RBT Task List: 2nd vs 3rd Edition — What Actually Changed

The BACB replaced the RBT Task List 2nd Edition with the RBT Test Content Outline (3rd Edition), effective for exams from 1 January 2026. Four of the six domains were renamed, the task count grew from 37 to 43, and the weighting between domains shifted. If your training materials predate 2026, this page is the difference between what you studied and what you will be tested on.

Aligned to the RBT Task List 3rd Edition (effective 1 January 2026) · Last content review: August 2026 · How we write our questions

The renamed domains

This is the change that trips people up most, because the old names are still what most training programmes, flashcard sets and forum posts use.

2nd Edition and 3rd Edition domain names compared
2nd Edition name	3rd Edition name	Changed?
Measurement	A. Data Collection and Graphing	Renamed
Assessment	B. Behavior Assessment	Renamed
Skill Acquisition	C. Behavior Acquisition	Renamed
Behavior Reduction	D. Behavior Reduction	Unchanged
Documentation and Reporting	E. Documentation and Reporting	Unchanged
Professional Conduct and Scope of Practice	F. Ethics	Renamed

The weighting shift

Both editions score 75 questions out of 85 delivered. What changed is how those 75 are distributed — most visibly, the largest domain shrank.

Scored question counts, 2nd Edition versus 3rd Edition
Domain (3rd Ed. name)	2nd Ed.	3rd Ed.	Change
A. Data Collection and Graphing	12	13	+1
B. Behavior Assessment	6	8	+2
C. Behavior Acquisition	24	19	-5
D. Behavior Reduction	12	14	+2
E. Documentation and Reporting	10	10	—
F. Ethics	11	11	—
Total scored	75	75	—

The headline: Behavior Acquisition dropped from 24 scored questions to 19 — from roughly 32% of the exam to about 25%. Those five questions went to Data Collection and Graphing (+1) and Behavior Assessment (+2) and Behavior Reduction (+2). If you allocated a third of your study time to Skill Acquisition on old advice, you are now over-weighted there.

What else changed

37 tasks became 43. Eight tasks were added and four removed, for a net increase of six.
Data accuracy gained emphasis. Domain A now attends more explicitly to whether the data an RBT produces are trustworthy, not only to running the procedure.
Cultural humility entered the Ethics domain. The final task item addresses practising within your competence with cultural humility and responsiveness — recognising the limits of your own perspective and adapting to the family rather than expecting the reverse.
The exam format did not change. Still 85 questions (75 scored, 10 pilot) in 90 minutes, four options per question, delivered at Pearson VUE, still scored on a scale with no published percentage pass mark.

What to do about it

Relabel as you study. When old material says “Measurement”, read “Data Collection and Graphing”; “Skill Acquisition” is now “Behavior Acquisition”; “Professional Conduct and Scope of Practice” is now “Ethics”.
Rebalance your time toward Behavior Reduction and Behavior Assessment, which both gained scored questions.
Take a practice exam built on the current weighting so your per-domain diagnostic reflects the exam you will actually sit.

Practise the current edition

Frequently asked questions

When did the RBT Task List 3rd Edition take effect?

The RBT Test Content Outline (3rd Edition) took effect for exams delivered from 1 January 2026. If you are testing now, you are testing on the 3rd Edition regardless of which edition your 40-hour training covered.

Is my 2nd Edition study material now useless?

No, but it is incomplete and partly mislabelled. The core content of applied behavior analysis did not change — reinforcement, prompting, measurement procedures and extinction work exactly as they did. What changed is the organisation: four domain names, the weighting between domains, and six net new tasks. The risk with old material is not that it teaches you wrong facts, it is that it leaves gaps and uses names the exam no longer uses.

Do I have to retake anything because of the new edition?

Changing editions does not by itself require existing RBTs to retake the exam. Renewal requirements, including the renewal competency assessment, continue as normal. Confirm your specific situation against the current RBT Handbook on the BACB website.

Which domain changed the most?

Behavior Acquisition, formerly Skill Acquisition. It remains the largest domain but its share dropped from roughly 32% of the exam to about 25%. Those questions were redistributed, with Data Collection and Graphing, Behavior Assessment and Behavior Reduction each gaining one or two scored questions.

What is genuinely new in the 3rd Edition?

Two themes stand out. Data accuracy gets more explicit attention in Domain A, including checks on the integrity of the data an RBT produces. And cultural humility and responsiveness appears in the Ethics domain, asking RBTs to recognise the limits of their own perspective and to adapt respectfully to a family’s language, values and practices.