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Behavior analyst path

Sources

Every number about the BCBA® examination on the behavior analyst certification path (the content areas, tasks and questions per area, the length, the time, the unscored questions, the delivery, the passing standard and the score report) comes from the documents below, all from the BACB. Each is cited as the BACB asks it to be referenced. Where they are silent, the choice is ours and we say so.

Checked against the issuers' sites on November 13, 2026.

The examination: the handbook and the outline

What the exam covers and how it is delivered and scored.

  • Board Certified Behavior Analyst Handbook

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 11/2026 (reissued quarterly as needed)
    What we use it for
    Cited as: Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2026). Board certified behavior analyst handbook. The format and delivery: 185 questions (175 scored, 10 unscored), 4 options with 1 correct, 4 hours including the Terms and Conditions, tutorial and load time, breaks on the clock, a dry-erase board and no calculator (pp. 32, 36 to 38); exam day (pp. 34, 36, 37); two years and 8 attempts, 30 days apart (p. 31); pass or fail at the centre, modified Angoff (p. 39). Its four retired sample questions are read for format only, never reused (p. 33).
    Read it at the source

  • BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.)

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 09/2024, Copyright 2022; in effect since January 1, 2025
    What we use it for
    Cited as: Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2022). BCBA test content outline (6th ed.). The blueprint, word for word: 9 content areas, 104 tasks and the number of questions per area. Every guide, practice question and mock question is tagged with one of its task codes.
    Read it at the source

  • Examination Information

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    Pass rates; the modified Angoff method and equated forms; what a failing candidate is told (the percentage correct and the number of questions per content area) and that the BACB never reports the number correct; the number of questions per task is "relatively small"; new base forms about every five years.
    Read it at the source

  • Test Content Outlines for BACB Certifications

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    The 6th edition is the only BCBA outline listed: no later edition.
    Read it at the source

  • BACB Examination Accommodation Request Form

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 10/2026
    What we use it for
    Accommodations for a disability, requested and approved before scheduling; review in 10 to 14 days.
    Read it at the source

Ethics

  • Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 08/2024, Copyright 2020; in force January 1, 2022
    What we use it for
    Cited as: Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts. The authority for content area E and for every ethics point in the other guides and the questions, cited by standard number.
    Read it at the source

  • Ethics Codes

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    The Code went into effect January 1, 2022, with one revision since ("assent" added to the glossary).
    Read it at the source

Editions, effective dates and results

  • BACB Newsletter, February 2022: Introducing the 2025 BCBA and BCaBA Examinations

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    February 2022
    What we use it for
    The job task analysis behind the outline; the examination specifications set the number of questions for each task without publishing it (p. 2); the exam follows the 6th edition from January 1, 2025 (p. 4).
    Read it at the source

  • 2027 BCBA Requirements

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 02/2026
    What we use it for
    Under the 2027 requirements the exam still follows the 6th edition outline.
    Read it at the source

  • BCBA Examination Pass Rates for University Training Programs 2025

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    Updated 10/2026
    What we use it for
    2025 was the first year of the 6th edition exam, with a 51% first-time pass rate.
    Read it at the source

  • Recent & Upcoming Changes to BACB Requirements

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    The changes announced to 2032 concern eligibility, jurisdictions and pathways; none changes the exam or the outline.
    Read it at the source

  • BACB Newsletter, February 2026

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    February 2026
    What we use it for
    There is no longer a BACB task list: the test content outlines describe what an entry-level examination covers, so we follow the outline, not the retired 5th edition task list.
    Read it at the source

The BACB's marks and materials

  • Guidelines for Use of BACB Intellectual Property

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, modified 2026-03-03, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    BACB marks may not be used in product or service names without permission, so the path has a descriptive name and BCBA® only describes the exam; material used under fair use is cited, as on this page.
    Read it at the source

  • Terms of Use (sections 11 to 13)

    Issued by
    Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
    Version
    BACB web page, modified 2026-04-14, read 13 November 2026
    What we use it for
    The registered marks and their owner, named in our notice as listed in section 11; exam content is a trade secret (section 12), so nothing here is drawn from it.
    Read it at the source

What the sources leave open, and what we do

  • The BACB does not publish which 10 questions are unscored or where they appear. Our mock leaves 10 of its 185 questions out of the score and says which only in its review.
  • The BACB sets the number of questions for each task but does not publish it. Our mock matches each content area's count exactly; the spread across the tasks within an area is ours.
  • The passing score and the score conversion are not published, so our report never gives a pass, a fail or a prediction; the overall percent and number correct it shows are ours, for study.
  • The BACB names no textbook. The guides' explanations, examples and traps are ours, written from standard behavior-analytic knowledge and checked against our audit rubric; ethics points follow the Ethics Code.
  • Pearson VUE's demo test could not be reached, so our exam screen and its study tools are our approximation, not the BACB's description.

BCBA® and Board Certified Behavior Analyst® are registered trademarks of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. ExamDragon is independent: not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the BACB, or by Pearson VUE. The names are used only to describe the examination; every question and guide on the behavior analyst certification path is our own, written from the BACB's published BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.).