Imagine you have just received your certification and are taking on your first trainee within your organization who is working towards certification. Bas

Reflection Paper Rubric (25 points) Reflection papers consist of brief responses to a prompt related to the information shared in each week’s module. Using both the assigned materials and external references, the student should thoughtfully and thoroughly respond to the prompt. During the following week, students will be required to provide feedback on a peer’s reflection paper, and will be required to paste the text of their completed peer review into their own submission comments in Canvas, which will allow for the instructor to grade more easily. Reflection paper assignments will be graded as follows:

Category 5 points 3 points 0 points Reflection Length* *(excludes reference section and direct quotes from references that are longer than 5 words)

Reflection paper content was greater than 150 words.

Reflection paper content was between 100-149 words.

Reflection paper content was less than 99 words.

Grammar, Usage, and Spelling

Reflection paper contained less than 2 grammar, usage, or spelling errors.

Reflection paper contained 3-4 grammar, usage, or spelling errors.

Reflection paper contained more than 5 grammar, usage, or spelling errors and proofreading was not apparent.

References and Utilization of Outside Resources

The author used references from peer- reviewed behavioral sources in APA format and cited one or more original behavioral references, outside of the assigned readings. Hyperlinks to the cited external references are provided.

The author used references in APA format of assigned readings but did not include an additional peer-reviewed behavioral reference or did not include a hyperlink to the externally-cited reference.

The author neither utilized APA format for referenced material used nor cited an outside peer-reviewed behavioral reference.

Addressing the Prompt

The author’s reflection paper clearly responds to the assignment prompt, develops ideas cogently, organizes them logically, and supports them through empirical writing.

The author’s reflection paper clearly responds to the assignment prompt, develops ideas cogently, organizes them logically, and supports them through empirical writing.

The author’s reflection paper does not correspond with the assignment prompt, mainly discusses personal opinions, irrelevant information, or information is presented with limited logic and lack of development and organization of ideas.

Application The author’s post clearly demonstrates application and relationship to the week’s assigned reading/topic.

The author’s post refers to the assigned topic/reading tangentially but does not demonstrate application.

The author’s post does not demonstrate application of the week’s assigned topic/reading.

Peer Review – Your peer review text must be copied and pasted into the comments of your own reflection paper submission to receive credit.

Completes peer-review of colleague’s reflection paper and provides well-thought- out, thorough feedback.

Completes peer-review of colleague’s reflection paper, but provides only vague, non-specific feedback or input.

Does not complete peer- review of a colleague’s reflection paper or does not copy the text into the comments section of their own submission to allow for grading.

Late reflection papers will adhere to the general submission policy found on the Virtual Course Schedule.

BCBA®

BOARD CERTIFIED BEHAVIOR ANALYST® HANDBOOK

Updated 01/2025, Copyright© 2025, BACB® | All rights reserved. Behavior Analyst Certification Board | Board Certified Behavior Analyst® Handbook | ii

ABOUT THIS HANDBOOK

This handbook describes the requirements for obtaining and maintaining BCBA certification, including the eligibility requirements that went into effect on January 1, 2022. Applicants and certificants must comply with the requirements outlined in this handbook. Failure to do so may result in the BACB taking summary action (e.g., suspension, revocation, invalidation) against your eligibility or certification and/or submitting a Notice of Alleged Violation to the BACB Ethics Department.

This handbook contains clickable images that link directly to BACB documents and web pages. To help with navigation, this handbook also includes PDF bookmarks and a clickable Table of Contents icon ( ) on the corner of each page. New versions of the BCBA Handbook will be published quarterly as needed. Applicants completing requirements in a future year should make note of upcoming implementation dates for revised requirements, as they must meet the requirements in place at the time they apply and take the version of the examination in effect when they schedule their examination appointment. Please refer to the BACB Newsletter and the Upcoming Changes web page for the most updated information on future certification requirements.

The BACB does not discriminate against any individual because of race, ethnicity, gender, age, creed, disability, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or national origin. Allegations of discrimination can be reported via our Administrative Appeal Request Form.

For a complete list of updates included in this version of the BCBA Handbook, please see page 69.

The BACB reserves the right to amend the procedures outlined in this handbook.

Copyright © 2025 by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, Inc. (“BACB®”), all rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, copying, or transmission in any medium is strictly prohibited.

®The trademarks “Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, Inc.,” “BACB®,” “Board Certified Behavior Analyst®,” “BCBA®,” “Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst®,” “BCaBA®,” and “RBT®,” are owned by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®. Unauthorized use or misrepresentation is strictly prohibited.

This document should be referenced as: Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2025). Board certified behavior analyst handbook.

Retrieved on Month, Day, Year, from https://www.bacb.com/bcba-handbook

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Overview …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

About the Behavior Analyst Certification Board ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 What Is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst? …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Overview of Becoming and Maintaining BCBA Certification ……………………………………………………………………….. 2 Reasons for Becoming a BCBA ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Accreditation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Eligibility Requirements …………………………………………………………………………….. 6 Eligibility Pathways ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Supervised Fieldwork Requirements ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15

Applying for BCBA Certification ……………………………………………………………….. 27 Submit Your Application …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..27 Schedule Your Examination Appointment ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29 Fees ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29

Examination …………………………………………………………………………………………… 30 Examination Development ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………30 Preparation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..30 Examination Outline ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 Scheduling …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………32 Pearson VUE Examination Fees ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..32 Examination Accommodations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..33 What to Expect on Examination Day ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………33 General Rules for Taking the Examination …………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 Examination Terms and Conditions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..35 Examination Security ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36 Examination Appeals ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..37 Examination Results ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….37 Examination Retakes ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..37 Scoring Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….37

What to Expect After Passing the Examination…………………………………………… 38

Certification Maintenance Requirements …………………………………………………… 40 Continuing Education ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….40 Ethics and Self-Reporting …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………42 Recertification ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………46 Inactive Policy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………48

Supervision, Assessment, Training, and Oversight ……………………………………… 50 Attesting, Assessing, Training, and Supervising RBTs …………………………………………………………………………………..51 Supervising BCBA and BCaBA Trainees ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….53 Supervising BCaBAs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………53

Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) ………………………………….. 54 BCBA-D Eligibility Requirements …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….54 Applying for the BCBA-D Designation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56 Maintaining the BCBA-D Designation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….57

Click this icon to return to the Table of Contents.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Other Relevant Policies …………………………………………………………………………… 58 Administrative Appeals …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 58 Name Change Policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 59 Acceptable Signatures Policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 59 Documentation Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 59 Submission of False, Forged, or Untrue Information to the BACB ……………………………………………………………. 60 Timely Responding to the BACB …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 60

Documents and Resources ……………………………………………………………………… 61 Eligibility and Applying for Certification …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61 Coursework ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61 Supervised Fieldwork ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….61 Examination ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61 Continuing Education ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61 Ethics and Self-Reporting ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….61 Voluntary Inactive Status …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..61 Supervising, Training, and Assessing ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 62 Administrative Appeals …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 62

Glossary ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63

Appendix ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 67 Application Processing Agreement ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..67

Version History and Updates ……………………………………………………………………. 69 Version 11/1/2023 Updates ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69 Version 12/29/2023 Updates …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 69 Version 5/1/2024 Updates ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69 Version 9/27/2024 Updates ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69 Version 1/2/2025 Updates ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69

OvErvIEw

Updated 01/2025, Copyright© 2025, BACB® | All rights reserved. Behavior Analyst Certification Board | Board Certified Behavior Analyst® Handbook | 1

Overview About the Behavior Analyst Certification Board

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.® (BACB®) has been the leader in behavior analyst certification for over two decades. The BACB is a nonprofit corporation that was established in 1998 to meet professional certification needs identified by behavior analysts, governments, and consumers of behavior-analytic services. The BACB’s mission is to protect consumers of behavior-analytic services by systematically establishing, promoting, and disseminating professional standards of practice.

In the profession of applied behavior analysis, the BACB’s primary role is to operate certification programs, which involves responsibilities similar to regulatory boards. In this role, the BACB establishes practice standards, administers examinations, and provides ethics requirements and a disciplinary system for each of its certification programs. To learn more about our role and limitations, read our blog post, The BACB: What it is, What it Does, and Why, and listen to Episode 11 of our podcast, Inside the BACB.

Jurisdiction

The BACB currently accepts certification applications from individuals who reside in the following countries:

Country Upcoming Changes United States (US) None Canada Ontario residents can no longer apply for RBT or BCaBA certification. Those holding RBT and BCaBA

certification in Ontario have had their certification placed on voluntary inactive status. RBTs and BCaBAs who relocate to Ontario should contact the BACB to be placed on voluntary inactive status. Ontario residents will no longer be able to apply for BCBA/BCBA-D certification as of June 30, 2026. Those holding BCBA/BCBA-D certification in Ontario will be able to maintain their certification.

United Kingdom (UK)

Residents of the UK will no longer be able to apply for BACB certification as of January 1, 2026. Those holding BACB certifications in the UK will be able to maintain their certification.

Australia Residents of Australia will no longer be able to apply for BACB certification as of January 1, 2027. Those holding BACB certifications in Australia will be able to maintain their certification.

What Is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst?

The Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) is a graduate-level certification in behavior analysis. Professionals certified at the BCBA level are independent practitioners who provide behavior-analytic services.

BCBA certificants may supervise the work of Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst® (BCaBA®) certificants, Registered Behavior Technician® (RBT®) certificants, and other professionals who implement behavior-analytic services. They may also function in the role of a BCaBA or RBT. As of January 1, 2025, certificants may hold only one BACB certification at a time. Once a higher-level certification has been obtained, the lower-level certification will expire either in 90 days or at the expiration date of the lower-level certification, whichever occurs first.

Note: In the interest of consumer protection and to ensure that the BACB certification mark is only used to accurately represent certification status, the BACB may seek legal and other remedies to address any misrepresentation of BACB certification (and/ or any misuse of other BACB trademarks and logos) that constitutes trademark infringement. For more information about the use of BACB certification marks, see the September 2008, October 2013, and July 2021 BACB Newsletters.

Board Certified Behavior Analyst—Doctoral

BCBAs with doctoral training in behavior analysis may receive the designation of Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Doctoral® (BCBA-D®). The BCBA-D is not a separate certification, and it does not grant any privileges above or beyond BCBA certification. BCBA-Ds function in the same capacity as BCBAs (i.e., as independent practitioners who provide behavior-analytic services) and are required to meet all BCBA maintenance requirements.

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Updated 01/2025, Copyright© 2025, BACB® | All rights reserved. Behavior Analyst Certification Board | Board Certified Behavior Analyst® Handbook | 2

Overview of Becoming and Maintaining BCBA Certification

Reasons for Becoming a BCBA

There are many benefits to obtaining BCBA certification, including: • BCBA certification is the leading behavior analyst credential and is required by many funders and licensure

boards. BCBA certification is offered by the first certifying entity in behavior analysis, the BACB, which has been certifying behavior analysts for over 20 years.

• BCBA certification shows that you have met certain requirements that are critical in providing and overseeing behavior-analytic services.

• BCBA certification provides increased consumer protection since you must meet certain eligibility and maintenance requirements to obtain and maintain certification.

• BCBA certification makes it easier for employers, funders, and consumers, among others, to verify that you have certain knowledge, skills, and abilities and are not under disciplinary sanctions.

Accreditation

The BCBA, BCaBA, and RBT certification programs are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the accreditation body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs were the first standards developed for professional certification programs to help ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public. NCCA standards articulate the essential elements of a high-quality certification program. Consistent with these standards, the BACB’s certification requirements, examination content, and procedures undergo regular review by subject matter

experts in the discipline. To learn more about accreditation, see ICE’s video, Value of Accreditation: Why it Matters.

MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS* APPLY TAKE & PASS BCBA EXAM MAINTAIN

MEET CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

ADHERE TO ETHICS REQUIREMENTS

RECERTIFY EVERY TWO YEARSPATHWAY 4: POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE

PATHWAY 3: FACULTY TEACHING AND RESEARCH

PATHWAY 2: BEHAVIOR-ANALYTIC COURSEWORK

Version 06/29/2022, Copyright © 2022, BACB® | All rights reserved.

PATHWAY 1: ABAI- OR APBA-ACCREDITED DEGREE

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You Want to Pursue Certification… Now What?*

So, you are interested in pursuing BCBA certification. What should you do now? Although the BACB cannot instruct you on how to meet our requirements, the content in this section is intended to provide some guidance that might be helpful as you start this journey.

A Few Tips Before Getting Started

First. carefully review both the eligibility and maintenance requirements that are detailed in this handbook. Then, determine which eligibility pathway you plan to pursue. The majority of BCBA certificants apply under Pathway 1 or Pathway 2, so this section focuses primarily on those pathways. Once you have selected a pathway, determine when you might apply, as it may take a few years to meet all of the requirements, and the eligibility requirements may change.

Third, you will want to create a BACB account using these tips: • Enter your full legal name exactly as it appears on your government-issued identification. If it does not

match exactly, you will not be able to take the examination. Name changes require review by BACB staff, so a name change could delay your ability to take the examination.

• Use a personal email address and not a work or school email address. Important notifications and reminders are sent to this address, so if you change employers or lose access to your school email address, you will not receive reminders, correspondence, or password resets.

• Set up the profile yourself and do not share your account information with anyone else, including your employer. This is your certification—no one else should be managing it for you. The contact information you provide must include your current address and phone number. It is very important that you list your current address, as your residence must be under the BACB’s jurisdiction.

• Update your information in your BACB account as soon as changes occur (e.g., name change, address change, email address change).

• Do not create more than one account. If you are having trouble getting into your account, please use the Contact Us Form for assistance.

Creating a BACB account will give you a BACB account ID number, which you will need to add to documents as you work toward certification. Having a BACB account also means that you will receive important updates from the BACB.

Considerations When Exploring Training Options

You only receive your initial training once. If possible, don’t pick your training out of convenience, expense, or geography. We recommend thoroughly researching the trainings before committing to one. While we can’t provide guidance on where to receive your behavior-analytic coursework, here are some things to consider.

Ideally, yo

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