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

Is ABA licensed in Indiana, and why the timeline matters

Yes, and the gap between the statute and the working license is the first thing to understand about Indiana. IC 25-8.5 was added to the Indiana Code by P.L.212-2021, creating a Behavior Analyst Committee that recommends licensing standards, continuing-education requirements, and fees to a separate Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, which then adopts the rules (IC 25-8.5-2-6). That Board's members were first appointed December 20, 2021, but rules promulgation continued for years afterward; the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency issued an update on administrative rules promulgation in December 2024, and Licensed Behavior Analyst and Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst applications did not actually go live until May 13, 2025 (PLA Behavior Analyst profession page; IPLA press release, Dec. 30, 2024). A practitioner reading only the 2021 statute date would significantly overestimate how long Indiana licensure has actually been operational.

The credential tiers: LBA and LABA

Indiana licenses two tiers, both granted by the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board.

Both tiers also require a national criminal history background check under IC 25-1-1.1-4 and evidence that the applicant has not faced disciplinary action in another state on grounds of endangering the public.

The certifying entity: BACB only

Indiana's statute names the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or its successor, as the certifying entity for both tiers, with no parallel recognition of QABA or another certifying body written into IC 25-8.5 (IC 25-8.5-3-1; IC 25-8.5-3-2). BACB certification is therefore the sole national credential that satisfies Indiana's licensure standard.

What it takes to get licensed

An LBA applicant furnishes satisfactory evidence of current BACB certification, submits to a national criminal history background check under IC 25-1-1.1-4, and shows no disqualifying disciplinary history in another jurisdiction (IC 25-8.5-3-1). A LABA applicant meets the same three requirements at the BCaBA level and additionally submits a written record of the supervision provided by a licensed LBA (IC 25-8.5-3-2). Reciprocity is available for applicants who hold a current license in another state or territory with similarly rigorous education, experience, and certification requirements. Indiana adds no separate state examination beyond verifying the BACB credential and completing the background check.

Title protection, scope, and exemptions

An individual may not profess to be a licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst, use the initials "LBA" or "LABA" or similar indicators, or practice applied behavior analysis, without holding the license (IC 25-8.5-3-6(a)). The chapter carries several exemptions for individuals who do not use those titles: licensed or certified health care professionals acting within their own scope and training; students, interns, and trainees pursuing licensure at an accredited institution; non-residents performing services in Indiana for no more than five days in any month and fifteen days in any calendar year, if authorized to practice under their home jurisdiction's law; and applied behavior analysis direct contact technicians or family members implementing a plan in the family home, acting under the extended authority and direction of a licensed behavior analyst or assistant behavior analyst (IC 25-8.5-3-6(b)).

Supervision rules

A Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst practices under the supervision of a licensed LBA, and the applicant must submit a written record of that supervision to the Behavior Analyst Committee as part of licensure (IC 25-8.5-3-2). Direct contact technicians and family members implementing a plan in the home operate under the extended authority and direction of a licensed behavior analyst or assistant behavior analyst, a broader supervisory relationship than a formal LABA license but one still anchored to a licensed practitioner (IC 25-8.5-3-6(b)(4)).

Renewal and continuing education

Indiana licenses renew on a biennial cycle tied to the state's standard renewal calendar, with the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board authorized to set continuing-education standards for renewal on the Committee's recommendation (IC 25-8.5-2-6(a)(3)). Renewal continuing education for the Licensed Behavior Analyst credential includes at least one CE unit in trauma-informed care and one CE unit in either mandatory reporting or abuse and neglect, per the Board-approved requirements published through the state's licensing infrastructure and echoed by Indiana's professional association. A late renewal after the expiration date, up to a multi-year window, carries a penalty on top of the standard renewal fee; a lapse beyond that window generally requires a new application rather than a late renewal.

Getting credentialed with payors

Licensure lets you practice; credentialing lets you bill, and Indiana keeps the two separate. After licensure, a provider or practice enrolls with Indiana Medicaid and credentials separately with commercial health plans, typically via CAQH. As in other states, the billing entity and its ownership are disclosed during payor enrollment, connecting licensing to the entity and ownership pillars of this guide, where Indiana's elective professional-corporation form under IC 23-1.5 and its SEA 9 90-day deal-notice requirement are the relevant reference points.

Indiana-specific wrinkles

Three features stand out. First, the statute-to-practice gap: IC 25-8.5 passed in 2021, but the licensing infrastructure was not operational until May 2025, so any secondary source describing Indiana as having been a licensed state since 2021 is describing the law, not the lived experience of applying for one. Second, the temporary-practice exemption is unusually specific, capped at five days per month and fifteen days per year rather than the looser "temporary services" language some other states use, which is worth calendaring precisely for a multistate practitioner who visits Indiana occasionally. Third, the direct-contact-technician and family-member exemption under 25-8.5-3-6(b)(4) is broader than a typical RBT carve-out, covering family members implementing a plan in the home under a licensed analyst's extended authority, without a separate state technician credential.

How licensing connects to the rest of your compliance stack

The license is the credential the rest of the structure is built around:

• Entity and ownership. Indiana's professional-corporation form under IC 23-1.5 is optional rather than mandatory, so the licensed behavior analyst does not have to anchor ownership the way a stricter state requires; SEA 9's 90-day deal-notice requirement is a separate transaction-level trigger worth tracking alongside licensure. See the Indiana entity page and the Indiana ownership page.
• Medicaid and insurance. Licensure and Board registration are prerequisites to Indiana Medicaid and commercial-plan credentialing; what is covered and paid is a separate question. See Medicaid and insurance mandates.
• Facility and records. Written supervision records for LABAs and direct-contact technicians carry directly into facility and HIPAA recordkeeping. See facility licensure and HIPAA.

Becoming licensed and credentialed in Indiana: the sequence

1. Obtain BACB certification. BCBA for the LBA tier, BCaBA for the LABA tier; Indiana recognizes no other certifying entity.
2. Submit to a national criminal history background check. Required under IC 25-1-1.1-4 for both tiers.
3. Apply to the Behavior Analyst Licensing Board through PLA. LABA applicants also submit a written record of LBA supervision.
4. Confirm no disqualifying disciplinary history. Applicants must show they have not faced discipline in another jurisdiction on public-safety grounds.
5. Credential with payors. Enroll with Indiana Medicaid and credential with commercial plans, typically via CAQH.
6. Renew biennially. Complete the required trauma-informed-care and mandatory-reporting or abuse-and-neglect continuing education before the deadline.

Indiana licensing variables at a glance

Frequently asked questions