Anyone can call themselves a coach. Now clients can tell the difference.
An independent verification for coaches who have done the work, confirmed at the source. Not a course. Not a badge you buy. A standard you meet.
Free and non-binding. No pricing set yet. Founding coaches help shape the standard.
There is no license to lose, no board to answer to, and no shared definition of qualified.
You spent months, sometimes years, in real training. Supervised hours. A credential you had to earn. Then you put up a profile next to someone who printed a certificate on a Sunday afternoon, and to the client scrolling through, you look the same. Same title. Same smile. The word coach carries no floor, so the market treats your decade of work and their weekend the same way.
No license
Coaching is not government regulated in the United States. Nothing legally separates a trained coach from anyone else using the title.
Many bodies, no floor
Credentials exist, but they are voluntary, fragmented, and unknown to the clients trying to choose.
One standard
Independent, published, and applied the same way to every coach. Proof a stranger can check in seconds.
A standard you can actually look for.
Verification does not require a new law. It requires one published standard, applied consistently, that a person can find and trust. Three commitments hold it together.
Earned, not granted
A coach cannot buy a passing result. You meet the fixed criteria or you do not.
Nothing hidden
Every check is listed in full on this page. The method is public, not behind the badge.
Reviewed on a cycle
Status can be withdrawn. The mark reflects standing today, not a title you keep forever.
checks that separate a trained coach from a weekend one. Each one confirmed at its original source, never self-reported.
- 01
Identity
A real, named person, confirmed. No anonymous profiles and no brand-only listings standing in for a practitioner.
Confirmed at government ID - 02
Credentials
Every claimed credential is matched against the issuing body's own registry. Claims we cannot confirm are not displayed.
Confirmed at ICF · CCE · EMCC - 03
Training
Documented, coach-specific training hours from a recognized program. A general interest in helping people is not training.
Confirmed at program records - 04
Insurance
Active professional liability coverage appropriate to the coach's practice.
Confirmed at insurer of record - 05
Scope of practice
A signed commitment to stay within coaching and refer clinical needs to licensed care.
Confirmed at signed agreement - 06
Background
No disqualifying history or unresolved sanctions relevant to client safety.
Confirmed at public records - 07
Verified reviews
Any client feedback shown comes from confirmed clients. Anonymous or incentivized reviews do not count.
Confirmed at booking records
We do not take a coach's word for anything. Most applicants have at least one claim we cannot confirm on the first pass. We only display what the source confirms.
A credential is where the standard starts.
A recognized credential proves training. Verification proves the rest, and keeps proving it.
Where coaching ends and care begins.
Coaching works on goals, habits, performance, and direction with people who are fundamentally well. It is not treatment for a mental health condition. When someone is facing depression, trauma, an eating disorder, or thoughts of self-harm, that belongs with a licensed professional.
Because psychology.com already verifies licensed therapists, a Verified coach who meets a clinical concern has somewhere real to send that client. Every Verified coach signs that commitment.
Goals, habits, direction
Forward-looking support for people who are well. Performance, life design, accountability, confidence.
Diagnosis and treatment
Clinical conditions handled by a licensed therapist, counselor, or physician. Not something coaching treats.
The mark, where it matters.
On a coach's own site, and checkable on ours. When a client compares a Verified coach to an unverified one, the difference is visible before they read a single word.
- A real, credentialed person
- Trained, insured, accountable
- Knows the limits of coaching
- ICF PCC, confirmed
- Insured and background reviewed
- Scope commitment signed
You did the training. Your listing should say so.
The careful, high-intent clients are the ones who ask how they can know you are qualified. Right now you have no clean way to answer. Verification is the answer, on a name they already trust.
A trust mark clients recognize
The Verified Coach mark on your profile, and on psychology.com, a name people have turned to for nearly three decades.
Separation from the crowd
Next to an unverified coach, the difference is visible before a client reads a word.
An answer to the hardest question
How do I know you are qualified now has a one-word reply. Verified, independently, at the source.
A profile you never have to defend
Verified reviews only. Real credentials only. Nothing on your listing is anything you had to argue for.
You apply
Ten minutes. You submit your credentials, training records, and insurance.
We verify at the source
Each item confirmed directly with ICF, CCE, EMCC, your insurer, and public records. Not screenshots. Originals.
You go live
Once you clear all seven checks, the mark appears on your profile, signed off by our editorial board.
The founding cohort opens first to coaches who already hold a recognized credential from ICF, CCE, or EMCC. If you do not hold one yet, register anyway and you join the line as verification opens more widely.
Registering is free and commits you to nothing. Verification is never for sale. No payment, now or ever, changes whether you pass or where you rank. You meet the standard or you do not.
Backed by psychology.com.
The platform that has published professionally reviewed mental health information at this address since 1995, alongside a directory of license-verified therapists. Every verification is reviewed and signed off by a named person, and the standard itself is published and versioned.
Straight answers.
Is this a course or another certificate I buy?
What does it cost?
I already hold an ICF credential. Why do I need this?
Which coaches are eligible?
What happens if I do not pass a check?
Can I pay to pass or pay for better placement?
Does being Verified mean the government approved this coach?
What if I need help with a mental health condition?
The word coach is going to mean more than it does today.
The coaches who get verified first are the ones who decide what it means. Registering costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Free and non-binding. Verification is never for sale.
Disclaimer. The Verified Coach Standard reflects checks completed by psychology.com at a point in time and does not guarantee any outcome, nor does it constitute medical, psychological, or legal advice. Coaching is not a substitute for licensed mental health treatment. Verified status indicates a coach met our published criteria and is not a government license. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (US) any time.