CRSS & CPRS: Professional Credentials for People with Lived Experience

• Professionals trained to incorporate their unique personal recovery experiences with mental health and/or substance use challenges to support the recovery of others.
• Credentials for people in recovery who provide professional peer support services for persons recovering from mental health and/or substance use challenges.
• Credentials that verify that a person has the knowledge and skills that meet minimum acceptable standards of the Recovery Support profession, regardless of having an academic degree.

• Go to www.iaodapca.org, click on credentialing, scroll down to Recovery Support Specialist (for CRSS) or Peer Recovey Specialist (for CPRS).
• Download all listed documents for the applicable credential (Model, Application, etc.).
• Print and carefully read the Model, which explains the requirements for the credential.
• Once you have read and familiarized yourself with the Model, you can begin to gather the necessary documentation for your application.
• Fill out the application. A partial application can be submitted, but all application elements must be completed within one year of submission. See sections below for information regarding necessary documentation.
• Submit the completed application and required documentation to the Illinois Certification Board via postal mail. Electronic submissions are not accepted.
• The $85.00 application fee is required at the time of submission and is accepted via check or money order. *

• Application Fee.………………………………… $85
• Examination Fee.………………………………. $125
• Biennial Recertification Fee.…………….…$140
• CEU Petition Fee.………………………………. $10
• CEU Extension Fee…………………………….. $10
  • one-time extension of 1 month only

*For information on applying for financial assistance with the Application, Examination, or Annual Certification fees, please see the CRSS Success program page² on the IDHS website.

Work Experience

• 2,000 hours (from within the past 4 years)
• Can be either paid or volunteer
• 51% of work duties must involve providing mental health recovery support services
• Must be supervised, whether paid or volunteer
• Primary responsibility providing recovery support services to an individual/group
  • Prepare recovery plans
  • Document client progress
• Clinically supervised by individual knowledgeable in Performance Domains

• Once an application is approved by ICB, applicants will be notified of eligibility to schedule their exam. The exam will be administered via computer at one of multiple testing sites across the State of Illinois that are contracted by ICB.
• The exam measures competency in the CRSS/CPRS Performance Domains. Competency refers to an individual's ability to make decisions based on recovery support principles.
• The exam consists of 100 multiple choice questions and the applicant has up to 2 hours to complete it. Accommodations may be available upon request.
• Applicants may retest if they do not receive a passing score (minimum of 68).
• For assistance with exam preparation, please see the Study Guides listed under each credential at iaodapca.org.
• Examination fee: $125.00 (*See Fees section of this document for more information.)

• After passing the exam, a certificate will be mailed by ICB. CRSS/CPRS professionals may choose to frame and/or display the certificate, if they wish.
• It is the responsibility of the CRSS/CPRS professional to maintain their certification number in a secure location.

• CRSS/CPRS professionals are required to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) throughout each of the 2-year certification periods in order to apply for renewal.
• Establish a filing system for maintaining documentation related to your credential.
• Keep copies of certificates from any training programs attended.

•  Biennial Recertification Fee of $140 is due every two years by the anniversary of certification date
• Invoice will be sent via email 60 days before the due date
• Late fee is $10 per month

40 CEUs for CRSS  -  30 CEUs for CPRS

• Due every 2 years by anniversary of certification date
• Submit documentation of CEUs to ICB via the online portal link, which is provided with the fee invoice, or via postal mail. Emailed CEUs are not accepted.
• Request extension if more time is needed to obtain CEUs
  • $10 fee for 1 month extension
  • One-time only, no further extensions allowed
• ICB will review CEUs. If approved, new certificate will be issued upon receipt of annual fee.
• New certificate will be valid for another 2 years.

• 1 clock hour of training = 1 CEU
• Relevant college credit hours (as determined by ICB) can be used for CEUs
  • 1 semester credit hour = 15 CEUs
  • 1 quarter credit hour = 10 CEUs
  • 1 trimester credit hour = 12 CEUs
• To be valid, CEUs must have been obtained within the 2-year certification period.

CRSS I & II  -  CPRS I & II

• CRSS I & II, and CPRS I & II, are categories of continuing education; they do not refer to different levels of credentials.
• Some continuing education may be recognized by the ICB for both categories.
• As Category I is more specific than Category II, any CEUs earned in Category I would also be applicable to Category II, but each CEU can only be counted once.
• For renewal, the number of CEUs in each category differs between the CRSS and CPRS:

1.CRSS Success Scholarship Fund

Send any questions about this document to: DHS.DMHRecoveryServices@illinois.gov