How to start an ABA practice in California

California does not require a state license for an ABA practice, according to None. No state licensing board for behavior analysts. Medi-Cal BHT is administered by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).. No state behavior analyst license — California relies on BACB certification (Qualified Autism Service Provider); Medi-Cal QAS enrollment.

License required

No

Issuing agency

None. No state licensing board for behavior analysts. Medi-Cal BHT is administered by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).

Professional license

statute: Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1374.73 (qualified autism service provider definitions, used for coverage purposes); behavior analyst: California has no behavior analyst licensure law. For coverage purposes, the state recognizes a Qualified Autism Service (QAS) Provider: a person certified by a national NCCA-accredited entity such as the BACB, or a licensed practitioner with ABA coursework and experience.; assistant behavior analyst: No state license. Associate Behavior Analysts serve as QAS Professionals under QAS Provider supervision.; technician: No state technician credential. Medi-Cal QAS Paraprofessionals are unlicensed and uncertified, and must meet training and experience minimums certified by the employing QAS Provider.; agency or clinic license: No state ABA agency license. Regional Center (DDS) vendorization is a separate route for regional-center-funded services.; medicaid enrollment: Starting July 1, 2025, fee-for-service Medi-Cal members may get BHT directly from Medi-Cal-enrolled QAS Providers instead of only through Regional Centers. Only BCBAs and Educational Psychologists use the QAS Provider enrollment pathway in PAVE, as individuals or organizations. Managed care members receive BHT through their plans.

Regulation

Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1374.73; Medi-Cal Provider Manual Part 2 — Behavioral Health Treatment (bht)

1. Obtain BCBA certification, or hold a qualifying California license plus 12 semester units in ABA and two years of experience, to qualify as a QAS Provider
2. For fee-for-service Medi-Cal (from July 1, 2025), enroll as a QAS Provider (individual or organization) through the PAVE portal
3. For managed care members, contract with the Medi-Cal managed care plan
4. Keep a current roster of QAS Providers, Professionals and Paraprofessionals for DHCS on request

Staffing

• QAS Professionals (for example Associate Behavior Analysts and Behavior Management Assistants) must be supervised by a QAS Provider
• QAS Paraprofessionals must be supervised by a QAS Provider or Professional

Training

• QAS Paraprofessional: high school diploma + 30 hours of BCBA-designed competency-based training + 6 months of developmental disability experience, OR an associate's degree in a related field + 6 months of experience

Program

Medi-Cal

Enrollment portal

Provider Application and Validation for Enrollment (PAVE)

Fiscal agent

California MMIS Fiscal Intermediary (claims/billing); fee-for-service enrollment itself is done by the DHCS Provider Enrollment Division (PED)

Application fee

DHCS charges $750 for applicable applications submitted in calendar year 2026, paid by EFT inside PAVE (or cashier's check for paper applications). DHCS exempts individual practitioners and physician and non-physician practitioner groups. 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

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

For managed care network providers that a plan screens itself, DHCS requires the plan to repeat post-enrollment site visits at least every five years for moderate-risk and every three years for high-risk providers (APL 22-013). 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

Revalidation requests come through PAVE. In June 2026 DHCS told CMS it would run a risk-based two-year campaign to revalidate high-risk providers early, beyond the federal schedule. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414): every enrolled provider must be revalidated at least once every 5 years.

Full California Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

California certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$16.90 an hour

Effective

2026-01-01

Scheduled increases

Rises to $17.40 on 2027-01-01 (annual CPI adjustment).

Direct-care wage floor

SB 525 health care worker minimum wage covers licensed home health agencies (and skilled nursing facilities owned or controlled by a hospital or integrated system); independent SNFs, residential care and congregate living health facilities are not covered. Rates are tiered by facility type; for the residual 'all other covered health care facilities' tier the minimum is $23.00/hour from 2026-07-01, rising to $25.00 on 2028-07-01.

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)

1,651 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

11,659,421 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

• 1915(i) State Plan HCBS for People with Developmental Disabilities (1915(i))
• Assisted Living Waiver (1915(c))
• Community First Choice Option (CFCO) (1915(k))
• HCBS Waiver for Californians with Developmental Disabilities (1915(c))
• Home and Community Based Alternatives Waiver (1915(c))
• Medi-Cal Waiver Program (MCWP) (1915(c))
• Multipurpose Senior Services Program Waiver (1915(c))
• Self-Determination Program for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (1915(c))

California waivers and waiting lists →