Assess a workplace performance concern
Work product: An interview summary connecting reported barriers to questions for further assessment.
Questions for supervision: What supports your explanation? What information is still missing?
Fieldwork requirements
2027 BCBA and BCaBA fieldwork requirements.
Know the hours you need, the work those hours involve and how supervision fits into each month.
The BASN’s Standard program provides exactly 40 unrestricted OBM fieldwork hours per calendar month for $249. Organizational clients are provided. Your 40 hours include 60 minutes of individual supervision and 60 minutes of mandatory group supervision, with no more than 10 student analysts in a group.
2027 Supervised Fieldwork requirements
The BASN enrolls trainees under the BACB’s 2027 Supervised Fieldwork requirements. The table below covers that route for BCBA and BCaBA certification.
| Requirement | BCBA | BCaBA |
|---|---|---|
| Total fieldwork | 2,000 hours | 1,300 hours |
| Minimum unrestricted portion | 60% (1,200 of 2,000 hours) | 40% (520 of 1,300 hours) |
| Fieldwork per calendar month | 20–160 hours | 20–160 hours |
| Minimum supervised portion each month | 5% | 5% |
| Client observation each month | At least 60 minutes, cumulative | At least 60 minutes, cumulative |
At least half of each month’s supervision must be individual. In a BASN package, the two hours of supervision are included in the 40-hour total: one individual hour and one group hour. Client-observation minutes are documented for each trainee. The unrestricted percentages apply across your complete fieldwork experience.
The BACB’s 2027 BCBA requirements and 2027 BCaBA requirements explain the full certification pathways. The requirements in effect when you submit a complete certification application determine the standards your fieldwork must meet.
If you plan to apply before January 1, 2027, review the BACB’s BCBA transition guidance or BCaBA transition guidance with your supervisor. The BASN’s current offer follows the 2027 requirements.
Your university’s degree and coursework requirements remain part of your certification pathway. If you apply through Pathway 2, the required academic OBM course is separate from supervised OBM fieldwork.
How to get unrestricted BCBA fieldwork hours
If most of your current fieldwork involves carrying out a client’s treatment program, you may need more opportunities to assess needs, design programs and evaluate their results. Start by reviewing your activity records and remaining unrestricted hours with your supervisor.
Restricted and unrestricted hours: what is the difference?
Restricted activities involve delivering therapeutic or instructional procedures directly to clients. Unrestricted activities develop the skills used to design and oversee behavior-analytic programs. Your supervisor considers the purpose and context of the work when classifying it. For example, collecting data during an existing treatment program and collecting data to assess future programming needs can fall into different categories. The BACB’s fieldwork FAQs explain the distinction.
Build a plan within your current placement
- Identify a client need with your supervisor. Discuss opportunities to assess a concern, develop an intervention or evaluate an existing program. Agree on your role and the client access needed for the work.
- Define the work you will produce. For example, plan an assessment summary, a measurement procedure or an evaluation of a training program. Your supervisor can connect the assignment to the client’s needs and the skills you are developing.
- Arrange feedback, observation and records. Agree on how your supervisor will oversee the client work, review your decisions and document your activities. Include time to revise the work after feedback.
Need a separate client project for unrestricted hours?
You can keep your current placement and add a BASN organizational project. The BASN supplies the organizational client and BCBA supervisor. One package provides 40 unrestricted OBM fieldwork hours for $249 per calendar month, including 60 minutes of individual supervision and 60 minutes of mandatory group supervision within those 40 hours.
Each BASN package has separate supervision, records and verification. Share your existing arrangements during enrollment and plan your combined fieldwork within the 2027 limit of 160 hours per calendar month. You can also use The BASN as your main fieldwork placement.
Group supervision offers Saturday or Sunday options for trainees across the United States. Your supervisor coordinates client observation and other meetings separately. The BASN confirms your start after the required paperwork. See how to get BCBA supervision hours online for the steps from enrollment to monthly fieldwork records.
Use behavior analysis to solve an organizational problem
Unrestricted OBM fieldwork develops your ability to assess performance, choose an intervention and evaluate what happens. You might investigate why employees miss an important procedure, build training around the skill they need or examine whether managers’ feedback improves performance.
Your work starts with an actual client need. You define what to measure, examine the conditions affecting performance and use project data to guide your recommendations. Your BCBA supervisor reviews the decisions you make and gives feedback on your work.
Examples of unrestricted OBM activities
These examples connect an organizational question to a work product you can review in supervision. Your assigned activities follow your client’s needs and your supervisor’s plan.
Design a performance measure
Work product: An observable definition and a procedure for recording opportunities and completed actions.
Questions for supervision: Could another observer use the definition consistently? How will you handle missing information?
Design training for an assessed skill gap
Work product: A plan for instructions, demonstration, practice and feedback.
Questions for supervision: Does training address the identified problem? How will you check performance during everyday work?
Evaluate a feedback process
Work product: A comparison of performance over time, with notes on implementation and other changes.
Questions for supervision: Was the process used as planned? What do the findings support, and what remains uncertain?
Read the BACB’s guidance on client-related fieldwork. To plan a measurement discussion, use our OBM project worksheet.
All 40 BASN hours focus on unrestricted fieldwork. See our project with The Homework Monitors for an example involving tutor preparation, documentation and manager feedback.
A monthly plan for client work and supervision
Your supervisor coordinates the organizational project and schedule with you. Complete the assigned work, attend individual and group supervision, and record your activities and time using the process arranged with your supervisor. Feedback helps you revise your work and plan the next part of the project.
Supervision and client observation
Client observation takes place live online with your BCBA supervisor present. Each trainee’s activities and observation are documented individually. Your supervisor coordinates observation as part of the monthly fieldwork schedule.
Monthly and Final Fieldwork Verification Forms
The student portal is under construction. Your assigned supervisor coordinates fieldwork tracking, project documentation, feedback and scheduling with you. Contact The BASN for help with your records.
BACB fieldwork forms are included under permission obtained through Applied Behavior Analysts, PLLC. Record the work you complete and submit it for supervisor review. Your monthly records bring together the activities, supervision and observation completed during that period.
The Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form (M-FVF) records a single supervision month. Review your activity records, supervision and observation with your supervisor before signing.
The Final Fieldwork Verification Form (F-FVF) documents the fieldwork covered by a supervision relationship when it ends. You submit final verification with your certification application; keep the monthly forms and supporting records.
Prepare your monthly fieldwork records
Use this checklist with your supervisor for the 2027 fieldwork requirements:
- Keep your activity records current throughout the month.
- Record individual supervision, group supervision and client-observation duration separately.
- Review the month’s activities and totals with your supervisor before completing your Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form.
- Complete the required signatures by the end of the calendar month following the supervision month.
- Keep your signed monthly forms for at least seven years. Your supervisor also retains copies.
Fieldwork with more than one supervisor or placement
Choose the form with your supervisor based on how the fieldwork is coordinated. Using the Multiple Supervisors at One Organization form requires a coordinated fieldwork experience with a clearly identified responsible supervisor; having several supervisors alone does not establish that arrangement. Each BASN package has separate supervision, records and verification. Share any fieldwork arrangements elsewhere during enrollment so you can plan the records for each experience.
See the BACB’s fieldwork documentation guidance and multiple-supervisor examples. To add client-based unrestricted hours with supervision and documentation included, explore The BASN’s online fieldwork program.
Online fieldwork across the United States
The BASN is a nationwide firm with its practice and corporate client services based in Virginia. Founder Matthew Hilley, a Virginia-licensed BCBA, oversees the firm’s 20 BCBA supervisors and approves the program’s fieldwork activities.
During enrollment, tell us where you live and include any university or employer paperwork. Contact The BASN before enrolling if you have questions about your location or certification pathway. Read how online OBM fieldwork and state licensure fit together.
Historical signed agreements retain their original terms. Your supervision agreement explains the program and your participation.