Getting a New York LBA License

New York calls its credential the Licensed Behavior Analyst, or LBA, and it is issued by the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions under Article 167 of the Education Law (Section 8804 sets the requirements) and Subpart 79-17 of the Commissioner's Regulations. The state also certifies a smaller assistant level, the Certified Behavior Analyst Assistant (CBAA). The full law took effect on July 1, 2014, and since then only a licensee, a certificate holder or someone who meets an exemption in Section 8807 may practice applied behavior analysis in New York.

New York is also the state where many out-of-state BCBAs end up licensed. The Office of the Professions counted 4,829 licensed behavior analysts as of July 1, 2026: 3,187 in New York, 1,631 elsewhere in the United States and 11 outside it. About a third of the state's licensees live somewhere else.

Which two pathways lead to an LBA?

The Office of the Professions describes two routes.

Pathway One is the standard licensing route. You file the Application for Licensure (Form 1) with the fee, have your school send a Certification of Professional Education (Form 2) showing a master's or higher degree from a program New York has registered or found substantially equivalent, document your experience on a Report of Professional Experience (Form 4), pass an examination acceptable to the Board and the Department, complete child abuse identification training, be at least 21 and be of good moral character.

Pathway Two took effect on November 22, 2022, and it is the one most BCBAs use. It allows licensure "based on certification from an acceptable national certifying body." The requirements are:

• Form 1, including the licensure and registration fees.
• A verification letter of your BACB certification sent to the Department. When you order it from the BACB website, the delivery address must be DPLSVerif@nysed.gov. The Department says, "We will not accept this letter from you or any other party."
• Evidence of coursework or training in the Identification and Reporting of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.
• Age of at least 21 by the date of licensure.
• Good moral character as determined by the Department.

To use Pathway Two you must hold BCBA certification. Someone who applied under Pathway One, did not meet those requirements and now holds the BCBA can switch using Form 1A.

Is BACB certification enough to practice in New York?

No, and New York says so in plain words: "BACB certification alone is not sufficient to practice as an LBA in New York State. Such certification provides a path to licensure; it is not an exemption from licensure." The Department's FAQ adds that while BACB certification may appear in advertising in New York, "it may not be used as a license to practice in New York State." More on the general point in BACB certification is not a state license.

How much does the New York LBA cost?

The fee for licensure and first registration as an LBA is $300. A graduate permit is $10 and is not refundable. For the CBAA, certification and first registration is $225 and a limited permit is $70. The Department notes that the fee due is the one in law when your application is received, and online applications are paid by credit card. BACB fees for the verification letter are separate.

Which step do applicants most often miss?

The child abuse training. Since July 1, 2014, LBA and CBAA applicants must document completion of coursework or training in the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment through a Department-approved provider. The provider issues a Certification of Completion within ten days, and applicants upload it through the Office of the Professions website.

There is a newer deadline on top of that. Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024 amended Social Services Law § 413 to add content on identifying abuse or maltreatment of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The Department says mandated reporters, "including those who have previously undergone the current training," must complete the updated curriculum by November 17, 2026. If you took an approved course between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025, the Department says a short addendum of about 15 minutes is available from most approved providers. LBAs and CBAAs appear on the Department's list of professions this applies to.

An exemption exists for people whose practice involves no professional contact with anyone under 18 and no contact with adults with a handicapping condition who live in a residential care school or facility. Most ABA practices do not fit.

Do trainees in New York need their own credential?

Yes. A graduate of an acceptable program who is completing BACB supervised experience or exam requirements while working in New York must hold a graduate permit and work under a New York LBA. The permit costs $10, expires three years from issue, and must be re-issued whenever you change supervisors or add one. Each supervisor completes a new permit application with you; no new fee is charged for a supervisor change. Agencies with fieldwork students in New York need to track this per trainee. Our post on graduate permits and trainee rules compares this with other states.

Does telepractice to New York clients need a New York license?

It does. The Office of the Professions telepractice guidance for LBAs states that "a practitioner must hold a New York license, or be otherwise authorized to practice, when providing professional services to a patient/client located in New York or when the practitioner is located in New York." The second half catches people: an out-of-state BCBA who relocates to New York and keeps treating clients elsewhere by video is practicing from New York.

The same guidance defines telepractice broadly, covering "assessment, intervention, consultation, supervision, education and information across distance." Remote supervision of New York staff falls inside it. See remote supervision across state lines.

How narrow is the New York scope of practice?

Narrower than many BCBAs expect. The Department's FAQ describes LBA practice as services "pursuant to a diagnosis and prescription or order from a person who is licensed or otherwise authorized" to diagnose and prescribe, "for the purpose of providing behavioral health treatments for persons with autism and autism spectrum disorders and related disorders." Two practical consequences follow. First, the file of an ABA client in New York should include that diagnosis and order. Second, behavior analysts whose work outside New York covers other populations should check the scope before assuming the same caseload carries over.

Ownership is restricted too. The FAQ says LBAs may form a professional corporation, PLLC or registered LLP, and that membership in such an entity "is restricted to persons licensed in the same profession under Article 167." Agencies expanding into New York should read licensing a multi-state ABA agency before choosing an entity.

How many LBA licenses does New York issue?

The Office of the Professions publishes counts of new licenses: 205 in 2021, 207 in 2022, 850 in 2023, 680 in 2024 and 714 in 2025. The jump in 2023 came in the first full year after Pathway Two opened. The Department notes that it is your responsibility "to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material," so a missing BACB letter or training certificate holds the file without anyone telling you why.

Where can we help with a New York file?

The New York application is short, but it has three outside pieces that must arrive separately: the BACB verification sent to the Department's own address, the child abuse training certificate, and the online Form 1 itself. We prepare, organize and track all three. You review, sign and submit the application yourself, because the BACB warns that letting another person or entity complete a licensure application on your behalf "may be a violation of state law." We can sit with you while you do.

Our License by Endorsement service is $599 per state for a BCBA already licensed elsewhere, and a Full State License Application is $749 per state for a first license. New York's fees and the BACB letter are paid separately. If you already hold an LBA, our Annual Renewal and CE Compliance service ($299 per license, per year) tracks the November 17, 2026 training deadline alongside your other licenses. Start with the New York state page or the full state license index.