The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) is a non-profit organization established in 1987 to develop and oversee a testing and inspection program for certifying the quality of parts used for collision repairs. CAPA is not a manufacturing, marketing or sales organization. The 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 made by car 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 the quality.

CAPA’S OBJECTIVES ARE TO :

• Develop quality standards for the manufacture of competitive auto body parts
   
• Ensure that parts bearing the CAPA Quality Seal are in compliance with CAPA Quality Standards.
   
• Provide independant laboratory participation in the program to ensure integrity and conformity to generally accepted guidelines for third party certification programs.
   
• Publicize the certification program to users-consumers, auto body shops, insurance companies, government agencies, collision repair estimators and distributors.
   
• 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.
   
• 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.