FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

BACB

1705 Metropolitan Boulevard, Suite 102
Tallahassee, Florida 32308

We have found that the most efficient way to communicate with applicants is via email, we do not guarantee that we will be able to use other modes to communicate with you, given time constraints, so be sure to include your email address. Candidates who pass the examinations will be certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

Will you ever provide me or others with copies of my application or certification records?

As stated on the first page of your application, your application becomes the property of the BACB and it (or a copy) will not be returned to you.   As provided in the Certification Processing Agreement:

It is the policy of the BACB not to release candidate information provided and contained in BACB applications and records, unless such information relates to pending or final disciplinary actions and/or is requested by a state or federal licensing authority, agency, court of law, or otherwise properly subpoenaed.  The BACB does offer an online Certificant Registry and also licenses use of the BACB mailing list/labels to third parties.  By applying, you authorize the BACB to publish and/or release your certification or recertification status on the Certificant Registry (along with contact information and your willingness to serve as a supervisor, if applicable) and you authorize the BACB to publish and/or release any final or pending disciplinary (professional conduct) decisions to state licensing boards or agencies, other health care organizations, professional associations, employers or the public.  Unless there is a pending or final disciplinary action against you, the BACB will allow you to opt out of appearing on the Certificant Registry; at any time, you may opt out of the BACB mailing list/labels.

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

You have two years after approval date to take the examination, after which you must reapply and pay the current application fee.

We have found that the most efficient way to communicate with applicants is via email, we do not guarantee that we will be able to use other modes to communicate with you, given time constraints, so be sure to include your email address and add BACB.com to your accepted domain list. 

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

Applications that do not contain documentation that meets all requirements will be placed on Pending Status. Generally, if the required documentation is provided within two years of the application date, and the applicant meets all other requirements, the applicant may be approved to take the examination. 

If you wish to apply for BACB certification and your degree or other credentials were obtained from a university or program outside the United States or Canada, you may be required to provide an international equivalency assessment. You should check with the BACB before you obtain the assessment to se if it is required in you particular instance.

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

Your application will be assigned Pending Status. BACB staff will notify you of application deficiencies via email and may suggest ways for you to meet the requirements. It is best to apply well in advance of the deadline for the desired administration so that there is adequate time for the BACB to process your application and for you to respond to any deficiencies.

If you are unable to meet the requirements for the current administration, you may provide the information for the next. Pending status will be honored for up to two years from the date of application, after which you must reapply and pay the current application fee.

If the course titles listed on your transcript and on Attachment 1 clearly indicate that the courses are behavior analytic in nature and meet the content requirements, that may suffice. If they do not (which is almost always the case), you may provide copies of course syllabi, the names of text books and instructors, official university catalogue course descriptions (these are usually available from the university library), or other course related materials that document that the courses were behavior analytic and meet the BACB content requirements.

If these are not available or are insufficient, the BACB may request that you obtain a letter (or letters) on university letterhead in which the professor, chair of the department, or your major advisor attests that the course was behavior analytic and meets the specific content requirements you have claimed in Attachment 1.  Individuals writing such a letter must be a behavior analyst .  The BACB reserves the right to require you to submit the faculty member's Curriculum Vitae or other documentation.

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

Non-university courses are not approved by the BACB and, generally, we will accept only courses taught through properly accredited colleges and universities. One exception to this rule is the BACB’s acceptance, on a time-limited basis, of certain courses approved by the State of Florida prior to May 22, 2002; subject to the rules on this website. These courses will not be accepted unless they were completed by December 31, 2006.  The BACB does not approve or accept workshops or institutes.

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

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

The BACB requires that applicants meet one of the two eligibility options to qualify for BACB examination; and 135 contact hour coursework requirement to qualify for BCABA examination.  All alternative qualification pathway options have expired.  Countries outside the US may apply for approval of alternate pathways.

What are qualifications for Supervisor under the NEW Experience Standards?

Old Experience Standards:  The individuals need not be BCBAs, although we strongly recommend that they are. However, they must meet one of the eligibility requirements listed in the application (degree and one of the four options) to serve as a mentor or supervisor. The individual must review the requirements, do a self-evaluation and, if they meet the requirements, sign the appropriate examination application attachment attesting to that fact. The BACB will not review an individual's qualifications in advance of your application for examination.  The BACB reserves the right to request additional information regarding the qualifications of the mentor/supervisor or nature of the experience.  See Old BCBA or BCABA Experience Standards.

New Experience Standards:  The individual must be a BCBA or be approved by the BACB as eligible to take the BCBA examination under the current eligibility standards.  The supervisor must qualify under one of these options prior to any supervision taking place.  All supervision begun after September 1, 2006, must be supervised by a BCBA.  See BCBA or BCABA Experience Standards.

Are there any limits on:

1. When in my career I can have accrued my experience
2. How many different sites I may obtain experience
3. How many mentors or supervisors I may have, 
4. Number of hours per week that I must be engaged in behavior analysis, or
5. Counting the same month twice if I do double hours?

1. You may obtain your experience any time in your career.
2. You may obtain your experience in any number of sites.
3. You may have multiple supervisors/mentors
4. You must have 20-40 hours per week, a total of 80-320 hours for a given month to be counted, in which you are engaged in behavior analysis.
5. You may not work "double hours" and count the same month twice.  For example, if you work 80 hours per month in one location and another 80 hours during the same month in a second location, you only may count one month of experience.

New Experience Standards:

1. You may not start accumulating experience until you have begun the coursework required to meet the BACB coursework requirements.
2. You may obtain your experience in any number of sites.
3. You may have multiple supervisors.
4. You must meet the requirements in the experience categories in which you obtain experience.
5. Not applicable.

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

Old Experience Standards:  Mentoring must be conducted at least once each month during the experience (although there is no requirement that the mentoring must be face-to-face or on an individual basis); there is no duration requirement per session. During the monthly contacts, the mentor (consultant) discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.  Supervision must be conducted face-to-face on a one-on-one basis for at least two (2) hours every two (2) weeks. During supervision meetings, the supervisor discusses and evaluates the behavior analysis programs designed by the applicant.  Other requirements are at the professional discretion of the individual mentor or supervisor. The only documentation that must be provided with the application is the application for examination attachment. However, the BACB reserves the right to request additional information regarding the qualifications of the mentor or supervisor or nature of the experience.  See Old BCBA or BCABA Experience Standards.

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Read the mentoring and supervision definitions carefully, noting supervisor meetings do not have to be face to face, but rather may be handled electronically.
2. Check the Certificant Registry on this site for individuals in your area and contact them.
3. Check the Approved Courses page on this site for a university near you with a BACB approved course sequence. Although the course sequence does not necessarily include an experience component they may be of help.
4. Check with your state or regional association for behavior analysis.

Once the BACB approves your application for examination you will have up to two years to take the examination.  Upon approval you will be instructed how to contact the test administration company, Pearson VUE, to schedule a testing appointment.  All scheduling and re-scheduling of appointments will be done through Pearson VUE.  Pearson  VUE only will schedule appointments for the next upcoming test window.  If you do not schedule during that test window, you must wait for that test window to close before you can schedule an appointment for the next window.

Q:

If you pass the examination, you will receive notice that you passed, usually within forty-five (45) days following the closing of the test window. You will not receive your scaled score, however. The BACB establishes the cut-score/passing score for BACB examinations based on an extensive psychometric profile of the examinations.

The final passing score is established by a panel of experts based on a criterion referenced passing score process. Every BACB examination undergoes psychometric statistical equating to assure that scores on different examinations are adjusted for differing levels of difficulty. Therefore, the actual passing score for each examination may vary depending on the form and level of difficulty of the examination.

Since the passing score may vary from one examination to another, passing candidates receive only notice that they have passed the examination and no score is provided.

If you do not pass the examination, you will receive notice that you did not pass and will be provided with your percentage of correctly answered items in primary content areas, usually within forty-five (45) days following the closing of the test window. This may enable you to identify areas of weakness and to properly prepare to retake the examination.

The BACB establishes the cut-score/passing score for each BACB examination based on an extensive psychometric profile of the examination. The final passing score is established by a panel of experts based on a criterion referenced passing score process. Every BACB examination undergoes psychometric statistical equating to assure that scores on different examinations are adjusted for differing levels of difficulty.

Therefore, the actual passing score for each examination may vary depending on the form and level of difficulty of the examination. The BACB does not provide an opportunity for those who failed the examinations to review their score  sheet or have their examination hand-scored, nor does the BACB permit individuals to challenge specific items on the examination.

Yes, you have two years from your original approval date to take the examination, after which you must reapply and pay the then current fee. You may re-take the examination once per testing window during that period. 

You will need to submit Parts A and D of the application and pay a re-take fee, for each of the re-take. Part A of the application contains detailed information on re-taking the examination and requires you to provide retake-related information. (see Applications regarding re-take for details).

Once I have BACB Board Certification, is there anything I need to do to keep it? Must I re-take the examination periodically

Certificants must obtain a specified number of Continuing Education Units (depending on their certification type) within a three-year Renewal/ Recertification cycle to recertify at the end of the three-year cycle. Currently, certificants do not have to re-take the examination periodically to maintain BACB Certification, although they may choose to do so in lieu of accumulating CEUs over the three-year cycle.

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