BCBA guides
Direct answers for BCBA format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
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On January 1, 2027, the BACB ends Pathways 3 and 4, tightens Pathway 2 degrees and coursework, and revises supervised fieldwork. The BCBA exam and its 6th-edition outline stay the same. Here is what changes, for whom, and what to do before December 31, 2026.
Read the guideYou apply for the BCBA exam in your BACB portal account after you meet every eligibility requirement. Here is the order that avoids delays, which documents each pathway needs, the 90-day and 45-day clocks, and what happens once you're approved.
Read the guideThe BCBA exam has 185 four-option questions, 175 of them scored, in a 4-hour in-person sitting at Pearson VUE. Here is the domain-by-domain breakdown of the 6th-edition outline, what the 4 hours include, how breaks work, and what you can and can't bring.
Read the guideThe nine BCBA domains range from 8 to 25 scored questions, so equal time per domain wastes hours. Here is a time split built on the BACB's published counts, an 8-week schedule with 12-week and 4-week variations, and how to build stamina for a four-hour exam.
Read the guideThe BACB's own data put the 2025 first-time BCBA pass rate at 51%, the first year on the 6th-edition outline, and the retake pass rate at 23%. Here are five years of official pass rates, what the 2025 university report adds, why the exam is hard, and what the numbers can't tell you.
Read the guideA first BCBA attempt costs $370 in BACB and Pearson VUE fees, and each retake costs $265. Here are the fees from application to recertification, worked totals, the reschedule rules that cost people money, and the GI Bill and 529 options.
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