Behavior Analyst Licensure in Oregon: BCBA and State License Requirements

Oregon issues two licences, the licensed behavior analyst and the licensed assistant behavior analyst, plus a state registration for behavior analysis interventionists.

Section 676.820 authorises licensees and registrants to practise applied behavior analysis and reserves the three titles to them.

What the chapter does not contain is a general prohibition on unlicensed practice or an exemption list; the research read ORS 676.802–676.830 and the board's statute compilation and found neither.

The nine-member board, appointed by the Governor within the Health Licensing Office, seats four board licensees, a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a developmental pediatrician each with experience or training in treating autism spectrum disorder, one public member who has no financial interest in the provision of applied behavior analysis and no ward or family member who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and a parent, guardian or family member of an individual diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who has received applied behavior analysis therapy.

Not more than one member may be an employee of an insurer.

The statute lets the board's criteria include BACB certification, and the rule in force makes it the operative route: an applicant arranges for official documentation to be sent to the Office directly from the BACB.

If the BACB certified you on or after January 1, 2022, the documentation must show you met the BACB's requirements in place on January 1, 2022; if earlier, the requirements in place on the date the BACB certified you.

Every applicant also must have successfully completed a state and nationwide criminal records check that requires fingerprinting, and, if applicable, submits an affidavit of licensure from any state where they hold or have held a behavior analyst licence.

A separate legacy path (OAR 824-036-0001) was open only to people who filed a declaration of practice on or before April 30, 2016.

Neither the statute nor the licensing rule names a state examination.

The rule's requirement is documentation of BACB certification sent directly from the BACB; no separate Oregon exam appears in the sources read.

The statute's alternative branch, certification by another agency approved by the Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board or other requirements of the board, leaves room for a non-BACB route, but the sources read name no agency the board has approved and no additional Oregon examination.

Confirm current application requirements with the Health Licensing Office before you file.

Supervision is a condition of the lower tiers.

An assistant behavior analyst must be supervised by a behavior analyst licensed by the board; supervision is one of the licensing criteria the assistant applicant must meet (ORS 676.810(3); OAR 824-030-0020(4)).

A registered interventionist must receive ongoing training and supervision by a licensed behavior analyst, a licensed assistant behavior analyst or another licensed health care professional, meaning a licensee of the occupational therapy, counselors and therapists, medical, nursing, physical therapy, speech-language pathology and audiology, social work or psychology boards whose scope of practice includes applied behavior analysis (ORS 676.802(2)).

The rule in force requires a signed supervisor agreement on the Office's form, a competency assessment before independent service delivery, an evaluation at least once a year, written notice to the Office within 10 business days of a supervision change, and direct supervision at least monthly in months when services are provided.

Direct supervision may be remote if it is synchronous audio and visual, and in real time.

The statute defines applied behavior analysis and draws its outer line: psychological testing, neuropsychology, psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, sex therapy, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy and long-term counseling as treatment modalities are excluded from the definition.

Discipline rides on both licences and the registration: in consultation with the board, the Health Licensing Office may impose a form of discipline listed in ORS 676.612 for any prohibited act under that section or any violation of a rule adopted under the chapter (ORS 676.825).

The Office may also impose a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each violation of ORS 676.802 to 676.830 or its rules (ORS 676.992).

Separately, a health benefit plan may establish its own credentialing requirements for applied behavior analysis providers (ORS 676.830), so a payer can require more than the statute does.

The rules read contain no reciprocity or endorsement pathway.

The only cross-state element is the affidavit of licensure: an applicant discloses any state where they hold or have held a behavior analyst licence, active or inactive.

A BCBA relocating to Oregon therefore applies like any other applicant, with BACB documentation sent directly from the BACB, the fingerprint-based nationwide records check and the fees.

The behavior analyst compact is not among the sources read; do not assume an out-of-state licence lets you use the Oregon titles before the Office issues yours.

Every authorization, licence or registration, renews for one year at a time on a renewal application, the renewal fee and a state criminal background check.

A behavior analyst must complete a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education every licensure year and an assistant behavior analyst 10 hours, each including at least one ethics hour; up to 10 hours may carry forward and the Office audits 10 percent of licensees.

An authorization that lapses goes inactive, and an inactive holder cannot use the title; after more than three years inactive it expires and the holder must reapply and meet the current licensing requirements.

Fees set by rule: a $150 application, $200 original licence and $200 renewal for behavior analysts; $125, $175 and $175 for assistants; $75, $100 and $100 for interventionists; a late renewal adds $50.

The chapter was amended in 2023 by c.394 and c.500.

House Bill 2048 (2023) sits behind the interventionist registration rule and House Bill 2421 (2023) behind the interventionist professional-methods rule the board adopted, which bars gifts worth more than $10 and romantic or sexual relationships with current clients or former clients for two years.

2023 c.394 requires the Office to issue a provisional interventionist registration to an applicant who meets the registration criteria if the full registration has not issued within five business days of a completed application; c.500 amended the discipline section.

The full OAR chapter 824 compilation on the board's site carries permanent rules effective February 15, 2025.

The board's 2025 statute compilation shows that the 2025 amendments to the civil-penalty section have been operative since July 1, 2026: they add dental laboratories to the list of statutes carrying penalties, and the $5,000 per-violation cap for applied behavior analysis violations is unchanged.

Two practical boundaries close the page.

First, section 676.830 lets a health benefit plan establish its own credentialing requirements for applied behavior analysis provided by licensees, registrants or licensed health care professionals, so your payer or employer may require credentials beyond the statute; the research did not read Oregon Medicaid or payer rules.

Second, the Health Licensing Office and its boards do not provide individualized advice on how the law applies to practice in the field.

For a question about your own situation, read the statute and rules or get advice from an attorney licensed in Oregon.