- The QASP-S exam has 125 questions (100 scored, 25 unscored) in 3 hours; the pass point is 72%.
- QABA, based in Ogden, UT, governs the credential; exams are remotely proctored by Premier Proctoring.
- Fieldwork requires 1,000 hours total, with at least 600 in a supervisor or program development role.
- Core Principles of ABA spans 14 subtopics - the single largest domain on the outline.
Exam Snapshot: Numbers You Must Memorize
Before diving into content review, lock in the operational facts about the exam itself. These numbers show up in scheduling decisions, test-day pacing, and eligibility planning - get them wrong and you'll misjudge your prep timeline. If you want the full breakdown behind each figure, the QASP-S Study Guide 2026 walks through how these numbers translate into a study plan.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Certifying body | Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board (QABA), Ogden, UT |
| Accreditation | ANAB (international) |
| Proctoring | Remote, via Premier Proctoring |
| Total questions | 125 (100 scored + 25 unscored pretest) |
| Time allotted | 3 hours |
| Passing score | 72% |
| Cost | $300 USD (excludes retakes; discounted for developing-country residents) |
| Competency standards date | January 2022 |
Eligibility Rundown at a Glance
The QASP-S sits in the middle of QABA's three-tier credentialing paradigm - above the entry-level ABAT technician and below the QBA behavior analyst. That mid-tier position explains why eligibility leans heavily on supervisory and program-development experience, not just direct care hours.
- Age and education: 18 years minimum; bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, verified through QABA primary source verification.
- Coursework: 180 hours of approved assessment-based ABA coursework (or 12 semester credit units), including at least 20 hours of ethics and 15 hours of autism core knowledge.
- Instructor qualification: Training must be developed or delivered by a master's level professional within the scope of ABA and autism.
- Fieldwork: 1,000 supervised hours total, with a minimum of 600 hours in a supervisor or program development role. Up to 400 hours may be 1:1 direct care. None of these hours can be accrued before the first course in the QASP-S coursework sequence.
- Additional requirements: a supervisor recommendation, a criminal background check or employer background attestation, agreement to the QABA Code of Ethics, and placement on the public registry.
For a line-by-line breakdown of each requirement and how to document it, see QASP-S Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
The Nine Exam Domains, Condensed
The content outline is built from a Job Task Analysis with subject-matter-expert input and a content-validation survey - meaning every domain reflects what practicing QASP-S supervisors actually do on the job, not abstract theory. Here's the one-line version of each.
Domain 1: Autism Spectrum Disorder Basics
Core diagnostic features, presentation variability, and how ASD characteristics inform intervention planning.
Domain 2: Legal, Ethical, and Professional Considerations
QABA Code of Ethics, confidentiality, scope of practice, and professional boundaries for supervisors.
Domain 3: Core Principles of ABA
The largest domain - four-term contingency, reinforcement schedules, verbal operants, and the seven dimensions of ABA. See the dedicated section below.
Domain 4: Antecedent Interventions
Environmental arrangement, motivating operations, and strategies that prevent problem behavior before it starts.
Domain 5: Skill Acquisition Programming
Task analysis, prompting hierarchies, and building acquisition programs supervisors design and delegate.
Domain 6: Behavior Reduction Interventions
Function-based reduction strategies, replacement behaviors, and crisis/behavior plan oversight.
Domain 7: Data Collection and Analysis
Measurement systems, graphing conventions, and interpreting trends to guide program changes.
Domain 8: Assessment
Preference assessments, functional assessment methods, and how supervisors use assessment data to build plans.
Domain 9: Training and Supervision
Staff training models, supervisory feedback loops, and the QASP-S's role coordinating ABATs and program teams.
For a deep dive into weighting and sample question phrasing for each of the nine areas, read the QASP-S Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 9 Content Areas.
Core Principles of ABA: The Heaviest Domain
Domain 3 deserves special attention because it spans 14 distinct subtopic areas - more than any other domain on the outline. Underestimating it is the most common reason candidates run out of review time before test day.
- Four-term contingency (setting event-antecedent-behavior-consequence relationships)
- Motivating operations (establishing and abolishing operations)
- Schedules of reinforcement (fixed/variable ratio and interval)
- Verbal operants (mand, tact, echoic, intraverbal, and related concepts)
- The seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis
- Positive and negative reinforcement/punishment distinctions
- Extinction and its behavioral effects
- Stimulus control and generalization concepts
Key Takeaway
Treat Core Principles of ABA as its own mini-exam within the exam. Because it covers 14 subtopics, allocate more review sessions to this domain than to any other single content area.
If you're unsure how heavily this domain - or any other - is weighted relative to overall difficulty, How Hard Is the QASP-S Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 breaks down where candidates typically underestimate the workload.
Registration, Retakes, and Renewal Mechanics
Beyond content knowledge, the QASP-S process has procedural rules that trip up otherwise well-prepared candidates. Keep these dates and numbers straight before you schedule anything.
- Cost: $300 USD for the initial exam; retake fees are separate. Discounted pricing is available for residents of developing countries.
- Retake waiting periods: You may retake after 30 days following a failed attempt. Between the third and fourth attempts, 30 days must also elapse.
- Attempt cap: No more than 4 attempts within one calendar year of your first attempt.
- Renewal: Every 2 years, with a minimum of 20 CEUs required to maintain the credential.
For a complete cost breakdown including what's and isn't included in the $300 fee, see QASP-S Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you want to understand exactly what a 72% cut score means in raw question terms, read QASP-S Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
A Fast Final-Review Schedule
If you're using this cheat sheet in the final stretch before your exam, sequence your remaining review time around domain weight rather than reviewing domains in outline order. Spaced repetition works best when heavier domains get more repetitions.
Core Principles of ABA + Autism Basics
- Drill the four-term contingency, motivating operations, and verbal operants daily
- Review the seven dimensions of ABA until you can list them from memory
- Layer in Domain 1 diagnostic features as lighter daily review
Assessment, Data, and Skill Acquisition
- Practice interpreting graphed data trends (Domain 7)
- Review preference and functional assessment methods (Domain 8)
- Build fluency with task analysis and prompting hierarchies (Domain 5)
Interventions, Ethics, and Supervision
- Contrast antecedent strategies with behavior reduction strategies (Domains 4 and 6)
- Reread the QABA Code of Ethics language for Domain 2
- Review supervisory feedback and staff training models (Domain 9)
Full Timed Simulation
- Take a full-length practice test at the QASP-S practice test hub under real 3-hour timing
- Review missed items by domain, not by question number
- Re-drill only the weakest 1-2 domains the night before
Ongoing Supervision Rules to Remember
Beyond passing the exam, QASP-S credential holders operate under continuing supervision requirements that also show up as exam content in Domain 9. Know these mechanics cold:
- Supervisors must meet with supervisees for at least 5% of monthly direct service time.
- At least one contact per month must be in person or live via video, lasting a minimum of one hour.
These rules aren't just administrative trivia - they frequently appear as scenario-based questions asking you to identify whether a supervision arrangement meets minimum standards. Understanding this structure also helps you evaluate real job postings, which you can explore further in QASP-S Jobs.
Day-of-Exam Checklist
Since the exam is remotely proctored by Premier Proctoring, technical readiness matters as much as content readiness. Confirm each item the day before:
- Government-issued ID matches your registration name exactly
- Testing space is private, well-lit, and free of paper or secondary monitors
- Internet connection tested and stable; webcam and microphone functional
- 3-hour block reserved with no interruptions, plus a buffer for check-in
- Plan to answer all 125 questions - remember, the 25 unscored items are unmarked, so treat every question as scored
Still building foundational familiarity with the credential itself rather than exam mechanics? Start with What Is QASP-S? or QASP-S Meaning before returning to this sheet for final review. And if you haven't yet run a full practice attempt under timed conditions, do that now at the main QASP-S practice test site so the 3-hour pacing feels familiar before exam day.
FAQ
There are 125 total questions: 100 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items. Because the unscored items aren't identifiable during the test, you should answer all 125 as if every question counts toward your score.
The cut score is 72%. For a full explanation of how that translates into scored questions, see the dedicated passing score guide.
You're given 3 hours to complete all 125 questions, administered via remote proctoring through Premier Proctoring.
You may retake after 30 days. An additional 30-day gap is required specifically between your third and fourth attempts, and you cannot test more than 4 times within one calendar year of your first attempt.
You need 1,000 supervised fieldwork hours total, with a minimum of 600 hours in a supervisor or program development role. Up to 400 of the 1,000 hours may be 1:1 direct care, and none of these hours can be logged before the first course in the QASP-S coursework sequence.
Renewal occurs every 2 years and requires at least 20 CEUs to maintain active certification status on the public registry.