RBT 40-Hour Training Compared by Exam Pass Rate (Free and Paid)

In the BACB’s 2025 report, first-time pass rates for 51 RBT 40-hour training providers ran from 8.1% to 100%. Behavior Development Solutions was highest among providers with 500 or more candidates, at 93.5% (863 of 923). The free Autism Partnership Foundation course had 61.2% of 13,456 candidates pass, against 75% of all first-time candidates.

The 40-hour RBT training (registered behavior technician training) is the course every RBT applicant must finish before the competency assessment and the exam. This page is for people choosing one. It lists all 51 providers in the BACB report, adds prices for the 17 largest where the provider’s own page shows one (checked November 4, 2026), and says what the data does not show. If you want a recommendation, skip to how to choose. More exam guides are in Study Guides & Exam Prep.

Which 40-hour RBT courses have the highest exam pass rates?

Among providers with at least 100 first-time candidates in 2025, Behavior Development Solutions had the highest first-time pass rate at 93.5% (863 of 923), then the University of South Florida at 90.2% (147 of 163), according to the BACB’s report (updated May 2026). The report covers programs that were publicly available and had 10 or more first-time candidates in 2025.

Method: we matched the table to the BACB’s 2025 PDF row by row by script. Prices and provider claims were last verified on November 4, 2026; if you find an error, tell us through the contact page. The table shows the 17 providers with 100 or more candidates, sorted by 2025 rate. The 2024 column comes from the BACB’s 2024 report (updated April 2025).

“Not confirmed” means the provider’s own pages did not show us a price for an individual on November 4, 2026. It does not mean the course is free. Some are sold only to organizations (see the notes below), so ask.

Notes on the price column:

• Behavior Webinars. Behaviorwebinars.com links to the behaviortechcourse.com product page, which is sold by Behavior Tech Course, LLC and shows $30 against a $100 list price. The Behavior Webinars homepage also says “Packages from $35.00”. Treating them as one provider is our reading, not something the BACB states.
• Happy Children. The prices are on the Spanish-language page of Happy Children Behavior Therapy: $300 at a distance, $450 mixed, and $600 in person or live on Zoom. Matching that site to the BACB’s “Happy Children” is our reading.
• Rethink. Its training is “exclusively offered to ABA therapy practices and organizations” and “not available for individual purchase”.
• Sidekick and CentralReach. Their pages are written for employers and we found no individual checkout. That is our reading.

For scale, the BACB’s overall figure for 2025 was 75% of 109,341 first-time candidates. The median provider in the report had 77.5%, calculated from the table.

The other 34 providers (10 to 99 first-time candidates in 2025)

Training provider (as the BACB names it)	2025 first-time pass rate	2025 first-time candidates
Northern Michigan University Bear Center	100.0%	18
The Center for Behavior Analysis at the University of West Florida	100.0%	12
Ivy Tech Community College	96.2%	26
Mississippi State University	94.7%	19
AppleTree Connection	91.1%	79
Advanced Behavior Education LLC.	90.9%	11
Middle Tennessee State University	90.0%	10
MedCerts	83.3%	36
The Applied Behavior Analysis Center	82.1%	39
California Unified Service Providers, LLC	81.8%	55
May Behavioral Services	80.0%	15
University of Missouri	80.0%	10
Jigsaw Training	79.2%	77
Path 2 Potential, LLC	78.6%	14
Special Learning	77.5%	71
University of Texas at San Antonio	69.7%	33
GoBeyond Premier Training Labs	69.2%	13
Harcum College	64.3%	14
AutismBXTraining DBA Autism Skills Development	60.6%	66
Behavior Analyst Supervisor	60.0%	25
Skillometry	59.6%	89
Arc Educates	54.6%	11
ABA Professional Learning Center	50.0%	46
Bhavioral Corporation	50.0%	16
Essential CEU Institute	46.3%	80
Applied ABC	46.2%	65
ABA International Academy	43.2%	37
Developing New Horizons Inc.	41.4%	70
ABA Courses	40.0%	15
Miami Dade College	37.5%	40
Easy as Pie ABA Training	36.4%	11
Exceptional Minds ABA Therapy	32.9%	76
Child Hope Center	21.4%	14
José María Vargas University	8.1%	37

Which RBT courses say they meet the 2026 rules?

On November 4, 2026, nine of the 17 largest providers in the table above had pages saying the course is designed to meet, or meets, the BACB’s 2026 requirements. A claim on a sales page is not proof, and “no 2026 claim found” does not mean a course falls short, so use the checklist below either way.

What do these pass rates not show?

These pass rates show how first-time candidates who named a provider did on the exam, not how much that provider’s course caused the result. The BACB publishes the numbers without saying why they differ. Six limits matter when you read the table:

• Who enrolled. Free courses can be open to anyone, while courses sold to employers reach people already working at an ABA provider. Some of the gap may come from the learners and their support, not the course. That is our reading; the report does not measure it.
• Names typed by applicants. The rates are “based on training provider names entered by RBT applicants at the time of application and may differ from your records”, the BACB tells providers.
• Timing. The BACB also notes that candidates may not have applied and tested in the same year they trained.
• Old versions of each course. The 2024 report describes training “based on the RBT Task List (2nd ed.)”, and the exam moved to the 3rd-edition outline on January 1, 2026. So the 2025 rates describe courses and an exam that have since changed (our reading). Providers say so themselves: APF calls its course “newly recorded” and ATCC describes “Enhanced RBT® training introduced in 2026”. The report’s update dates suggest 2026 data will arrive around spring 2027.
• Small groups. Middle Tennessee State University’s 90.0% is 9 of 10 candidates. One more failure would make it 80.0%.
• Missing candidates. The 51 providers account for 71,555 of the 109,341 first-time candidates, about 65%. Programs that are not publicly available or had fewer than 10 candidates are left out, including, we expect, many employer-run courses, which cannot be compared at all. Some of the gap may also be candidates whose typed provider names did not match.

The rates also count first attempts only. Retake pass rates are far lower overall: 38% in 2025, according to the BACB.

Do provider pass rates hold from year to year?

Large providers’ rates mostly held: of the nine providers with 1,000 or more candidates in 2025, eight moved less than 4 points from 2024, comparing the two BACB reports. Behavior University was the exception, rising 11.4 points from 65.2% to 76.6%. Smaller programs move more, such as the University of Kansas (93.0% of 115, then 87.1% of 178).

APF’s rate has fallen year on year: 77.6% in 2022 (10,920 of 14,065, BACB), 69.0% in 2023 (8,417 of 12,203, BACB, archived copy), then 63.3% in 2024 and 61.2% in 2025. A gap that persists across years at this sample size is worth weighing, but it still does not separate the course from the people taking it.

Is there a free 40-hour RBT training?

Yes. On November 4, 2026, we found two providers whose own sites describe a 40-hour RBT training at no cost: the Autism Partnership Foundation and Soar Autism Center. Check three things before relying on any free course: that it says it meets the 2026 requirements, that the certificate is included, and who will do your competency assessment. That last one matters most if you have no ABA job yet, because your assessor must work for, or contract with, the same organization that serves the client (see what comes after the 40 hours).

Is the Autism Partnership Foundation RBT training free?

The Autism Partnership Foundation (APF) lists its course as “Free” and says its RBT 2.0 training meets the BACB’s 2026 requirements. APF’s FAQ says the certificate is emailed on completion and lists no fee for it. It also says:

• new content opens at about 8 hours a day, to align with the BACB’s requirements;
• a trainee who misses the 180-day limit must restart with a new account and email address;
• APF does not offer a competency assessment;
• the course is in English only for now, with Spanish “coming soon”.

In the 2025 report, 8,236 of APF’s 13,456 first-time candidates passed (61.2%), 13.8 points below the overall 75%. The numbers do not show the course causes the lower rate, so cost can reasonably be a factor. Budget extra exam study and do not treat the certificate as exam readiness.

What other free RBT training is there?

Soar Autism Center offers a free 40-hour video course. It says the course is “designed to meet the 2026 training eligibility requirement for RBT certification” and leads to a certificate of completion. It is not in the BACB’s 2025 report, so there is no pass-rate data for it.

Your employer may also cover it. The RBT Handbook (updated October 2026, p. 3) says the training “may be offered by your employer, a university, or an online training program”. Several large courses in the table are sold to employers, so ask before you pay for one yourself.

Before you enroll in any free course, ask who the Responsible Trainer is. A course built to the requirements names that person, carries the required “offered independent of the BACB” sentence, and issues a certificate with your BACB ID. Check for a certificate fee too, because your application needs the certificate.

How much does a 40-hour RBT course cost?

Prices we could confirm on November 4, 2026 run from free to $600, and eight of the 12 paid courses with an individual price sit between $30 and $200. ATCC’s $39 is a one-week plan ($119 for one month, $299 once), so its total depends on how long you take. Behavior University’s page says pricing “starts at $79”, and BDS shows $79 against an old price of $132.

Price is a weak guide in this small sample, comparing November 2026 prices with 2025 candidates. Two courses at $79 had 93.5% (BDS) and 76.6% (Behavior University). At the top of the range, Happy Children ($300 to $600) had 32.5%, Power In-Service ($350) 17.7%, ATCC ($299 plan) 86.4% and ABA 4 LOVE ($295) 36.7%, while the free APF course had 61.2%. The 13 courses with a public individual price (12 paid plus APF) are too few to show a relationship either way.

The course is not the whole bill. The Handbook (p. 6) lists a $65 application fee paid to the BACB and $45 per exam appointment paid to Pearson VUE. Here is the arithmetic for three of the prices above:

That excludes your background and abuse registry checks, any fee your assessor charges, and $45 for each retake. The full cost and timeline of becoming an RBT has the whole sequence.

Can you do RBT training online?

Yes. The BACB’s 2026 requirements allow “an in-person and/or online format”, and Behavior University, Florida Tech, USF, the University of Kansas and ATCC all describe their courses as online and self-paced. An online course does not make the whole certification remote. The exam is taken at a Pearson VUE test center, and the competency assessment is run by your organization’s assessor and may be in person, live online or by recorded video. ABA 4 LOVE sells its course as “100% Online via Zoom” with live video sessions. Rethink’s FAQ, by contrast, says its course has no live instruction and that live competency training happens with your supervising BCBA.

How long does the 40-hour RBT training take?

The training must total at least 40 hours, completed in no fewer than 5 days and no more than 180 days, according to the 2026 requirements. The start and end dates both count. The Handbook (p. 3) gives this example: a course started on January 1, 2026 cannot end before January 5 or after June 29, 2026.

Does the 40-hour RBT training expire?

We found no fixed expiry date in the Handbook. Training that takes more than 180 days does not meet the BACB’s requirement (Handbook, p. 3). We found no BACB instructions for what to do next, so ask your provider how to restart (APF requires a new account and a fresh start). An older course may no longer count, though. The Handbook says “previously completed 40-hour trainings may be eligible for submission but must meet all current requirements”, and the BACB says anyone applying on or after January 1, 2026 must have a training that meets the 2026 rules. For training done under the previous requirements, the BACB’s transition guidance (updated August 2025) says there is no shortcut: “You will need to complete the full training again.” So check your certificate: it must carry the 2026 statement quoted in the checklist below.

What must a 40-hour RBT training include in 2026?

A 2026 course must cover the BACB’s eight curriculum sections, using behavioral skills training components, under a Responsible Trainer who is a BCaBA, BCBA or BCBA-D with the 8-hour supervision training. People still search for the 40-hour training “packet”, the name of the BACB’s earlier document; the 2026 version is the Requirements and Curriculum Outline. The sections and their minimum hours come from the RBT 2026 40-Hour Training Requirements (version March 2026):

Assigned readings cannot count toward the 40 hours. The sections can be taught in any order.

How do you check a course meets the BACB’s 2026 rules?

The BACB does not recommend 40-hour courses, and we found no BACB approval process for them, so you check each course against its written requirements. The Handbook (p. 3) says the BACB “does not provide 40-hour training, certificates of completion, or training program recommendations”, and the requirements make providers state that the training “is offered independent of the BACB”. Our reading: “BACB-approved” on a sales page is not a status the BACB describes. Use the 2026 requirements as your checklist:

1. The required sentence. Online and printed materials must say: “This training program is designed to meet the 2026 training eligibility requirement for RBT certification. This training is offered independent of the BACB.”
2. A named Responsible Trainer. A BCaBA, BCBA or BCBA-D who has completed the 8-hour supervision training must design and oversee the course and identify themself at the outset.
3. The time limits. At least 40 hours, in 5 to 180 days. Ask how the course enforces them.
4. A real certificate. It must be a single document with your name and BACB ID, start and end dates, time spent in training, the Responsible Trainer’s name and certification number, their signature or company branding, any Assistant Trainers’ names and numbers, and the required statement.
5. No conflict with your trainer. Trainers may not be related to, subordinate to or employed by you.

Because the certificate needs your BACB ID, create your BACB account before you finish the course. Our guide to becoming an RBT covers the whole sequence.

How should you choose a 40-hour RBT course?

Choose the course your employer will pay for and whose assessor you can book; if you pay yourself, compare the paid courses with a public individual price and 500 or more candidates below. Start with who will assess you and who will pay:

• You have a job or offer at an ABA provider: ask whether it pays for a course and has a qualified assessor (a BCaBA or BCBA with the 8-hour supervision training) for your competency assessment.
• You are paying yourself and the budget is tight: first work out who can assess you, because without an ABA job or contract you may have no one who can (see below). Then compare the free courses above with the low-priced courses, and plan extra study time if you take one with a lower rate.
• You want the larger published track records: among paid courses with a public price for individuals and 500 or more candidates in 2025, the rates were BDS 93.5%, ATCC 86.4%, Florida Tech/ABA Technologies 86.3%, Relias 80.4%, Positive Behavior Supports 79.1%, Behavior Webinars 79.0%, Behavior University 76.6% and ABA 4 LOVE 36.7%.
• A course has fewer than about 50 candidates: treat its rate as a weak signal in either direction. That cutoff is our judgment, not a BACB rule.

Whichever you choose, run the checklist above first. This page compares reported numbers; it does not rank course quality.

What comes after the 40 hours?

Finishing the 40 hours does not make you an RBT: you still need the Initial Competency Assessment, the application and attestation form, and a pass on the RBT exam. The Handbook (p. 3) requires the assessment after the training and no more than 90 days before you apply.

Line up an assessor early. You and the assessor must be employed at, or contracted with, the same organization, and that organization must be the one serving the client, according to the BACB’s assessment packet (version January 2026). So without an ABA job or contract, you may not have anyone who can assess you; our competency assessment guide covers the rule. APF, Florida Tech and USF all say they do not provide the assessment. After you pass the exam, you must also be added as a supervisee by an RBT Supervisor or Requirements Coordinator before you start delivering services (Handbook, p. 4), and ongoing supervision continues from there.

Then prepare for the exam itself, whichever course you took. Use the RBT study track on Praxis Learn, check your coverage against the RBT task list, and finish with the RBT practice exams. Praxis Learn is our own study site.

Sources

1. BACB, RBT Examination Pass Rates for 40-Hour Training Providers: 2025, updated May 2026.
2. BACB, RBT Examination Pass Rates for 40-Hour Training Providers: 2024, updated April 2025.
3. BACB, RBT 2026 40-Hour Training Requirements and Curriculum Outline, version March 2026.
4. BACB, Registered Behavior Technician Handbook, updated October 2026.
5. BACB, Examination Information, checked November 4, 2026.
6. BACB, Newsletter, December 2023.
7. BACB, RBT Examination Pass Rates for 40-Hour Training Providers: 2023, updated March 2024 (archived copy).
8. BACB, RBT Initial Competency Assessment Packet, version January 2026.
9. BACB, RBT Examination Pass Rates for 40-Hour Training Providers: 2022, updated April 2023.
10. BACB, Guidance for Meeting RBT Requirements During the 2026 Transition, updated August 2025.
11. Provider pages linked on this page, all checked November 4, 2026.

Reviewed by the Praxis Notes team on 2026-11-04.