A certified firm and a certified renovator are two different RRP credentials, and most contractors need both. The certified firm credential is an application your company files (no class, no exam) that makes it legal for the business to advertise for and perform regulated lead-paint work. The certified renovator credential is earned by one person who completes an accredited 8-hour course and then directs lead-safe work on the job. In short, the firm credential covers the company and the renovator credential covers a person on your crew.
You cannot substitute one for the other. Taking the 8-hour class does not certify your company, and certifying your company does not train anyone to run the work. Under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule, a compliant operation has both on hand: a certified firm on file and at least one certified renovator assigned to its regulated jobs.
A certified firm is your company's permission to be hired for the work. A certified renovator is a trained individual who makes sure the work is done lead-safe on site. The firm credential is about who can legally take and advertise the job. The renovator credential is about who is qualified to run it.
People confuse the two because both contain the word certified and both come out of the same RRP Rule. But they sit at different levels. One attaches to a business and its EIN. The other attaches to a person and their name. That distinction determines which step you take next.
Firm certification is a credential your business holds under the EPA RRP Rule, which falls under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. It is not a class and it is not an exam. It is an application. Your company submits its legal information and signs an acknowledgment that it will follow lead-safe work practices and use certified personnel, and the EPA (or an authorized state program) issues the firm a certificate.
The certificate is what makes it legal for your company to be compensated to perform, and to advertise for, renovation, repair, or painting that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities. Without it, the company cannot legally bid the work at all. In EPA-administered states the firm certificate is valid for five years. Some state-run programs run on their own schedule (for example, North Carolina renews annually and Wisconsin runs on a four-year cycle).
The certified renovator credential is earned by one person who completes an accredited one-day course, roughly 8 hours, delivered by an EPA-accredited or state-accredited training provider. The course covers the regulations, work-area containment, lead-safe work practices, cleaning and cleaning verification, and recordkeeping. At the end, the person holds the credential, not the company.
On a regulated job, the certified renovator is the person responsible for performing or directing the lead-safe steps and for training the other workers on site in the practices they will use. This person is the on-site lead for compliance. Many firms certify an owner or a lead carpenter and have them oversee the crews.
The fastest way to keep these straight is to put them next to each other. Almost every row is different, which is exactly why one cannot replace the other.
For a normal contracting operation, yes, you need both. The firm certification lets the company take the job. The certified renovator makes the company compliant once the crew is actually on site. Having one without the other leaves a gap. A certified firm with no certified renovator cannot legally run the work correctly, and a certified renovator working under an uncertified company does not make that company legal to be hired.
The practical minimum is one certified firm plus at least one certified renovator assigned to your regulated jobs. A solo operator often wears both hats: the business files for firm certification, and the owner personally takes the 8-hour course to become the certified renovator. Larger crews keep one or more renovators on staff to cover their job sites.
The two processes are independent, so you do not have to do them in a strict order. For most contractors the efficient approach is to file the firm certification now and complete the renovator training in parallel. Filing the firm application takes about two minutes and starts the clock on issuance, while a live training seat may be days or weeks out.
One practical wrinkle is worth knowing. For the four state-run programs we file directly (North Carolina, Wisconsin, Delaware, and Washington), we collect your certified renovator's details at the time of filing, so it helps to have that person's credential in hand first. For EPA-administered states, renovator proof is not required at the moment you file the firm application, but you still need a certified renovator on staff before you perform regulated work.
The errors below show up again and again. Each one comes from blurring the line between the company credential and the individual credential.
Avoiding them is mostly a matter of remembering that the firm credential and the renovator credential are two separate requirements you satisfy in two separate ways.
Handle the two credentials through the two channels built for them. For the firm certification, you do not need a government login or account, and you never provide a Social Security number. You give us your firm's legal name, EIN, business address, and an authorized contact, sign a short authorization, and we prepare and submit the application as your authorized agent, then track it to issuance. Pricing is a flat $129 service fee plus the government's filing fee, itemized separately and never marked up. All-in totals run from $154 to $429 depending on the program, and most certificates are issued within about one to two weeks.
For the renovator credential, you book an accredited 8-hour course and the individual attends it. We are a filing service, so we do not run the class, but the two efforts run cleanly in parallel: start your firm filing today, and get your renovator trained while the certificate is processing.
If your company needs to be hired for renovation, repair, or painting in pre-1978 properties, the firm certification is the piece you file, and the piece we handle end to end. Select your state at LeadSafeFiling.com to see your exact certificate, fee, validity, and any renovator requirement, then file in about two minutes. Most contractors set both the firm filing and the renovator training in motion the same day, so the certificate processes while the class gets booked.
A certified firm is a company credential earned by filing an application, with no class. A certified renovator is an individual credential earned by completing an accredited 8-hour course. The firm credential lets the business take the work; the renovator credential lets a person direct lead-safe work on the job. Most contractors need both.
Almost always, yes. The firm certification makes it legal for your company to advertise for and accept regulated work, and a certified renovator must be assigned to those jobs to run them lead-safe. A normal operation needs one certified firm plus at least one certified renovator.
Yes. Taking the 8-hour class certifies you as an individual renovator. It does not certify your company. Your business still needs its own firm certification before it can legally be hired for or advertise regulated lead-paint work.
They are independent, so the order is flexible. Most contractors file the firm certification now and complete renovator training in parallel. For our four state-run programs (North Carolina, Wisconsin, Delaware, Washington) it helps to have the renovator credential in hand at filing, since we collect those details.
Neither. Firm certification is an application your company files. There is no class and no test. The 8-hour class and exam apply to the separate individual certified renovator credential, not to the firm credential.
The company holds it. Firm certification is tied to your legal business name and EIN, and it is what makes the business eligible to be compensated for regulated renovation work. The renovator credential, by contrast, is tied to an individual person's name.
No. The firm credential is tied to a specific business, not to a person. A certified renovator working under one company does not make a different, uncertified company legal to take the work. Each firm needs its own certification.
Pricing is a flat $129 service fee plus the government's filing fee, itemized separately. All-in totals run from $154 to $429 depending on the program. A Social Security number is never required to file your firm certification.
In EPA-administered states the firm certification is valid for five years (some state programs differ, such as North Carolina annually and Wisconsin every four years). The individual renovator credential is valid for a fixed term and then requires a refresher course.
You typically need both, and you can hold both yourself. Your business files for firm certification, and you personally take the accredited 8-hour course to become the certified renovator. That covers the company side and the individual side for a one-person operation.
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We prepare and file your EPA or state Lead-Safe firm certification. No SSN, certificate in about one to two weeks.
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