Behavioral Health Staffing in North Dakota: RBTs, BCBAs & DSPs

What North Dakota requires before a start

The BACB layer applies everywhere, North Dakota included. An RBT is at least 18, passes a background and abuse-registry check, completes the 40-hour training and competency assessment, passes the RBT exam, and is then supervised for at least 5% of service hours each month BACB, RBT 2026 requirements. A BCBA holds a master's degree or higher, completes behavior-analytic coursework or an accredited program and 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork (or 1,500 concentrated hours), passes the BCBA exam, and recertifies every two years BACB, BCBA Handbook. Here is what North Dakota adds on top.

A state license — NDCC chapter 43-64. Effective January 1, 2020, an individual may not practice applied behavior analysis without a current license issued by the State Board of Integrative Health Care, and using the title "licensed behavior analyst" or "licensed assistant behavior analyst" without the license counts as unlicensed practice. An applicant must show good moral character and completion of education, examination, and experience requirements set by the board, such as certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board NDCC 43-64-02, 43-64-04. The board must establish an expedited procedure for applicants certified by a professional organization it recognizes by rule or licensed in another jurisdiction, and may grant a provisional license while that application is pending NDCC 43-57-06.

Board rules — NDAC chapter 112-05-01. A licensed behavior analyst holds a doctorate or master's degree from a program accredited or verified by the Association for Behavior Analysis International or approved by the BACB, has passed the BCBA examination, and is certified by the BACB. A licensed assistant behavior analyst holds a qualifying bachelor's degree, has passed the BCaBA examination, and provides proof of supervision by a licensed behavior analyst who is currently certified and in good standing with the BACB, under the BACB's supervision requirements. Licensees complete at least 32 hours of approved continuing education every two years, including four in ethics NDAC 112-05-01-02, 112-05-01-10.

Technicians — exempt from licensure, credentialed for Medicaid. Behavior technicians who deliver applied behavior analysis services under the extended authority and direction of a licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst are exempt from licensure, and must use titles that indicate nonprofessional status, such as "ABA technician," "behavior technician," "registered behavior technician," or "tutor" NDAC 112-05-01-14. For North Dakota Medicaid's autism ABA service, skills trainers include registered behavior technicians and board certified autism technicians; an individual with a qualifying bachelor's or master's degree in fields such as psychology, social work, special education, or applied behavioral sciences may enroll to provide skills training but must become an RBT or BCAT within six months of enrollment. Skills training must be supervised by a practitioner qualified to provide service oversight — a licensed BCBA or BCBA-D, a registered behavior analyst, or a licensed clinical psychologist ND Medicaid Autism ABA policy.

DD provider background checks — NDAC 75-04-01-06 and 06.1. A licensed developmental disabilities provider must conduct federal and state criminal background checks on all individuals employed who work with eligible individuals, including volunteers, and a provider that contracts or subcontracts with other entities must have an agreement ensuring those checks were completed. A licensee may not employ, in any capacity involving contact with individuals served, a person known to have been found guilty of listed offenses — including homicide, kidnapping, assault, sexual offenses, robbery, abuse or neglect of a child, and endangering or exploiting a vulnerable adult — or of another offense when the department determines the person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated NDAC 75-04-01-06, 75-04-01-06.1.

DD staff training — PI 18-05. Training is mandatory for all new, part-time, returning, and contracted employees and interns who will have direct contact with individuals. Orientation — covering rights, abuse and neglect reporting, emergency evacuations, and confidentiality, among other items — must occur within 45 days of employment and before the employee assumes sole responsibility for anyone served; a therapeutic responses or positive behavioral supports curriculum is due within the first 90 days, or before working alone in a behavioral program setting. Position-based competency, including each person's plans and CPR and First Aid with a hands-on skills demonstration, comes before sole responsibility; staff who pass medications must be medication certified and recertified at least annually. Full-time staff complete four core and two elective modules, and part-time staff at least three core modules, within 18 months of hire ND HHS PI 18-05, November 18, 2025. These requirements implement the licensing rule that all staff demonstrate the competencies their job descriptions require and complete required trainings NDAC 75-04-01-20.

Ready to scope a North Dakota search? Send a staffing request or book a 30-minute discovery call. Comparing partners first? Start with our guides to the best RBT staffing agencies and the best DSP and group home staffing agencies.