The BACB Ethics Code and RBT Ethics Code (2.0), Explained

Most people meet the BACB's ethics code twice: once when they cram it for an exam, and again the first time a parent hands them a gift card or a supervisor asks them to run a procedure they were never trained on. The second time is the one that matters. The code isn't a list of good intentions. The BACB enforces it, and the worst outcomes end up on a public page with your name on it.

There are actually two codes. Board Certified Behavior Analysts and assistant behavior analysts follow the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, and Registered Behavior Technicians follow the RBT Ethics Code (2.0). This guide covers both: who each one applies to, the principles behind them, what every section asks of you, the specific numbers worth memorizing, how violations are handled, and how much of each exam is ethics. Everything here comes from the BACB's own documents, linked at the end. Treat this as a map, and read the codes themselves before you rely on a standard.

Which Ethics Code Applies to You?

Your credential decides it. The BACB's ethics codes page lists both, and they were written together, so they share principles and much of their wording.

Both codes cover professional activity in every setting and format, whether in person, by phone, by text or over video. Neither reaches your personal life unless your personal behavior clearly puts the health and safety of clients or the people you work with at risk. And both say plainly that not knowing a standard is no excuse.

The BACB has no separate jurisdiction over companies. A clinic can't be sanctioned under the code, but every certified person working in it can be. That's why several standards tell you what to do when your employer is the problem.

The Four Core Principles

The behavior analyst code opens with four principles that the BACB says should guide all of a behavior analyst's work. The RBT code adopts the same four and points RBTs back to the behavior analyst code to learn them.

1. Benefit others. Maximize benefit and do no harm, with clients' interests placed first. That includes noticing when your own health, conflicts of interest or personal situation could hurt your work.
2. Treat others with compassion, dignity, and respect. No discrimination, respect for clients' privacy and self-determination, and giving people the information they need to make informed choices about services.
3. Behave with integrity. Be truthful, don't misrepresent your work or anyone else's, correct errors promptly, and meet your obligations to the BACB and other regulators.
4. Ensure their competence. Stay within your scope, keep current with the field, avoid pseudoscience, and keep checking the limits of your skills, including cultural responsiveness.

The principles aren't enforced on their own. They're the lens for reading the standards. When a standard doesn't settle a situation cleanly, the BACB expects you to reason from these four.

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Section by Section

The 85 standards sit in six sections. Many standards in Sections 3 to 6 list related standards in parentheses ("see 1.03, 2.01"), which is a useful hint that the code is meant to be read as a system, not as separate rules.

Section 1: Responsibility as a Professional (1.01 to 1.16)

Sixteen standards about how you conduct yourself. Be truthful (1.01). Follow the law and the requirements of your professional community (1.02). Define and document your role in writing before you provide services (1.04), and stay within your scope of competence (1.05). The section covers cultural responsiveness, nondiscrimination and nonharassment (1.07 to 1.09), and awareness of your own biases and personal challenges (1.10). Then come the boundaries: avoiding multiple relationships (1.11), the gift limit (1.12), no coercive or exploitative relationships with people you have authority over (1.13), the rules on romantic and sexual relationships (1.14), responding to requests and deadlines (1.15) and self-reporting (1.16).

Section 2: Responsibility in Practice (2.01 to 2.19)

The largest section, with nineteen standards about delivering services. It covers effective treatment and timeliness (2.01, 2.02), confidentiality and when you may disclose it (2.03, 2.04), keeping and destroying records (2.05), accurate billing (2.06), fees (2.07), informed consent and assent (2.11), considering medical needs (2.12), and assessment and intervention design (2.13, 2.14).

Standard 2.15 is the one people argue about. Restrictive or punishment-based procedures are recommended and used only after less intrusive approaches have been shown not to work, or when an intervention team decides the risk of harm to the client outweighs the risk of the procedure. You also have to comply with any required review (for example a human rights committee) and keep evaluating the procedure, stopping it promptly if it isn't working. The section ends with describing interventions before you start them (2.16), collecting and using data (2.17), evaluating the intervention continually (2.18) and dealing with conditions that interfere with services (2.19). If you write behavior intervention plans, this is the section they answer to.

Section 3: Responsibility to Clients and Stakeholders (3.01 to 3.16)

Sixteen standards on the client relationship from intake to discharge: accepting only clients within your competence (3.03), service and financial agreements (3.04, 3.05), consulting other providers (3.06), third-party contracts such as a school district paying for services (3.07 to 3.09), limits of confidentiality (3.10), documentation (3.11), advocacy and referrals (3.12, 3.13), and continuity (3.14).

Standard 3.15 lists six situations where you should consider discontinuing services, including when the client has met their goals, isn't benefiting, or funding has ended. Even then you can't just stop: the client and stakeholders get a written discharge plan, and you document every step. Transitions to another provider follow the same pattern (3.16).

Section 4: Responsibility to Supervisees and Trainees (4.01 to 4.12)

Twelve standards for anyone who supervises RBTs, BCaBAs or fieldwork trainees. Supervise only within your competence (4.02), and take on only as many supervisees as you can supervise well (4.03). When you hit that ceiling, document the self-assessment and tell your employer. Keep supervision records (4.05), monitor performance and give feedback (4.08), delegate a task only after confirming the person can do it (4.09), evaluate whether your supervision is working (4.10), and end supervision properly (4.11, 4.12). These are the obligations the RBT code points to when it tells RBTs what their supervisors owe them. Our guide to BCBA supervision requirements covers the training you need before you supervise anyone.

Section 5: Responsibility in Public Statements (5.01 to 5.11)

Eleven standards on advertising, testimonials and social media. Testimonials from current clients are not to be solicited for advertising (5.07). Testimonials from former clients can be, but they have to be labeled solicited or unsolicited, describe the relationship accurately, and come with a warning about privacy risks and the right to withdraw them (5.08).

Standard 5.10 is the one most likely to catch a new BCBA. Client content never goes on your personal social media accounts. On professional accounts, every post needs informed consent first and a disclaimer saying consent was obtained, and it should be published in a way that limits resharing. Behavior analysts are also expected to monitor their accounts and correct misuse.

Section 6: Responsibility in Research (6.01 to 6.11)

Eleven standards for research: following the law and research review requirements (6.01, 6.02), keeping research that happens during service delivery separate and properly consented (6.03, 6.04), confidentiality (6.05), competence (6.06), conflicts of interest (6.07), credit and plagiarism (6.08, 6.09), and data retention and accuracy (6.10, 6.11). Most practitioners rarely touch it, but if you're heading toward a PhD in ABA or a BCBA-D, it governs your work.

The RBT Ethics Code (2.0) in Plain English

The RBT code is shorter because an RBT's job is narrower. Its introduction sets the frame: RBTs work under the close supervision of an RBT Supervisor or RBT Requirements Coordinator, who is responsible for everything the RBT does. So when an RBT hits an ethics question, the first step is almost always the supervisor, and the code expects RBTs to put the law and the client's interests first.

Section 1: General Responsibilities (1.01 to 1.12)

• Honesty and professionalism (1.01, 1.02). Be honest, follow the law and your employer's and supervisor's requirements, and keep your commitments.
• Stay in the role (1.03, 1.06). Provide services only within a defined role under ongoing supervision, and only after your supervisor confirms you're competent. If you're asked to do something beyond your scope, tell your supervisor right away and document it.
• Never employ your supervisor (1.04). An RBT who is also a fieldwork trainee can contract separately for BCBA or BCaBA supervision, though.
• Accurate credentials (1.05). No exaggerating your qualifications.
• Culture, bias and discrimination (1.07 to 1.09). Work with your supervisor on cultural responsiveness, don't harass or discriminate, and act on personal challenges that could affect your work.
• Boundaries (1.10 to 1.12). Avoid multiple relationships with clients, coworkers and supervisors, keep within the $10 gift limit, and follow the rules on romantic relationships.

Section 2: Providing Behavior-Technician Services (2.01 to 2.10)

• Do no harm, and know your reporting duties (2.01). RBTs must know and follow mandated-reporting requirements.
• Implement and document accurately (2.02, 2.03). Follow your supervisor's direction, record client data and billing accurately, and act on feedback.
• No unfamiliar interventions or populations without training (2.04).
• Restrictive procedures only with a plan and verified competence (2.05). Restrictive or punishment-based procedures are used only when they're in a documented behavior-change plan and after your supervisor has verified you can do them.
• Send questions to the supervisor (2.06). When a parent or coworker raises concerns about your services, route them to your supervisor.
• Protect clients (2.07). If a client's rights are being violated or they're at risk of harm, report to your supervisor, follow policy, document it, and contact authorities when needed.
• Confidentiality (2.08 to 2.10). No identifying client information, photos or videos on social media or websites, ever. Discuss confidential information only under your supervisor's direction, and share only what a job-related message needs.

Section 3: Responsibilities to the BACB and Your Supervisor (3.01 to 3.07)

• Comply and be honest (3.01, 3.02). Including supervision requirements and audits. If you discover you gave the BACB false or inaccurate information, contact them immediately to correct it.
• No cheating (3.03). That covers the competency assessment as well as the RBT exam, including sharing exam content.
• Self-report within 30 days (3.04). Legal charges, investigations naming you, disciplinary action by an employer or agency, and conditions that could impair safe practice.
• Respect intellectual property (3.05). The BACB's and your employer's.
• Share BACB notices with your supervisor (3.06). Any Notice of Alleged Violation or required action goes to your supervisor immediately.
• Check your account (3.07). Regularly, for example monthly. If your certification status changes (inactive, expired, suspended, revoked), tell your supervisor within 24 hours.

RBTs also have a duty to report potential violations by other certificants. The code lays out the order: raise it with your supervisor first, document what you did, report to the appropriate authority if it isn't resolved, and report to the BACB if it involves either code and your supervisor can't resolve it.

The Numbers Worth Memorizing

Most of the code is judgment. A handful of standards set hard limits, and they're the ones exam questions and real complaints tend to turn on.

The gift rule is worth reading closely, because the dollar figure isn't the whole rule. A gift under $10 is fine as an occasional thank-you with no financial benefit, but small gifts that become regular and expected can still be a violation. Behavior analysts also have to tell clients about the rule at the start of the relationship. RBTs follow their employer's policy when it's stricter, and many employers ban gifts outright.

What Happens When Someone Breaks the Code

Both codes are enforced under the BACB's Code-Enforcement Procedures, last revised in April 2026. The process starts with a Notice of Alleged Violation. A client, a coworker or the BACB itself can file one. When the subject is an RBT, a BCaBA or anyone else required to practice under supervision, the supervisor on record gets a copy.

After the response window, the BACB can decline or defer the notice, or handle it one of three ways:

• Educational Memorandum. Nondisciplinary guidance, such as feedback or professional-development tasks, used when that's the right fit or the case is inconclusive. A later notice about similar facts can take it into account.
• Consent Agreement. You agree to specific terms without admitting wrongdoing and skip the full disciplinary process.
• Disciplinary Review. The BACB decides whether the documentation shows a violation by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it's more likely than not. You can have a lawyer at any stage, and you have 30 days after the determination to accept it or appeal.

Consequences come in two tiers. Corrective actions (professional development, mentorship, other required actions) aren't published. Sanctions are published in the BACB's certificant registry or on its Disciplinary Actions page. They include suspension, practice restrictions, mandatory disciplinary supervision, revocation, and invalidation, which treats you as never having been legitimately certified. Fieldwork hours earned during a suspension or revocation generally don't count. Revocations for exam theft or cheating can only be reconsidered after at least 20 years.

The fastest way to lose a credential has nothing to do with the original complaint. Ignore a notice past its deadline and your certification or eligibility is automatically suspended, and the suspension is published with your name.

Working Through an Ethical Dilemma

The behavior analyst code includes a nine-step decision process. In short: define the issue and the risk of harm; identify everyone involved; gather documentation and confirm second-hand reports; consider your own learning history and biases; identify the relevant principles and standards; consult resources and trusted colleagues; develop several possible actions; weigh each one against the code, its effect on the client, and practical factors such as restrictiveness and whether it will last; and choose the action most likely to resolve the problem and prevent it from happening again. The code asks you to document throughout, while protecting confidentiality.

Two common situations, worked through:

How Ethics Is Tested on the RBT and BCBA Exams

Ethics is a full domain on both exams, and the questions are mostly scenarios like the two above, not definitions.

• RBT exam. Domain F, Ethics, has 10 tasks and 11 of the 75 scored questions, about 15% of the exam, under the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.). See our RBT exam guide for the full domain breakdown.
• BCBA exam. Domain E, Ethical and Professional Issues, has 12 tasks and 22 scored questions under the BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.). Task E.1 is applying the core principles. The 6th edition task list guide lists every task.
• After you're certified. BCBAs and BCaBAs need 4 ethics CEUs in every two-year cycle. Our CEU requirements guide explains what counts as an ethics CEU.

One study tip carries across both exams. When two answers look ethical, the code usually favors the one that involves the supervisor, documents what happened and puts the client's interests first. Those three habits run through nearly every standard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. BACB, Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (updated 08/2024)
2. BACB, RBT Ethics Code (2.0) (updated 08/2024)
3. BACB, Code-Enforcement Procedures (04/2026)
4. BACB, Ethics Codes
5. BACB, RBT Test Content Outline (3rd ed.)
6. BACB, BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.)