DOT/SAP

Department of Transportation (DOT) and Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) Guidelines cover over 7 million transportation safety-sensitive positions such as: airline pilots, school bus drivers, shipping boat captains, and tractor trailer drivers, to name just a few. The regulations require that any safety-sensitive individual who refuses a drug test, tests positive for drugs, or has a breath alcohol concentration of 0.04 or greater must be immediately removed from duty and referred to a SAP.

QUALIFICATIONS
The definition of a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is as follows:
a SAP is a licensed physician (Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathy); or a licensed or certified psychologist, social worker, or employee assistance professional; or an addiction counselor credentialed by one of the following organizations:

1. Louisiana Addictive Disorders Regulatory Authority (ADRA) as either a Licensed Addictions Counselor
(LAC); Certified Addictions Counselor (CAC); or Registered Addictions Counselor (RAC) IF a member
of LASACT – LAC’s, CAC’s, and RAC’s who are NOT members of; LASACT do not qualify;
OR
2. International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC;).
OR
3. National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission (NAADAC)

Currently, all LAC’s, CAC’s, and RAC’s who are members of LASACT meet the definition of SAP because of LASACT’s membership in the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC;).

All SAP’s must be knowledgeable and remain current with the DOT Substance Abuse Professional Guidelines. A Counselor who wishes to become an SAP must complete an SAP training course and satisfactorily complete an examination. Every three years all SAP’s must complete a refresher course to be able to continue to act as a Substance Abuse Professional.

SAP EXAM
The SAP exam must be administered by a nationally recognized professional or training organization whose examination must be validated by a test evaluation organization. The examination must comprehensively cover all the elements of qualification training. LASACT has access to the IC&RC exam that meets these requirements. The SAP exam which LASACT administers will be given at times and locations agreed upon with the applicant. This exam can be taken only by paper and pencil at this time.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
LASACT is offering this exam to all LAC’s, CAC’s, RAC’s, and other qualified professionals in Louisiana who are interested in pursuing DOT work. Anyone who wishes to qualify to be an SAP must hold an LAC, CAC, or RAC credential from the Addictive Disorder Regulatory Authority (ADRA) and must be a LASACT member. A membership application form can be downloaded from this web site. Membership in LASACT is required for the entire period that an LAC, CAC, or RAC holds a valid SAP certificate.

Other types of professionals, i.e. LCSW’s, LPC’s, LMFT’s, etc., who wish to become an SAP must verify
that they meet the DOT’s qualifications for this designation before applying to LASACT for testing.

Upon receipt of notification of SAP test score, LASACT notifies applicant, provides a certificate showing
that applicant is qualified to do SAP work, and lists applicant on this web page. Those who do not
pass the SAP test may schedule to re-take it.

The SAP must be renewed every three years by taking a recertification course.

CONCLUSION
The SAP training is offered on an ongoing basis. According to DOT, no counselor can be considered an SAP until completing the required training and taking the exam. SAP tests can be taken at the IC&RC; quarterly testing period (March, June, September, and December) or in the LASACT office with a two week advance notification to give time to receive the test from IC&RC.;

The SAP exam covers a lot of DOT regulations. A web page that is helpful to review before taking the SAP exam is as follows: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rulesregs/fmcsr/regs/40.htm .

The SAP test fee is $275 – A $5 convenience fee is added for Pay Pay and credit card payments.

SAP Renewal
The SAP Certificate is valid for three years from date of issue. Re-testing is not required. After taking a renewal course, send a copy of the certificate of course completion to LASACT for your records here. If we do not receive this certificate, we will remove your name from our web site. Keep a copy of the certificate for the renewal course in your records so that it will be available in the event of an audit.

It is the responsibility of the individual SAP to keep track of renewal dates. Since the SAP is not a LASACT certification, we do not send out renewal reminders.

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SAP’s
The persons listed below have successfully completed both the DOT Home Study Course and the Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) examination and hold themselves out as being able to perform DOT work. Please verify their credentials with them.

SAP Contact Information provided by Individual.