The RBT task list (3rd edition)
The RBT exam is built from the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.), which has replaced the old RBT Task List: 43 tasks in 6 content areas, describing what an entry-level behavior technician needs to know and do. It has applied to every RBT exam since January 1, 2026.
The six content areas and their weight
| Content area | Tasks | Scored questions | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Data Collection and Graphing | 8 | 13 | 17% |
| B. Behavior Assessment | 3 | 8 | 11% |
| C. Behavior Acquisition | 11 | 19 | 25% |
| D. Behavior Reduction | 7 | 14 | 19% |
| E. Documentation and Reporting | 4 | 10 | 13% |
| F. Ethics | 10 | 11 | 15% |
| Total | 43 | 75 | 100% |
Source: BACB, RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.). The exam also has 10 unscored questions, so you answer 85 in all. Percentages are rounded by the BACB.
A. Data Collection and Graphing (13 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| A.1 Continuous measurement | Implement continuous measurement procedures (e.g., frequency, duration, latency, interresponse time). | 32 |
| A.2 Discontinuous measurement | Implement discontinuous measurement procedures (e.g., partial & whole interval, momentary time sampling). | 32 |
| A.3 Permanent product recording | Implement permanent product recording procedures. | 32 |
| A.4 Entering data and updating graphs | Enter data and update graphs. | 32 |
| A.5 Describing behavior in observable, measurable terms | Describe behavior and environment in observable and measurable terms. | 32 |
| A.6 Calculating and summarizing data | Calculate and summarize data in different ways (e.g., rate, mean duration, percentage). | 32 |
| A.7 Identifying trends in graphed data | Identify trends in graphed data. | 32 |
| A.8 Unreliable data and poor procedural fidelity | Describe the risks associated with unreliable data collection and poor procedural fidelity. | 33 |
B. Behavior Assessment (8 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| B.1 Preference assessments | Conduct preference assessments (e.g., multiple stimulus, paired stimulus, free operant). | 56 |
| B.2 Skill assessments | Participate in assessments of relevant skill strengths and deficits (e.g., curriculum-based, developmental, social skills). | 55 |
| B.3 Functional assessment | Participate in components of functional assessment procedures (e.g., descriptive assessment, functional analysis). | 55 |
C. Behavior Acquisition (19 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| C.1 Positive and negative reinforcement | Implement positive and negative reinforcement procedures (e.g., immediately, contingently, according to schedules of reinforcement) along a continuum of dimensions (e.g., magnitude, intensity, variety). | 34 |
| C.2 Conditioned reinforcers | Implement procedures to establish and use conditioned reinforcers. | 34 |
| C.3 Discrete-trial teaching | Implement discrete-trial teaching procedures. | 34 |
| C.4 Naturalistic teaching | Implement naturalistic teaching procedures (e.g., incidental teaching, natural environment training). | 34 |
| C.5 Task analysis and chaining | Implement task analyzed chaining procedures (e.g., forward, backward, total task). | 34 |
| C.6 Discrimination training | Implement discrimination training. | 34 |
| C.7 Prompting and prompt fading | Implement procedures using stimulus and response prompts that include appropriate fading procedures (e.g., errorless, least-to-most, stimulus fading, time delay). | 34 |
| C.8 Generalization | Implement generalization procedures (e.g., conduct intervention procedures across settings, people, and stimuli). | 34 |
| C.9 Maintenance vs. acquisition | Distinguish between maintenance and acquisition procedures. | 34 |
| C.10 Shaping | Implement shaping procedures. | 34 |
| C.11 Token economies | Implement token economies. | 34 |
D. Behavior Reduction (14 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| D.1 Functions of behavior | Identify common functions of behavior. | 41 |
| D.2 Antecedent interventions | Implement antecedent interventions (e.g., NCR, high-probability request sequences, demand fading). | 41 |
| D.3 Differential reinforcement | Implement differential reinforcement procedures (e.g., DRO, DRA, DRI, DRL, FCT). | 41 |
| D.4 Extinction | Implement extinction procedures. | 41 |
| D.5 Positive and negative punishment | Implement positive and negative punishment procedures (e.g., time-out). | 41 |
| D.6 Secondary effects of extinction and punishment | Describe secondary effects of extinction (e.g., extinction burst, response variation, resurgence, emotional responding) and punishment (e.g., emotional responses, escape and avoidance). | 41 |
| D.7 Crisis and emergency procedures | Implement crisis/emergency procedures. | 41 |
E. Documentation and Reporting (10 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| E.1 Communicating team concerns to your supervisor | Communicate concerns and suggestions from the intervention team (e.g., caregivers, teachers, service providers) with a supervisor in a timely manner. | 50 |
| E.2 Seeking clinical direction | Seek and prioritize clinical direction from a supervisor in a timely manner (e.g., training needs, data irregularities, following chain of command). | 50 |
| E.3 Reporting variables that affect progress | Report/document variables that might affect client progress in a timely manner (e.g., illness, medication, schedule changes). | 50 |
| E.4 Objective session notes | Communicate objectively what occurred during the session in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, and workplace requirements. | 50 |
F. Ethics (11 questions)
| Task | What the outline says | Our questions |
|---|---|---|
| F.1 Core ethics principles | Identify and apply core principles underlying the BACB’s ethics code for RBT certificants (e.g., benefit others; treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect; behave with integrity). | 23 |
| F.2 Practicing within your competence | Provide behavioral technician services only after demonstrating competence. | 23 |
| F.3 Ongoing supervision | Provide services only under ongoing supervision from supervisors who meet BACB requirements. | 23 |
| F.4 Effective supervision practices | Identify effective supervision practices (e.g., receive training that includes instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback; observation of RBT service delivery). | 23 |
| F.5 Confidentiality | Identify and comply with requirements for collecting, using, storing, protecting, and disclosing confidential information. | 23 |
| F.6 Public statements and social media | Identify and comply with requirements for making public statements about professional activities (e.g., social media activity; misrepresentation of professional credentials, behavior analysis, and service outcomes). | 23 |
| F.7 Multiple relationships | Identify types of and risks associated with multiple relationships, and how to mitigate those risks when they are unavoidable. | 23 |
| F.8 Gifts | Adhere to the gift giving and receiving guidelines provided by the BACB’s ethics code for RBT certificants. | 23 |
| F.9 Interpersonal and professional skills | Identify and apply interpersonal and professional skills (e.g., accepting feedback, listening actively, seeking input, collaborating) when representing oneself as an RBT. | 23 |
| F.10 Cultural humility and responsiveness | Engage in ongoing cultural humility and responsiveness (e.g., identify personal biases) in service delivery and professional relationships. | 23 |
How to use the task list
The BACB recommends preparing with this outline and the material from your 40-hour training and Competency Assessment. Work through it one content area at a time: read the study page for each task, answer its practice questions, then take the content-area practice set. Behavior Acquisition is a quarter of the exam on its own, and together with Behavior Reduction and Data Collection it makes up more than 60%.
All questions count the same, and your result depends on your overall score, not on passing each content area separately. A weak area can still cost you the exam, though, so don't skip any.