Standards of BBB Membership

The BBB is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education and service excellence. Although affiliated with the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, VA, the BBB is governed by the local business men and women who serve as members of its board of directors.

The Bureau's Board of Directors will use these standards as its primary, although not only, basis for evaluating the eligibility of prospects and determining the continued eligibility of existing members. All prospects, existing members and their principals must:

To be a member of the BBB, an applicant must:

  1. Be invited to apply for membership by a staff person or Director of the Bureau.

  2. Be actively engaged in business, in the BBB's service area, for no less than 6 months (twelve (12) months is required for MIP/ BBBOnline Participation.) This requirement may be waived at the BBB's discretion if:

    a. the principals previously operated a firm with a satisfactory record in this or another BBB's service area; or
    b. the firm is a branch of an existing member or company which has met these standards.

  3. Sign the Membership Application and pay the appropriate dues and fees as set by the BBB.

  4. Supply background information about the company, its principals or other information deemed essential to the BBB's responsibility to provide inquirers with factual reports that bear on the reliability of business. Information provided in any response must state all material facts, and not omit any material facts.

  5. Promptly notify the Bureau of any changes in ownership, licensing status, addresses, telephone numbers, web site and any other information deemed necessary by the Bureau.

  6. Fulfill all licensing and bonding requirements of applicable city, county, state and federal agencies and authorities, and provide license numbers upon application for BBB membership and provide periodic updates on request of the BBB.

  7. Promptly respond to any and all complaints forwarded by the BBB, and make good faith efforts to resolve all such complaints in accordance with generally accepted good business practices.

  8. Be free from an unsatisfactory report at the BBB in whose service area the company is headquartered.

  9. For MIP Participants, agree to, for unresolved complaints, (a) binding arbitration under BBB Rules of Arbitration (Binding) if the consumer also agrees, or (b) pre-commitment to a dispute settlement process through a provider other than the Bureau, and which the Bureau determines substantially complies with Bureau consumer dispute resolution criteria.

  10. Comply with any decisions rendered through the Bureau's or an alternative provider's binding arbitration program.

  11. Eliminate the underlying causes of patterns of consumer complaints that the BBB may call to the company's attention.

  12. Cooperate with the BBB's activities and efforts to promote voluntary self-regulation within the business industry.

  13. Adhere to established BBB standards of advertising and selling, including the Code of Online Business Practices for online businesses that apply for the BBBOnLine Reliability logo, and cooperate with the BBB in matters relating thereto.

  14. Be free from any governmental action concerning the marketplace and its customers that demonstrates a significant failure of the company to support the principals and purposes of the BBB. A membership must be suspended by the Board when an action is filed if the allegations suggest such a failure.

  15. Refrain from using the name or logo of the BBB for commercial, sales or advertising purposes in any manner not specifically authorized in writing by the BBB.

  16. Support the principles and purposes of the BBB and not engage in any activity that reflects unfavorably on the BBB and its members.

INFORMATION ABOUT REVOCATIONS: A membership may be revoked by the BBB's Board of Directors for failure to comply with the above. The applicant understands and agrees that in the event its BBB membership is revoked, the revocation may be published in the company's BBB reliability report for one year. In addition, the revocation may be released as the BBB in its discretion deems appropriate.