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Ethics Code self-review for behavior analysts

How do I review my own practice against the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts?

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts covers your conduct as a professional, how services are designed and delivered, what you owe clients and stakeholders, how you supervise and delegate, what you say publicly, and how you handle research. This free review turns those areas into a rating exercise: you rate how confidently you handle each everyday practice, see which area to work on first, and then work through invented ethical dilemmas — dual relationships, billing pressure, assent, social media, supervision shortcuts — writing your own response and having an AI coach press on your reasoning. Nothing is scored, nothing is reported, and it is not a compliance determination.

Written by Operation Optimize editorial team

Rules version 2026.08 · Verified against the BACB source on 2026-08-17

Editorial policyCorrections policy

Rate how confidently you handle each of these in your own practice

Your ratings stay in this browser until you choose to save them. Nothing is scored and nothing is reported.

0 of 39 answered

AResponsibility as a professional

Working inside your competence, staying honest, and keeping relationships clean.

Recognizing the edge of your own competence and saying so before taking a case
Keeping your knowledge current through continuing education that changes what you do
Identifying multiple relationships early and managing them before they become a conflict
Recognizing when personal circumstances are affecting your professional judgment
Handling gifts, favors and social invitations from families and staff
Keeping professional and personal social media separate, including who you accept
Noticing bias in your own decisions and working to reduce it

Talk through A. Responsibility as a professional

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

BResponsibility in practice

How services are designed, delivered, documented and ended.

Basing procedures on assessment results and evidence rather than habit or preference
Choosing the least intrusive procedure likely to be effective, and being able to justify it
Seeking assent from the person receiving services, and responding when it is withdrawn
Setting service levels by clinical need rather than by what funding allows
Writing documentation that is accurate, timely, and would hold up if someone else read it
Billing only for what was delivered, and correcting errors promptly when you find them
Planning transitions and discharge so services do not simply stop

Talk through B. Responsibility in practice

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

CResponsibility to clients and stakeholders

Consent, confidentiality, collaboration and the right to be informed.

Obtaining informed consent in language the family actually understands
Re-consenting when the plan, the procedures or the people involved change materially
Protecting confidential information in notes, messages, calls and shared systems
Handling records requests, releases and third-party disclosures correctly
Collaborating with other providers without undermining them in front of the family
Reporting progress honestly, including when progress is slower than expected
Responding to a conflict between what the funder wants and what the client needs

Talk through C. Responsibility to clients and stakeholders

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

DResponsibility to supervisees and trainees

Delegating safely, training properly, and evaluating fairly.

Taking on only the supervision volume you can genuinely deliver
Delegating only tasks the supervisee has been trained and is authorized to perform
Setting written expectations at the start of a supervision relationship
Giving feedback that is specific, timely and behavioral rather than personal
Documenting supervision accurately, including hours, activities and who was present
Managing the dual role of supervisor and employer or evaluator
Acting when a supervisee's performance puts a client at risk

Talk through D. Responsibility to supervisees and trainees

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

EResponsibility in public statements

What you claim publicly, and how you represent the field.

Describing your credentials and scope accurately, including on profiles and signatures
Avoiding claims of guaranteed outcomes in marketing or conversation
Posting about work without making a client identifiable
Obtaining permission before using recordings, photos or case material publicly
Separating personal opinion from professional advice when you post
Correcting misinformation about behavior analysis respectfully and accurately

Talk through E. Responsibility in public statements

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

FResponsibility in research and dissemination

Doing, reporting and using research honestly — including at the practice level.

Knowing when a practice project becomes research and needs review and consent
Protecting participants, especially when services and research overlap
Reporting results honestly, including findings that did not work out
Giving credit and authorship fairly, including to supervisees
Reading a study critically before changing practice because of it

Talk through F. Responsibility in research and dissemination

Coaching is study support only. It is not supervision or clinical direction, it never writes behavior plans, and it never reproduces exam content. Check anything official against the BACB handbook.

Ethical dilemma discussion

Write how you would handle the situation, then have the coach press on your reasoning. Every situation is invented for this tool and has no single correct answer.

A reflection and discussion aid written in our own words. It does not reproduce the Ethics Code, is not an ethics opinion or a compliance determination, and does not grant continuing education credit. If you are facing an actual ethical concern, raise it with your supervisor and read the current Code. Official Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts

How it is calculated

Six areas mirror the structure of the published Ethics Code, but every statement here is written in our own plain language — no Code text is reproduced.

You rate each practice from 'not confident' to 'confident and consistent'. The summary ranks the weakest areas first and gives a concrete next step for each one.

The dilemma discussion gives you an invented situation with no single right answer. You write what you would do, and the coach names what your reasoning handles well, what a supervisor would press you on, and what you did not consider.

The coach never rules on whether something is a violation and never tells you whether to report a colleague. If you describe a real, live situation it will say plainly that it belongs with your supervisor.

Supervisors can switch modes: the same items become a rating of a trainee's observed practice, and the dilemmas become supervision discussion prompts.

Your ratings stay in this browser. Choosing 'Save my review' creates a free account and keeps it as a self-recorded reflection you can update each cycle.

Worked example

  1. A BCBA two months into a new caseload rates all 39 practices.
  2. Responsibility in practice comes out lowest, driven by documentation timeliness and service levels set by funding.
  3. They open the billing-pressure dilemma, write how they would respond to a director, and ask the coach what they missed.
  4. The coach names the competing interests and asks what their data would show a funder six months later.
  5. They copy the summary into their development plan and re-rate at the end of the cycle.

Result: A short list of the ethics habits to tighten next, plus rehearsal for the conversations that are hard to have cold.

Official sources and effective dates

Cross-checked against published sources on 2026-08-17. These pages summarize publicly published certification requirements and are not certification advice — always confirm current requirements with the certifying body.

Related questions

What does the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts cover?
Conduct as a professional, responsibility in practice, responsibility to clients and stakeholders, supervision and delegation, public statements, and research. Read the current Code at bacb.com for the exact wording and requirements.
Does this tool reproduce the Ethics Code?
No. Every statement and dilemma here is original wording written for this tool. It is an orientation and reflection aid; the Code itself is published by the BACB.
Does this count as ethics continuing education?
No. It does not grant continuing education credit. It is a free self-review you can use alongside the ethics CE you complete elsewhere, and many people use it to decide which ethics CE to take.
Can I use it in supervision?
Yes. Supervision mode reframes each item as a rating of what you have observed in a trainee's practice, and the dilemmas work as discussion prompts. The summary copies out in a format you can paste into a supervision note.
Will the AI tell me whether something is an ethics violation?
No. It discusses the competing interests, who is affected and what questions to ask before deciding, and it will not advise you on a real, live situation — that belongs with your supervisor and your organization's process.
Is it free, and do I need an account?
The review is free and needs no account; your ratings stay in your browser. Coaching answers are limited — one signed out, three with a free account, and unlimited with the Competency Coach add-on.

Keep your ethics review in your Professional Passport

Save the review as a self-recorded reflection so your ethics practice sits next to your credentials, CE record and supervision history.

Save to Professional Passport

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