The BCBA exam is 185 questions. Only 175 of them count.
How many questions are on the BCBA exam?
The BCBA exam administers 185 questions. 175 of those are scored and 10 are unscored pilot items that the BACB is trialing for future forms. The pilot items are unmarked and distributed through the exam, so you answer all 185 as though each one counts.
How long do you get for the BCBA exam?
Four hours total. That block covers the terms screen and the navigation tutorial as well as the questions themselves, and any break you take runs on the same clock. Across 185 items it works out to a little over 75 seconds per question.
What is the BCBA 6th edition Test Content Outline?
It is the blueprint the exam is built from, and it took effect on January 1, 2025. It splits 175 scored items across nine content sections and lists 104 individual tasks underneath them. Any prep material still organized around the 5th edition task list is describing an exam that is no longer administered.
What are the nine BCBA content sections and how are they weighted?
The 175 scored items are distributed like this:
- Behavior-Change Procedures, 25 items, 14 percent
- Concepts and Principles, 24 items, 14 percent
- Behavior Assessment, 23 items, 13 percent
- Ethical and Professional Issues, 22 items, 13 percent
- Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation, 21 items, 12 percent
- Selecting and Implementing Interventions, 20 items, 11 percent
- Personnel Supervision and Management, 19 items, 11 percent
- Experimental Design, 13 items, 7 percent
- Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations, 8 items, 5 percent
Which BCBA sections should you study hardest?
Not the two you are thinking of. Concepts and Principles and Behavior-Change Procedures are the two largest sections, but together they are 49 of 175 items, about 28 percent. Behavior Assessment, Ethics, Measurement, Selecting Interventions and Supervision come to 105 items between them, roughly 60 percent of the exam. Under studying that middle group is the standard way to fail with a solid grasp of principles and procedures.
Is the BCBA exam scored as a percentage?
No. The BACB reports a scaled score, and the pass point is set by the board rather than fixed at a percentage of items correct. This is why practice exam percentages are useful as a relative measure of your own progress and close to meaningless as a prediction of the real result.
How many times can you take the BCBA exam?
The BACB allows eight attempts within a two year authorization period, with a waiting period between attempts. Confirm the current rules on the BACB site before you plan a retake, because authorization windows and attempt limits are the details that trip people up.
What do you need to take the BCBA exam?
A master's degree or higher, qualifying coursework, and supervised fieldwork. Fieldwork runs as either Supervised Fieldwork at 2000 hours or Concentrated Supervised Fieldwork at 1500 hours. Restricted versus unrestricted activity is not a third category, it is a split inside whichever type you choose, and restricted activity is capped as a proportion of your total hours.
What is changing for BCBA candidates in 2027?
Several things take effect on January 1, 2027, including changes to eligibility pathways, the supervision percentage required for Concentrated Supervised Fieldwork, the supervision continuing education requirement, and the monthly cap on fieldwork hours. If you will finish fieldwork or certify after that date, confirm the current rules with the BACB rather than working from anything written earlier.
How long should you study for the BCBA exam?
Long enough to cover all nine sections rather than the two that feel most familiar. A useful sequence is to assess yourself section by section first, then weight your weeks against the item counts above. Twelve weeks is a common shape for candidates studying after coursework, compressed to eight if the date is close and stretched to sixteen if there is runway.
Our Behavior Analyst Exam Prep bundle is built to the 6th edition outline, with two full length practice exams in the same section proportions as the real thing and every item mapped to the task it assesses.
Score yourself by section
The free BCBA mini exam is 40 questions weighted to the nine sections of the Test Content Outline, with a written rationale for every answer. Score it by section rather than overall, then put your next study hours into the section furthest behind its share of the items. No card and no code.
Watch the walkthrough
How the BCBA exam works in 2026. About 10 minutes, chaptered so you can jump to the part you need.
Related guides
- How many questions are on the BCBA exam, and how is it scored?
- Which BCBA sections should you study first?
- RBT exam FAQ
- How to turn your exam blueprint into a study plan
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