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RBT Competency Checklist: Track All 19 Tasks

FG
FlashGenius Team
Verified against the BACB’s 2026 assessment packet · Last updated August 29, 2026 · Interactive tool

Tick off each of the 19 tasks on the 2026 BACB form, mark how you plan to demonstrate it, and keep your assessor’s feedback in one place. Everything saves in your browser as you go.

The BACB’s RBT competency assessment has 19 tasks, and the paperwork your assessor signs has to be the BACB’s own form. This tracker is the working document for everything that happens before that signature: which tasks you have practised, which method you plan to use for each, and what your assessor told you to fix.

This is a prep tracker, not the official form The BACB will not accept non-BACB forms with your certification application. Use this to get ready and to keep your notes straight, then have your responsible assessor complete and sign the official BACB Initial Competency Assessment form.
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Nothing checked off yet. Work through the 19 tasks below with your supervisor.
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Measurement

Tasks 1–3

1Continuous Measurement

Implement continuous measurement (e.g., frequency, duration, latency, IRT).

What the assessor is watching for
Say out loud which dimension you're measuring and why: frequency for discrete countable responses, duration for how long, latency for time from SD to response, IRT for time between responses. Have your timer or counter in hand before the trial starts.

2Discontinuous Measurement

Implement discontinuous measurement procedures (e.g., partial and whole interval, momentary time sampling).

What the assessor is watching for
Set the interval length first and hold to it. Score partial interval if the behavior occurred at any point, whole interval only if it occurred throughout, and MTS only at the moment the interval ends. Knowing that partial interval overestimates and whole interval underestimates is a common follow-up question.

3Data and Graphs

Enter data and update graphs.

What the assessor is watching for
Transfer raw data accurately, label both axes, keep the scale consistent, draw a phase-change line where the condition changed, and do not connect data points across that line. Sloppy axis labels are the most common reason this one gets re-run.

Assessment

Tasks 4–5

4Preference Assessments

Conduct preference assessments.

What the assessor is watching for
Name the format you're running (free operant, single stimulus, paired stimulus, MSWO, MSWOR) and follow it exactly. Rotate array positions between trials, record every selection, and produce a ranking at the end rather than a vague impression.

5ABC Data

Collect ABC data.

What the assessor is watching for
Record only what is observable. The antecedent is what happened immediately before, the behavior is an operational definition, and the consequence is what happened immediately after. Keep hypotheses about function out of the columns — that inference belongs to your BCBA.

Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction

Tasks 6–14
0 of 3tasks marked With a Client — the BACB requires three of tasks 6–14 to be demonstrated with a real client.

6Discrete-Trial Teaching

Implement discrete-trial teaching procedures.

What the assessor is watching for
Run the full sequence cleanly: SD once (no repeating), prompt at the programmed level, allow the response interval, deliver the consequence immediately, then the inter-trial interval. Record trial by trial as you go, not from memory afterwards.

7Naturalistic Teaching

Implement naturalistic teaching procedures (e.g., incidental teaching).

What the assessor is watching for
Follow the learner's lead, capture or contrive the motivating operation, embed the target into the activity, and reinforce with the natural reinforcer the learner was already after. Assessors watch for whether you waited for the learner to initiate.

8Chaining

Implement task analyzed chaining procedures.

What the assessor is watching for
Bring the written task analysis and use it. State whether you're running forward chaining, backward chaining, or total task, prompt at the correct step, and don't quietly skip steps the learner finds hard.

9Shaping

Implement shaping procedures.

What the assessor is watching for
Define the terminal behavior first, then reinforce successive approximations toward it. Only raise the criterion once the current approximation is stable, and be ready to explain why you didn't jump straight to the end goal.

10Discrimination Training

Implement discrimination training.

What the assessor is watching for
Reinforce responding in the presence of the SD and withhold it for the S-delta. Rotate the position of items in the array so the learner can't pass by position, and run to the mastery criterion in the program rather than stopping early.

11Prompting

Implement prompt and prompt fading procedures.

What the assessor is watching for
Name the hierarchy you're using — most-to-least, least-to-most, or time delay — and fade systematically. Watch your own inadvertent prompts: eye gaze, leaning toward the correct card, or positioning it closer. The goal you're being scored on is transfer to independent responding.

12Token Systems

Implement token systems.

What the assessor is watching for
Be able to state what earns a token, the exchange ratio, and the backup reinforcers. Deliver tokens immediately and pair them with behavior-specific praise, and actually run the exchange rather than describing it.

13Crisis/Emergency

Implement crisis/emergency procedures according to protocol.

What the assessor is watching for
This one may be assessed by interview. Describe your organization's written protocol, not a generic answer: when you call for help, how you document and report the incident, and the fact that RBTs implement crisis protocols but never design or modify them.

14Antecedent Interventions or Differential Reinforcement or Extinction

Demonstrate one of: implement interventions based on modification of antecedents (e.g., motivating/establishing operations, discriminative stimuli); implement differential reinforcement procedures (e.g., DRA, DRO); or implement extinction procedures.

What the assessor is watching for
Pick the one you genuinely run every day — you choose, not the assessor. If you choose extinction, be ready to name the maintaining reinforcer you're withholding and to mention the extinction burst, because that follow-up question is almost automatic.

Professionalism and Requirements

Tasks 15–19

15Session Notes

Generate objective session notes by describing what occurred during sessions.

What the assessor is watching for
Write what is observable and measurable: what programs ran, what the data showed, what happened. Strip out diagnostic language, opinion, and anything interpretive. “Client was defiant” fails; “client did not respond to 4 of 10 SDs within 5 seconds” passes.

16Client Dignity Interview only

Provide examples of how to maintain client dignity.

What the assessor is watching for
Interview only, and generic answers stall here. Give concrete examples: privacy during toileting or personal care, age-appropriate materials and language, offering choices, speaking to the client rather than about them in front of them, and honoring withdrawal of assent.

17Professional Boundaries Interview only

Provide examples of how to maintain professional boundaries.

What the assessor is watching for
Interview only. Name real situations: declining gifts, avoiding dual relationships, not connecting with families on social media, not babysitting a client outside of sessions, and redirecting clinical questions from parents to your supervising BCBA.

18Supervision Requirements Interview only

Describe BACB Supervision Standards for RBTs.

What the assessor is watching for
Interview only, and this is the most commonly failed task because it's memorization. RBTs must be supervised for at least 5% of the hours they spend delivering behavior-analytic services in a calendar month, including two face-to-face contacts, at least one of which is an individual meeting. Know your supervisor's name and credential too.

19Clinical Direction Interview only

Describe at least one situation in which you would seek clinical direction from your supervisor.

What the assessor is watching for
Interview only. Have one specific scenario ready rather than a principle: a new behavior you haven't seen before, a protocol that isn't producing change, a safety concern, or a parent asking you something outside your scope.
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How to use this with your supervisor

The candidates who move through the assessment quickly tend to do one thing: they bring a plan instead of waiting to be scheduled. Fill in the assessment type you would like to use for each task, add the three client tasks you feel strongest on, and take the printout to your BCBA. It turns a vague “when can we do my competency?” into a 10-minute scheduling conversation.

For the detail behind each task — the rules on assessors, the 90-day window, and what competence looks like task by task — see the full 2026 competency assessment guide, or the task-by-task breakdown in how to pass the RBT competency assessment.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the official RBT competency assessment form?
No. This is a free preparation tracker. The BACB states that non-BACB forms will not be accepted with your certification application, so the document your assessor initials and signs must be the BACB's own Initial Competency Assessment form. Use this tracker to prepare, plan your assessment types, and keep notes.
Does my progress save?
Yes. Everything you check, select, and type is saved in your own browser on this device, so you can close the page and come back to it. Nothing is uploaded, and clearing your browser data will clear the tracker.
Which tasks need to be done with a real client?
Three of tasks 6 through 14, all in the Skill Acquisition and Behavior Reduction section. You and your assessor choose which three. The tracker counts these for you and tells you when the requirement is met.
Why can't I choose Interview for some tasks?
Because the BACB form does not allow it. Tasks 1 through 12 and task 14 must be performed either with a client or in role-play. Interview is only permitted on tasks 13 and 15, and it is the only option on tasks 16 through 19. The tracker only offers the methods the official form permits for each task.
Can I print this for my supervisor?
Yes. Use the print button, which produces a clean one-document version with your selections and notes and hides the site navigation. It is a useful thing to bring to a supervision meeting when you want to get your assessment scheduled.

More in the RBT Competency Assessment series

FG
FlashGenius Team
FlashGenius builds exam-style practice and study tools for behavior-analytic and healthcare certifications. This article was written against the BACB’s own 2026 assessment packet rather than summarised from other blogs.

Primary sources: BACB — RBT Initial Competency Assessment Packet, effective January 1, 2026; BACB — Guidance for Meeting RBT Requirements During the 2026 Transition; BACB — Registered Behavior Technician. Task names and assessment-type options on this page are quoted from the BACB’s own assessment form. Requirements change; always confirm against the current BACB documents before you apply.

RBT®, BCBA®, BCaBA® and BACB® are registered trademarks of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®. FlashGenius is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the BACB. FlashGenius does not administer the RBT Initial Competency Assessment; only a qualified assessor can.