Real Estate Designations and Certifications
Who issues each credential, what it takes to earn it, what it costs, how it renews — and whether it actually moves revenue.
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Real estate designations fall into two groups. NAR and its affiliate councils issue roughly twenty residential and general credentials — ABR, SRS, CRS, GRI, SRES, CIPS, PSA, RENE, e-PRO, MRP, SFR, RSPS, GREEN, AHWD, CRB, PMN, C2EX and ALC — most earned through a short paid course plus an application. Independent bodies issue the heavyweight commercial, valuation, management and luxury credentials — CCIM, SIOR, CRE, CPM, ARM, ACoM, MAI, SRA, CLHMS and GUILD — which require verified transaction experience or expertise and carry ongoing membership dues.
A credential earns its keep when it changes what you can charge or who will hire you. The pages below separate the course-and-application certifications from the production-verified designations so you can invest deliberately.
ONE Terminus is an independent Realty ONE Group brokerage in Greater Atlanta. We do not issue these credentials; confirm current requirements and pricing with each issuing body.
Residential agents who represent buyers. Issued by Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC), an NAR affiliate.
Listing agents. Issued by Real Estate Business Institute (REBI), an NAR affiliate.
Experienced residential producers. Issued by Residential Real Estate Council (RRC), an NAR affiliate.
Any residential practitioner building a broad foundation. Issued by NAR, administered state by state — in Georgia by Georgia REALTORS®.
Agents serving clients age 50 and older. Issued by SRES Council, an NAR affiliate.
Agents doing cross-border and foreign-national business. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Any agent who prepares CMAs. Issued by NAR / Center for REALTOR® Development.
All practitioners. Issued by Real Estate Business Institute (REBI).
Agents building digital marketing and data-security competence. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Agents serving active-duty service members and veterans. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Agents handling distressed property. Issued by NAR / Center for REALTOR® Development.
Agents working resort, vacation, investment and second-home property. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Agents working energy-efficient and high-performance homes. Issued by NAR / Center for REALTOR® Development.
All practitioners. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Brokers, owners and team leaders. Issued by Real Estate Business Institute (REBI).
Agents and association executives building leadership and business systems. Issued by Women's Council of REALTORS®, an NAR affiliate.
All NAR members. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Land specialists — agricultural, timber, ranch, recreational and development land. Issued by REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI), an NAR commercial affiliate.
Commercial investment brokers, developers, lenders and asset managers. Issued by CCIM Institute.
Industrial and office brokers. Issued by Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS®.
Senior real estate advisory professionals. Issued by The Counselors of Real Estate.
Property and asset managers across all asset classes. Issued by Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), an NAR affiliate.
Early and mid-career residential property managers. Issued by Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).
Early-career commercial property managers. Issued by Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).
Commercial valuation professionals. Issued by Appraisal Institute.
Residential valuation professionals. Issued by Appraisal Institute.
Residential appraisers (RAA) and general/commercial appraisers (GAA); some hold both. Issued by National Association of REALTORS®.
Residential agents working the upper tier of their market. Issued by The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.
Top-tier luxury producers. Issued by The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.
All practitioners. Issued by Real Estate Negotiation Institute (an independent training company).
Corporate relocation and mobility professionals, and the agents who serve them. Issued by Worldwide ERC.
Any real estate, design or construction professional. Issued by US Green Building Council / GBCI.
Professionals with advanced green-building expertise in a specific rating system. Issued by US Green Building Council / GBCI.