Before submitting your application, be sure that it contains all of the necessary elements for approval, including complete, correct forms and more. Check out the relevant certificant handbook for a detailed list of application requirements.
Please click the image below that relates to your certification to learn more.
Please note that the 2022 requirements are now in effect, so some of the information in this blog may be outdated.
On January 1, 2022, certain BACB standards and requirements will change in a big way. Here are the primary changes that you can expect to see:
The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts will go into effect.
The RBT Ethics Code (2.0) will go into effect.
The new consulting supervisor requirement for first-year BCBAs who provide supervision to BCBA or BCaBA trainees accruing fieldwork will go into effect.
As a BCBA or BCaBA applicant, candidate, or certificant, these changes may affect you. So, we gathered all of our most helpful resources, tips, and tidbits in this one-stop shop for the 2022 transition. Read on for crucial details, a resource bank, and more.
Don’t know where to start? First, you should determine whether you plan to apply before or after 2022. If you’re unsure, the following information may help guide your decision.
To apply for BCBA or BCaBA certification under the current 4th edition requirements, you must submit an approvable application before January 1, 2022; otherwise, you’ll have to apply under the 2022 requirements.
But what’s an approvable application?
An approvable application is one that contains all of the necessary elements for approval. For example, an approvable BCBA or BCaBA application submitted before 2022 would include the following:
It’s important that you also review the BCBA or BCaBA Handbook for a more detailed list of requirements, as forgotten or incorrect elements could cause delays. The BACB expects to see a large influx of application submissions toward the end of the year, so if you plan to submit your application under the 4th edition requirements, please do so as soon as possible.
Unless they meet the 2022 supervised fieldwork requirements, experience hours accrued under the current 4th edition requirements will not count toward an application submitted after 2022.
This info is critical for those who have been planning to meet the experience requirements (i.e., those who have been planning to apply in 2021) but will not be able to apply until after 2022. Due to certain requirements changes (e.g., number of contacts), your experience hours might not count toward an application submitted in 2022—even if you accrue additional hours to meet the overall hour requirements. The rule of thumb is that if you’re meeting all of the requirements in place at the time off application, you’re likely on the right track.
Please note that those applying in 2022 should use Monthly and Final Fieldwork Verification Forms. If you’re in this situation, and you haven’t been using Monthly Fieldwork Verification Forms, we encourage you to use them going forward and to maintain documentation showing that you met the supervised fieldwork requirements; this will help you in the event of an audit. Then, once you’ve completed your hours and met all of the relevant requirements, your supervisor should sign off on your completed Final Fieldwork Verification Form.
As of January 1, 2022, first-year BCBAs who provide supervision to BCBA or BCaBA trainees accruing fieldwork hours must meet with a consulting supervisor each month in which they provide supervision for the remainder of their first year.
Heads up: This new requirement won’t apply to most BCBAs, including those who have been certified for more than one year, who are providing supervision in 2021, who are not providing supervision to trainees accruing fieldwork, and who are only providing supervision to RBTs or BCaBAs.
That being said, this requirement is important to know, as it may affect trainees who plan to receive supervision from a newly certified BCBA next year. For a more thorough explanation of this new requirement, please review the Consulting Supervisor Requirements for New BCBAs Supervising Fieldwork document.
All BCBA and BCaBA examinations will be based on 5th edition content beginning January 1, 2022.
But what if you applied under the current 4th edition requirements and have an open examination authorization going into 2022?
Don’t fret! If you live in the United States, Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom, your examination authorization period will be valid for its entire two-year duration, regardless of when you applied. For example, if your application was approved in July 2021, you’d be able to sit for your examination until July 2023—or until you ran out of attempts.
The thing to note is that, beginning in 2022, every BCBA and BCaBA candidate will be tested on 5th edition examination content. So, to prepare for your examination, we suggest that you use the relevant 5th edition task list as a guide for your studies
For in-depth guidance, dive into the following resources that apply to you. It may be helpful to review these with a trusted mentor or supervisor.
Thank you for taking the time to review this resource! We are so excited for all of the positive changes that will come from these updated requirements, and we hope that your transition is as seamless as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch via the Contact Us web page.
Updated April 2026, this blog is based on the 2027 requirements.
Documenting fieldwork is a critical but sometimes tedious task. It requires strong organizational skills and attention to detail to stay on top of your documentation. In this blog, we answer some frequently asked questions and review scenarios to ensure you understand how best to document your fieldwork experiences.
The following are answers to common questions about documenting supervised fieldwork. These FAQs address common points of confusion and provide practical tips to help you document your experiences accurately and confidently.
A: You and your supervisor can collaborate to develop a documentation system, or you can develop it on your own. However, regardless of who develops and maintains the documentation system, both you and your supervisor are required to keep copies of all relevant documentation.
A: Both you and your supervisor should be tracking your fieldwork hours. At a minimum, your supervisor should review all of your hours for each supervisory period before signing the Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form (M-FVF). Don’t wait until the Final Fieldwork Verification Form (F-FVF) is due to be signed for your supervisor to review all of your hours!
A: You will use the standard M-FVFs and F-FVFs to document both supervised fieldwork and concentrated supervised fieldwork. On the M-FVF, the percentage of hours supervised and the duration of observations with clients determine whether the fieldwork for that month qualifies as supervised fieldwork or concentrated supervised fieldwork. If the higher requirements for concentrated supervised fieldwork are met for the month, the hours may be counted as concentrated supervised fieldwork. On the F-FVF, supervised fieldwork and concentrated supervised fieldwork are documented in separate sections.
Please note that concentrated supervised fieldwork hours have approximately 1.33 times the temporal value of supervised fieldwork hours for those working toward BCBA certification and approximately 1.3 times the temporal value of supervised fieldwork hours for those working toward BCaBA certification. In your personal documentation system, you may want to convert your concentrated supervised fieldwork hours to supervised fieldwork hours to ensure that you’re on track to accrue all required hours for certification. Review the Requirements for Supervision of Fieldwork Hours section of the BCBA or BCaBA Handbooks for more guidance.
A: Yes! You should keep all of your fieldwork documents organized and up to date in anticipation of an audit. If you’re audited, we’ll provide you with an audit log and the time period being audited. With your documentation system already organized, it’ll be easy to complete the audit log. Review the Fieldwork Audit Process visual in the BCBA or BCaBA Handbook for more information.
A: Your BACB ID is located in your BACB portal account. If you don’t have a portal account, you’ll need to create one. We strongly recommend creating only one account to prevent delays in processing your application. If you experience any issues accessing your account, use the Contact Us Form for assistance.
A: This one is important! Here’s what you can do:
A: No. You should not count those hours, as you do not have written documentation of the supervision. If your fieldwork is selected for an audit and you do not have those forms, those hours will not be accepted, and you may need to complete additional fieldwork.
A: Absolutely. Please see the Acceptable Signatures Policy for more information on acceptable types of digital signatures. When you apply, you’ll receive guidance on where to submit your forms.
A: Although we can’t guarantee that a form will be approved, we strongly encourage you to save your Final Fieldwork Verification Form and then open the saved file to review it. If the file is saved incorrectly and data is missing, your submission will not be accepted. By reviewing the saved file in advance, you can ensure that your form is not missing any information.
A: It depends! Let’s break it down:
A: If you’re receiving supervision from multiple supervisors at one organization, you’ll need a responsible supervisor—an individual who ensures that all of the supervisors’ activities are well organized and coordinated. The person who serves in this role must be identified on the supervision contract and must be able to agree to all of the relevant attestations on the Monthly and Final Fieldwork Verification Forms. For this reason, the responsible supervisor who signs the Final Fieldwork Verification Form must have been qualified to be a responsible supervisor for the entire duration of the supervision provided. Anyone who meets those requirements may act as your responsible supervisor.
A: It depends. If your fieldwork meets the Multiple Supervisors/Settings requirements outlined in the Supervised Fieldwork Requirements section of the BCBA or BCaBA Handbook, you can use this form. For example, a university may coordinate all on- and off-campus activities under one system, or a service organization may have multiple supervisors at different locations providing supervision. The key is that your coordinated fieldwork experience is completed with a clearly defined responsible supervisor who ensures that the activity is well organized and meets all BACB fieldwork requirements.
Here are some common scenarios related to documenting fieldwork. Keep reading to learn how to prevent mistakes and accurately document your fieldwork experiences.
Scenario: Gemma is getting her supervised fieldwork at two locations. One is an ABA clinic where she works part-time for 10 hours a week (40 hours per month). She has two supervisors at that location. The other location is a clinic affiliated with the university she attends, and her supervisor is one of her professors. At this location, she has only one supervisor and is receiving concentrated supervised fieldwork. She also works 10 hours a week at this location (40 hours per month). What does Gemma need to pay close attention to as she completes her M-FVFs for these experiences?
Solution: Gemma should complete an M-FVF for each location and ensure she is meeting all of the fieldwork requirements at each setting. At the ABA clinic, where she has two supervisors, she should complete the 2027 Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form: Multiple Supervisors at One Organization and have the responsible supervisor sign it. At the university clinic, she should complete the 2027 Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form: Individual Supervisor and have her supervisor sign it. Even though she is receiving concentrated supervised fieldwork at this location, she should record the actual fieldwork hours she accrued on the form (as opposed to using the multiplier). However, in her personal ongoing fieldwork documentation, she should document that she is receiving concentrated supervised fieldwork. In her personal documentation system, she may want to consider converting her concentrated supervised fieldwork (by multiplying it by 1.33 if working toward BCBA certification or 1.3 if working toward BCaBA certification) to ensure she is on track to accrue all required hours.
Scenario: Ahmed has been collecting fieldwork hours for two years. He thinks he is close to meeting the requirement of 2,000 hours for BCBA fieldwork. Ahmed has accrued both supervised fieldwork hours and concentrated supervised fieldwork hours. He is currently accruing only supervised fieldwork hours at one location for 20 hours a week. What should he do to determine how close he is to meeting the requirements?
Solution: Ahmed should total up the number of concentrated supervised fieldwork hours he has accrued using the F-FVF(s) he has for those experiences. Then, he should multiply the sum of the concentrated supervised fieldwork hours by 1.33. After that, he should total up the number of supervised fieldwork hours he has using those M-FVFs and F-FVFs. Summing those two totals will give him the total number of hours he has accrued so far.
Ahmed should ensure that the 1.33 multiplier is only used on concentrated supervised fieldwork hours to help him determine if he has met the 2,000-hour requirement. When he documents his hours on M-FVF or F-FVF forms, he should always record the actual hours accrued, not the adjusted total calculated using the multiplier. Finally, he should ensure that his documentation indicates which hours were concentrated supervised fieldwork hours. In the event of an audit, he will have to indicate which hours were adjusted to meet the requirements.
Note: The multiplier for concentrated supervised fieldwork for those working toward BCaBA certification is 1.3.
Scenario: Liam works at a large organization that provides ABA services to children with autism. He has four different supervisors at this organization. They all signed his original supervision contract, but he is confused about who should sign his M-FVF forms and who will sign his F-FVF when the time comes.
Solution: On a monthly basis, Liam only needs to have his responsible supervisor sign the M-FVFs. The responsible supervisor is an individual who ensures that all the supervisors’ activities are well organized and coordinated. On the F-FVF, all of his supervisors must be listed, but only the responsible supervisor is required to sign.
Scenario: Sunita’s supervisor, Alex, typically observes her during a client session about once a week. Every week, Alex observes Sunita working with a different client than the previous week. Alex usually takes notes during the observation and then provides feedback to Sunita during their supervision meetings. Sometimes, if Alex wants Sunita to change something during the observation session, Alex will give feedback to Sunita during the session and then follow up in their supervision meeting. Sunita is worried that Alex sometimes gives feedback during the observation and sometimes later. Can she still count both of those observation sessions toward her fieldwork requirements?
Solution: Yes, observations with a client can include feedback or they can simply be observations, and feedback can be provided later. The difference between the two is how Sunita records the observation. If Alex only observes Sunita with a client and does not provide feedback during the session, Sunita should count that time as independent fieldwork and observation with a client. If Alex provides feedback to Sunita during the observation and they discuss the feedback, then Sunita can count that time as supervisor-trainee contact and observation with a client.
Documenting fieldwork is vital to show that you are meeting the BACB’s requirements. We hope these FAQs and scenarios about fieldwork documentation helped answer your questions about accurately documenting your fieldwork experiences.
By the BACB
This video covers important information about how to best document your fieldwork hours. Check it out for helpful insight into the supervision contract, ongoing documentation system, Monthly and Final Fieldwork Verification Forms, and beyond.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
Introducing the RBT Ethics Code (2.0) – In this episode of Inside the BACB, join CEO Dr. Jim Carr and Director of Ethics Dr. Tyra Sellers as they discuss the RBT Ethics Code (2.0), a revised version of the ethics code for RBTs. Tune in now to learn about the revision process, changes to current ethics standards, and more.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts: Responsibility in Research – Please join Director of Ethics Dr. Tyra Sellers and Ethics Disciplinary Manager Dr. Holly Seniuk for our final episode of The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts podcast series. This episode covers the revised ethical requirements for conducting research, using client data, and much more.
Thank you for tuning in! We hope that this series has been of value, and we appreciate your continued dedication to staying informed of and practicing under BACB ethics standards.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts: Responsibility in Public Statements – In this episode of The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts podcast series, the BACB’s Director of Ethics Dr. Tyra Sellers and Ethics Disciplinary Manager Dr. Holly Seniuk dive into Section 5 of the revised ethics code for BCBAs and BCaBAs: Responsibility in Public Statements.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
Helpful Ethics Resources – In this episode of Inside the BACB, the BACB’s Director of Ethics Dr. Tyra Sellers and Ethics Educational Manager Dr. Sarah Lichtenberger discuss two new, helpful resources for certificants: the Continuity of Services toolkit and a video that covers the nuts-and-bolts of self-reporting to the BACB. Listen now for more information.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts: Responsibility to Supervisees and Trainees – In this episode of The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts podcast series, CEO Dr. Jim Carr and Director of Ethics Dr. Tyra Sellers dive into Section 4 of the revised ethics code to discuss the standards that help facilitate high-quality supervision.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
RBT Certification Updates – In this episode of Inside the BACB, Deputy CEO Dr. Melissa Nosik and Director of Certificant Services Dr. Molli Luke share recent RBT updates, including numerous tips and resources for training, applying, testing, supervising, and more.
You can find all of the BACB’s videos on our YouTube channel.
