Fieldwork, read from the source

Requirements change, and not always loudly. Everything here is written from the current BACB documents, with the passages quoted so you can check them.

A card listing the six things the BACB requires in a BCBA supervision contract: the responsibilities of both parties including the 8-hour supervision training, individualized activities and training objectives, the objective and measurable circumstances under which a supervisor will not sign the monthly and final forms, the consequences of not meeting responsibilities, written employer permission where applicable, and an attestation to the Code with a seven-year retention statement.

Latest article

Working with supervisors

What has to be in your BCBA supervision contract

The contract is signed on day one and reopened only when something goes wrong. What the BACB requires it to contain, the two checks to run on your supervisor before you sign, and why the clause setting out when they will refuse to sign your forms decides what happens if it is ever contested.

September 25, 2026

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Guides and articles

Longer reads on the requirements, written from the BACB documents.

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Fieldwork requirements

Your supervisor does not have to be in the room: how recorded and remote observation counts

Recorded and live video observation has been allowed for years, under the current BCBA requirements as well as the 2027 ones. What a recorded observation counts as, why watching it later creates no supervised hours, the double-counting trap, and the one timing question the BACB has not answered.

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A watercolor desk with the same set of papers twice: a plain grey office tray holding a pale, faded stack, and beside it a violet folder tied with a navy ribbon holding a crisp copy, with a small brass key resting on the desk.
Records and audits

Never let your employer be the only place your BCBA fieldwork records live

The BACB requires the trainee, personally, to retain fieldwork records for seven years, and an audit gives you about 14 days to produce them. Why employer-held records fail, what the contested-fieldwork route quietly assumes you already have, and what a complete personal copy contains.

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A watercolor desk calendar showing December 31 circled in violet, beside a sealed envelope tied with a navy ribbon and a brass hourglass, with snow outside the window.
2027 transition

Applying for BCBA near the 2027 cutoff: which requirements will apply to you

New BCBA requirements take effect on January 1, 2027. Which set your application is reviewed under depends on when your complete application is received, not when you did the work. What "complete" means, the transcript step that catches people out, and what changes if you miss it.

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A watercolor brass balance scale on a desk with three violet blocks tagged 60% outweighing two gold blocks tagged 40%.
Unrestricted hours

The 60% unrestricted rule in BCBA fieldwork: what counts, and how to catch up

At least 60% of BCBA fieldwork hours must be unrestricted, but not every month. How the ratio really works, what never counts, and how to work out where you stand if you are already behind.

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A watercolor dial on a desk marked from 0 to 60 minutes, filled with three segments for in person, live video and recorded observation, with 60 min in the center.
Fieldwork requirements

BCBA fieldwork observation in 2027: what counts toward your 60 minutes

Under the 2027 BCBA requirements, each month of fieldwork needs 60 minutes of observation with a client, or 90 for Concentrated. What counts toward those minutes, what does not, and how the BACB scenarios sort out feedback, video and recordings.

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A laptop showing the 02/2026 and 06/2026 versions of the 2027 monthly verification form, both marked with a green check, under a June 2026 calendar.
Verification forms

2027 Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form revision for BCBA trainees: which version to use

In June 2026 the BACB revised both 2027 Monthly Fieldwork Verification Forms that BCBA trainees use. What changed, whether months signed on the older 02/2026 version still count, and the one thing worth checking on older forms.

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A March 2025 fieldwork month documented on a 2022 verification form and transferred to a 2027 form.
Fieldwork requirements

Applying for BCBA in 2027? Qualifying hours on 2022 forms need to be transferred to 2027 forms

If you apply for BCBA certification on or after January 1, 2027, months already signed on 2022 verification forms have to meet the 2027 requirements and move onto 2027 forms. Which months qualify, and the signature date rule that catches people out.

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Unrestricted hours

32 unrestricted activity ideas for BCBA fieldwork

Concrete unrestricted activities a BCBA trainee can actually start, each with what it involves, how to ask your supervisor for it, and a model log entry.

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Comparison chart of BCBA supervised fieldwork requirements before and on or after January 1, 2027, each split into Supervised and Concentrated: 2,000 and 1,500 hours to qualify, a 20 hour monthly minimum, a maximum rising from 130 to 160 hours, supervision of 5 and 10 percent becoming 5 and 7.5 percent, four and six monthly contacts becoming not applicable, and one observation becoming 60 and 90 cumulative minutes.
2027 transition

BCBA fieldwork in 2027: what changes

A source-cited comparison of the 2022 and 2027 BCBA supervised fieldwork requirements: hours, supervision, observation minutes, monthly caps, and whether your hours carry over.

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Tracking and forms

How to track your BCBA fieldwork hours

A step-by-step system for tracking BCBA fieldwork: what to record each session, the 60/40 unrestricted ratio, monthly supervision and observation, signing monthly forms, and seven-year storage.

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Unrestricted hours

Restricted vs unrestricted BCBA fieldwork hours: where supervision time lands

Every BCBA fieldwork hour is classified twice: who was there, and what you were doing. What has to be true before an hour counts at all, where supervision time lands, why the same task falls either way, and how group supervision trips most trackers up.

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Every month checked against the rules that apply to you

Log your hours, send monthly verification forms for signature, and see which months are complete. Supervisors are always free.