Professional Credentials pillar — weighted across RCAT, HARCA, NRCA, BBB

Not every credential means the same thing. RCAT (Roofing Contractors Association of Texas) requires exams, insurance thresholds, and continuing education — it is competency-adjacent and carries the highest weight (1.0) in this pillar. HARCA (Houston Area Roofing Contractors Association) adds local standards and industry networking in the Houston market and weights 0.75. NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association) offers certifications like PROCertification that test installer skill at the national level and weights 0.50. BBB accreditation and letter rating reflect complaint history and transparency — useful as a red-flag check but not a competency guarantee on its own — and weight 0.25. When Vfane verifies this pillar, a person searches each organization's public directory for the business and records what it shows, along with the date it was checked; the weighted depth score is computed from what was recorded. A contractor holding all four has deeper credential depth than one with BBB alone, even though both technically display "credentials." A credential that does not appear in the directory shows as Stated by contractor. [Source: Vfane TSE 2.0 credential tier framework; Roofing Contractors Association of Texas; Houston Area Roofing Contractors Association; National Roofing Contractors Association; Better Business Bureau]