BT vs RBT: what a behavior technician needs in Georgia

Only in some situations. See the detail below.

As of 2026-10-21, Georgia's state licensure law (HB 412 Senate substitute; O.C.G.A. 43-7A-7) exempts a 'behavior technician' from licensure. The technician must work under the close and ongoing supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or a licensed assistant behavior analyst, and cannot design assessment or intervention plans or procedures (43-7A-2). The technician must use a title indicating nonprofessional status, such as 'ABA technician', 'behavior technician' or 'tutor', and may not represent themselves as a professional behavior analyst. Section 43-7A-7(2) does not itself require RBT certification, so the 'conditional' answer applies to the state-licensure exemption only. Medicaid is different: per the current Medicaid ASD manual (§601.2, Q4-October 2026), RBT credentials are required before technician billing and the manual states it 'does not provide a grace period'. A licensure exemption, or an exemption from direct Medicaid enrollment, does not authorize uncredentialed technician billing. The older 2018 DCH manual described technicians as RBTs.

• Must work under close and ongoing supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or a licensed assistant behavior analyst
• Delivers services delegated by the supervising licensee
• May not design assessment or intervention plans or procedures
• Must use a title indicating nonprofessional status (e.g., 'ABA technician', 'behavior technician', 'tutor') and not represent as a professional behavior analyst
• For Medicaid billing: RBT credential required before technician billing; no credentialing grace period (current Medicaid ASD manual §601.2)

Enrolled qualified health care professionals who may deliver and bill independently: a Georgia-licensed physician (with or without BCBA certification), a Georgia-licensed psychologist (with or without BCBA certification), a licensed BCBA-D, and a licensed BCBA. The October 1, 2026 revision of §601.1 and §601.1.2 requires a BCBA or BCBA-D to hold active BACB certification and a license from the Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board. A licensed BCaBA may deliver services but may not enroll as the QHCP; the BCaBA must be supervised by a physician, psychologist, or BCBA/BCBA-D and may supervise RBTs (§601.1.1.5). An RBT may implement the service plan but may not enroll (§601.1.1.6). BCaBAs and RBTs are not enrolled because they are not independent practitioners (§601.1.2). Practices with two or more individuals that submit professional claims must enroll as a group, and physicians, psychologists, BCBA-Ds, and BCBAs enroll as rendering providers linked to that group. For RBT- or BCaBA-rendered services such as 97153, the supervising BCBA must be the rendering provider on the claim. Fee-schedule practitioner modifiers: U1 physician/psychiatrist, U2 psychologist or BCBA-D, U3 BCBA, U4 BCaBA, U5 RBT; location modifiers U6 in-clinic, U7 out-of-clinic, GT telemedicine. A BCBA-D may also supervise “others who implement behavior-analytic interventions” (§601.1.1.3.3), but §601.2 states that services by a person who does not hold the certification for the billed practitioner level are not billable and that there is no certification or enrollment grace period.

Yes.

The only paraprofessional technician type authorized to implement the ASD service plan is a BACB Registered Behavior Technician (manual §601.1.1.6; fee schedule Level 5, modifier U5). The RBT may not be the enrolled QHCP. §601.1.1.6.1 says the RBT implements the plan under supervision of a BCBA/BCBA-D, and §601.1.1.6.3 says the RBT must be supervised by a BCBA/BCBA-D or a BCaBA. §601.2 requires the certification that matches the billed practitioner level, states that services by someone who is not fully credentialed are not billable, and provides no grace period. A BCaBA is a separate bachelor’s-level assistant analyst (Level 4, modifier U4), not a substitute for the RBT tier. The October 1, 2026 manual does not list a generic non-RBT behavior technician as a billable provider type. On the October 8, 2025 ASD fee schedule, 97153 with U5 pays $15.58 per 15 minutes in clinic (U6) or by telemedicine (GT) and $18.69 out of clinic (U7).