Summary — HB 5291 (2025): Licensure and limited licensure for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) practitioners
Status and origin
- Bill number: HB 5291. Introduced March 14, 2025; electronically reproduced November 13, 2025. Read first time and referred to committee (House Health Policy as of 11/13/2025). Amends the Michigan Public Health Code (1978 PA 368), sections 16343a, 18253, and 18257 (parts added by 2016 PA 403).
Purpose
- Establishes a clearer licensure framework for behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts practicing applied behavior analysis (ABA) in Michigan, including creation of a limited license category to allow individuals to gain supervised experience required for certification/licensure.
Key provisions
- Fees (amends Sec. 16343a):
- Application processing fee: $75.00
- License fee (per year): $90.00
- Limited license fee (per year): $150.00
Title protection and practice prohibition (Sec. 18253):
- Beginning 1 year after the effective date of rules implementing licensure, individuals may not use protected titles (e.g., "licensed behavior analyst", "L.B.A.", "licensed assistant behavior analyst", "L.A.B.A.") unless authorized under the part.
- Beginning 1 year after those rules take effect, individuals may not practice ABA or as assistant behavior analysts unless licensed or otherwise authorized.
- Department generally to provide a 4-year license cycle (except as otherwise provided).
Exemptions (examples in Sec. 18253(3)):
- Self-care or uncompensated family/friend care not held out as ABA providers.
- Behavior technicians implementing a care plan under delegation/supervision.
- Family members following a home program designed by a behavior analyst.
- School paraprofessionals implementing ABA interventions under delegation and supervision by certain licensed/authorized professionals.
- Licensed psychologists or other state-licensed professionals delivering ABA within their scope of training and licensure.
- Work with nonhuman or nonpatient clients (e.g., applied animal behaviorists, organizational behavior management).
Rulemaking and minimum standards (Sec. 18257):
- Department, in consultation with the board, shall promulgate rules establishing minimum licensure standards (within 2 years after the part’s effective date).
- The department may adopt, wholly or in part, professional standards issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) or other nationally recognized associations.
Limited license for supervised experience (Sec. 18257(2)):
- If adopted standards require supervised ABA experience for full licensure/certification, the department must grant a limited license to individuals pursuing that experience.
- Applicants eligible for a limited license include matriculated students in approved ABA programs or individuals pursuing experience compatible with the professional association’s experience requirements.
- Limited licensees must comply with supervision and other conditions (text truncated in provided version; bill requires supervised practice).
Grandfathering (Sec. 18253(4)-(5)):
- Individuals who held BACB credentials on or before April 3, 2017, may be granted licenses if they apply within specified timeframes after the initial rules are promulgated.
Who is affected
- Behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts (current and prospective)
- Students and postdoctoral fellows in ABA programs seeking supervised experience
- Employers (schools, clinics, agencies) that hire ABA practitioners or behavior technicians
- Other licensed professionals (psychologists, occupational therapists, etc.) who provide ABA-like services within their scope
- Consumers and families receiving ABA services
Procedural/timeline notes
- Many provisions become operative relative to the effective date of departmental rules (1 year after rules for title/use and practice prohibitions; rulemaking to set standards within 2 years). The limited license mechanism activates once the department adopts standards that require supervised experience.
- The bill authorizes adoption of national standards (e.g., BACB) by rule rather than creating wholly new state standards.
Potential impacts (likely)
- Increases regulatory clarity and consumer protections by restricting use of titles and requiring licensure for ABA practice.
- Creates a licensure pathway for trainees to gain supervised experience (limited license), which may ease transition into the profession but introduces a distinct fee structure (limited license fee higher than annual full license).
- Employers and educators will need to align supervision, hiring, and program structures with new licensure and rule requirements.
- Some existing providers may be grandfathered if they held BACB credentials before April 3, 2017 and applied within the specified windows.
