Practice requirements for ABA providers in Montana

We could not verify this yet - check with the state health or licensing department.

MCA 37-17-403 requires behavior analyst and assistant behavior analyst license applicants to submit fingerprints for Montana DOJ and FBI criminal-record checks; this provision addresses those license applicants, not every BT. For RBT certification, the BACB handbook updated June 2026 requires criminal-background and abuse-registry checks within 180 days before application payment, with stated exceptions for continuous monitoring or unavailable registries. BCBSMT's posted ABA form requires line staff to undergo a criminal-background check before active employment. An additional statewide background-check rule covering every non-RBT in an ordinary outpatient ABA practice was not verified.

BACB RBT applicants must be at least 18, have high-school-level education or equivalent, complete qualifying 40-hour training and an initial competency assessment, and pass the examination. These are certification requirements. BCBSMT's posted form separately requires line staff to be 18 or older, have a diploma/GED, complete 40 hours of ASD and behavioral-technique training at practice expense, and receive supervision for at least 5% of direct member hours. Training time is not billable to BCBSMT or its members. For RBT maintenance, BACB requires supervision of at least 5% of monthly service hours and two real-time face-to-face contacts monthly, including one individual contact and one observation of service delivery; videoconferencing is permitted subject to applicable law.

The Montana Board of Psychologists regulates behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts; MCA 37-17-403 requires the applicable state license and current BACB certification. Medicaid enrollment starts at https://medicaidprovider.mt.gov/providerenrollment through its linked Provider Services Portal; enrollment questions go to MTEnrollment@conduent.com. The final ABA manual retains the Intent to Initiate Treatment, Additional Units of Service and Required Document Components Checklist processes. ARM 37.34.1918(2)(f) expressly requires provider and member to be physically together unless DPHHS authorizes otherwise in writing. The ABA Telehealth Exception Request, updated 01/01/2026, requests prior authorization. Board rule ARM 24.189.424 permits telehealth under MCA 37-2-305 after establishing the clinical relationship; an in-person examination is required when the standard of care requires it. For supervision, the board's adopted 2023 rulemaking explains that it removed prescribed supervision methods because no method is categorically prohibited; ARM 24.189.950 still requires monthly face-to-face meetings and a written agreement. That does not establish separate Medicaid reimbursement for remote supervision. BCBSMT's January 14, 2026 notice requires commercial ABA preservice requests to begin by telephone effective April 2026, superseding forms as the primary intake method. General information, not legal advice.

Direction and close supervision of a BCBA, who assumes full professional responsibility for BCaBA/RBT services. No numerical supervision threshold (ratios/hours) was located in the cited manuals; this does not establish that none applies. Eligibility (as of 2026-10-21): functional impairment criteria apply to all eligibility categories, including ASD. ASD: no older than 20. SED: no older than 17 (through age 20 if enrolled in an accredited secondary school). DD: no older than 20, and requires a state developmental-disability eligibility determination, not merely an IDD diagnosis.