UK-SBA registration and why it matters
The UK Society for Behaviour Analysis holds the accredited register of behaviour analysts working in the UK.
What the UK-SBA is
The UK Society for Behaviour Analysis is the professional body for behaviour analysts in this country. It sets the standards practitioners work to, keeps a public register of everyone who meets them, and provides a way to complain if something goes wrong.
Membership is based on qualifications and training rather than experience alone, so the level someone holds tells you something real about what they are equipped to do.
Anyone in the UK can call themselves a behaviour analyst. The title is not protected in the way that speech and language therapist or educational psychologist are. The register is how you check that someone's training is what they say it is.
Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority
Since 2023 the UK-SBA register has been accredited under the Professional Standards Authority's Accredited Registers programme.
The PSA is a statutory body accountable to Parliament. It oversees the regulators of doctors, nurses, speech and language therapists and psychologists, and it accredits registers for professions that are not regulated by law.
Accreditation is not automatic and it is not permanent. The PSA assesses a register against standards covering training, complaints handling and public protection, and reviews it every year.
To be precise about what it means: behaviour analysis is not regulated by law, and accreditation does not change that. What it does mean is that there is a properly assessed register you can check someone against, which is the practical thing a parent actually needs.
The levels, and what they mean
UKBA(cert)
The highest level. A masters degree with approved postgraduate study in behaviour analysis or positive behaviour support, plus supervised practice assessed as competent. A UKBA(cert) can lead a service, design and monitor a programme, and supervise other practitioners.
UKiBA
Intermediate certification. A qualification at Level 5 or above, with ongoing clinical supervision from a UKBA(cert). They deliver the work rather than lead it.
Practising Registrant
Practitioners working in behaviour analysis who are on the register but do not hold either certification above.
What about BCBA?
You will see BCBA after a lot of practitioners' names, including ours. It stands for Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and it is an American qualification.
For years it was the only recognised qualification a behaviour analyst in this country could get, because the UK did not have one of its own. That is no longer the case.
The American board stopped certifying people living outside the United States and Canada, and the last UK applications closed at the end of 2025. Anyone training here now cannot become a BCBA. Those who already hold it keep it, as long as they keep up the annual requirements.
What to look for. BCBA tells you someone trained to a recognised standard at the time they qualified. UKBA(cert) tells you they meet the current UK standard, hold insurance and a DBS check, and are on an accredited register today. It is the one worth checking.
What every registrant must hold
Whatever their level, anyone on the register has had to provide evidence of:
- Current liability insurance covering their practice, from a UK provider
- A criminal records disclosure issued by a UK government body
- Safeguarding training
- Continuing professional development every year, evidenced at renewal
Registration lapses if those are not kept up. It is a yearly commitment rather than a qualification someone earned once.
How to check someone
The register is public and searchable. Go to uk-sba.org and search for the practitioner by name. If they are not there, they are not registered, whatever else they may hold.
It is also worth asking, of us or anyone else: who supervises the programme and what qualification do they hold, how often will they see your child, how do they decide what to teach, and how will you know whether it is working.
Our practitioners
Everyone delivering work at Open Avenues is on the UK-SBA register. Their individual certifications and membership numbers are on their profiles.