Alaska BAPCS Requirements & Hours Tracker

Alaska’s Board of Professional Counselors strictly controls who may supervise post‑master’s hours toward Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licensure. To do this work you must be certified as an Approved Professional Counselor Supervisor (often called BAPCS) under AS 08.29.210 and 12 AAC 62.200. (ak.elaws.us)

Below is a step‑by‑step guide that tracks the actual statutory and regulatory language, and spells out the relevant hour requirements.

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1. Understand what the Alaska credential actually is

Alaska’s law and regulations use the term “approved counselor supervisor” or “Approved Professional Counselor Supervisor”, not the acronym BAPCS. (ak.elaws.us)

Key points about this credential:

• It is a supervisor certification, not a separate clinical license.
• It is issued under AS 08.29.210 (Supervisor certification) and the implementing regulation 12 AAC 62.200 (Approved counselor supervisor certification). (ak.elaws.us)
• Certification is perpetual: it “remains in effect, without the need for renewal” until your underlying professional license “is revoked, suspended, or otherwise lapses.” (ak.elaws.us)

Crucially, the Board states that you must be approved and certified as an Approved Professional Counselor Supervisor before you supervise any professional counselors who are obtaining their postgraduate experience. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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2. Hold an eligible professional license

Under AS 08.29.210(a)(1), the Board will only approve a supervisor if the person is already licensed in one of several mental health professions: (ak.elaws.us)

You must be either:

• A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), or
• A licensed physician,
• A licensed advanced practice registered nurse “who is certified to provide psychiatric or mental health services,”
• A licensed clinical social worker,
• A licensed marital and family therapist,
• A licensed psychologist, or
• A licensed psychological associate.

If you are licensed in another jurisdiction and applying to be certified as an approved supervisor for Alaska supervisees, you must provide a copy of your license from that jurisdiction with the application. (law.cornell.edu)

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3. Document “five years of counseling experience”

Instead of requiring a specific number of counseling practice hours for supervisors, Alaska statute requires time‑based experience:

• You must have “five years of counseling experience” to be certified as an approved counselor supervisor. (ak.elaws.us)

The Board’s official supervisor application (form #08‑4430) mirrors this requirement and instructs you to:

• Provide “a statement that you are currently licensed to practice and have at least five years of counseling experience” and to indicate whether you have practiced in the listed profession for at least 5 years. (commerce.alaska.gov)

There is no additional regulation that converts those five years into a fixed number of total hours (e.g., 8,000 hours). The governing documents simply use the phrase “five years of counseling experience”.

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4. Complete required supervision‑specific continuing education hours

The only explicit hour requirement to become a BAPCS/approved counselor supervisor is in 12 AAC 62.200(a)(4), and it is in the form of continuing education related to supervision: (law.cornell.edu)

You must submit documentation showing:

1. At least 25 contact hours of continuing education related to supervision of professional counselors completed within the two years preceding your application date.
2. Of those 25 hours, at least 12 hours must be earned through synchronous (live) “courses, seminars, and workshops.”
3. All 25 hours must be obtained:
   • Through a three semester‑hour graduate course in clinical supervision, or
   • A course approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), or
   • A course approved by the American Counseling Association (ACA), or
   • A course approved by the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), or
   • Other supervision‑related courses pre‑approved by the Board as equivalent to the above.

In practice, you’ll list these on the Board’s “Board Approved Supervisor Continuing Education Documentation” form (#08‑4430a) and attach supporting certificates/transcripts. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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5. Ethics and fitness requirements specific to supervisors

5.1. Ethics code you must follow

The regulation 12 AAC 62.200(b) adopts the AMHCA Code of Ethics as the code of ethics for approved counselor supervisors. (law.cornell.edu)

The application requires you to certify that you adhere, and will continue to adhere, to this code of ethics. (law.cornell.edu)

5.2. Board’s authority to deny supervisor certification

Under 12 AAC 62.200(c), the Board may deny an approved supervisor certification if, for example: (law.cornell.edu)

• You have been disciplined by any licensing jurisdiction within the three years before applying;
• You have violated ethical standards of a profession in which you hold a license within that three‑year period; or
• At the time your application is received, you are the subject of a complaint or unresolved investigation for violations of ethical standards.

The supervisor application (Part V) therefore asks detailed professional fitness questions and requires explanations and documentation for any “yes” answers. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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6. File the supervisor application and fees

You can apply either online (via MyAlaska) or using the current paper form “Board Approved Professional Counselor Supervisor” #08‑4430, Rev. 11/01/2024. (commerce.alaska.gov)

6.1. Fees

The current application instructions specify: (commerce.alaska.gov)

• Non‑refundable application fee: $200
• Perpetual supervisor certification fee: $150
• Total due at application: $350

The form notes that this is a “perpetual certification – it does not renew.” (commerce.alaska.gov)

6.2. Core application components

The Board’s instructions list the items that must be received before your supervisor application will be reviewed: (commerce.alaska.gov)

1. Signed, completed application (#08‑4430, pages 1–4).
2. Fees paid to “State of Alaska.”
3. Statement of licensure and five years’ experience – a statement confirming:
   • Your current professional license (LPC, LCSW, etc., as allowed by statute), and
   • At least five years of counseling experience.
4. Statement of supervision philosophy, orientation, and experience – a narrative that describes:
   • Your supervision philosophy,
   • Your counseling orientation, and
   • Your counseling experience.
     (This directly tracks AS 08.29.210(a)(4), which requires “a statement that details the person’s supervision philosophy, orientation, and experience.”) (ak.elaws.us)
5. Continuing education documentation – the completed CE documentation form and proof of the 25 supervision‑related contact hours (with at least 12 synchronous, and from acceptable providers/courses as noted above).

If you are an out‑of‑state supervisor, you must also submit a copy of your current professional license from the other jurisdiction. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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7. How your approval connects to your supervisees’ required hours

Even though the BAPCS/approved supervisor credential itself doesn’t require you to log your own direct client hours, you are responsible for supervising very specific hour requirements for your supervisees seeking Alaska LPC licensure.

Those requirements are set in AS 08.29.110(a)(6) and 12 AAC 62.220: (unicourt.github.io)

7.1. Supervisee’s minimum post‑degree experience

Once a supervisee has the qualifying graduate degree, they must complete:

• At least 3,000 hours of supervised experience in the practice of professional counseling;
• These 3,000 hours must be performed over a period of at least two years;
• Within those 3,000 hours:
  • At least 1,000 hours must be direct counseling (i.e., direct service) with individuals, couples, families, or groups;
  • At least 100 hours must be face‑to‑face supervision by an approved counselor supervisor.

The statute requires all of this to be under the supervision of a supervisor approved under AS 08.29.210 (i.e., someone like you, once you are certified). (unicourt.github.io)

7.2. Additional supervision structure requirements

Under 12 AAC 62.220, the Board adds structural requirements for those 100 hours of face‑to‑face supervision: (law.cornell.edu)

• At least 50 of the 100 hours must be in a one‑on‑one setting with a Board‑certified approved counselor supervisor.
• The remaining 50 hours may be either:
  • One‑on‑one, or
  • Group supervision,
    as long as the supervisor is a certified approved counselor supervisor.
• The supervisee must receive a minimum of one hour of supervision each month.
• Supervision may be conducted by telephonic or electronic means (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime or similar platforms), provided:
  • The supervisor and supervisee can communicate in real time, and
  • Both the microphone and camera are activated (for video platforms).
• The regulation defines “face‑to‑face” as occurring at the same time in which supervisor and supervisee can communicate in real‑time (i.e., synchronous contact, whether in person or live video).

The Board’s FAQ reiterates that only hours obtained under a supervisor who held valid supervisor certification at the time of supervision will count toward the supervisee’s licensure requirement, and it reminds applicants to verify their supervisor’s approval status. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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8. Summary of hour‑related requirements for becoming (and functioning as) a BAPCS in Alaska

Putting the pieces together:

For you, the supervisor applicant:

• Counseling experience:
  • Must have five years of counseling experience (no specific numeric practice‑hour count is given; it is time‑based). (ak.elaws.us)
• Supervision‑related education hours:
  • 25 contact hours of supervision‑specific continuing education within the last 2 years,
  • 12 of those hours must be live/synchronous,
  • Courses must be graduate‑level supervision or approved/recognized by NBCC, ACA, AMHCA, or pre‑approved equivalents. (law.cornell.edu)

There is no requirement such as “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience” for you to become a Board‑Approved Professional Counselor Supervisor in Alaska. Instead, your key quantitative requirement is the 25 contact hours of supervision‑specific CE plus the qualitative standard of five years of counseling experience.

For your supervisees (for context on what you will be supervising):

• 3,000 total supervised hours of post‑degree counseling over at least two years;
• Within that:
  • 1,000 hours must be direct counseling with clients;
  • 100 hours must be face‑to‑face supervision with an approved counselor supervisor, at least 50 hours one‑on‑one, minimum one hour per month, with real‑time (in‑person or audio‑video) contact. (unicourt.github.io)

These supervisee hour requirements are central to your role as a BAPCS, even though they are not prerequisites for your own certification.