The RBT exam is 85 questions in 90 minutes.
How many questions are on the RBT exam?
85 multiple choice questions. 75 are scored and 10 are unscored pilot items the BACB is trialing for future forms. The pilot items are unmarked and mixed through the exam, so you answer all 85 as though each one counts.
How long do you get for the RBT exam?
90 minutes. That is about 63 seconds a question, which makes the RBT exam faster paced than the BCBA exam even though the content is narrower. Pacing is worth practicing, because most candidates have never taken a timed test at that speed on this material.
What is the RBT Test Content Outline, 3rd edition?
It is the document the exam is built from, and it has governed every RBT exam taken since January 1, 2026. The 2nd edition Task List ran through December 31, 2025. The BACB also dropped the "Task List" name with the 3rd edition; the current document is called the Test Content Outline. Any prep material still organized around the 2nd edition Task List describes an exam that is no longer administered. No 4th edition has been announced.
What are the six RBT content areas and how are they weighted?
Of the 75 scored questions, Behavior Acquisition carries 19, which is 25 percent. Behavior Reduction carries 14, 19 percent. Data Collection and Graphing carries 13, 17 percent. Ethics carries 11, 15 percent. Documentation and Reporting carries 10, 13 percent. Behavior Assessment carries 8, 11 percent.
Behavior Acquisition and Behavior Reduction together are 33 of the 75 scored questions, 44 percent of the exam.
What is a passing score on the RBT exam?
The BACB does not publish a cut score. The passing standard is set by a modified Angoff process and results are reported as pass or fail only. That means no practice percentage translates into a prediction, and the most useful thing a practice set can tell you is which of the six areas you are weakest in.
What do you need before you can take the RBT exam?
The BACB's eligibility requirements, which include the 40 hour training, the competency assessment, and a background check, and which the BACB updates from time to time. Take the current list from the BACB site rather than from any third party, because eligibility is where candidates most often lose time.
How many times can you take the RBT exam?
The BACB sets the number of attempts allowed within an authorization window and the waiting period between attempts. Confirm the current rule on the BACB site before scheduling a retake.
What should you study first for the RBT exam?
Behavior Acquisition. It is a quarter of the exam and it is the area most candidates under study because it feels like the everyday work rather than a test topic. The exam asks you to identify which teaching procedure a scenario describes and what the correct next step is, and that is a different skill from running the procedure well.
Our RBT Exam Prep bundle is built to the 3rd edition Test Content Outline, with the practice questions weighted 17, 11, 25, 19, 13 and 15 percent across the six content areas, the same proportions as the real exam.
Score yourself by section
The free RBT mini exam is 40 questions across the six domains of the third edition task list, with a written rationale for every answer. Score it by domain rather than overall, then put your next study hours into the domain furthest behind its share of the items. No card and no code.
Watch the walkthrough
How the RBT exam works in 2026. About 7 minutes, chaptered so you can jump to the part you need.
Related guides
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