Do you need certifications to run a cleaning business?
You do not need a certification to legally run a cleaning business in the United States; you need the registrations, licenses and insurance your state and city require. Certifications are voluntary credentials from industry bodies, and they matter when a buyer asks for one, which happens in commercial bids, healthcare and hospitality work, carpet and restoration, and chimney work.
Three things get confused under the word “certification”:
- Licenses and registrations are required by government and vary by state and city. They are covered in what licenses are needed to start a cleaning business.
- Certifications are issued by industry organizations (ISSA, IICRC, CSIA) after an assessment or exam, and renew on a schedule.
- Training cards such as OSHA 10 show someone completed a course. OSHA itself says its Outreach Training Program is voluntary and that none of its courses is considered a certification (OSHA).
The practical test for any credential: will a buyer you want pay more, or say yes sooner, because you have it? For a residential company the answer is usually no, and the money is better spent on insurance and reviews. For a janitorial company bidding on a hospital, a school district or a corporate campus, the answer is often yes, and the request for proposal will say so.
The five cleaning certifications buyers ask for, at a glance
Five credentials cover almost every request a cleaning company will see. They certify different things (a company, a technician, a building, a trade, a safety course), which is why the costs are not comparable line by line.
| Credential | Issued by | What it certifies | Published cost | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard) | ISSA | The cleaning organization’s management systems | $500 application fee (member) or $2,300 (non-member, includes 2-year membership), plus a $1,495 or $1,995 certification fee and the assessment fee | Every two years |
| Technician certifications (CCT, CCMT, WRT and others) | IICRC | An individual technician’s knowledge of a discipline | Course tuition set by approved schools; $80 exam ($150 AMRT and Inspection); $80 retest | Annual fee plus continuing education |
| GBAC STAR and GBAC training | GBAC, a division of ISSA | A facility’s cleaning, disinfection and outbreak prevention program; courses for staff | Facility accreditation from $600 a year by size and type; course prices on ISSA’s learning center | Annual reaccreditation |
| Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS) | CSIA | An individual chimney professional | Review $315 to $345, exam $330 to $345; $249 a year for two of every three years | Three-year cycle: CEUs or retest |
| OSHA 10-hour card | OSHA-authorized trainers | Completion of a 10-hour safety awareness course | Set by each trainer; OSHA does not charge for or sell the course | OSHA’s program page sets no renewal; some states and buyers want a recent date |
Each one is explained below with the source for the price and what it is worth in a bid.
ISSA CIMS: the company-level certification for commercial bids
CIMS certifies a cleaning organization, not a person: an independent assessor reviews your management systems against the Cleaning Industry Management Standard, and the certification is what large facility buyers and some public bids list as required or preferred. It is the credential that turns “we are professional” into a document.
What it costs
ISSA’s application terms state a $500 nonrefundable application fee for ISSA members, or $2,300 for non-members, which bundles the $500 fee with a two-year ISSA membership (ISSA CIMS application). The initial certification is valid for two years from the certification date, and your organization must complete its initial certification within six months of submitting the application.
The application fee is not the whole cost. The terms add a certification fee of $1,495 for members or $1,995 for non-members, an assessment fee set by the complexity of your operations, and the assessor’s travel expenses. ISSA’s process page describes speaking with a CIMS Account Executive to define your price and timeline, paying a deposit with the application, then paying for the assessment itself; assessors are independent third parties accredited by ISSA, and organizations re-certify every two years (ISSA CIMS certification overview). Ask the CIMS Account Executive for a full quote before you apply, and ask how many days on site the assessor expects for a company your size.
What it covers
The standard addresses how the company is managed rather than how a single room is cleaned. Preparing for it means writing down how you train, inspect, handle complaints, store chemicals and manage staff, then proving to the assessor that you follow the documents. ISSA also runs a green-building version, CIMS-GB, for companies serving buildings with sustainability programs.
Who should get it
- Janitorial companies bidding on hospitals, universities, school districts, corporate campuses and government buildings, where the RFP names CIMS.
- Companies with a few dozen employees or more, because the documentation effort is the same whether you have five accounts or fifty.
- Not residential companies, and not a new janitorial company with two accounts. Build the systems first; certify when a bid asks.
The process for finding and winning those bids is in how to get commercial cleaning contracts.
IICRC: technician certifications for carpet, upholstery and restoration
IICRC certifies individuals, course by course: Carpet Cleaning Technician (CCT), Commercial Carpet Maintenance Technician (CCMT), Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT), Applied Microbial Remediation Technician (AMRT) and others, offered live-stream, in person or both, with AMRT in person only (IICRC certifications). Carpet and restoration clients, insurers and property managers look for these letters.
What it costs
- The course. Taught by approved schools and instructors, who set their own tuition. IICRC’s site lets you find an approved course or school and live-stream classes; it does not publish a single tuition figure because it does not run the classes.
- The exam. IICRC’s FAQ states that both the initial exam fee and the retest exam fee are $80, and that the AMRT and Inspection exams are $150 (IICRC FAQs). Live-stream candidates take the exam through IICRC’s online portal and have 45 days to complete it after the class ends.
- Retests. $80 for all certification courses, except the Mold Remediation Specialist exam, which allows one retest at $200 (IICRC retest).
- Renewal. Annual renewal is required to keep certifications active, and IICRC bills by the number and type of certifications you hold; its FAQ gives the example of one technician paying $46 and a coworker $58 (IICRC FAQs). Technicians also need continuing education credits.
Certified Firm
A company can also become an IICRC Certified Firm, which is what insurers and consumers find in the IICRC locator; it has its own application and an annual renewal of its own.
Who should get it
- Anyone selling carpet, upholstery or rug cleaning: CCT is the baseline clients recognize. See the carpet cleaning business guide for the equipment side.
- Companies moving into water damage or mold work (WRT, AMRT), where insurance adjusters expect the credential.
- Janitorial companies that want to add floor and carpet care as a higher-margin line.
GBAC: infection-prevention training and the STAR facility accreditation
GBAC (the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of ISSA) runs two things that matter to cleaning companies: training courses in cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention for staff, and GBAC STAR, an accreditation for facilities, not contractors. Healthcare, hospitality, arenas and schools are where it comes up.
Training for your team
GBAC’s courses cover cleaning, disinfection and contamination-control measures for outbreaks such as SARS-CoV-2 and other biohazard situations, and are accessed through the ISSA Online Learning Center (GBAC online learning). Prices are shown in that learning center at checkout rather than on the public page, so budget for them per technician and ask ISSA about member pricing.
GBAC STAR for the buildings you clean
GBAC STAR accredits a facility’s program for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention. It is an annual accreditation with a reaccreditation process each year, and its published rates depend on the type and size of the building: restaurants at $3 per seat with a $600 minimum, hotels at $3 per room with a $600 minimum and a $15,000 maximum, and other facilities at $600 for under 25,000 square feet and $1,100 for 25,000 to 199,999 square feet, rising with size; each accreditation includes a number of GBAC online fundamentals course seats (GBAC STAR facility accreditation).
For a cleaning contractor, the value is indirect: a hotel or clinic pursuing STAR needs its cleaning provider to follow documented protocols, so a company with GBAC-trained staff is easier to hire and harder to replace. Put the training on the proposal, and offer to help the facility with its application.
Who should get it
- Companies cleaning medical and dental offices, senior living, gyms, hotels and venues. The medical office cleaning checklist shows the protocol level those clients expect.
- Not needed for residential work.
CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep: the credential for chimney work
The CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep (CCS) credential, from the Chimney Safety Institute of America, is the one homeowners, insurers and real estate inspectors recognize for chimney and venting work. If your cleaning company adds chimney sweeping, this is the certification that lets you charge for an inspection and not just a cleaning.
How to get it and what it costs
CSIA says you must complete a CCS review and pass the CCS exam, through one of three routes: its National Training Academy in Plainfield, Indiana (exam on the final day), a one-day review (in person or virtual) followed by the exam, or an online review through its SureFire platform with the exam scheduled within a year (CSIA, become a certified sweep).
- One-day review: $345 in person or $330 virtual for the primary registrant, with the exam at $330 in person or $345 virtual (CSIA one-day CCS review).
- Online review: $315, with the exam at $345; the review is included for SureFire subscribers of three months or more (CSIA online CCS review). You also need the Chimney and Venting Essentials manual and the 2024 International Residential Code.
- Keeping it: the certification runs on a three-year cycle. An annual payment of $249 is due for the first two years, and in the third year you renew by taking a review and retesting, by earning 9 to 47 CEUs and retesting, or by earning 48 CEUs across set categories and applying without a retest (CSIA).
So a technician certifying through the online route pays about $660 up front, then $249 a year for two years, then renewal costs. Compare that with the price of a single chimney inspection-and-sweep visit and it pays back quickly. The business side is in how to start a dryer vent cleaning business, the closest guide on this site to venting work.
OSHA 10: what the card is, what it is not, and what it costs
OSHA 10 is a 10-hour safety awareness course delivered by OSHA-authorized trainers, ending in a course completion card. It is voluntary, it is not a certification, and it does not satisfy any OSHA training standard on its own, but some buyers, states and cities ask for it, and it is the cheapest way to show a bid committee that your crew has had safety training.
What OSHA says
OSHA’s Outreach Training Program page states that the program is voluntary and does not meet the training requirements for any OSHA standard; that some states, municipalities or others may require outreach training as a condition of employment, but it is not an OSHA requirement; and that none of the courses is considered a certification. Students receive a 10-hour or 30-hour course completion card, and trainers have 90 days after the course to issue cards (OSHA).
What it costs
OSHA does not sell the course or set a price. Classes are run by authorized trainers in classrooms and by authorized online providers, and OSHA keeps a list of both (OSHA, find a trainer). OSHA says outreach trainers are independent service providers whose fees vary, so get two quotes, confirm the trainer is on OSHA’s list, and avoid any provider that promises a card without the full hours; OSHA maintains a watchlist of trainers for a reason. The general industry course, not construction, is the right one for cleaning staff.
Who should get it
- Supervisors and lead cleaners in commercial accounts, especially in facilities where you work around contractors, loading docks or lifts.
- Anyone bidding on public work that lists OSHA 10 as a requirement.
- It does not replace the hazard communication, PPE and bloodborne pathogen training that OSHA standards actually require when they apply; the commercial cleaning startup guide covers those basics.
Which certification is worth it for your kind of cleaning business?
Match the credential to the buyer, not to the brochure. Most cleaning companies need none in year one, one by year three if they go commercial, and a specific one the day they add a specialty.
| Your business | Worth getting | Skip for now |
|---|---|---|
| Residential, recurring house cleaning | None required; spend on insurance, a bond and reviews instead | CIMS, GBAC STAR |
| Small offices and retail, a few accounts | OSHA 10 for the lead; GBAC training if you clean clinics | CIMS until an RFP asks |
| Janitorial bidding on institutions and large facilities | CIMS, OSHA 10 for supervisors, GBAC training for healthcare accounts | IICRC unless you sell floor and carpet care |
| Carpet, upholstery, rugs | IICRC CCT, then CCMT for commercial; Certified Firm once you have the techs | CIMS |
| Water damage, mold | IICRC WRT and AMRT; check your state’s mold licensing, which is a legal requirement in some states | GBAC STAR |
| Chimney and venting | CSIA CCS | Everything else on this page |
Two credentials people also ask about: ISSA’s Cleaning Management Institute runs training and professional certificates for individuals, which help with staff development but are rarely named in bids, and “green cleaning” certifications generally apply to products and buildings rather than to cleaning companies. Neither replaces the five above when an RFP is specific.
How to use a certification in bids and marketing
A certification earns its cost in a proposal, on a directory listing and in a renewal conversation, not on a van wrap. Put it where a buyer is deciding.
- In the proposal, on page one. List the credential, the holder (company or named technician), the date and the renewal date, next to your insurance limits and bond. The cleaning proposal template has a qualifications block for exactly this.
- In the directories buyers search. CIMS-certified organizations appear in ISSA’s directory and IICRC Certified Firms in IICRC’s locator; facility managers and insurers use both.
- As evidence in the quality section. A certification is proof that your checklists, training and inspections exist. Attach the inspection form you use.
- At renewal time. When a contract comes up, a new credential since the last term is a reason for the buyer to stay and for the price to move.
- On the website, quietly. Logos on the commercial services page, with the certificate number, for the buyer who checks.
Track renewal dates the way you track insurance: an expired credential on a proposal is worse than none. Broombook is booking, scheduling and reminders for recurring service businesses, so it fits for the residential and small-commercial side of a company (the schedule, reminders and payments) rather than for bid management or credential tracking; see features for what it does and does not do, and keep certification dates in your calendar or your accounting system.