Who must be licensed to practice ABA in Delaware, and how do you get credentialed?

Is ABA licensed in Delaware, and is any bill moving

No. Delaware has no license, registration, or certificate specific to behavior analysts. The Title 24 chapter that comes closest, Chapter 30, covers mental health and chemical dependency professionals and lists five subchapters: the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, mental health professional counselors and associate counselors, chemical dependency professionals, marriage and family therapists, and professional art therapists (delcode.delaware.gov Title 24, Chapter 30 index). The Division of Professional Regulation's board list likewise names boards such as the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, the Board of Examiners of Psychologists, and the Board of Social Work Examiners, and neither the phrase "behavior analyst" nor "applied behavior analysis" appears on the page (dpr.delaware.gov/boards).

The one Title 24 appearance of the concept is the psychology definition. Section 3502(8)b.4 includes "behavior analysis and therapy" in the list of evidence-based therapeutic interventions that make up the practice of psychology (24 Del. C. § 3502(8)b.4). Section 3531(b) separately provides that nothing in the psychology chapter prevents a qualified member of another recognized profession from rendering services consistent with that individual's training, ethics code, and Delaware law, if the individual does not use a title that states or implies being a psychologist (24 Del. C. § 3531(b)). Whether those two provisions together protect ABA delivered by a BCBA who is not a psychologist is a legal question. This page states what the text says and does not answer it. A practice that relies on the answer should get it from counsel.

No licensure bill is pending in the 153rd General Assembly (2025 to 2026) on the evidence checked. The legislature's own bill-list endpoint returned 1,962 items, and a search of every title and synopsis for behavior analyst, behavioral analyst, behavior technician, BCBA, applied behavior, and autism found no behavior-analyst licensure bill and no amendment to 18 Del. C. § 3366 or § 3570A. Two items mention behavior analysts, and neither is about licensure. Senate Bill 173 (sponsor Buckson, introduced June 5, 2025, in Senate Education with no later action listed) would add board-certified assistant behavior analysts and board-certified behavior analysts to the positions that school mental health services unit funding may cover. House Amendment 1 to House Substitute 1 for House Bill 425 would have added school-based board certified behavior analysts to the occupations that qualify for a 6% salary supplement, and it was defeated on June 18, 2026 (legis.delaware.gov, SB 173 and HA 1 to HS 1 for HB 425).

The credential tiers: what each Delaware source uses

Because there is no state license, there are no state-defined license tiers. The terms that appear in Delaware practice come from three different sources, and they do not share a vocabulary.

Medicaid also lists licensed practitioners who may provide ASD services "without any other certification": licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors of mental health, advanced practice nurses, medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, physician assistants, psychiatrists, and psychologists or their assistants (Medicaid final order, 20 DE Reg 291). That is the in-house diagnostician fork in one sentence. A practice with a psychologist or physician on staff has a licensed route into the Medicaid ASD benefit that a BCBA-only practice does not.

The certifying entity: BACB, and where QABA appears

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board is the certifying entity named in the insurance mandate, in the Medicaid rule, and in the Department of Developmental Disabilities Services rule. The mandate defines an autism services provider to include "practitioners with the national certification of board-certified behavior analyst or those working under their supervision," and provides that a provider who meets "recognized national certification as a board-certified behavior analyst" is "deemed to have met the standards" to be set by the Department of Health and Social Services (18 Del. C. § 3366(e)(2) and (f); § 3570A is materially the same).

QABA appears in one place. The Department of Education's School Behavior Analyst rule accepts either a BCBA from the BACB or a Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA) issued by the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board (14 DE Admin. Code 1585). The Medicaid rule and the insurance mandate as read for this page name the BACB only.

What it takes to practice

Because no state agency licenses behavior analysts, there is no state application, no state examination, and no state fee tied to a behavior-analyst license. The education, supervised fieldwork, and examination standards are the BACB's for the credential a practitioner holds. The state layer is the program the practitioner is paid under. For insurance-paid ABA, the Department of Developmental Disabilities Services rule states that "Only people certified as a BCBA or BCBA-D or behavioral technicians who work under the supervision of a BCBA or BCBA-D are considered qualified, under these regulations, to provide applied behavior analysis" (16 DE Admin. Code 2102). The same rule sets behavioral technician minimums, including a high school diploma or GED, a federal and state criminal background and child and adult abuse registry check, and at least 10 hours of competency-based training and direct service observed by the BCBA before providing one-on-one service (16 DE Reg 1170, final order text of Rule 2102).

Title protection and scope

Delaware has no statute restricting who may call themselves a behavior analyst or use the title BCBA. The restriction that exists protects psychology titles, and the scope question is the psychology definition described above. Section 3531(b) is the provision that lets other recognized professions render services consistent with their training, so long as the individual does not use a title stating or implying being a psychologist (24 Del. C. § 3531(b)). The practical constraints run through the payors. Under the mandate and Rule 2102, a provider who is not BACB-certified does not qualify as a behavior analyst for insurance-paid ABA, and Medicaid enrolls unlicensed practitioners only under the BACB categories.

Supervision rules

Delaware has no state supervision rule for behavior analysts as a licensed profession. Supervision rules attach to programs. Rule 2102 requires that technicians work under a BCBA or BCBA-D and sets the floor: "The ratio of such supervision hours provided by the BCBA or BCBA-D to those direct treatment hours provided by a behavioral technician should reflect the needs of the client but shall not be less than 1.5:10 per week. In the case that less than 10 hours per week of ABA is prescribed and delivered, a minimum of 1 hour of supervision per week is required" (16 DE Admin. Code 2102). The rule also ties scope to BACB documents: certified individuals "must act within the scope of these documents and their certification" as the BACB sets and amends them.

Medicaid's rule is about independence rather than ratios. Under the CMS-approved state plan pages, a BCBA is "not required to work under the supervision of a licensed practitioner when providing ASD services within the scope of his or her practice," a Registered Behavior Technician "can only provide ASD services under the supervision of a BCaBA® or BCBA®," and every listed practitioner except the Registered Behavior Technician is qualified to provide the ASD assessments and the behavioral plan of care (Delaware SPA 16-010, approved January 12, 2017).

Renewal and continuing education

There is no state renewal cycle, state continuing-education requirement, or state fee for behavior analysts, because there is no state license. The closest state analog is a disqualification trigger. The final order text of Rule 2102 lists as a disqualification that the "BCBA or BCBA-D no longer has a credential issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board" (16 DE Reg 1170). The Department of Education's school certificate is "not subject to renewal," but holding it requires maintaining the BACB or QABA certification it rests on (14 DE Admin. Code 1585).

Getting credentialed: insurance, Medicaid, and schools

Credentialing in Delaware runs through three channels, and none is a state professional license. What happens to a Delaware enrollment when ownership changes is covered in the Delaware sale and expansion guide, along with the records and the covenant.

• Commercial insurance. Individual plans under 18 Del. C. § 3366 and group and blanket plans under § 3570A must cover autism spectrum disorder treatment for individuals under 21. Treatment must be "prescribed or ordered" by a licensed physician or licensed psychologist who determines it medically necessary. Coverage for applied behavior analysis is subject to a maximum benefit of $36,000 per 12-month period per person, and the statute requires the Insurance Commissioner to publish an annual adjustment each April 1 (delcode.delaware.gov Title 18). The current adjusted amount was not retrieved.
• Delaware Medicaid. The ASD benefit was adopted by DMMA Final Order 16-022c, "final effective October 11, 2016," and approved by CMS as state plan amendment 16-010 with an effective date of October 1, 2016. Unlicensed practitioners must be BACB-certified as a BCBA, a BCaBA working under a BCBA, or a Registered Behavior Technician working under a BCaBA or BCBA (20 DE Reg 291; SPA 16-010).
• Public schools. Behavior analysts providing services in Delaware public schools need the School Behavior Analyst Standard Certificate, which requires a BCBA or a QBA. Assistants need the School Behavior Analyst Assistant certificate and hold a BCaBA, supervised by a holder of the 1585 certificate (14 DE Admin. Code 1585 and 1586).

A practice billing commercial plans and Medicaid maintains separate files, each verifying the same underlying BACB certification. The Medicaid provider type and specialty, the Medicaid billing codes, and the managed care organizations' own credentialing rules were not found on any official page and are listed under what this guide could not verify.

Practices with in-house diagnostics versus ABA-only practices

The fork shows up in the credential rules even without a license. The commercial mandate requires that treatment be prescribed or ordered by a licensed physician or licensed psychologist, so a practice without one on staff depends on outside prescribers for every plan of care. Medicaid lets psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, and several other licensed practitioners provide ASD services without any BACB certification, while an ABA-only practice must staff entirely under the BACB categories and cannot use an RBT for assessments or the behavioral plan of care. The psychology definition also matters more to a practice that employs psychologists, because it places "behavior analysis and therapy" inside their licensed scope without addressing anyone else.

Delaware-specific wrinkles

Three features stand out. First, the psychology definition names behavior analysis, so Delaware is a state where the absence of a behavior-analyst license is not the whole story, and the interaction with § 3531(b) is unresolved on this page. Second, the Medicaid rule is old. The final order is dated 2016, the state plan amendment was approved in January 2017, and the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance's practitioner manual that was searched contains no autism, BCBA, or ABA text, so the Register order and the state plan are the governing documents rather than a current provider manual. Third, the autism-services rule at 16 DE Admin. Code 2102 cites "18 Del.C. §3361(f)" for the individual-plan mandate, but in the October 1, 2026 code that text sits at § 3366(f). That mismatch was not traced to a renumbering act. It is a reminder to cite the section as the code now shows it.

How this connects to the rest of your compliance stack

The absence of a license changes what the rest of the structure looks like. With no behavior-analyst license, ABA is not a professional service of the kind that forces a professional entity, so a standard LLC is the form the entity analysis addresses. See the Delaware entity page. The insurance mandate and the Medicaid rule described above are what actually get paid, and the credentialing gates in this guide are the prerequisite to reaching that coverage.

Becoming credentialed in Delaware: the sequence

1. Obtain BACB certification. BCBA or BCBA-D for independent practice and supervision, BCaBA for the assistant tier, RBT for technicians. School practice also accepts a QBA.
2. Decide which payors you will bill. Commercial plans under § 3366 and § 3570A require a physician or psychologist to prescribe or order the treatment. Medicaid enrolls unlicensed practitioners only under the BACB categories.
3. Confirm Medicaid enrollment mechanics directly. No official page stating the provider type, specialty, or enrollment steps for an ABA agency was found. Confirm with the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance and the managed care plans.
4. If you serve schools, apply for the School Behavior Analyst certificate. It requires a BCBA or QBA and stays valid while that certification is maintained.
5. Maintain BACB certification. It feeds every gate above at once, and a lapse is a disqualifier under Rule 2102.

What this guide could not verify

Every statement above was checked against an official Delaware source in October 2026. The following were not, and nothing on this page should be read as a conclusion on them.

• Medicaid provider type, enrollment steps, billing codes (97151 to 97158), and rates for ABA. The practitioner, independent therapist, rehabilitation agency, school-based health, and general policy manuals searched contain no ABA or BCBA text.
• Credentialing rules of the Medicaid managed care organizations and of commercial plans.
• Whether state plan amendment 16-010's qualified-provider text has changed since January 12, 2017. No later amendment was found, but the current consolidated state plan was not retrieved from a state page.
• The current text of 16 DE Admin. Code 2102 and 14 DE Admin. Code 1585 and 1586 in the state's new regulations system. The state's archive site displays a banner that its new regulations system went live on May 19, 2025, so archive pages may not reflect later changes. Only the archive versions were read.
• The current CPI-adjusted maximum benefit under the mandate.
• Whether practicing ABA without a psychology license can fall within the practice of psychology. No board statement was found.

Delaware licensing variables at a glance

Frequently asked questions