Santa Clara County Credentialing Program

Overview

Santa Clara County ARES/RACES has maintained a credentialing program for Mutual Aid Communicators (MACs) since 2009. In January of 2020, the program was expanded to include all Santa Clara County amateur radio operators, whether they wish to operate outside their home city (MAC) or not.

Program Documentation

Program Handbook

The Credentialing Program Handbook describes the program, how it works, and the details of each credential and endorsement type. The Program Handbook takes precedence over all other program documents.

Credentialing Program Handbook v3.1.3 Rev. 26-Mar-2024 (PDF - 608 KB, 111 pages)

Performance Standards

All radio operators are expected to perform their duties according to the Santa Clara County ARES/RACES Performance Standards and Best Practices ("the Performance Standards"). These standards are recommended for everyone and are the required minimum standard for credentialed operators. They are located in the Operations > Standards and Procedures section of this website.

Forms

Credential Progress Record Forms

Candidates for credentials use these forms to keep track of progress toward each award.

Capability Level	Field Operations Record	Net Control Record	Packet Operations Record	Shadow Communications Record
Specialist	Type I	Type I	Type I	Type I
Advanced	Type II	Type II	Type II	Type II
Independent	Type III	Type III	Type III	Type III
Basic	Type IV Communicator

Endorsement Progress Record Forms

Candidates for endorsements use these forms to keep track of progress toward each award.

Approved Activity Request Form

Used by local jurisdiction Radio Officers to request that their exercise, event or incident be designated as an approved activity for credentials and endorsements.

Records

To view your credential records and print your credential wallet/ID card:

Log into the Training and Events database
Click on "My Credentials"

Training

For a quick reference to ARES/RACES training courses needed for each credential, see: Required ARES/RACES Training Courses for Credentials

For more detail about all required courses, including emergency management and agency-specific courses, see the Credentialing Program Handbook.

Questions, Discussion and Support

A discussion/e-mail group is available for SCCo ARES/RACES members interested in learning about and discussing the Credentialing Program.

To Join: Visit our Discussion Groups page to learn how to subscribe to our main Announce group. Once approved, you can subscribe to the Credential group.

Program Management

Submitting Records

All credentialing program records, training certificates, recommendations, and other related documentation are submitted to the Program Manager e-mail alias (below). It's best to batch them up, rather than sending individual certificates each time you take a class.

You will receive a response when the information is checked and logged into the system. Please be patient; we're all volunteers. But if you haven't heard anything in a week, follow up with another e-mail.

Program Manager

The Credentialing Program Manager is responsible for ongoing administration of the program and maintenance of program documentation.

Before contacting the Program Manager with a question:

Check the Program Handbook (see above). The answer to most questions can be found in the handbook.
Check the Credential discussion group (see above). Your question may have already been asked and answered. Otherwise, most questions are best asked on the discussion group where everyone can learn from the question and answer.

The Program Manager can be reached via e-mail at (remove the spaces): credmgr @ scc-ares-races . org