Professional certification

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article is in list format but may read better as prose. You can help by converting this article, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (November 2015) This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Professional certification" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.