Alaska licenses behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts under AS 08.15 (AS 08.15.010 to .090). A person may not practice behavior analysis in the state without a license, and unlicensed practice is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to six months, or both (AS 08.15.010). The license rests on passing the BACB examination (or a department-approved alternative) and maintaining current BACB certification (or a department-approved alternative), with no separate Alaska examination. Licensure lets you practice; credentialing with Medicaid and commercial plans is a separate step before you can bill.
Looking for the national credential behind the state rules? This page covers Alaska. For the BACB path itself (degree, coursework, fieldwork, exam, recertification), see how to become a BCBA.
The nine licensing criteria at a glance
- Is ABA licensed in Alaska, and under which agency
- The credential tiers: analyst and assistant
- The BACB foundation
- What it takes to get licensed
- Title protection, scope, and exemptions
- Supervision rules
- Renewal, fees, and continuing education
- Getting credentialed with payors
- Alaska-specific wrinkles
- How licensing connects to the rest of your compliance stack
- Becoming licensed and credentialed in Alaska: the sequence
- Alaska licensing variables at a glance
- Frequently asked questions
- Where professional advice is essential
Is ABA licensed in Alaska, and under which agency
Yes. Alaska licenses behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts under AS 08.15, enacted by HB 361 and effective September 16, 2014. Unlike most states in this guide, Alaska does not route the credential through a dedicated behavior-analyst board, a psychology board, or a medical board. The department itself, acting through the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, issues the license, adopts the implementing regulations, and makes final disciplinary decisions (AS 08.15.020; AS 08.15.050; AS 08.15.060). The implementing regulations sit at 12 AAC 77 (12 AAC 77.100 to .990).
The credential tiers: analyst and assistant
Alaska licenses two tiers. There is no separate state credential for behavior technicians.
| Tier | Underlying credential | Scope and supervision |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior analyst | Passage of the BACB examination (or a department-approved alternative) and current BACB certification (or a department-approved alternative) (AS 08.15.020(a)) | Practices independently. |
| Assistant behavior analyst | Passage of the assistant-level BACB examination and current certification, on the same department-approved-alternative terms | Practices under the direct supervision of a licensed behavior analyst (AS 08.15.020(b)(7)). |
An individual who directly implements applied behavior analysis services, or a family member implementing a behavior analysis plan in the home, is exempt from licensure while acting under the direction of a licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst (AS 08.15.070(3)); this is the provision that covers RBTs, though Alaska's statute does not use that term or create a separate state credential for the role.
The BACB foundation
Alaska's license rests on the national credential, with room for an alternative if the department approves one. The applicant must have passed "the Board Certified Behavior Analyst Examination offered by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or another examination approved by the department," and be "currently certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or another certifying entity approved by the department" (AS 08.15.020(a)(3), (4)). No alternative entity is named in the statute or the regulations, so in practice the BACB is the only route unless the department has separately approved another one. Alaska does not restate the BACB's own degree, coursework, or fieldwork requirements; it requires current BACB certification, which is where those requirements live.
What it takes to get licensed
An applicant submits a completed application and the department's fee, proof of exam passage and current certification, and evidence of no disciplinary history, and must be fingerprinted for a state and national criminal history check (AS 08.15.020(a); 12 AAC 77.100; 12 AAC 77.120). An assistant behavior analyst applicant additionally provides proof acceptable to the department of direct supervision by a licensed behavior analyst (AS 08.15.020(b)(7)). A separate pathway, licensure by credentials, lets an applicant submit a current out-of-state license alongside the same background-check and certification proof, rather than a fresh examination record (12 AAC 77.110); this functions as Alaska's main route for an already-licensed, relocating analyst, since the statute does not use the word reciprocity.
Title protection, scope, and exemptions
A person may not practice behavior analysis in Alaska without a license, and the statute defines behavior analysis to exclude psychological testing, diagnosis of a mental or physical disorder, and several listed treatment modalities including psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, sex therapy, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, and long-term counseling (AS 08.15.090(1)). Six categories are exempt from licensure: a person already licensed in the state practicing within that license's scope; a student or trainee in a department-approved program under direct supervision; a direct-contact implementer or family member acting under a licensed analyst's direction; an applied animal behaviorist practicing exclusively with nonhumans; a person working in organizational behavior management; and a person supervised by a licensed behavior analyst while gaining experience toward certification (AS 08.15.070).
Alaska is one of the few states in this guide with no board at all behind the license. The department issues it, writes the rules, and disciplines it directly, which makes the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing the only office to deal with.
Supervision rules
An assistant behavior analyst applicant must provide proof acceptable to the department that the person is directly supervised by a licensed behavior analyst (AS 08.15.020(b)(7)), and a direct-contact implementer or family member is exempt from licensure only while acting under the direction of a licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst (AS 08.15.070(3)). Beyond naming direct supervision as a condition, the statute and the current regulations do not spell out a separate state supervision framework, so the substance of supervision follows the certifying entity's own standards.
Renewal, fees, and continuing education
A license expires on September 30 of even-numbered years, a biennial cycle (12 AAC 77.200(a)). Renewal requires a completed renewal application, proof of current certification, and the renewal fee, and nothing more: the renewal rule's complete submission list is "(1) a completed renewal application on a form provided by the department; (2) proof of current certification as required in AS 08.15.040; and (3) the license renewal fee specified in 12 AAC 02.390" (12 AAC 77.200(b)), with no continuing-education item. AS 08.15.080 separately authorizes the department to adopt continuing-education regulations, but neither this renewal rule nor the rest of 12 AAC 77 contains one, so confirm with the division whether a continuing-education rule has since been adopted outside this chapter. Current fees, per the Division's September 2026 consolidated regulations, are a $150 nonrefundable application fee, a $100 behavior analyst license fee for the initial biennial period and a $100 biennial renewal fee, a $50 assistant behavior analyst license fee for the initial biennial period and a $50 biennial renewal fee, an $80 temporary license fee, and a $75 nonrefundable fingerprint processing fee (12 AAC 02.390; 12 AAC 02.105(19)). Confirm current fees with the division before applying, since this schedule can change. A temporary license is available only for 30 days or less in a calendar year, to an applicant already licensed in another state whose requirements are substantially equivalent to Alaska's (AS 08.15.030).
Getting credentialed with payors
Licensure lets you practice; credentialing lets you bill, and they are separate. After licensure, a provider enrolls with Alaska Medicaid and credentials with commercial plans, most of which draw provider data from CAQH. Credentialing verifies the license and history and is followed by periodic revalidation. The billing entity and its ownership are disclosed during enrollment, which is where licensing meets the entity and ownership questions covered elsewhere in this guide. What each payor covers and pays for ABA is a separate topic on the Medicaid and insurance page. A sale or expansion in Alaska turns on more than licensing: the Alaska sale and expansion guide covers the records and the covenant.
Alaska-specific wrinkles
Three Alaska features stand out. First, there is no board: the department itself decides applications, adopts rules, and disciplines licensees, which is unusual among the states in this guide and means there is no separate board meeting schedule or board-specific procedure to track. Second, the temporary-practice allowance is genuinely short, 30 days or less per calendar year, and is distinct from the longer-term licensure-by-credentials pathway an analyst planning to practice ongoing in Alaska should use instead. Third, the behavior-analyst fee schedule was quietly reduced at some point after its original 2014 and 2016 levels; the figures on this page come from the Division's own September 2026 consolidated regulations document, the most current source this guide reached, and still may have changed since.
How licensing connects to the rest of your compliance stack
Licensing is the credential the rest of the structure is built around:
- Entity and ownership. Alaska has no corporate-practice-of-medicine doctrine at all, so the licensed analyst anchors ownership without compelling a professional entity. See the Alaska entity page and the Alaska ownership page.
- Medicaid and insurance. Licensure and credentialing are prerequisites to coverage; what is covered and paid is separate. See Medicaid and insurance mandates.
- Facility and records. Supervision and training documentation carry into facility and HIPAA compliance. See facility licensure and HIPAA.
Becoming licensed and credentialed in Alaska: the sequence
- Obtain BACB certification. Pass the BACB examination and hold current certification at the analyst or assistant level.
- Prepare the background-check materials. Fingerprints and the fees required for a state and national criminal history record check (AS 08.15.020(a)(6)).
- Apply to the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Submit the application and fee; an assistant applicant also submits proof of direct supervision.
- Arrange supervision for an assistant. Direct supervision by a licensed behavior analyst (AS 08.15.020(b)(7)).
- Credential with payors. Enroll with Alaska Medicaid and credential with commercial plans, typically via CAQH, then plan for revalidation.
- Renew before expiration. Maintain current certification and renew before the license's September 30 expiration in even-numbered years.
Alaska licensing variables at a glance
| Variable | Alaska value |
|---|---|
| Is ABA a licensed profession? | Yes; AS 08.15, effective September 16, 2014 (HB 361) |
| Regulating authority | Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development; no separate board |
| Licensed tiers | Behavior analyst and assistant behavior analyst; no separate state technician credential |
| Underlying certification | BACB examination and certification, or a department-approved alternative not named in the statute |
| State examination | None; the department relies on the BACB exam or an approved alternative |
| Background check | Required; fingerprints submitted to the Department of Public Safety |
| Supervision | Assistant under direct supervision of a licensed behavior analyst |
| Renewal | Biennial, expiring September 30 of even-numbered years |
| Continuing education | Authorized by AS 08.15.080; the renewal rule's complete submission list has no CE item (12 AAC 77.200(b)) |
| Fees | $150 application; $100 LBA initial/renewal; $50 LABA initial/renewal; $80 temporary; $75 fingerprint (12 AAC 02.390, Sept. 2026) |
| Temporary practice | 30 days or less per calendar year for an analyst licensed in a substantially equivalent state |
| Payor credentialing | Alaska Medicaid enrollment and commercial credentialing, typically via CAQH |
| Key authorities | AS 08.15 (§§ .010 to .090); 12 AAC 77 |
Frequently asked questions
Which agency licenses behavior analysts in Alaska?
Does Alaska accept QABA or another alternative to BACB certification?
Is there an Alaska state exam or state continuing education?
Can an out-of-state analyst practice in Alaska temporarily?
What happens if I practice without a license?
Where professional advice is essential, not optional
Alaska's license is unusually direct, no board, a short statute, and a department that handles everything itself, but that same leanness means less public guidance exists if a question is not squarely answered by the statute or the regulations. Confirm current fees, any continuing-education rule outside 12 AAC 77, and the licensure-by-credentials process directly with the division, and bring in counsel where licensure questions meet ownership or multistate practice.
The governing authorities to know are AS 08.15 (the licensing act, sections .010 through .090) and the Alaska Administrative Code (12 AAC 77, covering licensing, renewal, and general provisions).
This page describes a regulatory environment that changes. Fee amounts are sourced to the Division's September 2026 consolidated regulations, the most current document this guide reached, but may have changed since. The Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, the BACB, Alaska Medicaid, and each payor provide current requirements. Neither this page nor any secondary source should be relied on in place of direct verification with the relevant authorities.