Welcome to NRPA's CAPRA Application Portal!

NRPA's Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) delivers quality assurance and improvement to accredited park and recreation organizations throughout the United States by helping them build a comprehensive management system of operational best practices. This system improves their infrastructures; increases efficiency in all their departments; and demonstrates accountability within their communities. Implementation of this system strengthens teamwork among organization staff, imbeds all aspects of CAPRA into their organization’s internal culture, and establishes a continuous improvement mindset for all organization activities.

CAPRA is the only national accreditation of park and recreation organizations and is a valuable measure of an organization’s overall quality of operation, management, and service to the community. Achieving CAPRA accreditation is the best way to demonstrate that your organization and your staff provide your community with the highest level of service.

For a full overview of the accreditation process, please click here.

To get started with the accreditation process, please click here in order to fill out an initial application for accreditation. 

Accreditation Process Resources

CAPRA Policies and Procedures Manual: This document provides an overview of CAPRA’s policies, procedures and writing guidelines, which must be strictly followed.

CAPRA Policies And Procedures Manual

• CAPRA National Accreditation Standards or  CAPRA Military Standards
• Management of Park and Recreation Agencies, 2022, 5th Edition, NRPA/CAPRA. This resource includes the desirable practices and procedures of the profession which are embodied in the CAPRA Accreditation Standards for park and recreation agencies.
  • NEW! Consult the CAPRA Accreditation and CPRE Resource document for assistance finding standard references in the 5th Edition of this book.

Consider joining the NRPA Connect CAPRA Accreditation group to connect with agencies and volunteers who have participated in accreditation OR are considering accreditation for their agencies. This is a great resource for personal experiences from other agencies and volunteers about the CAPRA accreditation process.

We look forward to helping your agency reach its full potential through CAPRA accreditation. Please do not hesitate to contact NRPA at capra@nrpa.org with any specific questions you may have.