RBT certification steps: how to become an RBT

The steps on the BACB's RBT page

If you ask how to become an RBT, the BACB's RBT page gives five numbered steps, in this order:

1. Read the Handbook.
2. Meet eligibility requirements.
3. Apply through your BACB account.
4. Take and pass the exam through Pearson VUE.
5. Maintain and renew.

That is the order the BACB lists. The details inside each step, such as the exact RBT certification requirements, are in the BACB's RBT Handbook, which can change. We do not copy them here.

Training and competency assessment

The BACB's assessment documents mention two parts of the RBT certification path besides the exam:

• The RBT 40-hour training. The BACB's June 2025 assessment packet says it is permissible for the assessor to be the same person who delivered it.
• The Initial Competency Assessment, which the BACB publishes as its own packet, marked effective January 1, 2026. The June 2025 packet says a BACB certificant (BCaBA or BCBA) who has completed the 8-hour supervision training is responsible for overseeing it.

This page does not state when the training or the assessment must be finished in relation to the other steps, or any time limit. Read the Handbook and the current packet for that. More on the assessment is on our RBT competency assessment page.

Sources

• Source: BACB, become an RBT page (the five steps)
• Source: BACB, RBT Handbook
• Source: BACB, RBT Initial Competency Assessment packet (June 2025 version)
• Source: BACB, RBT Initial Competency Assessment packet (2026 version)

These are named as plain text, without links. This page is an informational summary and is not affiliated with the BACB. Search for the BACB's documents on its own site and read the current versions, because the BACB can change the rules.