How to Start An ABA Practice in Tennessee (2026): License, Medicaid Enrollment & Rates

Licensing

Tennessee aba provider license

Tennessee requires a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA); Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst (LABA) from Tennessee Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee (under the Board of Examiners in Psychology, Tennessee Department of Health) to operate an ABA practice. Fee: $100.

License required: Yes
License: Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA); Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst (LABA)
Issuing agency: Tennessee Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee (under the Board of Examiners in Psychology, Tennessee Department of Health)
Fee: $100
Fee details: LBA: $50 application + $40 license + $10 state regulatory fee = $100. LABA: $50 + $15 + $10 = $75 (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1180-05-.06, May 2025 revision).
Renewal: Every 2 years · Biennial renewal: LBA $150, LABA $100, each plus the $10 state regulatory fee. Late renewal $100; reinstatement $100. Renewal needs proof of current BACB certification and 3 CE hours on cultural diversity.
Professional license: board: Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee (Board of Examiners in Psychology); statute: T.C.A. Title 63, Chapter 11 (incl. § 63-11-306 exemptions); Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 1180-05; behavior analyst: LBA license tied to current BACB certification.; assistant behavior analyst: Separate LABA license.; technician: No technician license in ch. 1180-05. Exemptions follow T.C.A. 63-11-306, which was not reviewed in full.
Regulation: T.C.A. § 63-11-301 et seq.; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1180-05-.06, -.08

How to apply

Steps to get licensed in Tennessee

In order, as the licensing agency describes the process.

Hold current BACB certification (BCBA or BCaBA)
Submit the LBA/LABA application with fees
Renew every two years with proof of current BACB certification and 3 hours of cultural diversity CE

Documents

What you need to submit

2 documents listed by the licensing agency.

Document
LBA/LABA application
Proof of BACB certification

See the full checklist — start free

Every document for every state, with sources, side by side and exportable.

Full checklist
Every state
CSV export

Start free trial Sign in

Staffing

Staffing and training requirements

Training: 3 continuing education hours on cultural diversity per renewal

Medicaid

Enrolling as a Tennessee Medicaid provider

Program: TennCare (Division of TennCare, Tennessee)
Enrollment portal: TennCare Provider Registration portal, plus Data Spring (formerly CAQH ProView) for individual providers
Application fee: Under the federal rule (42 CFR 455.460), institutional providers pay the CMS application fee when they first enroll, re-enroll or revalidate. The fee is $750 for calendar year 2026. Individual physicians and non-physician practitioners do not pay it. A fee already paid to Medicare or to another state's Medicaid program counts. TennCare's registration pages do not list a separate state fee.
Fingerprinting: Under federal rules (42 CFR 455.434 and 455.450), the state places provider types in 'limited', 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels. High-risk providers, and anyone who owns 5% or more of one, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check. TennCare's registration pages do not describe a separate state fingerprint process.
Site visit: Under federal rule (42 CFR 455.432), the state must visit moderate- and high-risk providers before and after enrollment. Every enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections. TennCare's registration pages do not describe a separate state site visit process.
Revalidation: Every TennCare provider enrollment must be revalidated every 3 years, more often than the federal 5-year minimum. Submitting any update in the enrollment portal resets the due date. Groups and entities see the due date at the top of their enrollment. Individual providers revalidate by submitting their Data Spring (CAQH ProView) application.

Full Tennessee Medicaid enrollment guide →

Certificate of need

Does Tennessee require a certificate of need?

CON program: Yes
Program: Certificate of Need
Agency: Tennessee Health Facilities Commission (HFC)
Services covered: hospitals
nursing homes (and nursing home bed increases beyond the lesser of 10 beds or 10% once every 3 years)
ambulatory surgical treatment centers
home care organizations (home health and hospice)
residential hospice
outpatient diagnostic centers
rehabilitation facilities
nonresidential substitution-based opiate treatment centers
open heart surgery, organ transplantation, cardiac catheterization, linear accelerators
MRI/PET initiation in counties of 175,000 or fewer; pediatric MRI in larger counties
bed redistribution/relocation, facility relocation, hospital satellite EDs and satellite inpatient facilities

Tennessee certificate of need details →

Labor

Tennessee wage floor

State minimum wage: $7.25 an hour
Effective: 2009-07-24
Scheduled increases: No scheduled change found in the official sources reviewed.
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.

Market

Tennessee market size

Counts from federal public files: NPPES (active organization NPIs), CMS Care Compare and CMS Medicaid enrollment.

Applied behavior analysis organizations — active organization NPIs (NPPES): 325 (as of Sep 13, 2026)
Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month): 1,384,007 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

Rates

What Tennessee Medicaid pays

Applied behavior analysis (ABA): published Tennessee fee-for-service rates, each linked to its source.

Tennessee Medicaid rates for this service: being compiledWe publish a state's details only once they are confirmed against the official source, with links to it. This state's record is still being researched.

Tennessee Medicaid fee schedule

Waivers

Tennessee HCBS waivers

Medicaid home and community-based services programs that may pay for this service.

TN Comprehensive Aggregate Cap Home and Community Based Services (CAC) Waiver (1915(c))
TN Self-Determination Waiver Program (1915(c))
TN Statewide Home and Community Based Services Waiver (1915(c))
TennCare III (subsumes TennCare II) (1115)

Tennessee waivers and waiting lists →

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to start an ABA practice in Tennessee?

Tennessee requires a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA); Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst (LABA) from Tennessee Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Committee (under the Board of Examiners in Psychology, Tennessee Department of Health) to operate an ABA practice. Fee: $100.

How much does an ABA practice license cost in Tennessee?

$100 Renewal: Every 2 years · Biennial renewal: LBA $150, LABA $100, each plus the $10 state regulatory fee. Late renewal $100; reinstatement $100. Renewal needs proof of current BACB certification and 3 CE hours on cultural diversity..

Does Tennessee require a certificate of need for an ABA practice?

Tennessee has a certificate of need program covering: hospitals, nursing homes (and nursing home bed increases beyond the lesser of 10 beds or 10% once every 3 years), ambulatory surgical treatment centers, home care organizations (home health and hospice), residential hospice, outpatient diagnostic centers, rehabilitation facilities, nonresidential substitution-based opiate treatment centers, open heart surgery, organ transplantation, cardiac catheterization, linear accelerators, MRI/PET initiation in counties of 175,000 or fewer; pediatric MRI in larger counties, bed redistribution/relocation, facility relocation, hospital satellite EDs and satellite inpatient facilities. Check whether your service is on that list.

How do you become a Medicaid provider in Tennessee?

Enroll through TennCare Provider Registration portal, plus Data Spring (formerly CAQH ProView) for individual providers (https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/providers/provider-registration/how-to-apply.html).

How to start an ABA practice in Tennessee