Consumer Guide
American Cleaners Association
Setting the Standard for Professional Cleaning.
The American Cleaners Association establishes professional standards for the residential cleaning industry and independently verifies companies that meet them.
Find an ACA Verified Cleaning Company
Every listed company has completed an independent review of its business practices.
ACA VerifiedACA Verified
A Badge Should Mean Something.
Many directories allow virtually any company to create a profile or pay for membership. ACA is different. Companies seeking ACA Verified status provide documentation supporting how their business actually operates, and ACA reviews that documentation before granting verification.
Membership can be purchased. Verification must be earned.
ACA Member
A company or professional who belongs to the American Cleaners Association. Membership reflects participation in the association — not verification.
ACA Verified
A cleaning company that has successfully completed ACA's independent verification process across employment, insurance, legitimacy, screening and pricing.
Paying ACA never automatically makes a company verified. Sensitive documentation is reviewed internally and is never published — consumers see only the resulting status.
The ACA Standard
Professional cleaning should mean more than showing up with supplies.
ACA is developing a measurable standard for professionally operated residential cleaning companies. That standard examines the business behind the service — employment practices, insurance, payroll, worker protections, business legitimacy, employee screening, pricing and professional operations.
Legitimate Employment
- W-2 Employees Verified
- Payroll Verified
- Employment Practices Reviewed
Business Legitimacy
- Business Registration Verified
- EIN / Business Identity Verified
- Business Operating Activity Verified
- Supporting Financial Documentation Reviewed
Consumer & Worker Protection
- General Liability Insurance Verified
- Workers' Compensation Verified
- Background-Check Standards Verified
Fair & Sustainable Pricing
- Pricing Reviewed Against Local Market Trends
- Service Scope Considered
- Legitimate Operating Costs Considered
- Extreme Pricing Discrepancies Reviewed
Professional Operations
- Professional Business Practices Reviewed
- ACA Standards Attestation
- Periodic Reverification Required
Verification is not permanent.
Each category carries a verification date and, where applicable, an expiration date. Insurance and workers' compensation lapse automatically with the underlying policy, and companies must periodically reverify.
Last independently reviewed by ACA: shown on every profile
Raising the Standard of an Entire Industry.
Residential cleaning is an essential professional service performed inside people's homes. Consumers deserve a way to distinguish professionally operated companies from businesses that have not demonstrated the same standards.
Workers deserve legitimate employment practices and appropriate workplace protections. Professional cleaning companies deserve recognition for the investment required to operate responsibly.
Better standards protect consumers. Better standards protect workers. Better standards strengthen professional cleaning companies — and the industry as a whole.
Employment structure
A company that employs its cleaners carries payroll taxes, supervision and accountability for the people entering your home.
Insurance & workers' compensation
Active general liability and workers' compensation coverage determine who is responsible if property is damaged or a worker is injured in your home.
Employee screening
Documented background-check standards for anyone granted access to a customer's home.
Business legitimacy
Registration, business identity and operating activity confirm there is a real, accountable company behind the service.
Fair Market Pricing — Verified
Fair pricing is not cheap pricing.
ACA reviews participating companies' pricing against current market trends and service characteristics to help determine whether their pricing is reasonable for the services being provided.
ACA does not dictate what companies may charge. Premium pricing is appropriate when service level, labor model, experience or offering justify it. The goal is pricing that falls within a reasonable and explainable range — and that also sustains legitimate wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and insurance. Extreme discrepancies trigger additional review rather than automatic rejection.
Factors considered in a pricing review
Geographic market
Local cleaning prices
Home size
Cleaning frequency
Scope of work
Expected labor hours
Number of cleaners
Service level
Comparable providers
Employee wages
Payroll taxes
Workers' compensation
Insurance
Operating expenses
In Development
The ACA Cleaning Price Index
As verified companies participate, ACA will anonymously aggregate real pricing and wage information into a national index — organized by ZIP code, metro, state, home size, frequency, service type, labor hours and crew size. The result: a trusted public source of residential cleaning market data for consumers, companies, workers and researchers.
Typical professional house cleaning prices near you
- Recurring Cleaning
- $XXX–$XXX
- One-Time Cleaning
- $XXX–$XXX
- Typical Hourly Equivalent
- $XX–$XX
Sample display. Market data will populate as verified companies contribute.
The Directory
Companies that have demonstrated the standard.
ACA Verified
Keystone Home Care
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- W-2 Employment
- Insurance & Workers' Comp
- Fair Market Pricing
Last ACA review: June 18, 2026
ACA VerifiedNorth Shore Cleaning Co.
Evanston, Illinois
- W-2 Employment
- Insurance & Workers' Comp
- Fair Market Pricing
Last ACA review: May 2, 2026
ACA VerifiedCardinal Residential Services
Raleigh, North Carolina
- W-2 Employment
- Insurance & Workers' Comp
- Fair Market Pricing
Last ACA review: April 9, 2026
The Process
How ACA Verification Works
Each stage is documented, dated and internally reviewed. Companies provide redacted documentation; ACA publishes only the resulting status.
- 01
Application
A company applies and identifies the services and markets it operates in.
- 02
Business Identity
Registration, EIN and legal business identity are confirmed.
- 03
Employment & Payroll
Redacted payroll documentation is reviewed to confirm employment structure.
- 04
Insurance & Coverage
General liability and workers' compensation policies are verified and dated.
- 05
Operations Review
Screening standards, operating activity and business practices are reviewed.
- 06
Pricing Review
Pricing is compared against market conditions and legitimate operating costs.
- 07
ACA Final Review
ACA issues verified status, an attestation is signed and a review date is set.
ACA Verified
Published to the directory with review and expiration dates.
Consumer Education
Know what to look for before you hire.
Employment
Should Your Cleaning Company's Workers Be W-2 Employees?
Worker Protection
Why Workers' Compensation Matters When Hiring a Cleaner
Insurance
What Does “Bonded and Insured” Actually Mean?
Checklist
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Cleaning Company
The Standard
How ACA Verifies Cleaning Companies
Think Your Company Meets the Standard?
Apply for ACA Verification and demonstrate to customers that your company has undergone an independent review of its professional business practices.
About the American Cleaners Association
The American Cleaners Association is a professional standards organization for the residential cleaning industry. ACA defines measurable expectations for legitimate, responsibly operated cleaning companies, independently verifies companies that demonstrate they meet them, and maintains a national directory so consumers can find them.
ACA does not claim that every company outside the association falls short. ACA states the standard, explains how it is measured, and publishes the companies that have demonstrated they meet it.
Verified. Professional. Trusted.