BCBA 2027 requirements: which pathways remain and the December 31, 2026 deadline

Pathways 3 and 4 are discontinued starting January 1, 2027. The BACB’s December 2025 newsletter says that if you want to apply under one of them, you must submit an approvable application by December 31, 2026¹. The transition guidance words it as two conditions: you must apply, and meet all the requirements, before January 1, 2027³.

Today, Pathway 3 is for people who held a full-time faculty position in behavior analysis that includes research and teaching⁴. Pathway 4 is for people with at least 10 years of postdoctoral practical experience and 500 hours of supervised fieldwork⁴. If neither describes you, that deadline does not apply to you, but the 2027 rules below still do.

Starting January 1, 2027 you can apply through one of two pathways²:

The degree rules for each pathway come from the 2027 requirements document, and the 315 hours from the transition guidance²³. The exam is based on the BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.), in effect since January 1, 2025, and the BACB reports no upcoming changes to the exam or the outline²³.

• Degree: a degree earned in less than one calendar year does not count. The BACB defines one calendar year as three consecutive primary semesters, four consecutive primary quarters, or 12 consecutive months under another model².
• Coursework time: the same one-year rule applies to the coursework as a whole².
• Program: the coursework must be completed in a program with a Pathway 2 Program Contact registered with the BACB, at the master’s or doctoral level, and within 10 years of the year you apply².
• Grades: each course needs a C or higher, or “pass” in a pass/fail system².
• VCS ended: with the end of ABAI’s Verified Course Sequence, you can still use Pathway 2 only if your university has a designated contact who will attest to your coursework¹. A VCS Coordinator attestation on record on December 31, 2025 works until December 31, 2026⁴.
• Freestanding courses: the total stays at 315 hours, but Basic Principles of Behavior and Theory & Philosophy each need their own course, Ethics must be one standalone course, Behavior Assessment & Intervention needs 90 hours across two freestanding courses, and Organizational Behavior Management rises from 30 to 45 hours in a freestanding course³.

If you took coursework under the 2022 rules and apply in 2027, compare each course with this list. The BACB suggests reviewing it with your program advisor³.

Fieldwork totals do not change: 2,000 hours, 1,500 concentrated hours, or a combination of the two⁴. What changes are the monthly rules and the forms. All supervised fieldwork must meet the requirements in place when you submit your application³, and applicants after January 1, 2027 complete the 2027 monthly and final fieldwork forms². We go through the 2027 numbers month by month in the fieldwork checklist.

What the BACB’s handbook says⁴:

• The BCBA exam is only offered in English. It has 185 multiple-choice questions (175 scored) and lasts 4 hours.
• Check-in at the testing center is in English only. Translators and interpreters, whether print, electronic or in person, are not allowed unless you have an approved accommodation.
• The accommodations section describes accommodations for a current disability as defined by the ADA. We did not find a language accommodation in it.
• A degree earned outside BACB jurisdiction goes through a degree equivalency evaluation. The BACB asks for English translations of the original transcript and the official diploma.
• For a degree from a university in Cuba, official signed transcripts must be sent directly by Consultoría Jurídica Internacional (CJI) or Bufete de Servicios Especializados (BES).
• Your residence must be under the BACB’s jurisdiction.

The BACB’s table lists “International Development and Support” as the source of the 2029 change, and we found no further explanation of how it applies to degrees earned in the US. After you are certified, the 2027 maintenance rules include 4 supervision CEUs for BCBAs who supervise²; see our recertification guide. This article follows the BACB documents dated 12/2025 to 06/2026. Check the BACB’s upcoming changes page before you apply.