Certifications will be granted to businesses that comply with uniform and rigorous industry standards of best practices and pass an RMAI conducted background check. The standards address core principles including account documentation, chain of title, consumer complaint and dispute resolution, statute of limitation compliance, vendor management, credit bureau reporting, resale, as well as other relevant operational procedures. Certification can also be granted to vendors and brokers that comply with the applicable standards.

Currently, debt buying companies actively purchasing portfolios must earn the Certified Receivables Business (CRB) designation within one year as a condition for RMAI membership. Debt buying companies not actively purchasing receivables must meet the following requirements to remain an associate debt buyer member:

• Must not have purchased an account since the last membership renewal
• When purchasing an account meet all the requirements and standards outlined in the certification program
• Must complete business certification within one year of purchasing an account

Collection law firms, third party collection agencies, and vendors may voluntarily seek the CRB or Certified Receivables Vendor (CRV) designation but are not required to do so to maintain RMAI membership.

On July 21, 2023, the RMAI Membership approved an amendment to the RMAI Bylaws requiring current associate debt buyer members to become certified by January 1, 2025, to maintain their membership.

Starting March 1, 2024, the Certification Program is going to require a pre-certification audit as a condition to certification. Businesses that earn certification prior to March 1, 2024, do not need a pre-certification audit. If you have questions, contact Director of Certification and Education, Shannon Parod at (916) 482-2462 or sparod@rmaintl.org.

Affiliated businesses (debt buying companies, collection law firms, and third-party collection agencies) may share certification under a “Family of Companies” designation provided that all of the businesses meet the following criteria:

• Have the same Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)
• Have the same executive management team that exerts control over business operations (this requirement may be waived by the Administration & Budget Committee if there exists other unifying factors that would preclude its necessity)
• Maintain a uniform network of compliance on all accounts serviced between the business entities
• Are governed by the same corporate policies and procedures
• Agree to be audited in a single unified audit
• Agree any Deficiency and Remediation against one business entity will apply to all of the business entities

NOTE: Businesses that do not meet all of the Family of Companies criteria will need to maintain separate business certifications.

• Only one set of policies and procedures needs to be created rather than multiple versions of the same policy.
• Only the Chief Compliance Officer needs to complete their individual Certified Receivables Compliance Professional (CRCP) designation rather than having multiple CCOs.
• All businesses in a “family of companies” have a single unified audit, which significantly reduces costs for external audits for each separate business.
• The cost of adding an additional affiliated business to a certification is only $150 rather than an additional fee of $1,800 per business.

Check the Certified Business Directory to search Certified Businesses by name, business type, and more. The Certified Business Directory is used by creditors looking to sell or place their defaulted accounts as well as other businesses.