North Dakota ABA staff requirements, with sources

This page is for people who run an ABA team in North Dakota. It lists the training, supervision and credential rules for behavior technicians and analysts that we found at a state source. Each rule shows the law or policy it comes from and the date we last checked North Dakota. Where we couldn't confirm a rule, we say so instead of guessing.

This version covers U.S. states. If you're outside the U.S., email contact@special-learning.com with your country and we'll tell you when yours is ready.

Checked: 2026-08-20

What the state requires

• Agencies/schools must have in place a training process that ensures staff have adequate knowledge relating to children involved in unsafe, crisis, and/or unstable situations. The state mandates the mechanism (a training process must exist) and leaves the syllabus to the agency; no hours or curriculum are specified.

  Source: https://hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf

• Skills Trainers may hold any of fourteen credentials: RBT, BCAT (board certified autism technician), registered behavior analyst (RBA), BCaBA, BCBA, BCBA-D, LBSW, LCSW, LMSW, LPCC, LMFT, speech & language pathologist, licensed occupational therapist, or licensed physical therapist. BACB certification is not required for the social-work, counseling, or therapy licenses.

  Source: https://hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf

• Service Oversight must be performed by a licensed BCBA, BCBA-D, registered behavior analyst, or licensed clinical psychologist.

  Source: https://hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf

• Individuals who hold a qualifying bachelor's or master's degree (in social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, child development, communication disorders, special education, sociology, elementary education, early childhood education, applied behavioral sciences, or human development and family sciences) may enroll to provide skills training, but must become a registered behavior technician or board certified autism technician within six months of enrollment as a provider.

  Source: https://hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf

• For a degree not on the accepted list, North Dakota reviews the applicant's degree case by case, on submission of the accredited institution's name, the degree title, a completed transcript, and a side-by-side comparison showing how the proposed degree is similar to one of the currently accepted degrees. Approved degree-holders are still bound by the six-month RBT/BCAT conversion.

  Source: https://hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf

What changed recently

The policy is effective February 2025, superseding versions from September 2017, June 2018, and July 2023.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the state before you act on it.