Standard 3.01: Meeting BACB and supervision requirements
RBTs comply with all of the requirements of the BACB and their supervisor. That includes the supervision requirements, documentation of supervision, and audits.
What it means in practice
The RBT Handbook sets the ongoing supervision requirements: supervision for at least 5% of your service hours each calendar month, at least two face-to-face, real-time contacts per month, at least one individual contact, and at least one observation of you working with a client. You need a supervisor on record with the BACB to practice. These requirements are a shared responsibility, not something only your supervisor tracks.
You and your supervisor must both keep supervision documentation, including service days and times, supervision dates and length, format, observation dates, supervisor names and proof of the supervisor's relationship to the client. The handbook requires keeping it for at least 7 years, even after the supervisory relationship ends.
The BACB may audit current and former RBTs at any time. If you're audited, cooperate fully and on time, and share the notice with your supervisor (see 3.06). If you find you are not meeting the supervision requirements, the handbook says to report it to the BACB and to work with your supervisor, find another supervisor, or consider voluntary inactive status as your situation requires.
The stakes are real: the handbook says an RBT found substantially noncompliant with supervision requirements faces termination of certification and can't reapply for six months.
Scenarios
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| At the end of the month you realize you had only one supervision contact because your supervisor was ill. | Report the supervision noncompliance to the BACB, as the handbook directs, and work with your supervisor or organization on how to meet the requirements from now on, such as a back-up supervisor. |
| You receive an email saying the BACB has selected you for an RBT Supervision Audit. | Share the notice with your supervisor immediately, gather your supervision records, and respond completely by the deadline. |
| You have never kept your own supervision records because "the BCBA keeps track of that". | Start keeping your own records now. Both you and your supervisor are responsible for supervision documentation, and you must keep it for at least 7 years. |
Practice questions
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Question 1At the start of November, an RBT realizes that in October they had only one supervision contact. What should the RBT do?
Show answer
A: Self-report it to the BACB and plan with the supervisor to meet requirements. The RBT Handbook says that RBTs who find they are not meeting supervision requirements report this to the BACB and, depending on the situation, work with the supervisor, find another supervisor, or consider voluntary inactive status.
- B: Supervision is required each calendar month; later contacts cannot make up a past month.
- C: Recording a contact that did not happen would be falsifying documentation.
- D: The handbook says supervision noncompliance is reported to the BACB.
Task F.3 · RBT Ethics Code 3.01 · RBT Handbook p. 21 · RBT Handbook p. 23
Answer every question to see your score.
Where it sits in the code
Standard 3.01 is in section 3, Responsibilities to the BACB and BACB-Required Supervisor, of the RBT Ethics Code (2.0). On the exam it relates to task F.3 Ongoing supervision. Read the official text for the exact wording.
Related standards: 1.03 Working in a defined role under supervision, 3.04 Self-reporting to the BACB, 3.06 Responding to BACB notices and required actions.