The short answer: every RBT exam taken on or after January 1, 2026 is built on the BACB’s RBT Test Content Outline (3rd edition) — the document that replaced the old RBT Task List (2nd edition). There is no second switch coming in 2027: if you are preparing now, the 3rd edition is your exam. The risk this page exists to flag is different — study material built on the retired 2nd-edition Task List is still widely sold and shared, and it no longer matches the test.
When did the RBT exam change to the 3rd edition?
The BACB’s RBT Test Content Outline (3rd edition) took effect for examinations beginning January 1, 2026. Along with the new content, the document itself was renamed: what candidates used to call the “Task List” is now the “Test Content Outline.” Any exam date in 2026 or 2027 falls under the 3rd edition — the only candidates who ever sat the 2nd-edition exam were those who tested before the 2026 changeover.
What does the 3rd-edition outline cover?
The 3rd edition organizes the exam into 43 tasks across six domains. The exam itself is 85 questions — 75 scored and 10 unscored pilot questions — in 90 minutes at Pearson VUE:
| Domain | Scored questions | Share of the exam |
|---|---|---|
| A. Data Collection and Graphing | 13 | 17% |
| B. Behavior Assessment | 8 | 11% |
| C. Behavior Acquisition | 19 | 25% |
| D. Behavior Reduction | 14 | 19% |
| E. Documentation and Reporting | 10 | 13% |
| F. Ethics | 11 | 15% |
Behavior Acquisition is the largest single domain at a quarter of the exam — a weighting worth knowing before you divide up your study time, because preparation built on the retired Task List divides it differently.
Who is affected by the change?
- New candidates. Your exam is the 3rd edition, full stop. Preparation built on the 2nd-edition Task List covers a retired blueprint.
- Candidates who started preparing earlier. If your course, book, or question bank was produced before the changeover and never updated, check which outline it names. If it says “Task List (2nd edition),” it is out of date.
- Anyone retaking. A retake is a fresh sitting under the current outline — the 3rd edition — regardless of when you first tested.
How does the BACB report RBT results?
The RBT exam is reported pass/fail. The BACB does not publish a passing percentage, and any preparation product that quotes one is inventing it. Our own materials say the same thing plainly: the standard we show in practice is a practice benchmark, labeled as one — not a BACB figure.
How PassProfessor handles the change
Our Registered Behavior Technician Exam Prep bank — 1,500 practice questions — was built from the start to the 3rd-edition Test Content Outline: the same six domains, in the BACB’s published proportions. Nothing in it is carried over from a 2nd-edition product, because the bank did not exist before the new outline did. Our RBT exam guide covers eligibility, the 40-hour training requirement, and exam-day rules in full.
Start with the free sample
Every PassProfessor program opens with free sample questions. Start the RBT free sample and check your readiness domain by domain against the outline above.
More exam changes to know about
Exams change on announced dates, and preparation should change with them. PassProfessor tracks the announced changes across the catalog: