Cathy Liska One of the things you may have noticed in recent times is ICF has gone to digital badging. If somebody does have a credential, they have a digital badge for that credential. This is preventing the mistake of someone claiming a credential they have not earned. 
It is important to be clear on what you have earned in terms of coaching certification and credentialing. Will your clients know if you made a mistake? Sometimes clients are investigating and checking out coaches, verifying what experience they have or credential they earned. While we all make mistakes, as coaches our ethics call for accuracy. The question is, how is accuracy ensured? Coach training is outside of ICF. After completing coach training, be sure to use the right letters. Earning a credential is through ICF. The digital badges show the right letters for what you earned, and they are different! Verify accuracy with experience, training, and ultimately credentialing as a coach.
One of the common mistakes that we have seen coaches make is that reversing letters. This can be really a tough one. There are so many different training organizations and very common designations that are given out. The International Coaching Federation has a credential that’s called Professional Certified Coach. This is very close to the CCC designation of Certified Professional Coach. By mistakenly flipping two words / two letters, earning a CPC and calling it a PCC, means an unethical claim of a credential that was not earned. PCC is a credential from the ICF and completely different the CPC certification class.
What is the difference? CPC is the first 30 hours of coach training. A PCC has completed 125 hours of coach training, has 500 hours of coaching experience, has done 10 hours of mentor coaching, had two recordings of themselves coaching assessed and passed at the PCC level, and successfully passed the Coach Knowledge Assessment.
If you are unsure whether you are a PCC, chances are you are not because to go through 125 hours of training, 500 hours of coaching experience, working with the mentor coach, submitting your recordings of yourself coaching, and taking the exam, you will know you earned that credential!
To be clear, what is the designation you earned? CPC is from the Center for Coaching Certification for coach training. PCC is a credential from the ICF gives for completing everything required for that level of credentialing.
