There is nothing that requires your coursework or experience to be continuous.  Although you cannot begin accumulating experience until after your coursework begins, once you have begun your coursework and experience, you may continue accumulating experince even if you take a break from coursework.  Or you may continue with your coursework even if you take a break from your experience. 

If, for a period of time, your experience does not meet the requirements, then you should not count experience hours during that time.  However, you may still count hours accumulated before and after that time period.  

You may not use any references to Board Certification or the examination to become Board Certified unless you are actively certified.  You may state that you are working toward national certification, but you should not mention BACB, BCBA or BCaBA.  See our September 2008 newsletter for a more detailed discussion of this issue.

 

The BCaBA and BCBA are separate credentials and have separate eligibility criteria.  In order to become a BCBA, you must meet all of the criteria for BCBA certification and pass the BCBA examination.  However, two items you applied toward your BCaBA certification might also apply to BCBA certification:

Experience:  BCaBA certification can be counted as 1,000 hours of experience under the Supervised Independent Fieldwork category.  You would only need to gain an additional 500 hours of experience under the current experience standards after you begin your graduate coursework. 

If you began your graduate coursework before becoming certified as a BCaBA, you can use any experience you gained after beginning your graduate coursework toward the BCBA-level requirements; even if you used that experience toward the BCaBA-level requirements.

Graduate Coursework:  Only coursework taken for graduate credit can be used toward BCBA-level certification.  If you used graduate coursework to qualify for BCaBA certification, you can also use it toward the requirements for BCBA certification.  

We do advise you to report DUIs to us as part of the application process (See this link for an FAQ about what to report).  Each application is reviewed independently, so we cannot make any determinations about your specific case until you apply for certification and report the matter.  However, a single DUI without any extenuating circumstances or incarceration typically does not keep an individual from becoming certified.

 

The BACB doesn't state a specific time limit on completion of the requirements for certification.  However, there are some limitations within the standards that may affect the time-frame you have to complete the requirements.  For example:

-The requirements for certification are reevaluated and updated from time-to-time.  You should check www.BACB.com frequently for any announcements regarding changes to the standards, such as the increase in coursework requirements that will go into effect with the new exams in 2015.

-The experience requirements stipulate certain minimums and maximums for the number of hours worked per week, which limit how quickly you can accumulate your experience.

There is no limit on how old your degree or coursework can be, as long as they meet all of the requirements.  

We advise erring on the side of caution and reporting any matter that might fall within the reporting requirements, even if you're uncertain. This way, the matter can be reviewed and recorded as reported in a timely manner. You should report investigations as soon as you are notified of them, even if you expect the findings to be in your favor. You should also report DUIs (DWIs) and any other charges, investigations or convictions as they relate to public health and safety.

When reporting a matter to the BACB, you must include documentation related to it. Typically, the initial and closing documentation are best. Some examples are:

-For an investigation, the initial notice of an investigation, followed later by the notice of the outcome of the investigation.

-For a criminal matter the initial charging documents as well as the closing documents (e.g., documentation of conviction, acquittal, completion of sentence, etc.).

If you do not have documentation of a matter, please state that fact when reporting the matter and explain why no documentation is available.

 

The BACB will permit appeal of certain decisions by staff.  BACB deadlines, fees, examination content, specific test questions, and/or answers may not be appealed.  To file an appeal send an email to legal@bacb.com with "Request for Appeal" in the subject line.  Your appeal must be received by the BACB within thirty (30) days of the date of the decision being appealed.  Please ensure that you receive a confirmation of timely receipt from the BACB.

 

The BACB examinations are only offered to individuals who are seeking BACB certification or continuing education, and for no other purpose.  Certificants may take the current exam for continuing education in the third year of their recertification cycle.  Passing the appropriate examination will satisfy the continuing education requirement for your current recertification period.  You would still need to submit the appropriate recertification application and fee after earning CE by passing the examination.

Please be advised that if you take the exam for continuing education and do not pass, you will no longer be certified by the BACB.  You will not be eligible to regain your certification via renewal, recertification or reentry.  In order to become certified again after failing the exam, you must reapply under the current eligibility requirements and pass the examination.

Taking the examination for any reason other than certification or recertification is prohibited.  The BACB examinations and individual questions are copyright protected and highly confidential trade secrets.  Taking the examination in order to review items for the purpose of advising future candidates is not permitted and could constitute a violation of the Terms and Conditions for taking the examination (found here).  Providing and/or receiving unauthorized advice about exam content before, during, or following the examination is a violation of the BACB’s Disciplinary and Ethical Standards.  

The dates for the next administration may be found on the Examinations Administration page of this site. If you wish to apply for examination, be sure to review the appropriate Eligibility Standards and these Application FAQs.

On-Line Application: When you are ready to apply, please click here to create a MyBACB account and complete your on-line application. We highly recommend you apply on-line to expedite the application process.

Paper Application: Alternatively, you may download and print the application from the download section on BACB.com. and submit a completed paper application. You may be charged an extra processing fee when submitting a paper application. Please see the Becoming Certified section on BACB.com for details.

However you chose to apply, we strongly encourage you to do so as early as possible.

Supporting documentation for on-line applications, as well as paper applications with supporting documentation must be submitted to:

We have found that the most efficient way to communicate with applicants is via email. We do not guarantee that we will be able to use other modes to communicate with you, given time constraints, so be sure to include your email address and make sure your spam filter is set to accept all messages from BACB.com.  

The dates for the next administration may be found on the Examinations Administration page of this site.  

You can apply at any time. However, we strongly encourage you to apply well in advance of the administration deadline in order to give the BACB time to communicate with you via email, should any additional material be required to establish eligibility. Once your application is approved, you will receive instructions on how to schedule your testing appointment with Pearson VUE.

You have two years after approval date to take the examination, after which you must reapply.

We have found that the most efficient way to communicate with applicants is via email, we do not guarantee that we will be able to use other modes to communicate with you, given time constraints, so be sure to include your email address and make sure your spam filter is set to accept all messages from BACB.com.  

No, you must have completed all eligibility requirements by the application deadline date and provide documentation that you have done so at that time. The BACB needs time to process applications, and must notify the examination administration company in advance of the administration dates.

Incomplete applications will remain open for up to three months after the date they are received, during which time you may submit additional material without having to reapply.  

Our preference is for all of your documents to arrive in one package.  This allows us to process your application most effeciently.  You may obtain official transcripts (in unopened university-sealed envelopes) and forward the unopened official transcript (s) with your application materials.

If you must send some documentation separately from your original application packet, you must ensure that each document is clearly marked with the name we have on file for you. Items with no name or a different name (e.g., maiden) will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to match with your application.

For Doctorate/BCBA Review applications, BCBA Review forms should be submitted in the same manner described above for official transcripts.  Please have the reviewers return their reviews to you in a sealed envelope that you then submit to the BACB unopened with your other application materials.  

If you wish to apply for certification and your degree or other credentials were obtained from a university outside the United States or Canada, you may be required to obtain an international equivalency assessment. You should check with the BACB to determine if this will be required in your case.

If you must obtain this assessment, it may be obtained through the "World Education Services" at http://www.wes.org. If your transcripts and supporting documentation is in a language other than English, you must provide a translated version of your transcripts and supporting documentation. The translation must be performed by a certified translator or agency that provides professional translations.  

We have mechanisms for preliminary review of degrees and coursework (described below).  Please note that these preliminary decisions are subject to final approval with a completed, formal application for certification. 

DEGREE:  The BACB offers preliminary reviews of degrees to determine whether they meet the current degree requirements.  There is no charge for these reviews.  Click here to review the degree requirements and request a review of your degree (if it is not listed).

COURSEWORK:  If you have coursework from a non-approved course sequence and would like it reviewed toward the BACB's coursework requirements, you may submit an application for coursework evaluation.  There is a fee of $100 for this service.  Upon review of your application for coursework evaluation, we will tell you what coursework can be accepted and what, if any, addtional coursework is needed in order to meet the requirements.
 

BACB staff will notify you of application deficiencies via email and may suggest ways for you to meet the requirements. It is best to apply well in advance of the deadline for the desired administration so that there is adequate time for the BACB to process your application and for you to respond to any deficiencies. Incomplete applications will remain open for up to three months from the date they are received, during which time you may submit additional material without having to reapply.  

All of the BACB standards are on the this website, including the Professional Disciplinary Standards, Eligibility Standards, and Renewal & Recertification Standards.  

You must provide documentation that the content of the courses listed on your transcript and on your Course Content Verification Form (or coursework portion of your on-line application) are behavior analytic in nature and meet the content requirements. If the course titles do not provide this documentation (which is almost always the case), you may provide copies of course syllabi, the names of text books and instructors, official university catalogue course descriptions (these are usually available from the university library), or other course related materials that document that the courses were behavior analytic and meet the content requirements.

If these are not available or are insufficient, the BACB may request that you obtain a letter (or letters) on university letterhead in which the professor, chair of the department, or your major advisor attests that the course was behavior analytic and meets the specific content requirements you have claimed. Individuals writing such a letter must be a behavior analyst, and the BACB reserves the right to have you submit the faculty's Curriculum Vitae or other documentation.

The letter should contain the name/number of the appropriate course(s) on the transcript and how many classroom contact hours of behavior analytic instruction were accrued in each content area for each course. We strongly suggest that you refer directly to the BCBA and BCaBA course content requirements when preparing the letter.  

Non-university courses are not approved by the BACB and, generally, we will accept only courses taught through properly accredited colleges and universities. The BACB does not approve or accept workshops or institutes.  

No, all coursework must be in-university classroom instruction in which the student has on-going interaction with the instructor. This classroom instruction may include role-playing or other learning exercises providing that the instructor is present and actively involved in the learning process.

Practicum, fieldwork or research hours may be used to meet coursework requirements only if they contain classroom instruction as specified above, and the applicant provides a letter on university letterhead from the instructor at the time of application. The letter should contain the name/number of the appropriate course (s) on the transcript and how many classroom contact hours of behavior analytic instruction were accrued in each content area for each course. We strongly suggest that you refer directly to the BCBA and BCaBA course content requirements in the letter.  

No, all coursework must be behavior analytic in nature. Although these non-behavior analytic courses may be valuable in other circumstances, they cannot be used to meet BACB eligibility requirements. The BACB uses the criteria found in "Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis" by D. M. Baer, M. M. Wolf, and T. R. Risley (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Volume 1, 1968) to judge if courses are behavior analytic. You may also wish to review the Third Edition Behavior Analysis Task List for examples.  

You may be able to qualify under 1) the Doctorate/BCBA Review Option if you have a doctorate, have been practicing behavior analysis for at least 10 years post degree, and have your experience verified by BCBAs, or 2) the College Teaching Option if you have taught behavior analysis full-time in a college or university for a year and have done research and published in the field. See the eligibility requirements for these two options for particulars.  

The individual must be a BCBA or be approved by the BACB as a faculty member in a BACB approved course sequence. The supervisor must qualify under one of these options prior to any supervision taking place. See BCBA or BCaBA Experience Standards.

 

1. You may not start accumulating experience until you have begun the coursework required to meet the BACB coursework requirements.
2. You may obtain your experience in any number of sites.
3. You may have multiple supervisors. You must have a seperate experience verification form for each supervisor and for each experience.
4. You must meet the requirements in the experience categories in which you obtain experience.

Additional information is available on the Become Certified Old and Experience Standards pages and BCBA-BCaBA Applications.

 

Experience Standards: Please see a detailed description under the experience categories in which you obtain experience in the BCBA or BCaBA Experience Standards.

CONTESTED EXPERIENCE: The Supervisor relationship should be a clear and structured relationship. On occasion, if a candidate is unable to obtain the signature of their Supervisor, then the candidate may supplement their application with proof of the following:

1. Copies of their contracts with their supervisor, and BACB Fieldwork and Practicum Experience Supervision Forms completed during the experience.
2. Copies of agreed upon assessments/ treatment plans signed off by the supervisor/mentor (confidential client information should be deleted).
3. Copies of evaluations and goals/ learning objectives.
4. Letters or other documentation from third-parties who observed the supervisory relationship.

IMPORTANT: Applicants also must provide the supervisor with copies of the documentation they are submitting to the BACB and must include proof of your provision of this information to the supervisor (such as a certified mail receipt along with a letter from the applicant to the supervisor). The BACB may attempt to contact the supervisor to confirm their receipt of this information and to provide them with an opportunity to address this matter in writing. Supervisors will be asked to provide documentation of dissatisfaction/concerns regarding the experience previously provided to applicants claiming a contested supervision. If the application is denied based on the lack of proof of supervision, applicants will have a right to appeal this denial to a Review Committee.  

Although you must have direct contact with the client during the experience of designing, implementing, and monitoring, other activities directly related to this behavioral program process may qualify as well. For example, you may be able to count activities normally performed by behavior analysts such as attending planning meetings regarding the behavior analysis program, researching the literature related to the program, talking to individuals about the program, etc. Your supervisor will determine if activities qualify.  

Although you must have direct contact with the persons for whom you are providing oversight during the experience of overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others, other activities directly related to this behavioral programming process may qualify as well. For example, you may be able to count activities normally performed by behavior analysts such as attending planning meetings regarding the behavior analysis program, researching the literature related to the program, talking to individuals about the program, plus any additional activities related to oversight of behavioral programming such as behavior analyst supervision issues, evaluation of behavior analysts' performance, etc. Your supervisor will determine if activities qualify.  

The BACB does not retain a list of qualified supervisors, finding an individual is the responsibility of the applicant, however here are a few suggestions:

1. Read the supervision definitions carefully. Note that the supervisor meetings do not have to be face to face, but rather may be handled electronically. You may know someone who meets the qualifications and would be willing to serve.
2. Check the Certificant Registry on this site for individuals in your area and contact them. Certificants who are willing to provide supervision are indicated in the registry.
3. Check the Approved University Training page on this site for a university near you with a BACB approved course sequence. Although the approved course sequence does not necessarily include an experience component they may be of help.
4. Check with your state or regional association for behavior analysis.

 

You are authorized to take the examination as many times as are available during the two-year period following your initial approval. You may contact Pearson VUE to schedule an appointment once you receive your Authorization to Test (ATT) email from the BACB, which will include instructions on the scheduling process. Pearson VUE will schedule for the upcoming administration only, not for future administrations.

If you need to reschedule an appointment within the examination window, you may do so by calling Pearson VUE. If you need to cancel your appointment, you must do so no later than 24 hours prior to your appointment. If you miss your appointment or cancel less than 24 hours in advance, you will forfeit your appointment fee.

If you would like to schedule an appointment for a future administration, you must wait until the current administration window closes. Scheduling for the next administration typically opens eight days following the current window closes.  

The BACB staff usually will respond within 2 weeks of RECEIVING your application and documentation (mailing times may vary). Applications received well in advance of the deadline usually will be processed more quickly than those received within a few days of the deadline due to the backlog caused by the large volume of applications that arrive at the last minute. If you have NOT received any response within two weeks of when your application with documentation was sent, please email the BACB immediately to verify that it has been received.  

The BACB establishes the general passing scores for its examinations based on an extensive psychometric profile of the examination. The final passing score is established periodically by a committee that uses a criterion referenced passing score process.

After each administration, the examination forms used for that administration undergo psychometric statistical equating to assure that scores on different forms of the examinations are adjusted for differing levels of difficulty. Therefore, the actual passing score for each examination may vary depending on the form given.

In addition, after each administration an expert panel of certificants is convened to review examination items, and make changes when warranted. The comments you make on you examination are not used to grade your examination. They are used in the expert panel item review process mentioned above. If review process results in a change to a question or answer accepted, examinations are all re-scored and the change is applied to everyone who took the examination.

After all of the procedures and safeguards outlined above have been completed score reports are mailed to the candidates. All scores for a given administration are mailed at one time, usually within 45 days of when the administration window closes.

If you pass the examination, you will receive notice that you passed. You will not receive any additional score information.

If you do not pass the examination, you will receive notice that you did not pass and will be provided with your percentage of correctly answered items in primary content areas. This may enable you to identify areas of weakness and to properly prepare to retake the examination.

The BACB does not provide an opportunity for those who failed the examinations to review their answers or have their examination hand-scored, nor does the it permit individuals to challenge specific items on the examination.  

Yes, you have two years from your original approval date to take the examination, after which you must reapply. You may re-take the examination as many times as it is offered during that period. However, if you fail an examination you must submit a retake application and pay additional fees to take the examination again.  Retake applications are subject to the same deadlines and late fees as original exam applications. 
 

The BACB requires mandatory recertification every three (3) years. Recertification is intended to ensure that certificants maintain and expand professional competence and keep abreast of new developments in the field. Certificants must obtain a specified number of hours of Continuing Education (depending on their certification type) within a three-year Renewal/Recertification cycle to recertify at the end of the three-year cycle. BCBAs must have 36 hours over a three-year recertification cycle and BCaBAs must have 24 hours. Currently, certificants do not have to re-take the examination periodically to maintain BACB Certification, although they may choose to do so in lieu of accumulating CEUs over the three-year cycle.

All certificants must pay an annual renewal fee and adhere to Conduct and other standards established by the BACB. See the Maintaining Certification page on this site for additional information.