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Nebraska Behavior Analyst — Requirements & Free Practice

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Licensed Behavior Analyst

Nebraska license under the Behavior Analyst Practice Act.

Licensing authority: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Board of Behavior Analysts · Application information

Placement of the existing credential on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Certification Status Report
172 NAC 86-007 requires reporting inactive certifying-entity certification to DHHS within 10 days.
Duration
Inactive status may continue indefinitely.
Existing Credential
Hold the existing Nebraska credential and notify DHHS in writing of the request for inactive status.
Practice Restriction
No practice while inactive; the individual may represent that an inactive credential is held.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Initial licensure through national certification
BCBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a complete signed application, supporting documents, and required fee unless a fee waiver applies.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Character
Good character must be established.
Criminal History
Disclose misdemeanor and felony convictions and submit the requested court records, explanation, and probation information.
Equivalent Entity
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4405 permits another substantially equivalent certifying entity only with Board approval; no additional examination is identified by that clause.
Fee Waiver
The application permits fee waivers for qualifying young workers, low-income individuals, and military family members.
Lawful Presence
Submit citizenship or lawful-presence documentation acceptable under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-129 and the application.
Military Education
Military education, training or service may be submitted for review of substantial similarity.
Minimum Age
At least 19 years old, except an applicable statutory exception.
Other Credentials
Report current and former credentials; arrange official verification and any disciplinary records from the issuing authority.
Registry Consent
Consent to Nebraska abuse/neglect registry checks and attest that no other jurisdiction lists the applicant as an abuse/neglect perpetrator.
Reinstatement after expiration
BCBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit the DHHS reinstatement application, lawful-presence and identity documentation, conviction and credential-action disclosures, and applicable renewal/reinstatement fees.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Complete certifying-entity continuing education/competency requirements, or submit the documented military-service, initial-license, or illness/disability waiver request allowed by the application.
Current Requirements
Meet the renewal or applicable practice-act requirements in effect when seeking active status under § 38-147.
Discipline
If the license was revoked or suspended for disciplinary reasons, the application directs the applicant to DHHS for the appropriate separate application.
Practice Before Reinstatement
Disclose practice after expiration or while inactive; the application describes administrative penalties and possible licensing action.
Prior Credential
The Nebraska license has expired.
Registry Status
Attest that no abuse/neglect perpetrator finding appears on Nebraska or another jurisdiction’s registry.
Reactivation of an inactive license
BCBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit the DHHS reinstatement application, lawful-presence and identity documentation, conviction and credential-action disclosures, and applicable renewal/reinstatement fees.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Complete certifying-entity continuing education/competency requirements, or submit the documented military-service, initial-license, or illness/disability waiver request allowed by the application.
Current Requirements
Meet the renewal or applicable practice-act requirements in effect when seeking active status under § 38-147.
Discipline
If the license was revoked or suspended for disciplinary reasons, the application directs the applicant to DHHS for the appropriate separate application.
Practice Before Reinstatement
Disclose practice after expiration or while inactive; the application describes administrative penalties and possible licensing action.
Prior Credential
The Nebraska license is on inactive status.
Registry Status
Attest that no abuse/neglect perpetrator finding appears on Nebraska or another jurisdiction’s registry.
Biennial renewal with active national certification
BCBA Certification Examination
Attestations
Attest that the applicant is not listed on Nebraska or another jurisdiction abuse/neglect registries and that credentials elsewhere are in good standing.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Maintain continuing education and competency with a certifying entity as defined in § 38-4405.
Continuing Competency Waivers
172 NAC 10-004.03 provides military-service and first-credentialed waivers; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-146 allows a supported waiver for circumstances beyond the credential holder’s control.
Existing License
Hold the Nebraska license and submit the renewal application before expiration.
Expiration
September 1 of each even-numbered year.
General Renewal Documentation
Submit current personal information, lawful-presence documentation, conviction and disciplinary disclosures, and applicable fees under 172 NAC 10-004.
Restoration after the cause of a disability related action has ended
BCBA Certification Examination
Cause Resolved
The disabling cause must no longer exist or the action must have been reversed on appeal.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Clinical Evaluation
Under § 38-1,111, a department-selected or approved qualified physician or other qualified professional must examine or evaluate the person and the Board must find fitness to practice; the applicant pays this diagnostic cost. This medical evaluation is an applicant condition, not a registered professional examination.
Otherwise Qualified
The Board must determine that the individual is otherwise qualified to practice, including the national-certification qualification under § 38-4410; the director then issues, returns, reinstates, or removes the limitation from the credential.
Prior Action
The credential was denied, refused renewal, limited, or suspended under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-1,110 because of physical or mental disability.

Temporary Licensed Behavior Analyst

Temporary authority under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4411; short-term practice or a military-spouse pathway.

Licensing authority: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Board of Behavior Analysts · Application information

Short term temporary licensure through certification
BCBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a complete signed application, supporting documents, and required fee unless a fee waiver applies.
Certification
Active BCBA or BCBA-D certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Character
Good character must be established.
Criminal History
Disclose misdemeanor and felony convictions and submit the requested court records, explanation, and probation information.
Equivalent Entity
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4405 permits another substantially equivalent certifying entity only with Board approval; no additional examination is identified by that clause.
Fee Waiver
The application permits fee waivers for qualifying young workers, low-income individuals, and military family members.
Independent Practice
Section 38-4411(1) requires certification permitting independent practice; assistant license scope separately requires close ongoing supervision.
Lawful Presence
Submit citizenship or lawful-presence documentation acceptable under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-129 and the application.
Military Education
Military education, training or service may be submitted for review of substantial similarity.
Minimum Age
At least 19 years old, except an applicable statutory exception.
Other Credentials
Report current and former credentials; arrange official verification and any disciplinary records from the issuing authority.
Registry Consent
Consent to Nebraska abuse/neglect registry checks and attest that no other jurisdiction lists the applicant as an abuse/neglect perpetrator.
Short Term Practice
Provide services for no more than 30 consecutive days in Nebraska; only one short-term temporary license in a one-year period.
Military spouse temporary licensure pending the regular license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Background Check
Submit fingerprints for the background check if required under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-131.
Duration
Valid until the regular application is approved or rejected, not more than one year; the short-term 30-day pathway is separate.
Existing Credential
Submit a valid credential from another jurisdiction and its governing laws and rules; the Board and DHHS must determine that standards are similar.
Fees
No temporary or initial regular credential fee, except an applicable fingerprinting/background-check cost.
Military Spouse
Be the spouse of an active-duty servicemember assigned to Nebraska; submit dependent identification and assignment orders.
Pending Application
Apply for the regular Nebraska credential; this temporary pathway is pending approval or rejection of that application.
Regular License Certification
The regular license application separately requests proof of BCBA/BCBA-D or BCaBA certification; that pending application does not add a certification examination to the temporary issuance requirements of § 38-129.01.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Short term temporary licensure through a license held elsewhere
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the temporary application, supporting documentation, registry consent, and the $100 fee unless waived.
Existing License
Hold a license in another jurisdiction; DHHS must verify its status with the relevant entity under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4411(1).
Implementation Additional Certification
The statute independently permits the existing-license alternative. The lower-ranked rule additionally states: 004.01   LICENSED BEHAVIOR ANALYST TEMPORARY LICENSE. To obtain a temporary license as a licensed behavior analyst, the applicant must meet all requirements to receive an initial license as a licensed behavior analyst and attest that the applicant will provide applied behavior analysis services for no more than 30 days in Nebraska.
Supervision
Practice must stay within the licensed behavior analyst scope.
Temporary Practice
Submit evidence that Nebraska practice is temporary; the rule and application limit services to 30 consecutive days, with one temporary license per year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst

Nebraska license under the Behavior Analyst Practice Act. Assistant practice requires close ongoing supervision by a Nebraska licensed behavior analyst.

Licensing authority: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Board of Behavior Analysts · Application information

Placement of the existing credential on inactive status
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Certification Status Report
172 NAC 86-007 requires reporting inactive certifying-entity certification to DHHS within 10 days.
Duration
Inactive status may continue indefinitely.
Existing Credential
Hold the existing Nebraska credential and notify DHHS in writing of the request for inactive status.
Practice Restriction
No practice while inactive; the individual may represent that an inactive credential is held.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Initial licensure through national certification
BCaBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a complete signed application, supporting documents, and required fee unless a fee waiver applies.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Character
Good character must be established.
Criminal History
Disclose misdemeanor and felony convictions and submit the requested court records, explanation, and probation information.
Equivalent Entity
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4405 permits another substantially equivalent certifying entity only with Board approval; no additional examination is identified by that clause.
Fee Waiver
The application permits fee waivers for qualifying young workers, low-income individuals, and military family members.
Lawful Presence
Submit citizenship or lawful-presence documentation acceptable under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-129 and the application.
Military Education
Military education, training or service may be submitted for review of substantial similarity.
Minimum Age
At least 19 years old, except an applicable statutory exception.
Other Credentials
Report current and former credentials; arrange official verification and any disciplinary records from the issuing authority.
Registry Consent
Consent to Nebraska abuse/neglect registry checks and attest that no other jurisdiction lists the applicant as an abuse/neglect perpetrator.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.
Reinstatement after expiration
BCaBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit the DHHS reinstatement application, lawful-presence and identity documentation, conviction and credential-action disclosures, and applicable renewal/reinstatement fees.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Complete certifying-entity continuing education/competency requirements, or submit the documented military-service, initial-license, or illness/disability waiver request allowed by the application.
Current Requirements
Meet the renewal or applicable practice-act requirements in effect when seeking active status under § 38-147.
Discipline
If the license was revoked or suspended for disciplinary reasons, the application directs the applicant to DHHS for the appropriate separate application.
Practice Before Reinstatement
Disclose practice after expiration or while inactive; the application describes administrative penalties and possible licensing action.
Prior Credential
The Nebraska license has expired.
Registry Status
Attest that no abuse/neglect perpetrator finding appears on Nebraska or another jurisdiction’s registry.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.
Reactivation of an inactive license
BCaBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit the DHHS reinstatement application, lawful-presence and identity documentation, conviction and credential-action disclosures, and applicable renewal/reinstatement fees.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Complete certifying-entity continuing education/competency requirements, or submit the documented military-service, initial-license, or illness/disability waiver request allowed by the application.
Current Requirements
Meet the renewal or applicable practice-act requirements in effect when seeking active status under § 38-147.
Discipline
If the license was revoked or suspended for disciplinary reasons, the application directs the applicant to DHHS for the appropriate separate application.
Practice Before Reinstatement
Disclose practice after expiration or while inactive; the application describes administrative penalties and possible licensing action.
Prior Credential
The Nebraska license is on inactive status.
Registry Status
Attest that no abuse/neglect perpetrator finding appears on Nebraska or another jurisdiction’s registry.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.
Biennial renewal with active national certification
BCaBA Certification Examination
Attestations
Attest that the applicant is not listed on Nebraska or another jurisdiction abuse/neglect registries and that credentials elsewhere are in good standing.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Continuing Competency
Maintain continuing education and competency with a certifying entity as defined in § 38-4405.
Continuing Competency Waivers
172 NAC 10-004.03 provides military-service and first-credentialed waivers; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-146 allows a supported waiver for circumstances beyond the credential holder’s control.
Existing License
Hold the Nebraska license and submit the renewal application before expiration.
Expiration
September 1 of each even-numbered year.
General Renewal Documentation
Submit current personal information, lawful-presence documentation, conviction and disciplinary disclosures, and applicable fees under 172 NAC 10-004.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.
Restoration after the cause of a disability related action has ended
BCaBA Certification Examination
Cause Resolved
The disabling cause must no longer exist or the action must have been reversed on appeal.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Clinical Evaluation
Under § 38-1,111, a department-selected or approved qualified physician or other qualified professional must examine or evaluate the person and the Board must find fitness to practice; the applicant pays this diagnostic cost. This medical evaluation is an applicant condition, not a registered professional examination.
Otherwise Qualified
The Board must determine that the individual is otherwise qualified to practice, including the national-certification qualification under § 38-4410; the director then issues, returns, reinstates, or removes the limitation from the credential.
Prior Action
The credential was denied, refused renewal, limited, or suspended under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-1,110 because of physical or mental disability.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.

Temporary Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst

Temporary authority under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4411; short-term practice or a military-spouse pathway. Assistant practice requires close ongoing supervision by a Nebraska licensed behavior analyst.

Licensing authority: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Board of Behavior Analysts · Application information

Short term temporary licensure through certification
BCaBA Certification Examination
Application
Submit a complete signed application, supporting documents, and required fee unless a fee waiver applies.
Certification
Active BCaBA certification.
Certification Timing
The registered certification examination is involved through required certification; an existing passing result and active certification may satisfy this without a new sitting for the state route.
Character
Good character must be established.
Criminal History
Disclose misdemeanor and felony convictions and submit the requested court records, explanation, and probation information.
Equivalent Entity
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4405 permits another substantially equivalent certifying entity only with Board approval; no additional examination is identified by that clause.
Fee Waiver
The application permits fee waivers for qualifying young workers, low-income individuals, and military family members.
Independent Practice
Section 38-4411(1) requires certification permitting independent practice; assistant license scope separately requires close ongoing supervision.
Lawful Presence
Submit citizenship or lawful-presence documentation acceptable under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-129 and the application.
Military Education
Military education, training or service may be submitted for review of substantial similarity.
Minimum Age
At least 19 years old, except an applicable statutory exception.
Other Credentials
Report current and former credentials; arrange official verification and any disciplinary records from the issuing authority.
Registry Consent
Consent to Nebraska abuse/neglect registry checks and attest that no other jurisdiction lists the applicant as an abuse/neglect perpetrator.
Short Term Practice
Provide services for no more than 30 consecutive days in Nebraska; only one short-term temporary license in a one-year period.
Supervision
Close ongoing supervision by a licensed behavior analyst holding a Nebraska credential, consistent with certifying-entity supervision requirements.
Military spouse temporary licensure pending the regular license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Background Check
Submit fingerprints for the background check if required under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-131.
Duration
Valid until the regular application is approved or rejected, not more than one year; the short-term 30-day pathway is separate.
Existing Credential
Submit a valid credential from another jurisdiction and its governing laws and rules; the Board and DHHS must determine that standards are similar.
Fees
No temporary or initial regular credential fee, except an applicable fingerprinting/background-check cost.
Military Spouse
Be the spouse of an active-duty servicemember assigned to Nebraska; submit dependent identification and assignment orders.
Pending Application
Apply for the regular Nebraska credential; this temporary pathway is pending approval or rejection of that application.
Regular License Certification
The regular license application separately requests proof of BCBA/BCBA-D or BCaBA certification; that pending application does not add a certification examination to the temporary issuance requirements of § 38-129.01.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

Short term temporary licensure through a license held elsewhere
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Application
Submit the temporary application, supporting documentation, registry consent, and the $100 fee unless waived.
Existing License
Hold a license in another jurisdiction; DHHS must verify its status with the relevant entity under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-4411(1).
Implementation Additional Certification
The statute independently permits the existing-license alternative. The lower-ranked rule additionally states: 004.02   LICENSED ASSISTANT BEHAVIOR ANALYST TEMPORARY LICENSE. To obtain a temporary license as a licensed assistant behavior analyst , the applicant must meet all requirements to receive an initial license as a licensed assistant behavior analyst and attest that the applicant will provide applied behavior analysis services for no more than 30 days in Nebraska.
Supervision
Assistant practice remains subject to close ongoing supervision by a Nebraska licensed behavior analyst.
Temporary Practice
Submit evidence that Nebraska practice is temporary; the rule and application limit services to 30 consecutive days, with one temporary license per year.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-09-22.

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

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