BCBA pass rate: the BACB's numbers, 2020 to 2025

The short answer: in 2025, 51% of first-time BCBA candidates passed, and 23% of retake candidates passed. Both are the lowest first-time and joint-lowest retake figures in the BACB's published data from 2020 onward.

Every number on this page comes from the BACB's own annual data, linked at the end.

Pass rates by year

Three things stand out.

• The first-time rate has dropped 15 points in five years, from 66% to 51%. The decline wasn't perfectly steady (2023 was a point up on 2022), but the direction is clear.
• Retakes pass far less often. The retake rate has stayed between 23% and 31%, less than half the first-time rate in every year.
• More people now test as retakers than as first-timers. In 2025, 13,196 retake candidates tested, compared with 9,955 first-time candidates.

Why did 2025 drop?

2025 was the first year the BCBA exam was based on the BCBA Test Content Outline (6th ed.). The BACB's CEO, Dr. Jim Carr, told Behavioral Health Business that the new exam marks a new era, so comparing 2025 with earlier years isn't quite like for like.

The BACB's 2025 university pass-rate report points to where candidates trained:

• The 10 largest training programs supplied 5,446 first-time candidates, or 54.7% of all first-time candidates in 2025. Their mean program pass rate was 42.9%.
• The mean pass rate for ABAI-accredited programs was 79.3%, against 53.2% for the other programs in the report.

So part of the national drop comes from a few very large programs with low pass rates making up a growing share of candidates. Clinical leaders quoted in the same article also pointed to uneven fieldwork and mentorship, and to trainees without enough hands-on experience, who struggle to apply concepts to new scenarios on the exam.

What the numbers mean for you

The national rate isn't your odds. It's an average across nearly 10,000 people with very different training, study time and preparation. Your result depends on how well you know the content in the outline and how well you handle scenario questions under time pressure. Both are things you can measure and improve.

If you've failed before, the retake rate is a warning, not a forecast. A 23% retake rate tells you that many people retest without changing much. The candidates who turn it around usually change how they study: they find their weakest content areas, practise applying concepts to new scenarios, and review every mistake until they can explain it. Our guide Failed the BCBA exam? What to do next walks through that in detail.

Application is where people lose marks. The exam is built from 104 tasks describing what a new BCBA must be able to do, not just define. If your preparation has been mostly flashcards and rereading notes, shift towards scenario questions with full explanations.

Find your weak areas early. The nine content areas range from 8 scored questions (Behaviorism and Philosophical Foundations) to 25 (Behavior-Change Procedures). Knowing where you stand in each one tells you where your study hours will count most. Our free diagnostic gives you a breakdown by content area in about 40 questions.

What the numbers can't tell you

• They don't predict any individual result. A low national rate doesn't mean you'll fail, and a high rate at your university doesn't mean you'll pass.
• They don't explain individual failures. The BACB publishes totals, not reasons.
• They don't separate first and second retakes. "Retake" covers everyone who had tested before, whether it was their second attempt or their sixth.

Checking your university's pass rate

The BACB publishes a yearly pass-rate report for university training programs. It covers first-time candidates only and includes programs with more than six first-time candidates. In 2025 that came to 204 programs. If you're choosing a program, or wondering how your cohort did, it's worth a look. The BACB is clear that these are historical outcomes, not rankings or guarantees.

FAQ

What is the BCBA pass rate in 2025? 51% for first-time candidates and 23% for retake candidates, according to the BACB's annual data.

Is the BCBA exam getting harder? Pass rates have fallen from 66% (first-time) in 2020 to 51% in 2025. The BACB links the drop mainly to where candidates trained, with the largest programs growing and posting low pass rates, and to the switch to the 6th edition outline in 2025. It doesn't say the questions themselves got harder.

Why is the retake pass rate so much lower? The BACB doesn't publish a reason. A likely factor is that many candidates retake without changing their approach, so they repeat the same gaps. That's a pattern, not a rule. A retake with a different plan is a different attempt.

Where can I find the official numbers? On the BACB's Examination Information page and its annual data report, both linked below.

Sources

• BACB, Annual Data Report: https://www.bacb.com/about/bacb-certificant-annual-report-data/ (first-time and retake candidates and pass rates, 2020–2025)
• BACB, Examination Information: https://www.bacb.com/examination-information/ (pass-rate table, 2021–2025)
• BACB, BCBA Examination Pass Rates for University Training Programs, 2025: https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/bcba-pass-rates-2025/ (2025 as the first year of the 6th edition outline; largest-program and accreditation figures; inclusion criteria)
• BACB, Board Certified Behavior Analyst Handbook (updated 06/2026): https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/BCBAHandbook_260529-2-a.pdf (104 tasks, questions per content area)
• Behavioral Health Business, "What's driving BCBA exam pass rates to historic lows" (March 30, 2026): https://bhbusiness.com/2026/03/30/whats-driving-bcba-exam-pass-rates-to-historic-lows/ (comments from Dr. Jim Carr and clinical leaders)