The Credit Consultants Association exists to raise the standard of practice in the credit restoration industry — through training, credentialing, published ethics, and a complaint process consumers can actually use.
To represent and advance the credit restoration industry by providing training and certification for member consultants — teaching them to operate a credit services business lawfully, to understand how FICO and other scoring models actually work, to know the consumer credit laws that govern this field, and to advocate effectively for consumers in their dealings with credit reporting agencies and lenders.
Credit Consultants Association · Established 2008
Credit services is one of the few consumer-facing financial fields with almost no barrier to entry. There is no federal license for credit repair, no required examination, and in many states nothing standing between an untrained person and their first paying client.
That openness is not entirely bad — it has allowed a great many capable people to build honest practices. But it also means that consumers seeking help have no straightforward way to tell a trained consultant from someone who bought a software subscription last week, and it means the entire industry's reputation is set by its least careful participants.
The association was formed to give the field a standard it could be held to: a defined body of knowledge, an examination, a published code of ethics, and a public complaint process. Not a substitute for the law — a professional standard on top of it.
Everything the association does falls under one of these.
Our certification programs cover the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Credit Repair Organizations Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and Metro 2 reporting — along with the contracts, disclosures, and intake procedures compliant practice requires. The curriculum is published; anyone can see what a credential represents.
Certification is earned by examination, not by purchase. Credentials carry a term and require renewal, so a credential reflects current standing rather than a course completed years ago. Certified members appear in a directory consumers can search.
Membership carries obligations regarding honest representation, appropriate fee practices, protection of client information, and refusal to advise conduct that would mislead a credit reporting agency or creditor. The code is published in full.
A standard means nothing without accountability. The association maintains a public complaint process so that a consumer who believes a member acted improperly has a route to be heard rather than only a review site.
We think it matters to say this plainly, because parts of this industry are not plain about it.
CCA certification is not a government license. No state licenses credit repair consultants, and no credential from us or anyone else authorizes work that the law would otherwise prohibit. Compliance with federal and state law is required of every practitioner, certified or not.
Certification does not guarantee results. Not for the consultant's business, and not for their clients. Accurate, verifiable, and timely information does not come off a credit report because someone asked firmly. Any training that suggests otherwise is selling something other than education.
We do not sell software. A great deal of what is marketed as credit repair training in this industry is really instruction in a particular software product, priced as though it were professional education. We recommend low-cost options and take nothing for it. Members are free to choose their own tools, or none.
What certification does provide is evidence — verifiable, current, and tied to a published standard — that a consultant has been trained in the laws and practices this work requires. For referral partners such as mortgage professionals and attorneys, that evidence is often the deciding factor.
16067 Tampa Palms Blvd, Suite 224
Tampa, FL 33647
1138 N. Germantown Pkwy
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Cordova, TN 38016
Training and credentialing for people who do credit work professionally — covering the laws, the process, and the documentation compliant practice requires.
View Programs & PricingCCA certification is a professional credential issued by a trade association. It is not a government license and is not required to work in credit services. Read our guide to starting a credit repair business.
