RBT requirements in Hawaii

The rules that affect RBTs

• Hawaii has no state credential for behavior technicians.
• HRS 465D-7(a)(4) exempts an individual who directly implements ABA services, is credentialed as a registered behavior technician by the BACB, and is under the direction of a licensed behavior analyst or a licensed psychologist (as amended by Act 167, SLH 2023, approved July 3, 2023).
• Act 167 deleted the former exemption for uncredentialed "direct support workers" supervised on or before January 1, 2020, so an unlicensed technician working under a licensed behavior analyst needs the RBT unless another exemption applies.
• HRS 465D-7(a)(1) separately exempts any supervisee of a licensed psychologist working within the psychologist's competence.
• HRS 465D-7(a)(6), made permanent by Act 167, exempts anyone who implements ABA services for participants in the Medicaid 1915(c) home and community-based services waiver.
• The Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division, memo FY2024-04 (December 5, 2023) says the change does not alter or replace the BACB supervision requirements an RBT must complete.

BACB requirements apply everywhere

Whatever the state adds, RBT certification itself is the same in every state: the 40-hour training, the Initial Competency Assessment, the BACB exam, and ongoing supervision of at least 5% of your service hours each month. In Hawaii, your supervising BCBA must also hold the state license. Your employer and the programs that pay for services, such as Medicaid or insurers, can have their own requirements too. See how to become an RBT.