2027 supervised fieldwork requirements, and what changed from 2022

Which rules apply to you

The rules that matter are the ones in force on the day you apply, whenever your hours were earned. Applying before 1 January 2027 means the 2022 requirements; applying on or after that date means the 2027 requirements. If your fieldwork straddles the change, read the certifying board's own transition guidance and agree the approach with your supervisor before you rely on any month.

In your log, the intended application date you enter picks the rule set. With no date entered, months are checked against the 2027 requirements.

What changes on 1 January 2027

• The monthly maximum rises from 130 to 160 hours. The minimum stays at 20.
• Concentrated fieldwork needs 7.5 percent supervision each month instead of 10. Supervised fieldwork stays at 5 percent.
• Observation with a client is counted in minutes: 60 a month for supervised fieldwork, 90 for concentrated, added up across the month. Under 2022 it was one observation a month.
• The 2027 tables list no minimum number of supervisor contacts. Under 2022 it was 4 a month, or 6 for concentrated.
• Unchanged: 2,000 supervised or 1,500 concentrated hours in total, at least 50 percent of supervision individual, and at least 60 percent of your total in unrestricted activities.
• New 2027 monthly and final verification forms replace the 2022 versions for applications from 1 January 2027.

If you are not sure when you will apply

The certifying board's transition guidance recommends planning to meet both sets of requirements until you know your application date. In practice that means:

• Keep every month inside the 2022 limits as well: no more than 130 hours, one observation and 4 supervisor contacts (6 for concentrated). A 2027 month of up to 160 hours would have to be adjusted down to 130 if you later apply under 2022.
• Record observation both as a count and in minutes, since the 2027 rule is duration and the 2022 rule is a count.
• Concentrated months at 7.5 percent supervision cannot count as concentrated under 2022, which needs 10 percent. Months at 10 percent meet both.
• Complete and keep both the 2022 and the 2027 monthly forms each month, and both final forms at the end. You submit the set that matches the requirements in force when you apply.

The monthly form guide walks through filling in either version.

Who can supervise

Under the current handbook and the 2027 summary, a supervisor holds active certification with no current disciplinary sanctions and meets the supervision continuing education requirement. One certified for less than a year also needs monthly consultation from a qualified consulting supervisor. Every supervisor completes the 8 hour supervision training before signing a supervision contract with you.

The handbook notes that licensed psychologists with board certification in psychology, and non certified instructors of verified course sequences, could supervise before 1 January 2026. Hours accrued under them can be used until 31 December 2031.

How this app checks each rule

• A supervisory period is one calendar month with one supervisor, because each supervisor signs their own monthly form. Two supervisors in the same month are two periods, each checked on its own.
• Supervised time is time with your supervisor present, individual or group. The supervised share is supervised time divided by all your fieldwork time that month, independent plus supervised.
• Every percentage is decided in whole minutes, so exactly 5 percent passes and one minute less does not. Shown percentages are rounded down, so a month that falls short never displays the threshold it missed.
• A shortfall is stated as the time to add. Adding supervised time also adds to your total, and the figure already allows for that.
• Observation is the part of a session a supervisor watched you with a client. Under 2027 the minutes are added up across the month; under 2022 each entry with observation time counts as one observation.
• For the 2022 contact minimum, each entry with supervised time counts as one contact, so log each supervision meeting as its own entry.
• The 60 percent unrestricted rule is checked across your counted total, never month by month, which is how the handbook states it.
• Only months that meet every rule, inside your five year window, are counted toward your total. Mixed totals use the published estimate of concentrated hours times 1.33 plus supervised hours; your forms always record actual hours.
• The five year window runs by calendar month from your first entry, so a first entry in May 2020 runs to 30 April 2025. If your months stretch past it, the window is the five year span that counts the most, and the periods page lists every month that falls outside and does not count.

When a month falls short

The current handbook describes adjustments a trainee and supervisor may make when a month misses a requirement, written against the 2022 figures. In short: a month with no observation, fewer than 20 hours, or a form signed late has no eligible hours; a month over the maximum drops independent hours down to the maximum; too few contacts prorates the month by the share of contacts met; too much group time reduces group hours until they no longer exceed individual; and too little supervision reduces independent hours until the percentage is met. Concentrated hours may not be prorated or adjusted.

This app makes one of those adjustments itself: a supervised fieldwork month over the maximum counts the maximum, and its printed summary and filled form show the independent hours reduced by the excess, when that leaves every other rule met. For every other shortfall it shows what the month is short by, so you and your supervisor can decide before the form is signed. Your log keeps every hour you actually worked, which the handbook asks you to keep even when the form records adjusted hours.

The forms

• Each month with each supervisor needs a monthly verification form, signed by the last day of the following calendar month. Keep your copy for at least 7 years.
• When the supervision ends, your supervisor signs a final verification form, which lists supervised and concentrated hours separately.
• Only the official forms are accepted. The printed summary here is a helper for copying the numbers across, not a form. Download the official forms from the certifying board's website.

Sources and review

These numbers were read from the published documents below and last checked on 25 September 2026.

Where to read them

• 2027 BCBA Requirements, Behavior Analyst Certification Board, updated 02/2026, read 25 September 2026.
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst Handbook, Behavior Analyst Certification Board, updated 06/2026, read 25 September 2026.
• Guidance for Meeting the BCBA Requirements During the 2027 Transition, Behavior Analyst Certification Board, updated 01/2026, read 26 September 2026.

Requirements change. If anything here disagrees with the current documents, the documents win, and we would like to hear about it. This page is a summary, not advice about your own eligibility. Fieldwork Ledger is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board or any other certifying body.

Check a month against these rules in the free monthly checker, or read the supervised fieldwork guides.