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RBT ongoing supervision
RBT supervision requirements
Each calendar month you provide services as an RBT®, at least 5% of your behavior-analytic service hours must be supervised, across at least two face-to-face, real-time supervision contacts (one of them individual) and at least one direct observation of you working with a client.
Working toward the BCaBA or BCBA? See the eight fieldwork pathways
In the app
Your month, checked per workplace
Log your whole day in one form. The RBT dashboard checks each month at each organization, and you and your supervisor sign the month's record in the app.
The Monthly Supervision Record is ABA FT's own record: the BACB publishes no monthly RBT form.
The rules
Every rule, one at a time
What it means, the math, what to watch out for, and how the app checks it.
The 5% each month
5% of service hours
Each calendar month you provide services, at least 5% of your behavior-analytic service hours must be supervised. It starts again every month, and a month with no service hours needs no supervision.
The mathservice hours × 5% = supervision needed. 60 service hours × 5% = 3 hours
Watch out
Count only the hours you spend providing behavior-analytic services, not your total or payroll hours. (The RBT Handbook lists generating session notes among the activities your supervisor may assign you.) Extra supervision never carries over to the next month.
How the app checks it
Your 5% is worked out as you log, for each organization.
Two contacts, one individual
2 or more a month
Supervision happens across at least two contacts each month, face-to-face and real-time: in person or over live video. Phone and email don't count. At least one must be individual; the other can be a small group of 2 to 10 RBTs.
The mathcontacts ≥ 2, with individual contacts ≥ 1
Watch out
A phone check-in or an email thread is not a contact, and two group meetings without an individual one fall short.
How the app checks it
Mark each contact individual or group as you log it, and the month confirms both counts.
A direct observation
At least 1, with a client
In at least one contact each month, your supervisor directly observes you providing services to a client, in person or over live video. Video monitoring on its own, without real-time interaction or feedback, may not count as supervision.
The mathcontacts with a direct observation ≥ 1
Watch out
The observation happens in one of your real-time contacts, so a recording watched later can't be it. The RBT Handbook also warns that video monitoring on its own, without real-time interaction or feedback, may not count as supervision.
How the app checks it
One checkbox marks a contact as an observation, and the month confirms it happened.
Each organization on its own
Never pooled
Every requirement is met separately at each organization you work for. Your supervision records are kept for at least seven years, by you and by your supervisor.
The matheach organization: its own 5%, contacts, and observation
Watch out
Averaging two clinics to reach 5% doesn't work, and records are audit records for seven years.
How the app checks it
Each organization keeps its own monthly checks. You and your supervisor sign a Monthly Supervision Record in the app: ABA FT's own record, since the BACB publishes no monthly RBT form.
Before the monthly tracking
Becoming an RBT
Ongoing supervision starts once you're certified and providing services. Your training provider documents the 40 hours; ABA FT picks up the day you start working.
- 140-hour trainingWith a training provider, over 5 to 180 days.
- 2Competency assessmentThe Initial Competency Assessment, with a responsible assessor.
- 3Background checkA criminal background check and an abuse-registry check.
- 4The RBT examPass it. You can practice once your supervisor adds you as a supervisee.
How much supervision does an RBT need each month?
At least 5% of the behavior-analytic service hours you provide that calendar month. For example, 60 service hours in a month requires at least 3 hours of supervision. The requirement resets every month, and a month with no service hours requires no supervision.
How is the RBT 5% supervision requirement calculated?
Multiply your behavior-analytic service hours for the month by 5%. Count only the hours you spend providing behavior-analytic services, not your total or payroll hours. The RBT Handbook lists generating session notes among the activities your supervisor may assign you. ABA Fieldwork Tracker runs this math for you automatically, separately for each organization.
What are the RBT supervision requirements besides the 5%?
At least two real-time supervision contacts each month (in person or live video, not phone or email), at least one of them individual, and at least one contact where your supervisor directly observes you working with a client.
Do phone or email check-ins count toward RBT supervision?
No. RBT supervision contacts must be face-to-face and real-time, in person or over live video. Phone calls and email do not count toward the monthly requirement.
How do I track RBT supervision across two organizations?
Each organization has its own monthly 5%, contacts, and observation, and they cannot be combined. ABA Fieldwork Tracker keeps a separate monthly record for each organization, so every workplace stays compliant on its own.
Is there a free app to track RBT supervision?
Yes. ABA Fieldwork Tracker tracks RBT ongoing supervision free, with no ads: the monthly 5%, contacts, observations, and a signed monthly supervision record, for every organization. Your supervisor's account is free too.
What comes next
On your way to BCaBA or BCBA?
Guides for RBT supervision
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Every month of supervision, checked
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