CRC in Montana
Recognition and practice information for Certified Rehabilitation Counselor in Montana.
Recognition and qualification in Montana
The Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) is a national certification, not a state license, awarded by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). Counselors earn it with a qualifying graduate degree, a supervised internship (or, where the degree is in a related field, the employment experience CRCC accepts in its place) and a passing score on the CRC examination, and renew it every five years on 100 clock hours of approved continuing education, at least 10 of them in ethics.
The Vocational Rehabilitation & Blind Services within the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services administers public vocational rehabilitation in Montana. KWVRS CRC-credentialed experts apply nationally recognized standards.
Montana courts and venues
Expert qualification in Montana's courts is determined case by case.
- District Court - General jurisdiction; felonies, probate, most civil cases at law and in equity, and appeals from the courts of limited jurisdiction
- Justice Court - Civil cases up to $15,000, misdemeanors, small claims
- City Court - City or town ordinance violations; shares the justice court's misdemeanor and civil jurisdiction
Highest court: Montana Supreme Court. Federal venues: D. Mont.
Sources: Montana Judicial Branch, Montana Courts: the courts of limited jurisdiction (justice, city and municipal courts), the district courts and the state's highest court, the Montana Supreme Court; the Water Court and the Workers' Compensation Court among the specialty courts, the Workers' Compensation Court resolving disputes under the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Judicial Branch, District Courts: courts of general jurisdiction for felonies, probate and most civil cases at law and in equity, with limited appellate jurisdiction over cases arising in the courts of limited jurisdiction (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Judicial Branch, Courts of Limited Jurisdiction: justice, city and municipal courts; misdemeanors, civil cases up to $15,000 and small claims up to $7,000 (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, justices' courts civil jurisdiction: actions up to $15,000 (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, city courts: exclusive jurisdiction of city or town ordinance violations (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, city courts: concurrent jurisdiction with the justice's court of all misdemeanors and of the proceedings of the justices' courts' jurisdiction (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, municipal courts: jurisdiction coextensive with the justices' courts and over city ordinance cases (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, municipal courts: a city above a set population may have a municipal court, which takes over the city court's pending cases (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Judicial Branch, Water Court: exclusive jurisdiction over the adjudication of water rights claims in Montana (reviewed 2026-10-12); Montana Judicial Branch, Workers' Compensation Court: disputes under the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act (reviewed 2026-10-12)
Other credentials in Montana
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) a license or a certification?
A certification. CRCC describes certification as a peer-regulated, voluntary credential whose expectations the profession itself sets, and licensure as a mandatory credential governed by state law and administered by a state licensing board, and it advocates that rehabilitation counselors hold both. Counsel confirms the CRC and any state counseling license separately; the CRC and state license comparison sets the two side by side.
How can counsel look up whether an expert's CRC is current?
Ask for the certificate, which carries a valid-through date, and search CRCC's online Certificant Registry. The registry shows only certificants who are current and have chosen to publish their contact information, so a missing name does not by itself mean a lapse, and CRCC answers requests about the certification status of the people who hold its credentials. The guide to hiring a vocational expert lists the questions to ask next.
Do courts require a CRC specifically to testify on vocational issues?
Not as a rule of evidence. The federal standard, and the state standards built on it, let a witness qualify as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training or education, so the CRC counts as evidence of training rather than a prerequisite, and the court then examines the opinion's method, as the methodology standards guide explains. Where a forum sets its own qualifications for vocational witnesses, counsel confirms them before retaining the expert.
How often must a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor renew the CRC?
Every five years, on 100 clock hours of approved continuing education, at least 10 of them in ethics, earned within the current five-year period; hours beyond the 100 do not carry over, and CRCC ended renewal by examination on March 31, 2022. A certification that is not renewed expires, and regaining it takes a new application under the eligibility criteria then in effect and a passing score on the examination.
References
- CRCC - CRC Certification Guide (updated July 1, 2026)Organization
- CRCC - CRC Certification Renewal Guide (revised July 1, 2026)Organization
- CRCC - Advocacy: Certification and LicensureOrganization
- CRCC - Locate a Professional (Certificant Registry)Organization
- Testimony by Expert Witnesses, Federal Rules of EvidenceCase Law
- Montana Judicial Branch, Montana Courts: the courts of limited jurisdiction (justice, city and municipal courts), the district courts and the state's highest court, the Montana Supreme Court; the Water Court and the Workers' Compensation Court among the specialty courts, the Workers' Compensation Court resolving disputes under the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Judicial Branch, District Courts: courts of general jurisdiction for felonies, probate and most civil cases at law and in equity, with limited appellate jurisdiction over cases arising in the courts of limited jurisdiction (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Judicial Branch, Courts of Limited Jurisdiction: justice, city and municipal courts; misdemeanors, civil cases up to $15,000 and small claims up to $7,000 (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, justices' courts civil jurisdiction: actions up to $15,000 (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, city courts: exclusive jurisdiction of city or town ordinance violations (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, city courts: concurrent jurisdiction with the justice's court of all misdemeanors and of the proceedings of the justices' courts' jurisdiction (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, municipal courts: jurisdiction coextensive with the justices' courts and over city ordinance cases (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025, municipal courts: a city above a set population may have a municipal court, which takes over the city court's pending cases (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Judicial Branch, Water Court: exclusive jurisdiction over the adjudication of water rights claims in Montana (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
- Montana Judicial Branch, Workers' Compensation Court: disputes under the Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Act (reviewed 2026-10-12)Government
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