a)(5) requires either:

• a doctoral degree in counseling or a related professional field, or
• a master’s degree in counseling or a related professional field from a regionally or nationally accredited institution, with at least 60 graduate semester hours in counseling. (akleg.gov)

Regulations and Board FAQs add that your coursework must cover specified core areas (helping relationship, human growth and development, assessment, ethics, etc.). (commerce.alaska.gov)

Step 2 – Pass the national counseling exam

By regulation, the qualifying exam is the NCE or NCMHCE (both administered by NBCC), or another nationally recognized exam deemed equivalent by the Board. (commerce.alaska.gov)

Step 3 – Work under a board‑approved supervisor

Because the AC license is “not yet available,” you will accrue your post‑graduate experience as an unlicensed individual under supervision:

• Your supervisor must have board‑approved supervisor certification.
• “Only hours supervised by a Board approved supervisor will be accepted.” (commerce.alaska.gov)

Step 4 – Accumulate the required experience hours

Under current statute and Board interpretation, to qualify for LPC licensure you must complete:

• 3,000 total hours of supervised experience in professional counseling,
• of which at least 1,000 hours must be direct counseling with individuals, couples, families, or groups,
• and at least 100 hours must be direct supervision with your board‑approved supervisor. (unicourt.github.io)

The experience:

• Must span at least two years (you cannot compress it into a shorter period). (commerce.alaska.gov)
• Must be documented on the Board’s supervision/experience verification forms at the time you apply for LPC licensure. (commerce.alaska.gov)

Step 5 – Apply for licensure as a Professional Counselor

Once your degree, exam, and hours are complete, you apply for Professional Counselor licensure by examination using the Board’s forms (currently form #08‑4910). The application requires verification of post‑master’s experience and other supporting documentation. (commerce.alaska.gov)

At present there is no separate application form or process for Associate Counselor licensure, because the license does not yet exist in regulation and cannot be issued. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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5. What to watch for as the AC license is implemented

Once the regulatory freeze is lifted and the Board is able to adopt new regulations, you can expect several key documents to change:

• New regulations under 12 AAC 62 defining:
  • Eligibility criteria for an Associate Counselor license
  • Required types and amounts of supervised and direct counseling hours while holding AC status
  • Conditions and limits on practice under AC supervision
• New or revised application forms on the Board’s “Applications & Forms” page, adding an application specifically for Associate Counselor licensure. (commerce.alaska.gov)

At that point, the Board will likely publish explicit hour requirements for:

• How many hours you must complete within the associate counselor program,
• What proportion must be direct client contact,
• And how many hours of supervision (and in what formats) are required for ACs.

Until those regulations are adopted and posted, the only binding hour requirements you can rely on are the 3,000/1,000/100 hours for full LPC licensure described above, and the Board’s clear statement that anyone currently obtaining hours must do so as an unlicensed supervisee under a board‑approved supervisor. (commerce.alaska.gov)