IICRC certified means a person has passed the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) exam for a specific skill, such as water damage restoration or mold remediation, usually after completing an approved course. An IICRC-certified firm is a business that employs at least one of those certified technicians.
The difference between those two sentences matters when you are choosing who to let into your home. IICRC certification is a real, widely recognized credential, but it belongs to a person and a skill, not to every job a company does. Green Genie provides water damage restoration in Buffalo and Western New York, and this guide explains what the badge tells you, what it does not, and the ways to check it.
What Is the IICRC?
The IICRC is a nonprofit that sets standards and certifies people in the inspection, cleaning and restoration industries. It was founded in 1972 as a carpet and upholstery cleaning organization and has grown well beyond that. It develops its standards through a process accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which is why they carry the “ANSI/IICRC” label. According to its website, there are more than 49,000 active IICRC-certified technicians and more than 6,500 Certified Firms.
Its stated mission is “to establish and advance globally recognized standards, credentials, and certifications” for the industry. In practice, the IICRC does two separate things. It writes the standards, such as ANSI/IICRC S500 for water damage, and it certifies individuals who have learned to apply them.
Certified Technician vs. Certified Firm
A Certified Technician
A technician earns each certification separately by taking an IICRC-approved course, in person or by live stream, passing the exam and signing the IICRC technician pledge. In-person students take the exam on the last day of class, live-stream students take it online, and candidates who fail get two retests, each taken within 45 days of the previous score. Certification does not last forever. The IICRC requires annual renewal, and technicians need 14 continuing education credits every four years to stay current. Master-level certifications require 14 credits every two years. If a certification lapses for more than 24 months, the technician has to request reinstatement from the IICRC before using it again.
A Certified Firm
The IICRC defines a Certified Firm as “a business that employs one or more IICRC Certified Technicians.” The requirements are current liability insurance, at least one active Certified Technician, a completed application and a signed code of ethics. Each location is certified on its own, and firms renew every year.
That is a useful baseline, but it is a floor, not a promise about your job. A company with one certified technician can display the IICRC logo. The question worth asking is which certification, held by whom, is on your job?
Certification Is by Skill: Which One Fits Your Job
There is no single “IICRC certification.” There are many, each tied to a type of work. The ones you are most likely to see on a restoration company’s site:
- WRT, Water Damage Restoration Technician: the core credential for water extraction and drying.
- ASD, Applied Structural Drying Technician: advanced drying of building materials. The IICRC requires WRT first and offers ASD in person only.
- AMRT, Applied Microbial Remediation Technician: mold remediation. The IICRC also offers a separate Mold Remediation Specialist (MRS) credential, which requires at least one year of verifiable mold remediation field experience and a 100-question exam, and must be renewed every two years.
- FSRT and OCT, Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration and Odor Control: relevant to smoke damage and odor removal.
- CCT, Carpet Cleaning Technician: the credential behind professional carpet cleaning.
- Master designations, such as Master Water Restorer, which require a set of certifications and several years as a Certified Technician.
Match the credential to the problem. A company whose team holds carpet cleaning certifications has not shown you anything about mold.
The Standards Behind the Certificate
Certification means learning to apply a written standard. The current ones for home restoration are:
- ANSI/IICRC S500-2021 for water damage restoration (fifth edition; a revision is underway).
- ANSI/IICRC S520-2024 for mold remediation (fourth edition), the standard behind how long mold remediation takes.
- ANSI/IICRC S700:2025 for fire and smoke damage restoration, published in 2025 (a revision is underway).
- ANSI/IICRC S540 for trauma and crime scene cleanup (second edition, 2023).
The standards keep changing. In March 2026, the committee that maintains S500 published a position statement clarifying that water from storms and other weather events is not automatically treated as the most contaminated category. A company working on the current edition should know about updates like that.
The standards are sold through the IICRC, so most homeowners never read them. You do not need to. You can ask a company which standard its work follows and how it documents that, for example, with moisture readings on a water job.
What IICRC Certification Is Not
IICRC certification is a private industry credential. It is not a government license, and it does not replace one where the law requires it.
Mold is the clearest example in New York. Under state Labor Law Article 32, most mold projects larger than 10 square feet must be handled by licensed contractors, with some exemptions, such as an owner working on their own home, and a licensed assessor has to issue the clearance report afterward. The same licensee cannot do both the assessment and the remediation on one property. An IICRC credential is not a New York mold license on its own. So for mold removal and remediation, ask for the state license as well as the IICRC credential. You can look up licensed mold contractors in the Mold Contractor Licenses dataset on data.ny.gov.
Certification also does not guarantee results. It shows that a technician learned the standard. Whether they follow it on your job is what the paperwork and the questions below are for.
Verifying an IICRC Certified Company
- Search the IICRC Global Locator at iicrc.org. It lists Certified Firms and lets you search by location.
- Call the IICRC at 844-464-4272 to confirm a firm’s status.
- Check the Invalid Firms list on iicrc.org. It names companies that are “not registered as IICRC Certified Firms and are not permitted to use the IICRC Logo.”
- Ask for names and certifications. A legitimate company can tell you which technicians on your job hold which certifications and that they are current.
Red Flags When a Company Advertises IICRC
Many companies that display the logo are entitled to. A few patterns are worth a second look:
- “IICRC licensed” or “IICRC approved company.” The IICRC certifies technicians and registers firms. It does not issue licenses, so the wording suggests the company does not know what it holds.
- A logo with no names behind it. If nobody can tell you which technician holds which certification, the badge is not telling you much about your job.
- A certification that does not match the work. A carpet cleaning credential on a mold job, for example.
- A company on the Invalid Firms list that is still using the logo.
None of these proves bad work. They are reasons to ask more questions before anyone starts tearing out drywall.
What Certified Work Looks Like on a Water Job
You should be able to see the standard in how the job is run, not just on the truck. On a water or sewage job, expect the crew to tell you the water category and why, show you where the moisture is with a meter, explain what has to come out and what can be dried, and take readings again before calling the job dry. If you are told the job is finished but nobody can show you a reading, ask for one.
For Property Managers and Insurance Adjusters
On a commercial building or an insurance claim, the same questions apply at a larger scale. Ask the restoration company to confirm its Certified Firm status for the location doing the work, list the certified technicians assigned, and name the standard it is working to in the written scope. That paper trail is what lets a tenant, owner or adjuster check the work later without taking anyone’s word for it.
Questions to Ask Before You Hire
- Which IICRC certifications do the technicians coming to my household have?
- Is your company an IICRC-certified firm at this location?
- Which standard will you follow, and how will you document it?
- For mold: what is your New York mold license number, and who is the independent assessor?
For a fuller checklist, see our guide to hiring a water damage restoration service.
How Green Genie Uses Its Certifications
Our technicians hold IICRC certifications in Water Damage Restoration and Applied Structural Drying, and we work to ANSI/IICRC S500 on water and sewage work. In practice, that means we identify the water category before we start, remove what the standard says cannot be saved, dry the rest, and show you the moisture readings that prove it is dry. You can read more about Green Genie and the people behind it. No upselling. We only recommend what you actually need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does IICRC stand for?
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. It is a nonprofit that writes industry standards and certifies technicians in cleaning and restoration skills.
Is IICRC certification a license?
No. It is a private industry credential. In New York, most mold projects over 10 square feet also require a state license under Labor Law Article 32.
How do I know if a company is IICRC certified?
Search the IICRC Global Locator on iicrc.org or call the IICRC at 844-464-4272. Then ask which technicians on your job hold which certifications.
Does IICRC certification expire?
It has to be renewed every year, and technicians need 14 continuing education credits every four years. Lapsed certifications can be reinstated only through the IICRC.
Is there an IICRC certified restoration company near me?
Green Genie serves 21 communities across the Buffalo and Niagara region, including Buffalo, Tonawanda, Amherst, Cheektowaga and Niagara Falls. See all the communities we serve across Western New York.
Ask Us Which Certification Is on Your Job
Green Genie was founded in 2010 by two Buffalo natives. Our technicians are IICRC certified, we are licensed, bonded and insured, and we pick up the phone no matter when it rings. Ask us who is coming, what they are certified in, and which standard they will follow. We will answer before we start.
Contact us or call (716) 466-6653. We are available 24/7.