Eligibility

Any CPSTI or authorized course administrator can register and schedule a course. If you are not included in one of these categories and are responsible for setting up courses, please submit a Course Administrator Application, which can be found on the Web site under Resources->Forms.

PLEASE NOTE: Although Safe Kids allows members of any of the groups above to administer and set up training courses, there may be additional state or local qualifications. Please check with your state CPS coordinator to ensure that all state and local policies are followed.

Course Types

Certification Course

The national standardized child passenger safety technician certification course is usually four to five days long and combines classroom instruction, hands-on work with car seats and in vehicles, and a community safety seat checkup event. Successful completion of this course certifies the individual as a CPS technician for two years.

The certification course is available in English or Spanish.   The national certification program is an English-language program with some Spanish-language components.  For Spanish-language courses, the course manual and written test will be provided in Spanish.  All official written documentation, including correspondence with technician-candidates and certified individuals and the Web site, will continue to be in English.  There are Spanish-speaking customer service representatives available to field inquiries and assist individuals in navigating the Web site.

Renewal Course

This eight-hour course was developed to help former technicians regain their CPS T certification. Individuals must be in the system as having been nationally certified at some time (status = expired). It provides a very brief overview of the technical information contained in the most recent version of the NHTSA curriculum and verifies technical skills through a series of hands-on assessments and a written test.

This course is designed for those who have stayed active in the field of CPS. Any technician who does not pass the Renewal Course is encouraged to take the full Certification course, rather than taking the Renewal course again.

Class Types

Public Course

A public course is open to all individuals.

Controlled Course

A controlled course is open only to individuals approved by the lead instructor. When administering a controlled course, the course administrator has responsibilities during the student registration process. The system will allow anyone to reserve a seat for any controlled class. However, it is the course administrator's responsibility to approve or deny that reservation request. Once approved or denied, the potential student will receive e-mail notification and, if approved, will be able to complete their registration by paying the course fees.

Some of the benefits of this process are the ability (1) to post a partially public class and (2) to more easily manage local fees.

Example One

You are conducting a course with a total of 15 open seats. Ten of the seats are reserved for students from the local police department, and you want to open up the other five seats to the public. This system will allow anyone from the public to reserve a seat, but you as the course administrator, have the power to approve only five of the reservation requests from community members and leave the other ten seats open for the police department. Similarly, if the police department later decides to send only eight people, you can still open up the other two seats to the public.

Example Two

You are conducting a course and need to charge local fees of $100 dollars. Because this system will allow anyone from the public to reserve a seat, but not to complete his or her registration without approval, you can:

1. State in the course description to submit payment of $160 directly to you and then only approve those that have submitted payment. You can then submit to Safe Kids the $60 for each individual to complete their registration for the course.
2. State in the course description to submit payment of $100 directly to you and then only approve those that have submitted payment. The individuals would then complete their registration by submitting the $60 national program fee to Safe Kids.