How to show a new employer your RBT credentials
Your certification status is public on the BACB registry, so an employer can verify that in seconds. What they cannot verify is everything behind it — supervision history, professional development units, competency documentation and performance reviews. Those belong to you, not to your previous employer, and you should be able to produce them as one organized record rather than a folder of screenshots.
Updated 2026-09-11 · 5 min read
Requirements cross-checked against BACB sources on 2026-09-11
Written by Operation Optimize editorial team · Last updated 2026-09-11
Rules version 2026.08 · Verified against the BACB source on 2026-09-11
Changing jobs is when people discover their record lived in someone else's system. The certification travels with you. The evidence of how you earned and maintained it often does not — unless you kept your own copy.
What an employer can verify themselves
The BACB certificant registry is public. A hiring manager can search your name or certification number and see your current status and certification dates. This is the fastest thing to point them to, and it settles the question of whether you are certified.
What only you can supply
| Record | Why the employer wants it | Who holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Supervision history | Shows your months of service were properly supervised | You and your previous supervisor |
| Professional development units | Shows the current cycle is on track, not starting from zero | You — the certificates are yours |
| Competency assessment documentation | Shows what was assessed and when | You and the assessor |
| Performance reviews | Shows how you were rated and what you worked on | Usually the previous employer |
| Employment dates and role | Confirms the experience behind the record | You |
Ask for copies of your supervision documentation and reviews before your last day, not after. Access to a previous employer's system usually ends when employment does.
Do I lose my credentials if I change jobs?
No. Your certification, your supervision history and your professional development units are yours — they follow you between employers. What a job change can cost you is access to the documentation, which is why the record needs to live somewhere that is not tied to a single employer's login.
Handing it over cleanly
- Point to your registry entry for certification status.
- Share a single organized record covering supervision history, professional development and competency documentation, with dates and sources visible.
- Include the original documents where the employer will need them for their own file, not just a summary.
- Be explicit about what is verified by a supervisor and what you uploaded yourself — the distinction matters to a compliance officer.
Worked example — a portable handover
- Registry link confirming active status and certification date.
- Supervision summary: 18 months, monthly percentages and contact formats, supervisor named.
- Professional development: 12 units this cycle, each with a certificate attached.
- Competency assessment documentation, signed and dated.
- Two performance reviews, marked as owner-uploaded rather than employer-verified.
Supervision percentage calculator
Enter the hours recorded for a single calendar month, or project from a typical day or week. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Supervision percentage
5.00%
Hours needed at 5%
5.00 h
Status
Minimum met
Result summary
5.00 supervision hours on 100.00 service hours is 5.00% — at or above the 5% you entered.
Save my progress
Keep this month's hours in a free Professional Passport and track every month from now on.
This calculator performs arithmetic on the figures you enter. It does not determine compliance — confirm current requirements and how your hours qualify with the certifying body and your supervisor. Projections are estimates built from the pace you enter. Only supervision that actually happens and is recorded counts toward a monthly minimum.
Can I transfer my RBT certification to another state or employer?
RBT certification is issued by the BACB and is not state-specific, so it does not need to be transferred between employers or states. Your new employer will register as your supervising organization and your supervision continues under a new supervisor, but the certification itself carries over. Some states have separate licensure or registration requirements for behavior analysis services — check the requirements for the state you are moving to.
Frequently asked questions
- How does an employer verify an RBT certification?
- Through the BACB certificant registry, which is public and shows current status and certification dates. Supervision history, professional development units and competency documentation are not in the registry and have to come from you.
- Do I lose my supervision hours if I leave an employer?
- The hours you accrued remain yours, but access to your previous employer's records usually ends with employment. Request copies of your supervision documentation before you leave.
- Can I transfer my RBT certification to another state?
- RBT certification is issued by the BACB rather than by a state, so it carries across. Check whether the state you are moving to has its own licensure or registration requirements for behavior analysis services.
- What should I send a new employer before my start date?
- Your registry link for status, a supervision summary with dates and formats, professional development certificates for the current cycle, and your competency assessment documentation. Sending these together avoids a week of back-and-forth in onboarding.
How this works in Operation Optimize
The Professional Passport is the portable record — it belongs to you, not to an employer.
- One shareable link covering credentials, supervision history and professional development
- Verified and self-reported entries are labeled differently so nothing is overstated
- Full export for an employer that needs documents for its own file
- The record survives a job change because the account is yours
Sources
Related tools
Free calculators that put this requirement into numbers. No account needed.
- Supervision percentage calculator — Check one month of service and supervision hours against the percentage you need to meet.
- RBT PDU & CEU calculator — See the units left in your cycle and the monthly pace needed to finish on time.
Related guides
RBT supervision tracker
Fields a tracker needs, where spreadsheets break, and how to keep the month live.
RBT PDU tracker
The two-year recertification requirements, per-unit fields, certificate storage, and cycle pacing.
Lapsed or suspended RBT certification: what to do
Check your status, identify why it changed, and pick the route back.
How to become an RBT: requirements and timeline
Every step from eligibility to exam, in order, with the timing window that applies to each.