Fieldwork Companion

Which rules apply to you?

New BCBA eligibility requirements take effect on January 1, 2027. Your fieldwork has to meet the requirements in place when you submit your application, regardless of when the hours were earned. If you do not apply, and meet the current requirements, before January 1, 2027, the 2027 requirements apply.

If you are not sure which side of that date you will apply on, the BACB recommends meeting both sets of requirements. That means completing both the 2022 and the 2027 monthly forms each month, and keeping documentation that can show compliance with each.

Two things that catch trainees out

Months you have already finished must meet the 2027 rules too. If you started fieldwork before 2027 but will apply after, every month counts only if it meets the 2027 requirements. That includes 60 observed minutes with a client (90 for concentrated fieldwork), even for months accrued in 2025 or 2026. Check your finished months now. If an observation happened but its length was not recorded, ask your supervisor whether their records show it.

Restricted hours can raise the total you need. Restricted hours can never be more than 40% of your final total. Up to 800 restricted hours, the total you need stays at 2,000. Past 800, every extra restricted hour raises your minimum total by 2.5 hours. For example, 1,000 restricted hours means at least 2,500 hours in total. Not every hour you work has to be logged as fieldwork. Decide with your supervisor which hours you will accrue, especially restricted ones.

Side by side

The traps when you track both

• Concentrated hours at 7.5% supervision count only under 2027. If you accrue concentrated hours under the 2027 standard, you cannot count them as concentrated under 2022, which needs 10%. Hours accrued at 10% satisfy both.
• Months over 130 hours count only under 2027. If you accrue up to 160 hours in a month and then apply under 2022, you would need to report 130 or fewer for that month.
• Observations are counted differently. 2022 counts observations, while 2027 counts minutes. Record both the number of client observations and the minutes of each one, every month.
• Forms must match the rules you apply under. Keep 2022 monthly forms for a 2022 application and 2027 forms for a 2027 application. Completing both as you go is the simplest way to stay covered.

Rules that do not change with the date

These come from the current Handbook. Confirm them in the 2027 version when it is published.

• Before your first hour: a qualified supervisor, a signed contract with each supervisor, and (under pathways 1 and 2) qualifying graduate coursework already started. You may begin after the first class meeting, but that course must end with a passing grade for the hours to count.
• Supervisors: an active BCBA with no current disciplinary sanctions who meets the supervision continuing-education requirement. A supervisor certified for less than one year must also receive monthly consultation from a qualified consulting supervisor. Every supervisor must complete the 8-hour supervision training before signing the contract.
• Every hour must relate to specific client programming. RBT tasks and RBT supervision may not count as fieldwork.
• Group supervision: 2 to 10 trainees, and never more than half of supervised hours in a month.
• Observation: in person is preferred, but live video and recorded video can also qualify. Time spent watching a recording without real-time feedback counts toward the observation requirement only.
• Monthly forms must be signed by the last day of the month after the month of supervision.
• Mixing fieldwork types: multiply concentrated hours by 1.33, add supervised hours, and check that the total reaches 2,000. Record actual hours on the forms, not the adjusted total.

What counts

The BACB lists unrestricted examples: observation and data collection; training staff and caregivers on behavior-analytic programs or content; conducting assessments related to the need for behavioral intervention; meeting with clients about behavior-analytic programming and services; conducting behavior-analytic assessments; data graphing and analysis; researching the literature relevant to a current client's programming; and writing and revising behavior-analytic programs.

Restricted activities are delivering therapeutic and instructional procedures. They may be at most 40% of your total, and there is no minimum. Data collection can be restricted when it is done only as part of a client's treatment.

Does not count: conferences, workshops and university courses; course assignments, readings and quizzes; meetings with little behavior-analytic content; non-behavior-analytic interventions, administration, trainings (such as crisis management, CPR or billing), assessments or paperwork; podcasts; and role-playing procedures that are not client-related.

The BACB will not rule on individual activities. Your supervisor decides whether an activity fits the requirements.

Coursework changes in 2027 (pathway 2)

Coursework totals stay at 315 hours, but the structure changes. Basic Principles and Theory & Philosophy each become a standalone 45-hour course. Behavior Assessment & Intervention needs 90 hours across two freestanding courses. Organizational Behavior Management (formerly Personnel Supervision and Management) rises from 30 to 45 hours in one freestanding course. Ethics must be one freestanding 45-hour course. Coursework must also span at least one calendar year. If some of your coursework was completed under 2022 rules, review it with your program advisor.