ASAPNYS

Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York State (ASAP) is committed to working together to support organizations, groups and individuals that prevent and alleviate the profound personal, social and economic consequences of alcoholism and substance abuse in New York State.

Welcome to ASAP-New York Certification Board

One-Stop for all the information you can trust about Peer Recovery Training, Certification and the process of getting professionally certified.

"Certification confirms the certificant's credibility as a competent and ethical professional with a transparent and accountable practice in the certified role."

Click on the green navigation buttons for faster navigation through this webpage:

Which Certification?
NYCB Certificants
NYCB Ethics
Peer Recovery Exam
For Trainers

WELCOME to ASAP-New York Certification Board.  Thank you for your interest in certification and your commitment to the field. We are in our third year of using Certemy, the popular credentialing industry online database, to process applications. If you have questions about Certemy, please click here for Frequently Asked Questions (and answers!).

READ THIS FIRST - New Applicant Information

  • ASAP-NYCB has produced a comprehensive guide to certification in association with OASAS Learning Thursdays - click here to view
  • What is required to apply for CARC or CRPA certification? - click here
  • Medication Supported Recovery (MSR)- Effective April 1, 2022, all CRPA and CRPA-Provisional applicants will be required to complete 4 hours of ASAP-NYCB approved MSR (formerly MAT) training as part of their foundational training requirement. If you have previously taken 4 hours of MAT, it may be accepted. This is a one-time requirement.
  • Where can I find training? - Any training taken after 10/1/20 must be NYCB-approved or it will not be accepted for certification. Please click here for ASAP-NYCB approved training before you commit to a course. Training certificates must clearly show the individualized ASAP-NYCB Training Approval Badge or they will not be accepted.
  • I've completed the training, how do I apply for certification? - First, locate your preferred certification on the right sidebar and read the step-by-step instructions for making your application in Certemy, our online database.  Use the one-time "self-enrollment" application link(s) for your preferred certification(s) to connect.  Please use these links only once to install the online certification application of your choice. Any other time you want to log into your account in Certemy, our online database, use this link:  https://nycb.certemy.com/entry/login (your email + password used by you to create your personal Certemy account).  
  • What about role experience and supervision for CRPA? - Role experience and supervisor/mentor attestation is required for CRPA and Upgrade to CRPA:  500+ documented hours role experience providing peer recovery support to those with Substance Use Disorder (SUD), including 25 hours of being supervised in individual (one-on-one) or group sessions, as attested by a supervisor or similar program authority. See Role Experience & Supervision Guidelines here.  You will invite your supervisor to confirm these hours in your CRPA or Upgrade to CRPA application.
  • Does service I provided while in treatment count?  In order to avoid any suggestion of conflict-of-interest, role experience and supervision occurring in a treatment setting while candidate was in treatment (in-patient or out-patient) at that setting will not meet the certification requirement.Role experience of candidates who are in long-term medication supported recovery at that setting may be considered providing they meet the following conditions:
    • Candidates do not access confidential information related to other service recipients
    • Candidates are not serving in a dual role – i.e. receiving services alongside their own clients/individuals to whom they currently (or previously) provide peer services
    • Candidates recuse themselves from providing service when faced with a potential dual-role conflict in order to prioritize personal recovery

    In keeping with our “recovery-first” policy, ASAP-New York Certification Board recommends that candidates prioritize establishing a strong recovery foundation before seeking vocational employment.

  • NEW for Supervisors - Just published, A Guide to Role Competencies for Peer Supervisors & Program Managers, offers practical actions and answers questions about supervising individuals building role experience for CRPA, including Upgrade from CRPA-Provisional.  Click here to read.
  • Applications will be reviewed once all steps, including fee payment, have been completed.  Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.  Please note that the review process can take up to 4 weeks.

Back to top

Current ASAP-NYCB Certified Professionals

  • How do I renew my CARC or CRPA certification? - Please visit our renewal page for detailed information about the training requirements and process for renewal using Certemy, our online database: https://www.asapnys.org/ny-certification-board/renewal-program/. Any training taken after 1/1/2021 for CARC and/or CRPA renewal purposes must be ASAP-NYCB-Approved. Training certificates must clearly show the individualized ASAP-NYCB Training Approval Badge or they will not be accepted.
  • How do I upgrade my CRPA-Provisional certification to full CRPA? - See downloadable instructions here:
    • CRPA-Provisional expires after 24 months, is non-renewable, and cannot be extended.  Complete the upgrade requirements (role experience and IC&RC exam) as soon as possible.  See Role Experience guidelines here.  Ask NYCB staff about scheduling the exam as soon as you receive your CRPA-Provisional.
    • Complete your Upgrade to CRPA application in Certemy, our online database (https://nycb.certemy.com/entry/login), and pay the $50 application fee plus $80 IC&RC exam fee (if not already paid).
    • Pass the IC&RC Peer Recovery Exam.  Click here for instructions on how to schedule the exam.
  • Do I need to do anything in Certemy if I am not ready to renew/upgrade? - Even if you are not ready to renew, please familiarize yourself with your online Certemy account by clicking on the following link: https://nycb.certemy.com/entry/login. You will use your email address as your User ID. If you don't yet have a password, please email support@certemy.com for assistance. Once logged in, click "Accept" on each certification (if you have more than one) to confirm and maintain that certification. That is all you need to do! You will receive automatic notifications when it is time to renew.

Verify the status of any peer recovery professional's certification by clicking here. Back to top

Additional Important Updates for New and Current Applicants

  • International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC):  Launched in 2014, NYS CRPA is based on the IC&RC Peer Recovery certification and utilizes the nationwide IC&RC exam to confirm candidate competence.  CRPA is offered in NYS by ASAP-New York Certification Board.
  • IC&RC Peer Recovery Exam: Only current CRPA-Provisionals or CRPA applicants with a Board-approved application are eligible to take the exam. Payment of the $80 exam fee must be made in advance and can be done in your online Certemy account. Once payment is received, you will be pre-registered and receive an email from the testing company, SMT/Prometric, with instructions on how to schedule an exam date. See Timeline Guide to the IC&RC Peer Recovery Exam & FAQs here. Candidates who do not pass the exam, or who fail to attend for a scheduled exam, must wait 90 days before they can re-take it. They must also pay another exam fee of $80. To confirm pre-registration status, or to reschedule, email Elisabeth Kranson, ASAP-NYCB Director of Certification
  • Peer Recovery Exam Prep workshop is now online 24/7.  Click here for the flyer and click here to register.  Additional background to the IC&RC Peer Recovery certification and the exam may be found at https://internationalcredentialing.org/creds/pr.
  • Payments: If you need to make credit-card payments outside of the online Certemy application process, click here to be directed to our secure payment portal. Payments for initial applications or renewals should be made in the Certemy online database at the time of application.

Back to top

Choose the Certification that is Right for You

Certification confirms a certificant's credibility as a competent and ethical professional with a transparent and accountable practice in the certified role.  This credibility is assessed by the Board based on the formal role competencies of the certified role, the training used to assess role competence and any other standards established by the Board for making this assessment - e.g. age, formal education, role experience, role-exam.

Following are links to the formal role competencies of the ASAP-NYCB professional certifications portfolio:

  • Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC) – click here for role competencies.
  • Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA) – click here for role competencies.  Click here to download Six Steps to CRPA, ASAP-NYCB's one-page/legal-size overview of CRPA and CRPA-Provisional.
  • Certified Recovery Peer Advocate-Family (CRPA-Family) – click here for role competencies and role-specific ethics addendum to the ASAP-NYCB Code of Ethical Conduct.  For more details, visit the dedicated ASAP-PWI training page at https://www.asapnys.org/crpa-f-trainers/.
  • Veteran Supported Recovery (VSR) - click here for role competencies overview and role-specific ethics addendum to the ASAP-NYCB Code of Ethical Conduct.  For more details, visit the dedicated ASAP-PWI training page at https://www.asapnys.org/veteran-supported-recovery/.

Certification is a voluntary undertaking.  Candidates apply for role-based certification to confirm their credibility as competent non-clinical professionals.  This credibility is valued by a wide variety of stakeholders, including potential employers and business partners, colleagues and clients, and the general public.

Certification is very different from mandatory clinical licensure which confines licensed professionals to within a carefully delineated scope of legal practice.  Peer recovery is not a licensed profession; the peer recovery profession comes with certified role-competence, not a licensed scope of practice.  For further information on the difference between certification and licensure, please see the IC&RC website at https://internationalcredentialing.org/lic-cert.

Back to top

ASAP-NYCB Code of Ethical Conduct & Complaint Filing Procedure

Acceptance of the ASAP-NYCB Code of Ethical Conduct & Disciplinary Procedures is a mandatory requirement of certification which promotes the profession and protects the public. Certification, including adherence to the Code, confirms that certificants are ethical professionals engaging in a transparent and accountable practice.

To report an ethical complaint relating to an ASAP-NYCB certificant, please verify that professional's certification status here before completing and submitting the Code's "Disciplinary Procedures" forms. Complaint forms can be found in the Code of Ethical Conduct & Disciplinary Procedures. Completed forms can be emailed to Elisabeth Kranson at ekranson@asapnys.org or mailed the NYCB at 194 Washington Ave., #300, Albany, NY, 12210. Your complaint will be fully investigated by staff and the NYCB Ethics Committee.

Back to top

For Peer Recovery Trainers

  • Apply now for membership of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry. See program details here.
  • Training Approval submissions are invited from ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry members.
  • Download the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry Member Standards of Practice here.
  • Download the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry Accountability Procedures here.
  • Members of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry may apply a maximum of 10 hours of member-delivered trainings, approved for recovery-specific continuing education, in part fulfillment of their own peer recovery certification renewals.  For trainers who have developed original peer ethics trainings for renewal, delivery of those approved trainings may be applied to the required 4 hours of Peer Ethics, but not to exceed the maximum of 10 training hours credited in a renewal period.  Training delivery hours for any individual courses (to a maximum of 10 hours) may only be submitted once for recredentialing purposes." (adopted January 18, 2023)  Peer recovery certification is not a prerequisite for membership of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry, an association of professional trainers.
  • For Important information for trainers interested in delivering CCAR products, please read our exclusive interview with Stacy Charpentier, CCAR Director of Training, here.

Back to top

Additional Information & Services

Back to top