The RBT PDU in-service form is the BACB’s one-page record of a professional development unit earned through training at your workplace. You complete one form per training event, capture the event details and PDU count, have a qualified trainer sign it, and keep it for upload through your BACB account or for production during an audit.1Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service Training Requirements Starting with the 2026 two-year recertification cycle, every RBT needs 12 PDUs, and in-service training is one of three ways to get there.
Get the Current Form and Gather Your Details
Download the fillable PDF directly from the BACB website every time. The current version was updated in July 2025, and an outdated form risks rejection.1Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service Training Requirements
Have these on hand before you open the file:
- Your RBT certification number from your BACB account.
- The official event name, date, and modality (in-person, remote, or a mix).
- The trainer’s full name and BACB certification number.
- The name of the employer or agency that hosted the training.
Work Through the Four Sections in Order
RBT Information
Enter your full name exactly as it appears on your BACB profile, followed by your certification number. A mismatch between the form and the BACB system can flag the document during review, so check the spelling and any suffix or hyphen.
In-Service Event Information
Fill in the event name, the calendar date, and the modality. Then record the PDUs earned using the BACB’s time thresholds. Each event must include at least 25 minutes of instruction to qualify for 0.5 PDUs, and additional credit is awarded only in increments of 0.5 (25 minutes) or 1.0 (50 minutes). Rounding up is never permitted.1Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service Training Requirements
So a 40-minute session earns 0.5 PDUs, not 1.0. A 75-minute session earns 1.0, not 1.5. Count only actual instruction time and exclude breaks. This is the single most common place people over-report.
Organization and Trainer Information
List the employer or agency that hosted the event, then the in-service trainer’s name and BACB certification number. If an organization contact rather than the trainer is handling documentation, put that person’s name and BACB number on the separate contact line. Leave the contact line blank if it doesn’t apply.
Signature
The in-service trainer or organization contact signs and dates the form. The signature must comply with the BACB’s Acceptable Signatures Policy. An electronic signature through a compliant e-sign platform counts. A typed name alone does not.
Confirm the Trainer Is Actually Qualified to Sign
Not every behavior analyst at your workplace can sign this form. An in-service trainer must hold an active BCaBA, BCBA, or BCBA-D certification and must either be employed by the same organization as the RBTs or be an invited speaker or guest of that organization.1Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service Training Requirements A BCBA from a different agency who happens to attend a conference alongside you cannot sign your form unless your employer formally invited that person to deliver the training.
Verify the trainer’s active status through the BACB Certificant Registry before the event. If the certification has lapsed or is under investigation at the time of the training, PDUs signed off on could be invalidated later.
Make Sure the Content Actually Counts
In-service training must build behavior-analytic skills in a general, transferable way. The BACB draws a clear line between professional development and routine job duties.1Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service Training Requirements
Content That Qualifies
- Reviewing the difference between positive and negative reinforcement and punishment
- Best practices for interacting with parents and other client caregivers
- How to communicate appropriately with clients
- Implementing assent-based treatment
- Evidence-based strategies for managing work-related stress
Content That Does Not
- Client-specific or program-specific training
- Company policy and procedure reviews
- Individual or group supervision meetings focused on specific client programming
- BCBA exam prep materials
- Training on ABA data-management software
- The initial 40-hour RBT training course
- CPR training
Supervision meetings about a single client’s behavior plan are part of your ongoing supervision requirement, not PDU-eligible training. That distinction trips people up more than anything else on this form.
Store the Form and Upload It Through Your Account
You do not mail this form anywhere. Hold onto it and upload it through your BACB account. Starting with the 2026 two-year recertification cycle, a new tab appears in your account for uploading PDU documentation.2Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Guidance for Meeting RBT Requirements During the 2026 Transition The BACB has indicated upload functionality will be available soon for all PDU form types.3Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service and ACE Events
Keep the original signed form for at least one full recertification cycle even after uploading. The BACB can audit current and former RBTs at any time, and if audited you typically have 14 days from the request to submit all documents. Anything submitted after that deadline will not be reviewed.4Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Registered Behavior Technician Handbook
One boundary worth naming: the in-service form is only for training delivered by or through your employer. PDUs earned at an Approved Continuing Education (ACE) event or through a behavior-analytic university course are documented on different forms, and each category has its own rules. You can mix all three toward the 12-PDU total, but you must use the correct form for the type of training you completed.3Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Professional Development: In-Service and ACE Events