51% Passed the BCBA Exam First Time in 2025. The BACB Now Shows Which Programs.
The October 8 university pass-rate report puts ABAI-accredited programs at a 79.3% mean against 53.2% for the rest, and the ten largest programs at 42.9%.
On October 8, 2026, the BACB published its 2025 BCBA and BCaBA university pass-rate reports. In 2025, 51% of the 9,955 first-time BCBA candidates passed. The new part is the program-level breakdown: the report lists 204 programs, each with its own first-time pass rate.
That turns a field-wide number into something you can use on a hiring or supervision decision. The rates aren't spread evenly, and most candidates come from the programs with the lowest averages.
What the report shows
- Accredited programs did better. The 25 ABAI-accredited programs that qualified had a mean first-time pass rate of 79.3%. The other 179 reported programs averaged 53.2%, a gap of 26.1 points.
- Volume is concentrated. The 10 programs with more than 100 first-time candidates produced 5,446 of them, 54.7% of everyone who sat the exam for the first time in 2025. Their mean pass rate was 42.9%, and individual rates in that group ran from 20% to 69%.
- New exam, new baseline. 2025 was the first year the BCBA exam was based on the 6th edition Test Content Outline. Behavioral Health Business reported in March that the BACB's CEO cautioned against comparing pass rates across exam eras.
The limits the BACB sets on it
The BACB says pass rates "are not rankings, endorsements, or guarantees of future or individual performance." Only programs with more than six first-time candidates are listed, so the report covers 8,558 candidates, 86% of the total. A few small programs are reported on combined 2024 and 2025 data and are marked with an asterisk. Pathway 2 candidates only count if they took all their coursework from one program. A program's rate tells you about its cohort, not about the person in front of you.
Why it lands now
We reported in August that BCBA applications must be complete and received by December 31, 2026, 73 days from the day this publishes, to be assessed under the current rules. The report adds a second date: from January 1, 2032, BCBA applicants must already hold a master's or higher from an ABAI- or APBA-accredited program. Accreditation is now the group with the 26-point lead.
What you must know or do
- Owners and clinical directors: list every trainee or BCBA-eligible hire you expect to certify in the next six months, then look up each one's program in the report's full table. If your coverage plan for 2027 assumes they all pass first time, the field-wide number says plan for about half.
- Owners hiring BCBAs: ask candidates where they did their coursework and check the program's row. Use it as one data point alongside the interview and fieldwork record, as the BACB intends, not as a screen on its own.
- Owners funding tuition or partnering with a program: check the program's 2025 rate and its accreditation status before you sign. For anyone starting a degree now who will apply in 2032 or later, the accredited-only rule already applies.
- Owners choosing an RBT 40-hour training: the BACB's companion report from May lists first-time RBT exam pass rates by training provider, from 8.1% to 100% among providers with 10 or more candidates. If you buy or run the 40-hour training, find your provider's row. The BACB notes those figures rely on provider names entered by applicants.