ABA Certifications

As of October 2025, more than 317,000 behavior analysis professionals have chosen to become certified practitioners and paraprofessionals, according to data from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®), the national administrative body overseeing ABA certifications.

ABA certification is a credential that allows you to practice under supervision or independently, depending on the specific credential, to help administer applied behavior analysis treatment to clients. Board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs®), board certified assistant behavior analysts (BCaBAs®), and registered behavior technicians (RBTs®) all provide specialized, high-quality care to all kinds of clients on a daily basis.

Four out of every five certified behavior analysts primarily work with clients experiencing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the same BACB certificant data. However, board certified behavior analysts can help clients in a variety of professional emphasis areas, such as sports and fitness, brain injury rehabilitation, and education.

Founded in 1998, the BACB establishes professional standards of practice and operates corresponding behavior analyst certification programs.

The Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Handbook (PDF, 1.4 MB) indicates that certification is for ABA-based professionals seeking:

Individuals interested in learning about ABA certifications or looking to become a certified behavior analyst have different BACB credentialing options, depending on their education level and experience.

For example, an RBT needs a high school diploma, while a Board Certified Behavior Analyst—Doctoral (BCBA-D) must have a doctoral degree. 

Continue reading to learn more about the four BACB certifications:

What does an RBT do? A registered behavior technician is a certified paraprofessional; they support behavior analysis services under the supervision of a coordinator. This could include assisting clients with treatment, prepping materials, and recording client behavior data in daily sessions.

According to the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) Handbook (PDF, 3.8 MB), to meet RBT certification requirements, individuals must first:

Once candidates have fulfilled these requirements, they can apply for and take the RBT exam to receive their RBT certification.

A board certified assistant behavior analyst is a professional who provides behavior analytic services under the supervision of a BCBA. BCaBAs are also qualified to oversee RBTs.

According to the Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) Handbook (PDF, 4.3 MB), to qualify for BCaBA certification via the coursework pathway, individuals must:

Once individuals complete these educational requirements, they may apply to take the BCaBA examination.

Please note that the upcoming 2027 BCaBA Eligibility Requirements will include some changes to the above information, including the hours of coursework and supervised fieldwork required. Specific content requirements and 2027 changes can be found in the Eligibility Requirements section of the BCaBA Handbook (PDF, 4.3 MB).

A board certified behavior analyst is an independent practitioner who provides behavior-analytic services to clients. A BCBA can also supervise RBTs, BCaBAs, and other implementation professionals.

Unlike the RBT and BCaBA programs, a master’s degree in ABA, psychology, education, or a related field is required to obtain BCBA certification. According to the BCBA Handbook (PDF, 1.4 MB), board certified behavior analyst certification eligibility requires that individuals must have the following qualifications to sit for the exam:

Once individuals complete these requirements, they may apply to take the BCBA examination.

A board certified behavior analyst with a doctoral degree can receive an additional designation to their certification: BCBA-D. The doctoral designation is not a separate certification; BCBA-Ds are not granted additional privileges beyond that of a BCBA. 

According to Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) requirements (PDF, 5 MB), individuals must:

OR

Have active BCBA certification and obtain a doctoral degree from an Associate for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)-accredited program.

Individuals who meet eligibility requirements and wish to receive a BCBA-D designation must complete an application with the BACB.

BCaBAs and BCBAs are both credentialed professionals involved in the client care team. A BCBA must have at least a graduate degree, while a BCaBA can become credentialed with an undergraduate degree and fewer hours of supervised experience.

In the workplace, a BCBA will oversee a BCaBA. A BCBA will be the practitioner responsible for creating a client’s care plan and making changes to it. A BCaBA is important in helping BCBAs manage growing caseloads and will spend their time interacting with clients, collecting data, and implementing procedures.

Candidates interested in BCBA certification must first meet the eligibility requirements described below. Then, they must officially apply through the BACB, submit all relevant documentation, and pay an application fee. If approved, individuals will then take the BCBA certification examination with Pearson VUE.

After passing the exam, BCBAs must meet maintenance requirements to keep an active credential. This includes earning continuing education credits, meeting all ethics standards, and recertifying every two years.

There are three main pathways to become a BCBA:

In this pathway, a master’s in ABA from a qualifying institution is required. Alternative graduate programs include education or psychology. Degrees from APBA- or ABAI- accredited programs also qualify. Note that as of December 2025, the APBA-accreditation is upcoming.

What is the curriculum for an ABA master’s program? Eligible individuals will have credit hours in subjects like experimental design, behavior-change procedures, and the BACB ethics code. Review the BACB Coursework Requirements (PDF, 5 MB) for a complete list of credit hours required.

Individuals must also complete field experience—either 1,500 hours of concentrated supervised fieldwork or 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork.

To meet the requirements for this pathway, individuals must have a master’s degree or higher from a qualifying institution, in any field, and three years of full-time teaching experience at an accredited university in behavior-analysis.

Individuals must also have published at least one behavior-analytic journal article that includes an experimental evaluation.

Candidates on this path must meet the same supervised experience requirements as those on the behavior-analytic coursework path: 1,500 hours of concentrated supervised fieldwork for 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork.

To meet the board certified behavior analyst requirements for this pathway, individuals must have a doctoral degree from a qualifying institution. They must also have at least 10 years of postdoctoral experience practicing behavior analysis full time, under a professional credential.

For their practical experience requirements, individuals on this path must complete 500 hours of supervised independent fieldwork.

For those pursuing BCBA certification who already have a qualified bachelor’s degree, they may need to spend a couple years satisfying the remaining higher education requirements. For example, Pepperdine University’s online Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program can be completed in 15 to 21 months.

However, for those who studied a degree outside the eligibility requirements or did not complete the coursework requirements, the path to certification could mean they need to return to school and complete an undergraduate program.

Additionally, the time it takes to complete fieldwork requirements is dependent on each candidate’s ability to devote time to supervised experience. Those who have additional obligations could need more time to reach the hour minimum.

In 2024, 54% of first-time candidates passed the BCBA exam, according to the BACB Annual Data Report. The exam contains 185 multiple-choice questions, and candidates have four hours to complete it. There are nine content areas on the exam, from theory knowledge, like philosophical foundations and core concepts, to practical and client-centered applications, like ethical issues and behavior assessment.

Some resources to study for the BCBA exam include:

Demand for credentialed behavior analysts is growing, according to a BACB and Lightcast report from 2024 (PDF, 514 KB). Their data indicates that fewer than 800 job postings in 2010 either required or preferred BCBA/BCBA-D certification. In 2024, there were more than 103,150 job postings of this type.

The BCBA job outlook is largest in California, where there were more than 19,000 job postings for certified behavior analysts in 2024, according to the Lightcast report. Other markets that exhibited strong demand for BCBAs were Florida, Texas, Virgina, and Michigan.

Last updated December 2025.