How to Fill Out and Submit the RBT Initial Competency Assessment Form

The RBT Initial Competency Assessment form is completed by a qualified assessor who watches you perform 19 clinical tasks, marks each one competent on the current BACB packet, and signs the attestation; you then upload the signed PDF through your BACB account with your application and a $65 processing fee. The assessment cannot be completed more than 90 days before you submit your application, so plan the signing date around when your paperwork will actually be ready to go.¹

Before You Sit Down With the Assessor

Two things must be in place before the form can be filled out. First, you need to have finished the 40-hour RBT training aligned with the BACB’s 2026 curriculum, delivered by an approved provider. The training must take no fewer than 5 days and no more than 180 days.² The BACB does not offer it directly, and provider pricing typically runs from about $30 to $590.³

Second, you need an active BACB account. That account generates the BACB ID number you’ll write on the form, and it’s also where the completed PDF gets uploaded later.

Getting the Current Form

Download the packet titled “RBT Initial Competency Assessment Packet: Effective January 1, 2026” from the BACB website. Older versions and non-BACB forms will not be accepted.⁴ The packet contains instructions for both parties, the 19-task checklist, and the attestation block the assessor signs.

The 19 Tasks on the Checklist

Every task on the form must be marked competent. There is no partial pass.⁴ The tasks are grouped into five domains.

Measurement (Tasks 1–3)

Continuous measurement: frequency, duration, latency, and interresponse time.
Discontinuous measurement: partial interval, whole interval, and momentary time sampling.
Data entry and graphing.

Assessment (Tasks 4–5)

Conducting a preference assessment and collecting antecedent-behavior-consequence data.

Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction (Tasks 6–14)

Discrete-trial teaching.
Naturalistic teaching.
Chaining.
Shaping.
Discrimination training.
Prompting and prompt fading.
Token systems.
Crisis and emergency procedures per your organization’s protocol.
Assessor’s choice of one: antecedent interventions, differential reinforcement, or extinction. The assessor picks which of the three you demonstrate.

At least three tasks in this domain must be demonstrated with an actual client receiving behavior-analytic services. Role-play alone will not satisfy those items.⁴

Professionalism and Requirements (Tasks 15–19)

Writing objective session notes.
Giving examples of maintaining client dignity.
Explaining professional boundaries with clients and families.
Describing the BACB’s supervision requirements for RBTs.
Describing at least one situation where you would seek clinical direction from your supervisor.

This domain tracks the RBT Ethics Code, which requires you to work only after your supervisor confirms competence and to notify your supervisor immediately if asked to do something outside your scope.⁵

How Each Task Gets Evaluated

Next to each task, the assessor marks the method used. Three are permitted:

With a client actively receiving behavior-analytic services. This is the preferred method and is mandatory for at least three of the Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction tasks.
Role-play, where another person acts as the client, when a live client situation is not available or appropriate for a given task.
Interview, where the assessor asks you to describe or discuss the concept, provide examples, and explain how you would handle scenarios. The interview must happen live, in person or by video. A written interview is not accepted.⁴

Who Can Sign the Form

The responsible assessor named at the bottom of the form must hold an active BCBA, BCBA-D, BCaBA, or FL-CBA certification.⁶ They can delegate any or all of the actual observations to one or more assistant assessors, who must hold at least an active RBT certification and have demonstrated proficiency in the material. Regardless of how much was delegated, the responsible assessor is accountable for the entire assessment and is the only person whose signature appears on the attestation.⁴

There is a strict relationship rule. You, the responsible assessor, and any assistant assessors must all be employed by or contracted with the same organization, and that organization must be the one providing services to the client involved. No assessor may be related to you, subordinate to you, or employed by you. Paying someone for the assessment itself does not create an “employment” relationship for this purpose.

Filling In Each Section

Applicant Information

Your legal name, exactly as it appears on the government-issued ID you’ll use for identification.
Your BACB ID number, from your BACB account.
The name of the organization where you are employed.

Task Checklist

For each of the 19 tasks the assessor marks the method used (client, role-play, or interview) and indicates competence. If you don’t pass a task, the assessor cannot sign off on it. You’ll need additional training and re-evaluation on that specific task before the form can be finalized.

Attestation Section

The bottom of the form collects:

The organization where the client received services.
The organization where the assessor is employed or contracted.
The names and certification numbers of any assistant assessors used.
The responsible assessor’s certification type, BACB certification number, printed name, signature, and date.

There is no separate signature line for assistant assessors. Their names and numbers are listed, but the responsible assessor’s single signature attests to the whole document.

Uploading the Form and Paying the Fee

Once the form is signed, log in to your BACB account at gateway.bacb.com and open the RBT application section. Save a copy of the signed PDF for your own records, then upload it with the rest of your application materials. Files can be up to 5 MB each.⁷

The 2026 application processing fee is $65, paid to the BACB when you submit.¹ Applications typically process within two weeks, though high-volume periods can stretch that.⁸ The most common causes of delay are avoidable form errors: names that don’t match your ID, missing signatures, the wrong version of the packet, and assessment dates that fall outside the allowed window.

The 90-Day Rule

The assessment cannot be completed more than 90 days before you submit your application.¹ If you wait past that window after your assessor signs, the form expires and the entire assessment has to be redone. Line up the background check attestation, fee payment, and any other application documents so that submission follows the signing date closely.

Falsifying anything on the competency assessment or elsewhere in the application violates the RBT Ethics Code and can end your eligibility for any BACB credential permanently.⁵

1
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Registered Behavior Technician Handbook
2
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT 2026 40-Hour Training Requirements and Curriculum Outline
3
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Guidance for Meeting RBT Requirements During the 2026 Transition
4
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Initial Competency Assessment Packet
5
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. RBT Ethics Code 2.0
6
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Supervision, Assessment, Training, and Oversight
7
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Application Documentation Resubmissions
8
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Application