Consumer Credit Counselor Certification

Consumer credit counselors work with individuals who have lost control of their finances and are looking to regain the control. Most consumer credit counselors work at banks, financial institutions and for credit counseling agencies. In order to advance in your career as a consumer credit counselor or to differentiate your services from your competition, you may be interested in obtaining a consumer credit counselor certification.

Identification

Several organizations and associations provide the educational courses you need to complete in order to obtain your consumer credit counselor certification. Professional organizations that provide a consumer credit counselor certification program includes the National Institute for Financial Education of America, Inc; the National Association of Certified Credit Counselors; the Center for Financial Certifications; and the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning and Education (AFCPE).

Program

The consumer credit counselor certification program is a self-study home course, where you have access to the materials you need to study for and pass the final exam. Both online programs and book home-study courses are available through the various associations and organization. For example, the course offered by the AFCPE consists of two courses. At the end of each course, you have to complete a 100-multiple-choice question exam. Some of the other certification programs offered include an independent-study manual, which guides students in studying the information required to pass the exam. A test score of 70 is required to receive the certification and most courses are under $400.

Benefits

While certification is not required to work as a consumer credit counselor, it can be beneficial to obtain a certification. One benefit of being a certified consumer credit counselor is you have the ability to earn more money. Second, the certification can be used as leverage for promotions or to obtain a higher paying position with another company than the one you are currently working for. If you work on your own, a certification builds credibility with the clients that hire you to help them with their finances.

Types

Consumer credit counselors can obtain certifications in different areas and the areas of certification vary according to the organization offering the certification. For example, the Center for Financial Certifications offers five different financial certification options, which includes finance counselor, educator in personal finance, residential housing counselor, consumer debt specialist and consumer receivables counselor. You may choose a certification area that relates to the company you work for or the type of credit counseling you do. Another example is the certifications offered by NACCC, which is certification in credit counseling, senior credit counseling, financial health and debt settlement.

Maintenance

The Association for Financial Counseling, Planning, and Education requires that certified consumer credit counselors must pay an annual renewal fee and attend continuing education courses every other year to keep the certification current. Through the Center for Financial Certifications, the requirement is at least 20 continuing education hours every two years. Continuing education credits can be earned in various ways including attending conferences, seminars or classes, so check with the organization you receive your certification from for maintenance requirements.