Professional Development Unit
Also called: PDU, RBT professional development
Definition
The unit in which technicians' ongoing professional development is counted for recertification under the 2026 requirements: one hour of qualifying activity is one unit, a fixed number is required per two-year cycle, and qualifying activities include an organization's behavior-analytic in-service training, events from authorized continuing-education providers, and university coursework. Ongoing supervision and client-specific training do not count.
In plain language
The credit technicians earn for training that expands their skills, needed to recertify every two years from 2027. Supervision hours do not count toward it.
Example
A technician attends a two-hour agency in-service on data collection led by a BCBA and records two units.
Not professional development unit
A monthly supervision meeting about a specific client. Required, but it is supervision rather than professional development.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- bacb-rbt-handbook-2026 — Professional Development
Requirements from the 06/2026 RBT Handbook, restated in our own words. See the RBT credential page for the current numbers.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.