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A TRUE Code is a travel industry accreditation developed so that independent travel agents can receive commission payments directly from suppliers and are recognized in “the system” as sellers of travel.
The TRUE Code was established in 1999 as a component of what was then the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN). Based on IATA’s numerical identification system, it was designed for independent travel agents who wanted a means to receive payments directly from suppliers and a way to be recognized in “the system” as sellers of travel. This new accreditation was the first one developed by travel agents, as opposed to ARC, IATA and CLIA’s system which was developed by the airlines and cruise lines, respectively.
The codes are owned by the agency owners, who may also have approved independent contractors operating under that code. So, in essence, one code could represent a sole proprietor operating their own agency, or an agency comprised of hundreds of independent contractors.
In 2013, both OSSN and the TRUE Code were acquired by us (CCRA) with the intention of growing the network outside of the USA and to be able to connect these agencies with a wealth of new suppliers who wanted to do business with serious sellers of travel.
In 2017, seeing a growing demand from small-to-medium-sized host agencies, we introduced a TRUE Host Agency Membership for agencies who require seats for more than 5 independent contractors. Upon approval, they may add up to 25 at a reduced rate.
Now, several years later, the TRUE landscape has changed dramatically. More and more larger agencies and high volume producers are obtaining TRUE codes in order to have the ability to work outside the US, to work with more diverse, niche suppliers and not have to worry about volume requirements. In addition, TRUE code holders often prefer to negotiate their own commissions based on their particular business model.