RBT supervision requirements: the BACB rules in plain words

September 2026 · 5 min read · ABAVault Team

RBT supervision is easy to describe and easy to fall behind on. The rules fit on an index card. Meeting them every month, for every technician, at every organization they work for, is where practices slip, and the BACB can ask for the records years later. This summary follows the BACB's RBT Handbook, in the version updated June 2026.

The short version: at least 5% of service hours supervised each month, in at least two real time contacts, at least one of them individual, and at least one where the supervisor watches the RBT work with a client.

How much supervision

An RBT needs supervision for at least 5% of the hours they spend providing behavior analytic services in each calendar month. The requirement applies at each organization separately. The handbook's own example: 3% at one employer and 2% at another does not add up to compliance.

What counts as a contact

At least two contacts a month, face to face and in real time. Phone calls and email do not count.
At least one must be individual, with no other RBTs or trainees present. The other can be a group of 2 to 10 RBTs, however many supervisors attend.
At least one must include observation of the RBT working with a client. On site is preferred, and video is allowed where the law permits it, but recorded video watched without real time feedback may not count.
Supervision is not professional development. One event cannot count as both, and supervision has to be focused on clients.

Who can supervise

An RBT supervisor must hold BCBA or BCaBA certification. An RBT Requirements Coordinator, the person who oversees an RBT's supervision at an organization, must hold BCBA certification, and an RBT can have only one per organization. Supervisors and coordinators also need training based on the BACB's supervisor curriculum before they start. The relationship is restricted too: an RBT may not be related to their supervisor, senior to them, their employer, or in another relationship with them such as a personal or business one. Paying for supervision does not count as employing the supervisor.

To practice or bill as an RBT, a technician has to be listed as a supervisee in their supervisor's BACB account, or in their coordinator's account where the organization has one. And every client the RBT serves has to be covered by a supervisor or coordinator.

The records to keep

The RBT and the supervisor or coordinator each keep supervision records for at least seven years, even after they stop working together. The handbook lists what those records show:

The days and times the RBT provided services
The dates and length of each supervision contact, and whether it was individual or group
The dates of direct observations
The supervisor's name and their relationship to the client

The BACB can audit current and former RBTs and their supervisors at any time, and documents are typically due within 14 days. Substantial noncompliance can end an RBT's certification.

What changed in 2026

On January 1, 2026 the BACB changed how people become and stay RBTs: an updated 40 hour training, and renewal every two years with 12 hours of professional development instead of every year. The BACB's transition guidance says the supervision requirement itself did not change.

Hours are the denominator. The 5% rule is calculated from the hours an RBT actually worked, which is why those hours need to come from real clocked sessions rather than a schedule that may not have happened. ABAVault™ records every clock in and clock out against the session it belongs to. See the scheduling page.

Sources

BACB, BCBA, BCaBA and RBT are registered trademarks of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. ABAVault is not affiliated with the BACB. This article is general information; the current BACB handbook is the authority.