How to start a CPR business: a step-by-step guide

Here is one class, using published prices. Eight students paying $97.00, what the Red Cross lists for its own Adult First Aid/CPR/AED class in Chicago, bring in $776.00. If you teach HSI courses, each student’s digital CPR, AED and first aid card is $14.58 on HSI’s store, and a face shield and lung bag about $0.64, so the class costs you about $121.79 in cards and supplies. That leaves $654.21 before room hire, travel, insurance, advertising and your time.

The same class with three students leaves a fraction of that, and your time, the room and the travel cost the same. To make it pay, fill your classes, sell private classes to employers, where one booking fills the room, and bring students back when their certification comes due.

Minimum ages are 18 for AHA Heartsaver and BLS instructors, 16 for the Red Cross’s First Aid/CPR/AED instructor course and 17 for HSI’s. The AHA’s ACLS and PALS instructors must also be licensed or certified in a healthcare occupation. The guide to becoming a CPR instructor walks through each organization’s steps, and what it costs to become a CPR instructor breaks down the fees.

You can teach for more than one organization, with a separate instructor certification from each, so start with one and add a second when clients ask for it. How the cards expire matters later, when you remind students to renew; how long CPR certification is good for explains each organization’s rule.

• AHA: every instructor aligns with an AHA Training Center, directly or through one of its Training Sites, and the Training Center issues the eCards. Only a Training Site registered in the AHA’s Atlas system can apply to become a Training Center, which needs general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 and its own equipment, among other criteria.
• American Red Cross: you affiliate with a Red Cross Training Provider, or become a Licensed Training Provider yourself. There’s no fee to set up the Licensed Training Provider agreement; the Red Cross charges a fee per student that varies by course, and you provide your own insurance, instructors and equipment.
• HSI: you affiliate with an approved HSI Training Center or set up your own, which costs a $49.99 fee when you take the instructor course and requires buying at least one current HSI program.
• NSC and ECSI: NSC instructors teach under a Training Center or affiliate agreement, and public instructors can teach independently. ECSI instructors work through an ECSI Education Center, which the organization describes as free to join.

1. Choose a structure. A sole proprietorship is the simplest; a limited liability company (LLC) protects your personal assets in most cases. Your structure affects your taxes, paperwork and personal liability.
2. Register the business with your state, and with your city or county if it asks. The SBA says registration costs less than $300 in most cases, depending on your state and structure.
3. Get an EIN if you need one. The IRS issues an employer identification number online, for free, in minutes. You need one if you hire employees or run a partnership or corporation; a sole proprietor with no employees can generally use their Social Security number.
4. Check licenses and permits. Local governments set registration, licensing and permit requirements, so check your city and county.
5. Open a business bank account to keep class payments apart from your own money.
6. Buy insurance. The SBA lists general liability insurance for any business and professional liability insurance for businesses that provide services. Some insurance can be required by law, such as workers’ compensation once you hire, and the requirements vary by state.

Your certifying organization may have its own requirements too: the Red Cross makes Licensed Training Providers responsible for their own insurance, and the AHA requires new Training Centers to carry general liability cover of at least $1,000,000. This is general information, not legal or insurance advice.

• Manikins: adult manikins with CPR monitors are $195.00 each or $758.00 for four on the Red Cross’s store, and infant manikins $172.00 or $659.00 for four.
• AED trainers: $110.00 each or $400.00 for four on the AHA’s ShopCPR, and $137.50 or $550.00 for four for the Red Cross’s Prestan-made trainer.
• Consumables: face shields with lung bags, one for each student, are $32.20 for 50.
• Starter kits: the Red Cross sells complete sets: $1,100.90 for four adult manikins and four AED trainers, $1,968.00 with infant manikins added, and $2,181.60 for a BLS kit with bag-valve masks.
• Instructor materials: the manual for each course, about $45 to $55, and the course videos where your organization uses them, such as the AHA’s BLS Instructor Package from $162.50.

Buy for the class size you plan to teach, not the largest class you can imagine: four manikins and four AED trainers cover a class of about eight to twelve students at the Red Cross’s ratio.

For a local reference, see what the certifying organizations charge near you. On September 29, 2026, the Red Cross listed its own classes in Chicago at $97.00 for BLS and for Adult First Aid/CPR/AED, $117.00 for Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED, and $77.00 for Adult CPR/AED, and other BLS classes in the same search, most run by Training Providers, were listed at $50 to $100.

Charge for what makes your class different, such as convenient times, smaller classes, onsite training or same-day cards, rather than undercutting everyone. Quote employers one price for the group, and decide your minimum group size and your travel radius in advance. More in how much to charge for CPR classes.

At a minimum you need: a page with your upcoming classes and online payment; a waiver or agreement each student accepts; reminders before class to cut no-shows; a roster for recording attendance and results; the records your certifying organization needs; and each student’s certification date, so you can remind them to renew. Keep payments in a business account through a card processor such as Stripe or Square.

See how online registration and checkout works, or what JoinCPR offers independent CPR instructors.

Employers are worth the effort early, because one booking fills a class. OSHA requires workplaces with no infirmary, clinic or hospital in near proximity to have someone adequately trained to give first aid (29 CFR 1910.151(b)). OSHA doesn’t certify training programs, so each employer chooses its own provider. For fifteen ways to fill your classes, see how to market CPR classes.

The low end is the Red Cross route with its adult starter kit: $1,537.05 for the course, a manual, four adult manikins, four AED trainers and 50 lung bags. The high end is HSI’s course with your own Training Center, the BLS starter kit and 50 lung bags: $2,678.79. Teaching for someone else’s training center with their equipment costs far less, mainly the course and a manual.

Mobile

Teaching at your clients’ sites keeps your costs low and suits employers who want their staff trained at work. You carry manikins and AED trainers to every class, so buy carry cases. On Google, set up a service-area Business Profile covering the area you travel to, because Google expects any address you show to be staffed and open to customers during your stated hours.

Fixed location

A classroom of your own lets you run public classes on a regular schedule and gives students an address to find. It adds rent and utilities, so check how many classes a month you need to cover it. You can also do both: public classes in a rented room, and private classes at employers’ sites.