Certification or Licensing
The Customer Service Institute of America offers the certified customer service manager and certified customer experience professional credentials. The National Customer Service Association offers the certified customer service professional, direct contact service professional, and other certification credentials. Applicants must complete coursework and meet other requirements. Certification may be required if customer service representatives work in financial services or the insurance industry.
Customer service representatives are typically required to have their Series 6 (Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative) and Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) credentials from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-regulatory arm of the investment industry. Other firms hire CSRs who do not have these credentials, but require them to earn them within three to six months of being hired.