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. Vfane verifies RCAT status on rcat.net and HARCA, NRCA, and BBB through each organization's public directory, then computes a weighted depth score. A contractor holding all four has deeper credential depth than one with BBB alone, even though both technically display "credentials." The pillar earns the V badge when at least one credential appears on the issuing organization's public lookup; credentials that a contractor claims but that don't yet appear on a public directory remain Claimed until verification completes. [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]