Behavior technician job description template: RBT status, BACB 2026 requirements, supervision, session hours and state rules

A behavior technician job description should say where sessions happen (clinic, home, school or community), the hours and caseload a technician can expect, whether you hire uncertified technicians and pay for RBT training, and how supervision works. As of October 2026, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) requires RBTs to be at least 18 with a high school education, pass a background and abuse registry check, complete a 40-hour training under the 2026 requirements and a competency assessment, pass an exam, and receive supervision for at least 5% of service hours each month; RBTs now recertify every two years with 12 professional development units. Some states, such as Washington, add their own credential.

Below are the behavior technician seats, a copy-ready template, the BACB, state and wage lines with sources, screening questions and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. For the call, use the behavior technician screening questions.

Name the seat: where do sessions happen?

Then settle the numbers with the clinical director: guaranteed or typical weekly hours, session lengths, clients per technician, cancellation policy, drive time and mileage, and how often the supervising BCBA observes. Hours and cancellations decide a technician's take-home pay, so write them down.

The behavior technician job description template

Behavior Technician [/ Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)] —
[Clinic / In-Home / School / Community], [Full-Time / Part-Time]
[Provider], [clinic location or area served, city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour [uncertified / RBT], plus [mileage $N
per mile, paid drive time between clients, bonus with conditions].
[Benefits summary, if required.] Nonexempt (paid overtime).

SUMMARY
You will deliver one-to-one ABA sessions to [children / teens /
adults] in [setting], about [N] hours a week, following treatment
plans written by [BCBAs]. Sessions run [days and times]. A BCBA
supervises you [at least the BACB minimum / weekly], and you report
to [clinical director / program manager].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Run skill-acquisition and behavior-reduction programs exactly as
  written in each client's plan.
- Collect session data in [system] in real time and write session
  notes before the end of the day.
- Follow each client's crisis and safety procedures, using only the
  physical procedures you are trained and approved to use.
- Coach caregivers on the plan when the BCBA directs.
- Take part in supervision and team meetings, and raise questions
  about the plan with your supervisor.
- Protect client privacy in homes, schools and the community.

YOU MUST HAVE
- At least 18 years old with a high school diploma or equivalent.
- [Active RBT certification] or [willingness to complete our paid
  40-hour training, competency assessment and RBT exam within N
  days of hire].
- [State credential, e.g. Washington certified behavior
  technician, where the state requires it.]
- A cleared criminal background check and abuse registry check.
- [Reliable transportation, valid driver's license and insurance,
  for in-home seats.]
- Ability to sit on the floor, kneel, move quickly and lift a child
  of up to [N] pounds during play and safety procedures, with or
  without reasonable accommodation.

NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with [age group, setting]; [language] for families who
  speak it.
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

WE PROVIDE
[Paid RBT training and exam fee, paid supervision and in-service
training, mileage, a tablet for data collection.]

[EEO STATEMENT]
Need an adjustment to apply or interview? Contact [address].

RBT certification, state rules and classification

What the role is. The BACB describes the RBT as a paraprofessional certification in behavior analysis; RBTs work under the direction and close supervision of an RBT Supervisor or RBT Requirements Coordinator, and the exam is taken through Pearson VUE (BACB, Registered Behavior Technician). The technician implements plans; the supervising behavior analyst designs them. BLS does not publish a separate occupation for behavior technicians, so this page quotes no BLS pay figure.

The 2026 BACB requirements. The BACB's guidance for the 2026 transition (updated August 2025) sets out what changed on January 1, 2026:

• Eligibility, unchanged: at least 18 years old, high school-level education or equivalent, and a criminal background check and an abuse registry check reviewed by an attestor.
• Training: applicants on or after January 1, 2026 complete a 40-hour training that meets the 2026 requirements; trainers must be active BCBAs or BCaBAs who have completed an 8-hour supervision training, with assistants who hold an RBT certification or higher.
• Competency assessment: the updated RBT Initial Competency Assessment is completed after the 40-hour training.
• Supervision, unchanged: at least 5% of the hours spent providing behavior-analytic services in a calendar month, including two face-to-face contacts, at least one of them an individual meeting.
• Recertification: a two-year cycle with 12 professional development units, which can include in-service training from the RBT's own employer.

If you hire uncertified technicians, say who pays for the training and assessment and how long they have to certify. If your in-service trainings count toward PDUs, that is worth a line in the posting.

State rules: an example. Washington certifies behavior technicians: no one may practice as a certified behavior technician without the state's certification (RCW 18.380.020), defined as a paraprofessional who implements a treatment plan under the close, ongoing oversight of a licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst (RCW 18.380.010). The Department of Health accepts applicants who are at least 18 with a high school diploma or equivalent and either hold current RBT certification or complete a 40-hour behavior technician training (Washington DOH). Other states regulate technicians differently or not at all, and payers may set their own rules; check the board for each state you serve.

Nonexempt, and which hours count. Behavior technicians are paid hourly and are treated as nonexempt. Travel from job site to job site during the workday counts as hours worked (29 CFR 785.38), so drive time between clients is paid. Training and meetings are not working time only if attendance is outside regular hours, truly voluntary, not directly related to the job and involves no productive work (29 CFR 785.27); required supervision meetings and in-service trainings do not meet that test. Required note-writing time is work time too. Say in the posting how each of these hours is paid, not only billable session time.

Physical requirements. Sessions with young children mean sitting on the floor, kneeling, moving quickly and sometimes lifting a child; severe-behavior programs add the provider's crisis procedures. Describe the real tasks, the training you give for physical procedures, and an accommodation line.

Pay line. Post separate hourly ranges for uncertified technicians and RBTs, state mileage and drive time, and check pay transparency laws by state.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

The full call, including the questions that catch a trained-but-not-certified candidate, is in the behavior technician screening questions. Later rounds are in the interview guide for behavioral health roles. For school-based seats, compare the special education teacher screening questions; for hospital or residential psychiatric roles, the behavioral health technician screening questions. Disability providers hiring both roles can pair this with the direct support professional job description template.

Common mistakes in behavior technician job descriptions

"RBT required" when you train

If you pay for the 40-hour training, say so. "RBT required" turns away good candidates you would have trained.

No weekly hours or cancellation policy

"Up to 40 hours" hides cancelled sessions. Give typical hours and what happens when a session cancels.

Unpaid drive time

Drive time between clients during the day is hours worked under federal rules. Say how it and mileage are paid.

Supervision left vague

Name who supervises, how often, and that supervision time is paid.

Implying technicians design treatment

Duties such as "develop treatment plans" describe a behavior analyst. Keep the technician's duties to implementing plans and collecting data.

Before you publish

• Setting, age group, typical weekly hours and the cancellation policy are in the summary.
• The RBT line says whether you hire uncertified technicians and who pays for training.
• Supervision, state credentials and background checks are named.
• Drive time, mileage, supervision and note-writing time are paid and stated.
• Hourly ranges, the EEO statement and an accommodation contact close the posting.