BCBA fieldwork requirements for 2027: hours, supervision and a monthly checklist

Fieldwork has to meet the requirements in place when you submit your application². These are the numbers in the BACB’s table for applications under the 2027 rules¹:

The totals include independent hours (supervisor not present) and supervised hours (supervisor present)³. The supervision percentage is supervised hours divided by total hours³. Hours can only be accrued under one fieldwork type per month, per supervision structure³. To estimate a mixed total, multiply your concentrated hours by 1.33³, but on the forms and the application report only actual hours³⁶.

• Monthly cap: 160 hours instead of 130².
• Concentrated supervision: 7.5% instead of 10%².
• Observation: the 2027 rules shift from counting contacts to measuring duration. Your records should track the number of client observations and the minutes of each one, per month².
• Forms: applicants after January 1, 2027 use the 2027 Monthly and Final Fieldwork forms¹.
• Contacts: the handbook’s fieldwork text still mentions four supervisor-trainee contacts per period for supervised fieldwork and six for concentrated³. We did not find a contact count in the 2027 documents, so confirm it with your supervisor and the BACB.

If you earned concentrated hours with 10% supervision, they can count for the 2027 requirements. Hours earned at 7.5% cannot count as concentrated under the 2022 rules². If you are not sure whether you will apply before or after January 1, 2027, the BACB strongly recommends planning to meet both sets of requirements, keeping separate documentation and completing both the 2022 and 2027 monthly forms each month².

You may not start accruing hours until you have a qualified supervisor and a signed contract³. Supervisors must complete the 8-hour supervision training before supervising, and may not be related to, subordinate to, or employed by the trainee during the supervisory period³. A BCBA in their first year of certification must meet monthly with a consulting supervisor while supervising trainees³. Under the 2027 maintenance rules, supervisors need 4 supervision CEUs¹.

Only behavior-analytic activities that are specific to a client count³. You and your supervisor must have a formal relationship with the client, and you cannot be related to the client or to the client’s primary caregiver, or be the primary caregiver³. These do not count: conferences, workshops and university courses; homework and quizzes; and non-behavior-analytic trainings such as crisis management, CPR or billing systems³.

Then there is the split between two kinds of activities³:

• Unrestricted: at least 60% of your total hours, for example 1,200 of 2,000. You do not have to hit 60% every month, only across the total. Examples: training staff and caregivers on behavior-analytic programs, and conducting assessments such as functional analyses or stimulus preference assessments.
• Restricted: at most 40% of the total, with no minimum. Data collection can be restricted when you collect data only as part of a client’s treatment program.

The monthly form (M-FVF) is one form per supervisor⁵. It must be signed by the last day of the calendar month after the month of supervision, and an incomplete form means the hours of that month are lost⁵. It also asks how many of the month’s hours were observation⁵. You and your supervisor keep a copy for at least seven years and do not send it to the BACB unless it is requested⁵.

Only the final form (F-FVF) goes in the application, but you must be able to produce everything else if you are audited³. On it, report actual hours, without the concentrated multiplier⁶. A break in accruing fieldwork under the same supervision contract counts as a new supervision experience, and outdated or non-BACB forms are not accepted³. The BACB can audit trainees and supervisors at any time, and if your application is audited, processing is suspended until the audit ends³.

The BACB lets you design your own documentation system and does not work with or endorse tracking software³⁷.

The handbook’s adjustment table is printed with the 2022 numbers, and we did not find a 2027 version. It still shows how the BACB treats each problem³:

This guide follows the BACB documents dated 01/2026 to 06/2026 and the 2027 forms, version 06/2026. If you supervise or are supervised remotely, the BACB says it is allowed only when the supervisor already knows and oversees your clients, and some states require the supervisor to be licensed where services are provided⁷. Observations can use recorded or live video³. Whether Florida requires a license is a separate question, covered in our explainer on Florida licensure. The BACB’s February 2026 newsletter points to its Fieldwork Checklist and Tip Sheet for checking that your hours meet the requirements⁴. We did not find 2027 versions of the handbook’s contact counts and adjustment table, so confirm them with the BACB before you rely on them.