How to start an ABA practice in Minnesota

Minnesota requires a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) from Minnesota Board of Psychology (with a Behavior Analyst Advisory Council) to operate an ABA practice. Fee: $225.

License required

Yes

License

Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA)

Issuing agency

Minnesota Board of Psychology (with a Behavior Analyst Advisory Council)

Fee

$225

Fee details

Application fee $225; supervisor application processing fee $225 (Minn. Stat. 148.9995). All fees nonrefundable.

Renewal

Every 2 years · Biennial renewal $225; inactive renewal $125; late fee $100.

Professional license

board: Minnesota Board of Psychology; statute: Minn. Stat. §§ 148.9981–148.9995 (2024 Minn. Laws ch. 127, art. 19); behavior analyst: Since January 1, 2025, practicing ABA requires an LBA license unless exempt. Licensed psychologists are exempt.; assistant behavior analyst: No separate state assistant license. Unlicensed supervisees practice under a licensed behavior analyst.; technician: No state technician license. Unlicensed supervisees and trainees may provide services under the authority and direction of an LBA (Minn. Stat. 148.9987(a)(6)). EIDBI sets its own Level II/III staff qualifications.; agency or clinic license: No ABA facility license. Medicaid-funded autism treatment is delivered through EIDBI agencies that must enroll as Minnesota Health Care Programs providers. They must designate a compliance officer, keep an office in Minnesota or a border state, run NETStudy 2.0 background studies, disclose controlling individuals and consultants, and accept unannounced DHS site visits.; medicaid enrollment: Minnesota's Medicaid ABA-type benefit is Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI, Minn. Stat. 256B.0949). Providers enroll as EIDBI agencies, and individual QSPs and Level I–III providers must be agency employees.

Regulation

Minn. Stat. §§ 148.9981–148.9995; Minn. Stat. § 256B.0949

1. Hold current BCBA certification, or complete equivalent requirements including a psychometrically valid exam from a nationally accredited credentialing body
2. Submit the board application with the $225 fee
3. Complete a criminal background check (Minn. Stat. 214.075)
4. Renew every two years with proof of current national certification

Staffing

• EIDBI: Qualified Supervising Professionals (QSP) must be licensed mental health professionals or licensed behavior analysts (or developmental/behavioral pediatricians) with at least 2,000 hours of ASD experience or equivalent graduate coursework
• EIDBI Level I, II and III providers must be agency employees meeting the degree, experience or credential tiers in Minn. Stat. 256B.0949 subd. 15 (BCBA/QBA qualify for Level I; BCaBA, QASP or RBT are among the Level II routes)

Program

Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) — Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare (Minnesota DHS)

Enrollment portal

Minnesota Provider Screening and Enrollment (MPSE) portal

Fiscal agent

None named — Minnesota DHS enrolls providers itself (MPSE/MN-ITS)

Application fee

DHS's Minnesota Revalidate 2026 FAQ refers to a revalidation fee that applies to some providers. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.460): the state must collect the CMS application fee from institutional providers that are newly enrolling or re-enrolling; individual physicians and non-physician practitioners are exempt, as are providers already enrolled in (or that already paid the fee to) Medicare or another state's Medicaid/CHIP. CMS set the fee at $750 for calendar year 2026.

Fingerprinting

Minnesota runs background studies through NETStudy 2.0; DHS's revalidation FAQ covers when fingerprints are needed for high-risk revalidation. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.434, 455.450(c)): providers the state places in the 'high' categorical risk level, and anyone owning 5% or more of such a provider, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.

Site visit

As part of Minnesota Revalidate 2026, DHS does unannounced site visits for high-risk services, including at locations where providers had never had one before. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.432, 455.450(b)-(c)): the state must do site visits before and after enrollment for providers in the 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels, and any enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections.

Revalidation

Under the federally directed 'Minnesota Revalidate 2026' effort, providers of 13 services designated high risk had to complete an off-cycle revalidation by May 31, 2026; those who did not got disenrollment notices, with appeal rights. Notices arrive in the MN-ITS mailbox and providers revalidate in MPSE. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414): every enrolled provider must be revalidated at least once every 5 years.

Full Minnesota Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

Agency

Minnesota Department of Health (moratorium exceptions and public interest reviews)

Moratoria

Hospital moratorium (Minn. Stat. §144.551): no new hospitals and no construction that increases hospital bed capacity or relocates beds, except projects specifically listed in statute (many after a Department of Health public interest review). Nursing home moratorium (Minn. Stat. §144A.071): the commissioners of health and human services must deny requests for new licensed or certified nursing home or certified boarding care beds unless an exception or the moratorium exception process in §144A.073 applies.

Minnesota certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$11.41 an hour

Effective

2026-01-01

Scheduled increases

Rises to $11.87 on 2027-01-01 (inflation adjustment); 90-day training wage for workers under 20 is $9.68.

Direct-care wage floor

Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board minimum wages for nursing home workers, effective 2026-09-10: general worker $19.00, CNA $22.50, trained medication aide $23.50, LPN $27.00; rising 2027-01-01 to $20.50, $24.00, $25.00 and $28.50.

Rate pass-through

Personal care assistance agencies must spend at least 72.5% of Medicaid PCA revenue on PCA wages and benefits.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Applied behavior analysis organizations — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

105 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

1,128,624 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Minnesota ABA Medicaid rates, ranked →

• Alternative Care program — Reform: Pathways to Independence Section 1115 demonstration (1115)
• Brain Injury (BI) Waiver (1915(c))
• Community Alternative Care (CAC) Waiver (1915(c))
• Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) Waiver (1915(c))
• Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) (1915(k))
• Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver (1915(c))
• Elderly Waiver (1915(c))

Minnesota waivers and waiting lists →