Certifications apply to partners (companies), and Credentials apply to contacts (people). In our system they're handled very similarly:

• standard Certification and Credential “programs” are defined by the system administrator through the Channel Management » Lists menu. These are programs, levels of achievement, or degrees that could be awarded to multiple organizations or people, such as “ISO 9001” or “Third Degree Black Belt”.

• Programs can be associated with Partners and Contacts through the usual Partner and Contact edit screens. The association of a program with an individual record is like the diploma on the wall – it might contain extra information such as when it was awarded, when it expires, etc.

• When adding a credential or certification to a Partner or Contact, if no suitable program is on the standard list, a “custom program” can be defined on an ad-hoc per-partner or per-contact basis. This is useful for certs/credentials that are worth noting for an individual record but aren't common enough to deserve a spot on the system-wide program list. If you have a certification or credential that you think should be on the system-wide list please notify your system administrator.