ARLINGTON, Va. - To support the launch of a new consumer Website expected in January, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is making changes in criteria to participate in its Consumer Contractor Connection (C3) contractor referral service. Effective Jan. 1, 2009:

• The NATE C3 will continue as a free service but all contractors who participate in the 25 percent category will need to have 50 percent of their technicians NATE certified to continue to be listed.

• In addition to changing the criteria of the basic C3 program, NATE is raising the requirements to participate in the “Quality Circle” program which is the “elite” level of the C3. The new requirements will move from 75 percent to 80 percent of total technicians NATE certified with at least one NATE-certified technician in each area of service and/or installation a contractor provides.

“We are raising the technician excellence bar with the C3 referral service to provide consumers and home- owners with a valuable resource to help them find the very best contractors in their area,” said Rex Boynton, president of NATE.

The new site will feature clickable maps and, for those contractors participating in the “Quality Circle,” an opportunity to do special messaging in their listing.

For more information, visit www.natex.org.

Publication date: 11/17/2008