How to start an ABA practice in Texas

Texas requires a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA); Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst (LaBA) from Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), with the Behavior Analyst Advisory Board to operate an ABA practice. Fee: $165.

License required

Yes

License

Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA); Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst (LaBA)

Issuing agency

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), with the Behavior Analyst Advisory Board

Fee

$165

Fee details

Behavior analyst initial license $165; assistant behavior analyst initial license $110 (16 TAC §121.85; TDLR 'at a glance').

Renewal

Renewal: behavior analyst $165, assistant $110. Renewal requires a one-hour HHSC-approved human trafficking prevention course.

Professional license

board: TDLR with the Behavior Analyst Advisory Board; statute: Tex. Occ. Code ch. 506; 16 TAC ch. 121; behavior analyst: License required to practice unless exempt; based on BACB or QABA certification.; assistant behavior analyst: Separate LaBA license based on assistant-level certification.; technician: No state technician license. Texas Medicaid requires behavior technicians to hold current RBT, BCAT or ABAT credentials and work under the direct supervision of the enrolled LBA.; medicaid enrollment: Texas Medicaid autism (ABA) benefits started February 1, 2022. Only TDLR-licensed LBAs enroll, and each LBA's individual NPI is both rendering and billing NPI (an employer NPI cannot substitute). LaBAs and BTs render under the enrolled LBA. Managed care plans credential separately.

Regulation

Tex. Occ. Code ch. 506; 16 TAC §121.85; Texas Medicaid Provider Procedures Manual, Children's Services Handbook (Autism Services)

1. Hold current certification from a TDLR-approved certifying entity (BACB or QABA)
2. Apply to TDLR and pay the license fee
3. Renew with the human trafficking prevention training
4. Medicaid: get an NPI (taxonomy 103K00000X) and enroll the LBA individually with TMHP

Staffing

• Medicaid: LaBAs and behavior technicians act under the direct supervision of the enrolled LBA, who directly employs or contracts with them

Training

• One-hour HHSC-approved Human Trafficking Prevention Training for renewal (HB 2059, 86th Leg.)

Program

Texas Medicaid and CHIP (Texas Health and Human Services Commission, HHSC)

Enrollment portal

Provider Enrollment and Management System (PEMS), run by TMHP

Fiscal agent

Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP), the claims administrator for HHSC

Application fee

Under the ACA, institutional providers owe an application fee on initial applications, new practice locations, revalidation and re-enrollment. PEMS says at the end of the application whether a fee is due, and the application cannot be processed without it. Proof of a fee paid to Medicare or another state must be submitted with the application. The amount changes each calendar year. 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.

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. The TMHP provider manual section we reviewed does not list 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. TMHP's manual notes that moderate- and high-risk providers cannot bill for a new practice location until it is approved and added to the enrollment record.

Revalidation

Revalidation is due by the end of the enrollment period, called the 'revalidation due date'. Most providers have a five-year period, but some get shorter periods based on risk or other factors. Revalidation is filed online in PEMS only, opens up to 180 days before the due date, and repeats provider screening. It is not complete until every deficiency is resolved. If the period ends first, TMHP automatically disenrolls the provider. Group administrators can revalidate for their performing providers.

Full Texas Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

Texas certificate of need details →

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.

Applied behavior analysis organizations — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

1,353 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

3,915,559 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Texas ABA Medicaid rates, ranked →

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• TX Home Living Program Waiver (1915(c))
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• TX Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver (1915(c))

Texas waivers and waiting lists →