Free · 2026 packet · RBT certification RBT competency assessment: all 19 tasks, with a practice checklist
Before you can apply for RBT certification, an assessor has to watch you do 19 tasks competently: measurement, preference assessments, teaching procedures, behavior reduction, session notes and four interview topics. This page covers the 2026 version of the BACB's RBT Initial Competency Assessment, lets you track which tasks you're ready for, and gives you a role-play for each one and a 14-question scenario drill.
19 tasks
4 sections, all required
3 with a client
from tasks 6–14; the rest can be role-play
90 days
the most time between the assessment and your application
Where it fits on the way to RBT certification
- Meet eligibility. At least 18, a high school education, and background and abuse registry checks confirmed by an attesting certificant.
- 40-hour training. A training that meets the 2026 requirements, completed in no less than 5 and no more than 180 days.
- Initial Competency Assessment. After the training, and no more than 90 days before you apply. All 19 tasks.
- Apply. Upload the attestation, the training certificate and the completed assessment in your BACB portal. $65 application fee; allow about two weeks.
- Pass the exam. 85 questions (75 scored) in 90 minutes at Pearson VUE ($45). You have one year from approval.
- Start work under supervision. You must be added as a supervisee before providing services.
Who assesses you, and how
Assessors
- Responsible assessor: a BCaBA or BCBA who has completed the 8-hour supervision training. They oversee the whole assessment, sign it and keep the records for at least seven years.
- Assistant assessors: optional, with an active RBT certification or higher and shown proficiency. There can be more than one.
- No assessor can be related to you, subordinate to you or employed by you. Your 40-hour trainer can assess you.
- You, the assessors and the client must all be at (or contracted with) the same organization, and it must be the one serving the client.
How each task is assessed
- With a client: the assessor watches you work with a client receiving services.
- Role-play: someone plays the client. Used when a client session isn't possible.
- Interview: live, in person or online. You explain the concept and give examples, and nonexamples where they apply.
- It can be spread over several sessions and done in person, live online or from videos recorded for the assessment.
If you don't show competence on a task, the assessor can give feedback and try it again another day, until you do. The final try at a task is done without feedback. Once every task is initialed, the responsible assessor signs the attestation and you upload the BACB form with your application. Other forms aren't accepted.
All 19 tasks on the 2026 assessment
Each task, how it can be assessed, and the matching task on the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), which the exam is built on.
| # | Task | How it can be assessed | Outline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement · tasks 1–3 | |||
| 1 | Continuous measurement Measure every instance of a behavior: frequency (count), duration, latency or interresponse time. | With a client, Role-play | A.1 |
| 2 | Discontinuous measurement Sample behavior in intervals: partial interval, whole interval and momentary time sampling. | With a client, Role-play | A.2 |
| 3 | Data and graphs Enter session data and update the graph. | With a client, Role-play | A.4 |
| Assessment · tasks 4–5 | |||
| 4 | Preference assessments Run a preference assessment, such as multiple stimulus, paired stimulus or free operant. | With a client, Role-play | B.1 |
| 5 | ABC data Record antecedent-behavior-consequence (ABC) data. | With a client, Role-play | B.3 |
| Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction · tasks 6–14 · Three of tasks 6–14 must be done with a client. | |||
| 6 | Discrete-trial teaching Run discrete trials: instruction, response, consequence, intertrial interval. | With a client, Role-play | C.3 |
| 7 | Naturalistic teaching Teach within natural routines, for example incidental teaching. | With a client, Role-play | C.4 |
| 8 | Chaining Teach a task analysis with forward, backward or total task chaining. | With a client, Role-play | C.5 |
| 9 | Shaping Reinforce successive approximations toward a target behavior. | With a client, Role-play | C.10 |
| 10 | Discrimination training Reinforce a response in the presence of one stimulus but not another. | With a client, Role-play | C.6 |
| 11 | Prompting and prompt fading Use prompts and fade them, for example most-to-least, least-to-most or time delay. | With a client, Role-play | C.7 |
| 12 | Token systems Run a token economy. | With a client, Role-play | C.11 |
| 13 | Crisis and emergency procedures Follow the crisis or emergency protocol (with a client, by role-play or in an interview). | With a client, Role-play, Interview | D.7 |
| 14 | One of: antecedent intervention, differential reinforcement or extinction Show one of these: an antecedent intervention (motivating operations, discriminative stimuli), differential reinforcement (such as DRA or DRO) or extinction. | With a client, Role-play | D.2–D.4 |
| Professionalism and Requirements · tasks 15–19 | |||
| 15 | Session notes Write objective session notes describing what happened. | With a client, Role-play, Interview | E.4 |
| 16 | Client dignity Give examples of how you maintain client dignity. | Interview | F.1 |
| 17 | Professional boundaries Give examples of how you keep professional boundaries. | Interview | F.7 |
| 18 | Supervision requirements Describe the BACB supervision standards for RBTs. | Interview | F.3 |
| 19 | Seeking clinical direction Describe at least one situation where you would seek clinical direction from your supervisor. | Interview | E.2 |
Task names are summarized from the BACB packet. Read the official 2026 packet for the exact wording.
Practice checklist
Open a task for a role-play to practice with a coworker or your trainer, and the points that show you can do it well. Mark each task Ready or Practice more to see where you stand by section.
Your readiness: 0 of 19 tasks
Saved in this browser only. It's a study aid: your assessor decides when each task is competent.
Measurement · tasks 1–3
Assessment · tasks 4–5
Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction · tasks 6–14
Three of tasks 6–14 must be done with a client.
Professionalism and Requirements · tasks 15–19
Scenario drill: 14 questions
Situations from the measurement tasks, the assessment rules and the interview topics. Each answer comes with the reason.
Question 1 of 14 · 0 right so far
Partial interval recording, 10-second intervals. The behavior happens for 1 second at 0:04 of interval 3 and not again. How do you score interval 3?
Easy places to get a "not yet"
Based on what each task asks for, these are worth practicing before your assessment.
- Interval recording drifts. Partial, whole and momentary time sampling get scored by feel instead of at the right moment. Practice each with a timer until you can score live.
- Notes that guess. "He was upset because the work was hard" is a guess. Write what you saw and heard, in order.
- Vague interview answers. The interview tasks expect real examples, and nonexamples where they apply. Prepare two of each from your own work.
- Not knowing your site's crisis protocol. The assessment is about the protocol where you work. Read it and ask your supervisor what applies to your clients.
- Prompting that the plan doesn't call for. Extra gestures or repeated instructions can count against you. Use the prompt type and order in the plan, and record the level.
- Forgetting the supervision numbers. 5% of service hours a month, two face-to-face real-time contacts, one observed, one individual.
Task 14 lets you choose antecedent interventions, differential reinforcement or extinction. Our functions of behavior guide covers why the plan matches the function.
Next up: the RBT exam
The exam tests the same skills. Take the free 85-question RBT practice exam on the 3rd edition outline, with an explanation for every answer and your score for every section.
Full RBT prep
Every section of the RBT exam, timed mock exams and the High-Yield Cram Sheet.
RBT Full Prep
$39$29120 days of access
$0.24 a day
One-time payment. Nothing renews.
- 300+ RBT practice questions, every answer choice explained
- Unlimited timed mock exams (85 questions)
- Interval & IRT Data Lab: all 15 rounds
- Full 8-page printable High-Yield Cram Sheet (PDF)
100% Pass Guarantee + 7-day money-back. How it works
RBT competency assessment FAQ
What is the RBT competency assessment?
A hands-on check, required for RBT certification, that you can do the 19 tasks on the BACB's RBT Initial Competency Assessment. A qualified assessor watches you perform each task with a client, in a role-play or (for some tasks) in an interview, and initials it once you show competence.
Who can do my RBT competency assessment?
A BCaBA or BCBA who has completed the 8-hour supervision training is the responsible assessor. They can delegate parts to assistant assessors who hold an active RBT certification or higher. Assessors can't be related to you, subordinate to you or employed by you, and everyone involved must work at (or contract with) the same organization that serves the client.
How many tasks are on the 2026 RBT competency assessment?
Nineteen, in four sections: Measurement (3), Assessment (2), Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction (9) and Professionalism and Requirements (5). Three of tasks 6–14 must be shown with a client.
Can the competency assessment be done by role-play or online?
Yes. Most tasks can be shown with a client or in a role-play, and the last four are interviews. It can be done in person, live over the internet, or through videos recorded for the assessment, over one or more sessions. Three of tasks 6–14 must still be with a client.
When do I take the competency assessment?
After you finish the 40-hour training, and no more than 90 days before you submit your RBT certification application.
What happens if I don't pass a task?
The assessor can give corrective feedback and assess that task again on another day, as many times as needed until you show competence. Feedback isn't given on the final assessment of a task.
Can the person who taught my 40-hour training also assess me?
Yes. The BACB allows the assessor to be the same person who delivered your 40-hour training.
What happens after the competency assessment?
You submit your RBT certification application with the completed assessment, your 40-hour training certificate and the attestation form ($65). Once approved, you have one year to pass the RBT exam: 85 questions (75 scored) in 90 minutes at Pearson VUE ($45).
Sources, checked October 28, 2026: BACB: RBT Initial Competency Assessment Packet (effective Jan 1, 2026) · BACB: RBT Handbook · BACB: Guidance for Meeting RBT Requirements During the 2026 Transition · BACB: RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.) · BACB: RBT Ethics Code (2.0). Requirements can change: check the BACB's current documents before you apply. QuizPrep isn't affiliated with the BACB, and competence is decided by your assessor.