What Counts (and Doesn’t Count) Toward BCBA® Fieldwork Hours

What Counts (and Doesn’t Count) Toward BCBA® Fieldwork Hours

Make sure your time is valid, meaningful, and compliant.

If you’re pursuing BCBA® certification, understanding what activities actually count toward your fieldwork is essential. Logging hours is more than clocking in. Logging hours is about gaining real clinical experience that prepares you for independent practice.

In this post, we’ll break down the types of activities that count, count with limits, and don’t count at all, based on BACB® fieldwork standards.

These are just how we interpret the guidelines. Always, always, always consult directly with your supervisor and the BACB® handbook.

🔢 Acceptable (Unrestricted) Activities

Unrestricted activities must make up at least 60% of your total fieldwork hours. These are tasks that a BCBA® typically performs, including:

• Conducting assessments (e.g., functional behavior assessments, skills assessments)
• Writing or revising behavior intervention plans (BIPs)
• Analyzing behavior data and adjusting treatment
• Training caregivers, RBTs, or team members
• Supervising implementation of behavior programs
• Writing reports, treatment plans, or progress summaries
• Attending team meetings where behavior-analytic input is given

✅ Rule of thumb: if it requires analysis, planning, or decision-making, it likely qualifies as unrestricted. If it’s something a BCBA would do AND is behavior analytic in nature, it likely counts as unrestricted. 

🔹 Shadowing: When It Counts (and When It Doesn’t)

Shadowing can count toward fieldwork hours—only if it includes:

• Active participation (e.g., note-taking, contributing to treatment ideas)
• Real-time or post-session supervision and feedback
• Documentation as part of supervision contacts

✅ Example: You shadow a BCBA® conducting an FBA and discuss it with your supervisor afterward—you may count that time.

❌ Shadowing likely does not count if you’re simply observing with no supervision, data collection, or involvement.

🔸 Restricted Activities (The 40% Rule)

Restricted activities can make up no more than 40% of your total hours. These generally involve direct implementation of procedures.

Examples include:

• Running discrete trial teaching (DTT)
• Leading natural environment teaching (NET)
• Taking data on client behavior without analyzing it
• Prompting, reinforcing, and managing behavior plans without modification

These are still important experiences, but they must be balanced with unrestricted work to meet BACB® requirements.

❌ Unacceptable Activities (Do Not Count)

Some tasks are clearly outside the scope of acceptable fieldwork. These do not count toward your BCBA® hours:

• Scheduling or administrative work
• Babysitting, childcare, or companionship
• Passive observation with no involvement or feedback
• Commuting or drive time between clients
• Crisis management or CPR trainings
• Hours completed before coursework or without a signed contract

🚫 If you have questions, ask your supervisor.

🌐 Real-Life Supervision Scenarios

Here are a few examples of how this looks in the field:

✅ Counts (Unrestricted):

• You co-lead an FBA and write a draft of the BIP under your supervisor’s guidance
• You train two technicians on how to implement a new reinforcement procedure
• You graph client data and present findings in a team meeting

⚠️ Limited Count (Restricted):

• You implement a token economy in session and take data, but don’t analyze or modify anything

❌ Does NOT Count:

• You shadow another therapist and don’t take notes, contribute, or debrief 
• You spend an afternoon organizing files or materials

📥 Free Resource: Unrestricted Hours Guide

Want ideas to maximize your unrestricted hours?
Download our free Guide to Unrestricted Hours: 75+ Unrestricted Activity Ideas → 

Copyright notice:
This content references materials from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®). Board Certified Behavior Analyst® Handbook (2025).
Copyright © 2025, BACB®. All rights reserved.
For the most current information, visit www.bacb.com.