what do you need to be a personal trainer in california? what are the certification requirements?

Answer 1

Go to the department and ask them what you need. If you want to do it once then I'll tell you what you need that I can still remember.
You will need a proof of some type showing where you completed swimming.
Where you completed training.
A birth certificate
a passport
in the old times you needed to swim 25 meters of freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke but I think now they don't do that so you will need to give a diploma on where you graduated from. And I think thats it.

Answer 2

It depends where you want to work. Some places require an ACE or ISSA certification or something similar. Some organizations will pay for your classes and some will not. An academic background in training, kinesiology or physiology is always a plus and some places won't hire you without some classes or education. Check out the links below for more info:

www.afpafitness.com
www.acefitness.org
www.issaonline.com