Free BCBA CEUs: The Complete Guide to Finding CEUs That Actually Count

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Free BCBA CEUs are everywhere.

Free BCBA CEUs that are actually worth your time, count toward your BACB recertification requirements, and teach you something useful? That takes a little more digging.

I'm a BCBA and BACB Authorized Continuing Education (ACE) Provider, so I see continuing education from both sides: as someone who needs CEUs and as someone responsible for creating them.

The good news is that you absolutely can earn a meaningful portion of your BCBA continuing education for free. Free CEUs are offered through ACE Providers, professional associations, conferences, employers, universities, and recurring virtual events.

The bigger question isn't "Where can I find free BCBA CEUs?"

It's:

Which free CEUs actually count, which ones are worth spending an hour on, and how do you build them into your recertification plan without scrambling at the end of your cycle?

That's what this guide covers.

BUT before I jump in, BIG disclaimer: I am a strong believer that you get out what you put in, which means, SOMETIMES, we have to be willing to invest in skills we want to develop. So let's make a deal: I'll share the best ways to get free CEUs, AND you'll commit to investing in one workshop, summit, or conference that fits your interests and needs!

First: Know What Your BCBA CEU Requirements Actually Are

BCBAs recertify every two years and need 32 continuing education units during each recertification cycle.

Your requirements include general Learning CEUs plus required ethics CEUs and, when applicable, supervision CEUs.

One important reason to check the BACB directly rather than relying on an old blog post: requirements can change.

The BACB has already published updated BCBA maintenance requirements that take effect in 2027. Under those requirements, BCBAs continue to need 32 CEUs every two years, including 4 ethics CEUs and 4 supervision CEUs for supervisors.

Before building your CEU plan, check the requirements that apply to your specific certification cycle.

That sounds boring. It is also significantly less boring than discovering you're missing a required category three days before recertification.

What Counts as a Free BCBA CEU?

There's an important distinction most lists of "free CEUs for BCBAs" gloss over.

Free CEU

You attend or complete the continuing education event and receive the qualifying CEU certificate without paying for the event or certificate.

Free training with a paid CEU

You can watch the webinar, training, or presentation for free, but you have to pay if you want the CEU certificate.

That's not necessarily a bad deal. It just isn't a free CEU.

If you're specifically trying to complete your BACB continuing education requirements at no cost, check whether the certificate itself is included before committing your time.

The Most Important Question: Is the Provider Authorized?

Before choosing a free BCBA CEU, verify the provider.

The BACB's Authorized Continuing Education program allows approved ACE Providers to offer Learning continuing education to BCBAs and BCaBAs.

The BACB maintains an ACE Provider Verification Registry where you can search by provider name, ACE coordinator, or provider number.

It's also worth understanding what ACE status does not mean. Being an Authorized Continuing Education Provider does not mean the BACB has individually reviewed or endorsed every presentation the provider offers. The BACB explicitly notes this in its provider registry.

Think of ACE authorization as confirming that the provider is authorized to issue qualifying continuing education, not as a five-star review of every PowerPoint they've ever made.

There's also one other big issue to be aware of: not all ACE providers have adapted to the new BACB requirements for verifying attendance and engagement. A quiz at the end of an on-demand video? Doesn't count. A code word sprinkled in throughout a podcast? Doesn't count. Know what counts before risking your certificates end up null and void.

Where to Find Free BCBA CEUs

Rather than bookmarking random "100 free CEUs!" lists that become outdated six months later, I recommend knowing the types of places that consistently produce free continuing education.

1. BACB Authorized Continuing Education Providers

This is usually the easiest place to start.

Many ACE Providers offer free CEU webinars as a way to introduce BCBAs to their instructors, courses, memberships, conferences, or other resources.

Search terms worth trying include:

• free BCBA CEUs

• free BACB CEUs

• free ethics CEUs for BCBAs

• free supervision CEUs

• free ABA webinars with CEUs

• free BCBA continuing education

• free CEUs for behavior analysts

Then verify the provider through the BACB registry before registering.

The ABA Collective is an ACE Provider and regularly offers free continuing education and virtual events for behavior analysts, particularly around topics like OBM, leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, coaching, and applications of behavior analysis outside traditional clinical work.

2. State ABA Associations

Your state behavior analysis association should probably be on your radar anyway.

State associations frequently offer conferences, webinars, workshops, networking events, and continuing education for behavior analysts. Some events are free, some are discounted for members, and others offer significantly less expensive CEUs than large national conferences.

Search:

"[your state] association for behavior analysis"

Then join the email list.

Even if you're not interested in attending the annual conference, smaller webinars throughout the year can be an excellent source of inexpensive or free BCBA CEUs.

3. Employer-Sponsored CEUs

Don't overlook the continuing education you're already being offered.

ABA organizations frequently bring in ACE Providers, host professional development events, purchase conference access, or provide internal continuing education.

Before assuming an internal training counts, confirm that it meets the applicable BACB requirements and that you'll receive the appropriate documentation.

A useful staff training and a qualifying CEU aren't automatically the same thing.

4. Universities and Training Programs

Universities with behavior analysis programs frequently host guest speakers, research presentations, symposiums, and professional development events.

Some are open to alumni or the general behavior analysis community.

These can be particularly valuable if you're tired of hearing the same introductory topics recycled across CEU platforms and want exposure to emerging research.

5. Professional Associations and Special Interest Groups

Look beyond the obvious national conferences.

Behavior analysis special interest groups and professional organizations often host focused webinars and events around areas such as:

• organizational behavior management

• verbal behavior

• autism

• schools

• health and fitness

• ethics

• supervision

• ACT

• diversity and cultural responsiveness

• speech-language pathology and ABA

• public policy

• private practice

• business and entrepreneurship

A smaller niche event may be far more useful than another broad "here are five strategies for being a better BCBA" webinar.

6. ABA Conferences

Conferences are one of the fastest ways to accumulate CEUs, particularly if registration includes recordings.

Instead of thinking about conferences only as expensive destination events, look at the growing number of virtual ABA conferences and hybrid behavior analysis conferences.

A virtual conference may give you access to multiple CEUs for one registration price, and some conferences offer free sessions, free registration periods, scholarship access, or low-cost recordings afterward.

I've created a separate guide to the best ABA and BCBA conferences in 2027 so you can plan your CEUs, travel, and professional development for the year rather than finding events one at a time.

[Best ABA Conferences in 2027]

Free Ethics CEUs for BCBAs

Ethics is one of the first categories I'd deliberately plan instead of hoping you accidentally collect enough.

The BACB has clarified the definition of ethics continuing education, including qualifying content related to BACB ethics requirements and cultural/contextual responsiveness when it meets the applicable requirements.

That means an event isn't automatically an ethics CEU because the presenter mentions the Ethics Code twice.

If you specifically need ethics CEUs, look for the CEU designation from the provider.

More importantly, don't wait until the end of your cycle.

When you see a genuinely interesting free ethics CEU from an authorized provider, take it.

Your future recertifying self will be thrilled.

Free Supervision CEUs for BCBAs

Supervision CEUs deserve the same intentional planning.

If you supervise RBTs, BCaBAs, or trainees, check the requirements that apply to your certification cycle and role.

Then prioritize supervision events that go beyond repeating basic supervision rules.

Useful supervision continuing education might address:

• giving effective feedback

• performance diagnostics

• behavioral skills training

• difficult conversations

• evaluating supervisor effectiveness

• building systems for trainee development

• competency-based supervision

• ethical supervision

• cultural responsiveness in supervision

• staff performance and OBM

• developing professional and interpersonal skills

You need the hours. You might as well leave with something you can use at work.

Live vs. On-Demand BCBA CEUs

Both live and asynchronous continuing education can be useful, but they're useful for different reasons.

Live CEUs are a better fit when interaction matters. Think workshops, case consultation, discussion-heavy ethics topics, demonstrations, or opportunities to ask an expert questions.

On-demand CEUs win on convenience. They're easier to fit around a caseload, easier to complete incrementally, and particularly useful when you're intentionally filling a specific gap in your CEU requirements.

I wouldn't choose based solely on format.

Choose based on the outcome you want.

If you're watching a presentation about motivational interviewing, feedback, leadership, parent coaching, or another interpersonal skill, an interactive format may be worth prioritizing.

If you want to deep dive on a specialized topic or learn several different skills for the price of one live event (in your pajamas), asynchronous may be perfect.

How I Would Build a 32-CEU Plan

The goal shouldn't be to collect 32 random certificates.

Your CEU cycle is essentially 32 hours of forced professional development.

Use it.

Start by blocking out your required categories. Then decide what you want the remaining hours to actually do for you.

For example, your CEU plan might include:

Required CEUs:
Ethics + supervision requirements applicable to your cycle

Clinical depth:
Assessment, treatment, parent coaching, severe behavior, verbal behavior, or another area directly related to your caseload

Professional skills:
Communication, leadership, feedback, collaboration, supervision, and conflict

Career expansion:
OBM, private practice, consulting, entrepreneurship, coaching, technology, AI, or another application of behavior analysis

Conference hours:
One larger event where you can hear several perspectives and explore topics you wouldn't have searched for individually

Suddenly you're not "getting your CEUs."

You're designing your next two years of professional development.

That's a much better use of 32 hours.

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What I Wouldn't Waste a CEU On

A free CEU isn't free if it costs an hour you'll never get back.

I skip or seriously question CEUs when:

• the learning objectives are so vague I can't tell what I'll actually learn

• the topic has nothing to do with my current work or where I'm headed

• I've already taken several CEUs covering essentially the same information

• the presenter has a loaded cv but struggles to apply concepts to real world practice

You do not get bonus points from the BACB for being bored.

How to Tell Whether a CEU Is Worth Your Time Before You Register

I use three criteria for continuing education at The ABA Collective:

Clear. Engaging. Useful.

Conveniently, CEU.

Clear

Can I tell exactly what problem this session addresses?

"Understanding leadership" is vague.

"How to give corrective feedback without creating defensiveness" tells me what I'm going to learn.

Engaging

Does the presenter actually know how to teach?

Subject-matter expertise matters. So does instructional design.

Slides full of journal citations read aloud for 60 minutes are not automatically rigorous continuing education.

Useful

Will you leave able to think differently, make a decision, use a tool, change a behavior, or do something you couldn't do before?

If not, I'm not convinced we needed the meeting.

Or the CEU.

Keep Your CEU Documentation Organized

Do not make renewal month an archaeological expedition through your inbox.

When you complete a CEU:

1. Download the certificate.

2. Confirm your name and certification information are correct.

3. Save it somewhere consistent.

4. Record the provider, date, CEU amount, and CEU category.

5. Enter your CEUs into the appropriate BACB system according to current requirements.

I also recommend checking your CEU totals periodically throughout your certification cycle rather than waiting until the end.

Quarterly is plenty.

The goal is simply to notice a gap while it's still easy to fix.

Can You Earn All 32 BCBA CEUs for Free?

Potentially.

But I wouldn't make that the goal.

I'd make the goal to spend as little as necessary while getting the best professional development you can find.

Use free BCBA CEUs when the content is genuinely relevant.

Use employer-sponsored CEUs.

Attend free webinars.

Join your state association.

Take advantage of conference promotions.

And when an exceptional course, workshop, or conference can meaningfully improve your practice or career, paying for it can be a much better investment than spending an hour watching something mediocre because it was free.

The metric isn't dollars per CEU.

It's value per hour.

The Best Place to Start

If you're building your CEU plan now, I'd do three things:

Check the BACB requirements that apply to your certification cycle.

Look up your state ABA association and see what's already scheduled.

Then choose one or two topics you actually want to get better at this year.

From there, free CEUs become much easier to evaluate because you're no longer asking:

"Is this free?"

You're asking:

"Is this worth one of my 32 hours?"

That's the better question.

The ABA Collective offers continuing education, virtual BCBA conferences, and practical training for behavior analysts who want to expand their skills beyond the same topics they've heard for years.

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