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Kansas Behavior Analyst — Requirements & Free Practice

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Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst

Ordinary applied behavior analysis license at the assistant level. Initial certification, alternate statutory issuance, renewal, late renewal and evidenced reinstatement scope are accounted for.

Licensing authority: Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board · Application information

Initial licensure through national certification
BCaBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a completed, signed application and the application fee; the Board reviews eligibility after all materials arrive. Disclose the background matters requested in Section II and furnish any requested explanations or criminal background reports.
Approved equivalent certifier
K.S.A. 65-7502(e) also permits an equivalent nationally accredited nongovernmental certifying agency approved by the Board; the obtained state implementing application identifies BACB, and no other named examination is established as adopted.
Certification
Provide proof of current BACB BCaBA certification at the matching license level. Passing the currently offered certification examination before applying remains an examination leaf; the applicant need not retake it solely because Kansas is now processing licensure.
Education
Provide official transcripts for all applicable coursework, including the baccalaureate degree. K.A.R. 102-8-4 permits transmission by the academic institution or the certifying entity; foreign transcripts require acceptable translation and degree-equivalency evaluation. The ordinary Board form asks for direct institution transmission.
License verification
Provide verification sent directly to the Board for every behavioral or health-science certificate, registration or license currently or previously held.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Supervision
Practice under a licensed behavior analyst. K.A.R. 102-8-6 requires at least 12 supervision sessions annually, a monthly session of at least one hour, two in-person sessions including direct observation, real-time visual and auditory contact, and the specified group-supervision limits and documentation.
Late license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Audit
If selected for audit, supply required continuing-education records within the period in K.A.R. 102-8-8. Continuing-education activities may involve posttests; these learning activities are not separately identified professional licensing examinations.
Continuing education
Complete 30 documented and approved hours during each two-year renewal cycle, including four hours of professional ethics; complete and possess supporting records before submitting the renewal. Excess hours are not carried forward.
Late renewal
K.A.R. 102-8-7(c) requires the late renewal application to state whether the applicant continued practicing applied behavior analysis or representing themselves in Kansas as licensed after expiration and, if so, under what circumstances. K.A.R. 102-8-11(rr)-(ss) prohibits expired-license practice and title use. The obtained rule does not prescribe a licensing examination for late renewal.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Renewal cycle
License expires 24 months after issuance unless revoked earlier; submit completed renewal application, continuing education reporting form and fee.
Supervision
Submit supervisor name and identifying information and supervisor-verified dates, format and length of supervision under K.A.R. 102-8-7(b)(4).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2016-11-14.

Alternate issuance based on private certification and work experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Private certification
Hold a current valid private certification in good standing and at least two years of occupational work in a jurisdiction without occupational licensing or government certification; satisfy subsection (c)(2)(C)-(H). Subsection (f) does not identify a certifier or examination: the private credential is an applicant condition, and the Board’s ordinary BACB form demand is separately disclosed.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

Alternate reciprocity with recent active practice
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Prior credential
Hold a valid current government license, registration or certification from another U.S. jurisdiction authorizing a similar scope, as determined by the Board, and have worked in the occupation for at least one year.
Probationary issuance
K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2) provides issuance on a probationary basis within 15 days for military applicants or spouses and 45 days for other applicants; probation lasts no more than six months and then becomes non-probationary. False application information permits revocation.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.
Recent practice
This complete no-examination route covers applicants in active practice during the two years preceding application; the inactive-applicant discretionary-testing branch is separately preserved as an unresolved route.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

Routine license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Audit
If selected for audit, supply required continuing-education records within the period in K.A.R. 102-8-8. Continuing-education activities may involve posttests; these learning activities are not separately identified professional licensing examinations.
Continuing education
Complete 30 documented and approved hours during each two-year renewal cycle, including four hours of professional ethics; complete and possess supporting records before submitting the renewal. Excess hours are not carried forward.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Renewal cycle
License expires 24 months after issuance unless revoked earlier; submit completed renewal application, continuing education reporting form and fee.
Supervision
Submit supervisor name and identifying information and supervisor-verified dates, format and length of supervision under K.A.R. 102-8-7(b)(4).

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2016-11-14.

Alternate issuance based on work experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.
Work experience
Work in a jurisdiction without occupational licensing, registration, certification or private certification for the occupation; at least three years of work during the four years preceding application; satisfy subsection (c)(2)(C)-(H). No examination is prescribed by the exhaustive subsection (e) eligibility list.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

Licensed Behavior Analyst

Ordinary applied behavior analysis license at the analyst level. Initial certification, alternate statutory issuance, renewal, late renewal and evidenced reinstatement scope are accounted for.

Licensing authority: Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board · Application information

Initial licensure through national certification
BCBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a completed, signed application and the application fee; the Board reviews eligibility after all materials arrive. Disclose the background matters requested in Section II and furnish any requested explanations or criminal background reports.
Approved equivalent certifier
K.S.A. 65-7502(e) also permits an equivalent nationally accredited nongovernmental certifying agency approved by the Board; the obtained state implementing application identifies BACB, and no other named examination is established as adopted.
Certification
Provide proof of current BACB BCBA certification at the matching license level. Passing the currently offered certification examination before applying remains an examination leaf; the applicant need not retake it solely because Kansas is now processing licensure.
Education
Provide official transcripts for all applicable coursework, including the graduate degree. K.A.R. 102-8-4 permits transmission by the academic institution or the certifying entity; foreign transcripts require acceptable translation and degree-equivalency evaluation. The ordinary Board form asks for direct institution transmission.
License verification
Provide verification sent directly to the Board for every behavioral or health-science certificate, registration or license currently or previously held.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Late license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Audit
If selected for audit, supply required continuing-education records within the period in K.A.R. 102-8-8. Continuing-education activities may involve posttests; these learning activities are not separately identified professional licensing examinations.
Continuing education
Complete 30 documented and approved hours during each two-year renewal cycle, including four hours of professional ethics; complete and possess supporting records before submitting the renewal. Excess hours are not carried forward.
Late renewal
K.A.R. 102-8-7(c) requires the late renewal application to state whether the applicant continued practicing applied behavior analysis or representing themselves in Kansas as licensed after expiration and, if so, under what circumstances. K.A.R. 102-8-11(rr)-(ss) prohibits expired-license practice and title use. The obtained rule does not prescribe a licensing examination for late renewal.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Renewal cycle
License expires 24 months after issuance unless revoked earlier; submit completed renewal application, continuing education reporting form and fee.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2016-11-14.

Alternate issuance based on private certification and work experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Private certification
Hold a current valid private certification in good standing and at least two years of occupational work in a jurisdiction without occupational licensing or government certification; satisfy subsection (c)(2)(C)-(H). Subsection (f) does not identify a certifier or examination: the private credential is an applicant condition, and the Board’s ordinary BACB form demand is separately disclosed.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

Alternate reciprocity with recent active practice
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Prior credential
Hold a valid current government license, registration or certification from another U.S. jurisdiction authorizing a similar scope, as determined by the Board, and have worked in the occupation for at least one year.
Probationary issuance
K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2) provides issuance on a probationary basis within 15 days for military applicants or spouses and 45 days for other applicants; probation lasts no more than six months and then becomes non-probationary. False application information permits revocation.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.
Recent practice
This complete no-examination route covers applicants in active practice during the two years preceding application; the inactive-applicant discretionary-testing branch is separately preserved as an unresolved route.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

Routine license renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Audit
If selected for audit, supply required continuing-education records within the period in K.A.R. 102-8-8. Continuing-education activities may involve posttests; these learning activities are not separately identified professional licensing examinations.
Continuing education
Complete 30 documented and approved hours during each two-year renewal cycle, including four hours of professional ethics; complete and possess supporting records before submitting the renewal. Excess hours are not carried forward.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Renewal cycle
License expires 24 months after issuance unless revoked earlier; submit completed renewal application, continuing education reporting form and fee.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2016-11-14.

Alternate issuance based on work experience
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Conduct
Satisfy K.S.A. 48-3406(c)(2)(C)-(H): no qualifying misconduct, discipline, unresolved credential complaint or disqualifying criminal record; supply any equally applicable financial standing, bonding or insurance proof and required fees.
Eligibility
A military servicemember or spouse residing or planning to reside in Kansas because of the assigned military station, or an individual who has established or intends to establish Kansas residency; submit the complete application and truthful signed affidavit.
Military spouse fees
The parallel current 2025 amendments differ in breadth: K.S.A. 48-3406(u) says military spouses of active military service members; K.S.A. 48-3406a(u) says military spouses of military servicemembers. Both texts are retained. Under the contract same-rank rule the broader exemption is shown, with the narrower text disclosed; eligibility is the applicant’s condition.
Ordinary form demand
The Board’s ordinary application still states: "Official verification of certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB): The BSRB staff will verify your certification online." It also requests BACB-degree transcripts. These implementing demands are disclosed as applicant conditions; the alternate statutory routes are defined by K.S.A. 48-3406(b), (c)(2), (e) and (f), notwithstanding other law.
Public safety
Under K.S.A. 48-3406(l), the Board may deny an application when granting it may jeopardize public health and safety.
Work experience
Work in a jurisdiction without occupational licensing, registration, certification or private certification for the occupation; at least three years of work during the four years preceding application; satisfy subsection (c)(2)(C)-(H). No examination is prescribed by the exhaustive subsection (e) eligibility list.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2025-07-01.

BCaBA Certification Examination

Provider
Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB); delivered by Pearson VUE in person at authorized Pearson VUE testing sites
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination, continuously available and offered only in English; each question has 4 possible answers and only 1 correct answer; all questions are equally weighted and the result is based on overall performance
Exam questions
175 multiple-choice questions: 150 scored and 25 unscored
Time limit
4 hours
Passing score
Pass/fail; criterion-referenced passing score established by the modified Angoff method
Exam fee
$175 certification application (BACB) plus $125 examination appointment (Pearson VUE)
Examination outline
  • A. Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations (10 of 150 scored questions) (7%)
    • A.1. Explain the goals of behavior analysis as a natural science (i.e., description, prediction, control).
    • A.2. Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism).
    • A.3. Describe and explain behavior from the perspective of radical behaviorism.
    • A.4. Distinguish among behaviorism, the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and professional practice guided by the science of behavior analysis.
    • A.5. Identify and describe dimensions of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968).
  • B. Concepts and Principles (18 of 150 scored questions) (12%)
    • B.1. Identify and distinguish among behavior, response, and response class.
    • B.2. Identify and distinguish between stimulus and stimulus class.
    • B.3. Identify and distinguish between respondent and operant conditioning.
    • B.4. Identify and distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement contingencies.
    • B.5. Identify and distinguish between positive and negative punishment contingencies.
    • B.6. Identify and distinguish between automatic and socially mediated contingencies.
    • B.7. Identify and distinguish among unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized reinforcers and punishers.
    • B.8. Identify and distinguish among simple schedules of reinforcement.
    • B.9. Identify examples of operant extinction.
    • B.10. Identify and distinguish between types of stimulus control.
    • B.11. Identify and distinguish between discrimination and generalization.
    • B.12. Define and identify examples of unconditioned motivating operations.
    • B.13. Identify and distinguish between rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior.
    • B.14. Identify and distinguish among elementary verbal operants.
    • B.15. Define and identify examples of processes that promote emergent relations and generative performance.
  • C. Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation (20 of 150 scored questions) (13%)
    • C.1. Define and identify dimensions of behavior (e.g., count, duration, magnitude).
    • C.2. Describe the form (i.e., topography) and develop operational definitions of behavior.
    • C.3. Distinguish among direct, indirect, and product measures of behavior.
    • C.4. Develop and implement continuous measurement procedures (e.g., duration recording, event recording).
    • C.5. Develop and implement discontinuous measurement procedures (e.g., interval recording, time sampling).
    • C.6. Evaluate the validity and reliability of measurement procedures.
    • C.7. Select a measurement system to obtain representative data given the dimensions of behavior and the logistics of observing and recording.
    • C.8. Graph data to communicate relevant quantitative relations (e.g., equal-interval graphs, bar graphs, cumulative records).
    • C.9. Interpret graphed data.
    • C.10. Develop and evaluate mastery criteria.
  • D. Experimental Design (10 of 150 scored questions) (7%)
    • D.1. Distinguish between dependent and independent variables.
    • D.2. Distinguish between internal and external validity.
    • D.3. Identify the defining features of single-case experimental designs (e.g., individuals serve as their own controls, repeated measures, prediction, verification, replication).
    • D.4. Identify strengths of single-case experimental design.
    • D.5. Distinguish among and implement single-case experimental designs (e.g., reversal, multiple baseline, multielement, changing criterion).
    • D.6. Distinguish among and implement comparative, component, and parametric analyses.
  • E. Ethical and Professional Issues (18 of 150 scored questions) (12%)
    • E.1. Identify and apply core principles underlying the ethics codes for BACB certificants (e.g., benefit others; treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect; behave with integrity).
    • E.2. Identify the risks to oneself, others, and the profession associated with engaging in unethical behavior (e.g., misuse of social media, misrepresentation of one’s credential, making confidential information public).
    • E.3. Identify one’s area(s) of competence and when to seek a supervisor’s guidance.
    • E.4. Identify professional development activities that strengthen and expand areas of competence (e.g., attend conferences, read literature, seek consultation, establish mentors).
    • E.5. Identify and comply with requirements for collecting, using, protecting, and disclosing confidential information.
    • E.6. Identify steps that should be taken when transitioning clients or supervisees to another professional or when a BCaBA transitions to a different supervisor.
    • E.7. Identify types of and risks associated with multiple relationships, and how to mitigate those risks when they are unavoidable.
    • E.8. Identify and apply interpersonal and other skills (e.g., accepting feedback, listening actively, seeking input, collaborating) to establish and maintain professional relationships.
    • E.9. Engage in cultural humility in service delivery and professional relationships.
    • E.10. Apply culturally responsive and inclusive service and supervision activities.
    • E.11. Identify and apply the legal, regulatory, and practice requirements (e.g., licensure, jurisprudence, funding, certification) relevant to the delivery of behavior-analytic services.
  • F. Behavior Assessment (17 of 150 scored questions) (11%)
    • F.1. Review relevant information in available records and data (e.g., educational, medical, historical) at the outset of a case.
    • F.2. Identify conditions that warrant behavior-analytic services.
    • F.3. Identify and prioritize socially significant, client-informed, and culturally responsive behavior-change goals.
    • F.4. Implement assessments of relevant skill strengths and deficits, and contextual fit (e.g., client values, cultural variables, social validity, environmental resources).
    • F.5. Implement preference and reinforcer assessments.
    • F.6. Implement functional assessments of behavior, including indirect, descriptive, and experimental analyses.
  • G. Behavior-Change Procedures (22 of 150 scored questions) (15%)
    • G.1. Develop and implement positive and negative reinforcement procedures, including contingent and noncontingent applications.
    • G.2. Develop and implement procedures to establish and use conditioned reinforcers.
    • G.3. Develop and implement procedures that incorporate motivating operations and discriminative stimuli.
    • G.4. Develop and implement procedures to teach simple and conditional discriminations.
    • G.5. Develop and implement procedures using stimulus and response prompts that include appropriate fading procedures (e.g., errorless, least-to-most, stimulus fading).
    • G.6. Develop and implement modeling procedures.
    • G.7. Develop and implement procedures that use instructions and rules.
    • G.8. Develop and implement shaping procedures.
    • G.9. Develop and implement chaining procedures.
    • G.10. Develop and implement procedures to teach elementary verbal operants.
    • G.11. Develop and implement procedures to promote emergent relations and generative performance.
    • G.12. Develop and implement procedures that promote behavioral persistence.
    • G.13. Develop and implement acquisition procedures that are appropriate to the client’s skills and intervention goals (e.g., discrete-trial, free-operant, and naturalistic teaching arrangements).
    • G.14. Develop and implement group contingency procedures.
    • G.15. Develop and implement contingency contracting procedures.
    • G.16. Develop and implement self-management procedures.
    • G.17. Develop and implement procedures to promote stimulus and response generalization.
    • G.18. Develop and implement differential reinforcement procedures with and without extinction.
    • G.19. Define and implement positive and negative punishment procedures (e.g., time-out, response cost, overcorrection).
    • G.20. Develop and implement procedures to promote maintenance of behavior change.
  • H. Intervention Development and Monitoring (20 of 150 scored questions) (13%)
    • H.1. State intervention goals in observable and measurable terms.
    • H.2. Identify potential interventions based on assessment results and scientific evidence.
    • H.3. Develop intervention goals and procedures based on risks and contextual fit (e.g., client preferences and values, cultural variables, social validity, environmental resources).
    • H.4. Identify alternative behaviors to be established or increased when a target behavior is to be decreased.
    • H.5. Identify possible unwanted effects when using reinforcement, extinction, and punishment procedures.
    • H.6. Evaluate client progress and procedural integrity.
    • H.7. Make data-based decisions about the effectiveness of procedures and the need for modification.
    • H.8. Collaborate with and include others who support and/or provide services to clients.
  • I. Supervisory Relationships (15 of 150 scored questions) (10%)
    • I.1. Use behavior-analytic supervision practices and state the potential risks of ineffective supervision (e.g., poor client outcomes, impaired job satisfaction, employee turnover).
    • I.2. Identify and apply strategies for establishing and maintaining effective supervisory relationships (e.g., active listening, providing reinforcement, reciprocal feedback).
    • I.3. Identify and implement methods that promote equity in supervision practices.
    • I.4. Establish clear performance expectations for the supervisor and supervisee.
    • I.5. Select supervision goals based on an assessment of the supervisee’s skills.
    • I.6. Apply empirically validated and competency-based approaches to train supervisees to perform assessment and intervention procedures.
    • I.7. Identify and apply empirically validated and culturally responsive performance management procedures (e.g., modeling, practice, feedback, reinforcement, task clarification, manipulation of response effort).
    • I.8. Apply a function-based approach (e.g., performance diagnostics) to assess and improve supervisee behavior.
    • I.9. Evaluate the effects of supervision (e.g., on client outcomes, on supervisee repertoires).
Examination sources

BCBA Certification Examination

Provider
Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB); delivered by Pearson VUE in person at authorized Pearson VUE testing sites
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination, continuously available and offered only in English; each question has 4 possible answers and only 1 correct answer; all questions are equally weighted and the result is based on overall performance
Exam questions
185 multiple-choice questions: 175 scored and 10 unscored
Time limit
4 hours
Passing score
Pass/fail; criterion-referenced passing score established by the modified Angoff method
Exam fee
$245 certification application (BACB) plus $125 examination appointment (Pearson VUE); $140 examination retake application
Examination outline
  • A. Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations (8 of 175 scored questions) (5%)
    • A.1. Identify the goals of behavior analysis as a science (i.e., description, prediction, control).
    • A.2. Explain the philosophical assumptions underlying the science of behavior analysis (e.g., selectionism, determinism, empiricism, parsimony, pragmatism).
    • A.3. Explain behavior from the perspective of radical behaviorism.
    • A.4. Distinguish among behaviorism, the experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and professional practice guided by the science of behavior analysis.
    • A.5. Identify and describe dimensions of applied behavior analysis.
  • B. Concepts and Principles (24 of 175 scored questions) (14%)
    • B.1. Identify and distinguish among behavior, response, and response class.
    • B.2. Identify and distinguish between stimulus and stimulus class.
    • B.3. Identify and distinguish between respondent and operant conditioning.
    • B.4. Identify and distinguish between positive and negative reinforcement contingencies.
    • B.5. Identify and distinguish between positive and negative punishment contingencies.
    • B.6. Identify and distinguish between automatic and socially mediated contingencies.
    • B.7. Identify and distinguish among unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized reinforcers.
    • B.8. Identify and distinguish among unconditioned, conditioned, and generalized punishers.
    • B.9. Identify and distinguish among simple schedules of reinforcement.
    • B.10. Identify and distinguish among concurrent, multiple, mixed, and chained schedules of reinforcement.
    • B.11. Identify and distinguish between operant and respondent extinction as operations and processes.
    • B.12. Identify examples of stimulus control.
    • B.13. Identify examples of stimulus discrimination.
    • B.14. Identify and distinguish between stimulus and response generalization.
    • B.15. Identify examples of response maintenance.
    • B.16. Identify examples of motivating operations.
    • B.17. Distinguish between motivating operations and stimulus control.
    • B.18. Identify and distinguish between rule-governed and contingency-shaped behavior.
    • B.19. Identify and distinguish among verbal operants.
    • B.20. Identify the role of multiple control in verbal behavior.
    • B.21. Identify examples of processes that promote emergent relations and generative performance.
    • B.22. Identify ways behavioral momentum can be used to understand response persistence.
    • B.23. Identify ways the matching law can be used to interpret response allocation.
    • B.24. Identify and distinguish between imitation and observational learning.
  • C. Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation (21 of 175 scored questions) (12%)
    • C.1. Create operational definitions of behavior.
    • C.2. Distinguish among direct, indirect, and product measures of behavior.
    • C.3. Measure occurrence.
    • C.4. Measure temporal dimensions of behavior (e.g., duration, latency, interresponse time).
    • C.5. Distinguish between continuous and discontinuous measurement procedures.
    • C.6. Design and apply discontinuous measurement procedures (e.g., interval recording, time sampling).
    • C.7. Measure efficiency (e.g., trials to criterion, cost-benefit analysis, training duration).
    • C.8. Evaluate the validity and reliability of measurement procedures.
    • C.9. Select a measurement procedure to obtain representative data that accounts for the critical dimension of the behavior and environmental constraints.
    • C.10. Graph data to communicate relevant quantitative relations (e.g., equal-interval graphs, bar graphs, cumulative records).
    • C.11. Interpret graphed data.
    • C.12. Select a measurement procedure to obtain representative procedural integrity data that accounts for relevant dimensions (e.g., accuracy, dosage) and environmental constraints.
  • D. Experimental Design (13 of 175 scored questions) (7%)
    • D.1. Distinguish between dependent and independent variables.
    • D.2. Distinguish between internal and external validity.
    • D.3. Identify threats to internal validity (e.g., history, maturation).
    • D.4. Identify the defining features of single-case experimental designs (e.g., individuals serve as their own controls, repeated measures, prediction, verification, replication).
    • D.5. Identify the relative strengths of single-case experimental designs and group designs.
    • D.6. Critique and interpret data from single-case experimental designs.
    • D.7. Distinguish among reversal, multiple-baseline, multielement, and changing-criterion designs.
    • D.8. Identify rationales for conducting comparative, component, and parametric analyses.
    • D.9. Apply single-case experimental designs.
  • E. Ethical and Professional Issues (22 of 175 scored questions) (13%)
    • E.1. Identify and apply core principles underlying the ethics codes for BACB certificants (e.g., benefit others; treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect; behave with integrity).
    • E.2. Identify the risks to oneself, others, and the profession as a result of engaging in unethical behavior.
    • E.3. Develop and maintain competence by engaging in professional development activities (e.g., read literature, seek consultation, establish mentors).
    • E.4. Identify and comply with requirements for collecting, using, protecting, and disclosing confidential information.
    • E.5. Identify and comply with requirements for making public statements about professional activities (e.g., social media activity; misrepresentation of professional credentials, behavior analysis, and service outcomes).
    • E.6. Identify the conditions under which services or supervision should be discontinued and apply steps that should be taken when transitioning clients and supervisees to another professional.
    • E.7. Identify types of and risks associated with multiple relationships, and how to mitigate those risks when they are unavoidable.
    • E.8. Identify and apply interpersonal and other skills (e.g., accepting feedback, listening actively, seeking input, collaborating) to establish and maintain professional relationships.
    • E.9. Engage in cultural humility in service delivery and professional relationships.
    • E.10. Apply culturally responsive and inclusive service and supervision activities.
    • E.11. Identify personal biases and how they might interfere with professional activity.
    • E.12. Identify and apply the legal, regulatory, and practice requirements (e.g., licensure, jurisprudence, funding, certification) relevant to the delivery of behavior-analytic services.
  • F. Behavior Assessment (23 of 175 scored questions) (13%)
    • F.1. Identify relevant sources of information in records (e.g., educational, medical, historical) at the outset of the case.
    • F.2. Identify and integrate relevant cultural variables in the assessment process.
    • F.3. Design and evaluate assessments of relevant skill strengths and areas of need.
    • F.4. Design and evaluate preference assessments.
    • F.5. Design and evaluate descriptive assessments.
    • F.6. Design and evaluate functional analyses.
    • F.7. Interpret assessment data to determine the need for behavior-analytic services and/or referral to others.
    • F.8. Interpret assessment data to identify and prioritize socially significant, client-informed, and culturally responsive behavior-change procedures and goals.
  • G. Behavior-Change Procedures (25 of 175 scored questions) (14%)
    • G.1. Design and evaluate positive and negative reinforcement procedures.
    • G.2. Design and evaluate differential reinforcement (e.g., DRA, DRO, DRL, DRH) procedures with and without extinction.
    • G.3. Design and evaluate time-based reinforcement (e.g., fixed-time) schedules.
    • G.4. Identify procedures to establish and use conditioned reinforcers (e.g., token economies).
    • G.5. Incorporate motivating operations and discriminative stimuli into behavior-change procedures.
    • G.6. Design and evaluate procedures to produce simple and conditional discriminations.
    • G.7. Select and evaluate stimulus and response prompting procedures (e.g., errorless, most-to-least, least-to-most).
    • G.8. Design and implement procedures to fade stimulus and response prompts (e.g., prompt delay, stimulus fading).
    • G.9. Design and evaluate modeling procedures.
    • G.10. Design and evaluate instructions and rules.
    • G.11. Shape dimensions of behavior.
    • G.12. Select and implement chaining procedures.
    • G.13. Design and evaluate trial-based and free-operant procedures.
    • G.14. Design and evaluate group contingencies.
    • G.15. Design and evaluate procedures to promote stimulus and response generalization.
    • G.16. Design and evaluate procedures to maintain desired behavior change following intervention (e.g., schedule thinning, transferring to naturally occurring reinforcers).
    • G.17. Design and evaluate positive and negative punishment (e.g., time-out, response cost, overcorrection).
    • G.18. Evaluate emotional and elicited effects of behavior-change procedures.
    • G.19. Design and evaluate procedures to promote emergent relations and generative performance.
  • H. Selecting and Implementing Interventions (20 of 175 scored questions) (11%)
    • H.1. Develop intervention goals in observable and measurable terms.
    • H.2. Identify and recommend interventions based on assessment results, scientific evidence, client preferences, and contextual fit (e.g., expertise required for implementation, cultural variables, environmental resources).
    • H.3. Select socially valid alternative behavior to be established or increased when a target behavior is to be decreased.
    • H.4. Plan for and attempt to mitigate possible unwanted effects when using reinforcement, extinction, and punishment procedures.
    • H.5. Plan for and attempt to mitigate possible relapse of the target behavior.
    • H.6. Make data-based decisions about procedural integrity.
    • H.7. Make data-based decisions about the effectiveness of the intervention and the need for modification.
    • H.8. Collaborate with others to support and enhance client services.
  • I. Personnel Supervision and Management (19 of 175 scored questions) (11%)
    • I.1. Identify the benefits of using behavior-analytic supervision (e.g., improved client outcomes, improved staff performance and retention).
    • I.2. Identify and apply strategies for establishing effective supervisory relationships (e.g., executing supervisor-supervisee contracts, establishing clear expectations, giving and accepting feedback).
    • I.3. Identify and implement methods that promote equity in supervision practices.
    • I.4. Select supervision goals based on an assessment of the supervisee’s skills, cultural variables, and the environment.
    • I.5. Identify and apply empirically validated and culturally responsive performance management procedures (e.g., modeling, practice, feedback, reinforcement, task clarification, manipulation of response effort).
    • I.6. Apply a function-based approach (e.g., performance diagnostics) to assess and improve supervisee behavior.
    • I.7. Make data-based decisions about the efficacy of supervisory practices.
Examination sources