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Personal trainer

Personal trainers coach individuals and groups through exercise for health and fitness. Certified by several national bodies; not licensed by states.

CPTSeveral national certifications0 of 24 topics covered

What it is

A general description of the work. Scope, which is set in law, is covered topic by topic below.

Commonly works on

  • General fitness
  • Strength and conditioning
  • Behavior change

Typical settings

  • Gyms
  • Private studios
  • Online
  • Corporate wellness

Personal trainers design exercise programs for individual clients and small groups, in settings such as commercial gyms, performance centers, corporate wellness programs and their own businesses. Their focus is fitness, health and behavior change in generally healthy people, which sets them apart from athletic trainers, whose education follows the medical model.

No state licenses personal training, so the credential that matters is a voluntary certification, and many organizations issue one. NSCA, one of them, itself warns that the market is crowded with quick, unregulated certifications.

One way to tell certifications apart is whether the program is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. NCCA sets standards for voluntary certification programs and re-reviews accredited programs on a five-year cycle. Requirements for accredited certifications are modest compared with the licensed professions: NSCA's personal trainer exam, for example, requires candidates to be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent and have current CPR and AED certification.

Updated October 11, 2026

Sources

  1. NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer nsca.com (official site), National Strength and Conditioning Association
  2. Athletic Training nata.org (official site), National Athletic Trainers' Association
  3. NCCA Accreditation credentialingexcellence.org (official site), Institute for Credentialing Excellence

A general description of the profession. It does not say what you may do under your license; for that, see the scope statuses below and your state board.

How it is regulated

The national layer. States add their own requirements, and the state board has the final word.

Several national certifications

Several national organizations certify practitioners, each with its own exam and renewal rules. No state board licenses the work. Employers decide which certifications they accept.

Credential
CPT
Regulation
Several national certifications
Program accreditor
National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) credentialingexcellence.org (official site)
Typical time to qualify
Weeks to months, depending on the body and how you prepare

Licensure

No state licenses personal training. That means there is no board to be disciplined by, no protected title, and no legal floor — which is exactly why the accreditation of the certifying body is doing all the work.

Sources retrieved 2026-07-28 · About our sources

Scope at a glance

The national picture for personal trainers, topic by topic. Your state can differ; each topic page says how to check.

Bodies and guidance

The organizations that accredit, examine, regulate and represent the profession, and the documents they publish.

Bodies

Guidance

Overlap with other professions

The professions personal trainers share the most patients and techniques with.

How to become a personal trainer

The national steps in order. Each state adds its own requirements, so the last step is always the board.

  1. Step 1

    Meet the basic eligibility requirements

  2. Step 2

    Choose a certifying body, and check its accreditation

  3. Step 3

    Pass that body's examination

Where to get licensed

Each step in full, with the board for every state and the compacts that apply.

Get licensed as a personal trainer

Career path

Education routes, settings and how the profession is changing.

Planned for Phase 2