About CAPA

The Certified Automotive Parts Association is a non-profit organization that certifies the quality of automotive parts used for collision repairs. CAPA oversees a testing and inspection program that certifies the quality of automotive parts used for collision repairs. CAPA ensures that parts meet quality standards for fit, component materials, and corrosion resistance. CAPA is not a manufacturing, marketing or sales organization. The CAPA program provides consumers, auto body shops, part distributors and insurance adjusters with an objective method for evaluating the quality of certified parts and their functional equivalency to similar parts manufactured by automotive companies. CAPA was founded to promote price and quality competition in the collision part industry, thereby reducing the cost of crash repairs to consumers without sacrificing quality.

CAPA Policies and Process

CAPA's policies are set by a nine-member Board of Directors representing auto body shops, consumer groups, insurance companies and part distributors. CAPA's independent validator conducts the testing, inspection and compliance aspects of the program. Only competitive auto body parts that meet or exceed CAPA Quality Standards for fit, materials, and corrosion resistance are allowed to display the CAPA Quality Seal and are listed in a directory, which is widely available to the crash parts industry. CAPA has a Technical Committee made up of experts in the collision repair and auto body part industry. This committee performs periodic, in-depth reviews of the Standards, refining them as required, to assure the continued quality of CAPA certified parts.

CAPA Objectives

To Develop quality standards for the manufacture of competitive auto body parts.

To Ensure that parts bearing the CAPA Quality Seal are in compliance with CAPA Quality Standards.

To Provide independent laboratory participation in the program to ensure integrity and conformity to generally accepted guidelines for third-party certification programs.

To Publicize the certification program to users -- consumers, auto body shops, insurance companies, government agencies, collision repair estimators and distributors.