Child Development Associate (CDA): Training, Experience, and Exam

To earn a Child Development Associate credential, you must meet the Council for Professional Recognition’s requirements in seven areas: be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED, choose a credential setting, complete 120 clock hours of formal early childhood training across eight subject areas, log 480 hours of direct work with children in the last three years, assemble a Professional Portfolio, pass the CDA Exam at a Pearson VUE testing center, and be observed during a verification visit by a qualified Professional Development Specialist. The CDA credential requirements are set nationally by the Council, and they apply the same way whether you work in a center, a home-based program, or as a home visitor.¹

Pick Your Setting First

Your credential setting shapes everything else, so decide before you enroll in training. The Council offers five: Preschool (ages 3–5 in a center), Infant-Toddler (birth to 36 months in a center), Family Child Care (mixed ages in a home-based program), Birth-to-Five (all sub-age groups in a center), and Home Visitor (working with families in their homes).¹ Your setting determines which exam you sit for, which subject areas your training covers, and the age group you’ll be observed with.

Birth-to-Five is the most flexible track because it covers infants, toddlers, and preschoolers under one credential. The tradeoff: your 480 hours of work experience must include at least 160 hours with each sub-age group.² The Home Visitor track is structured differently from the center-based settings, with training that emphasizes family systems, adult learning principles, and working across the child welfare continuum.³

Age and Education Baseline

You must be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or GED. High school juniors and seniors enrolled in a career and technical program in early childhood education can also start the process, but they cannot receive the credential until every requirement is complete.

120 Hours of Formal Training

You need 120 clock hours of formal training in early childhood education, with at least 10 hours in each of eight subject areas defined by the Council.⁴ For center-based settings, those areas cover planning a safe and healthy learning environment, advancing children’s physical and intellectual development, supporting social and emotional growth, building productive relationships with families, managing an effective program, maintaining professionalism, observing and recording children’s behavior, and understanding principles of child development. Home Visitor candidates have a parallel set weighted toward family systems and home-based safety.

Community colleges, vocational schools, and Council-authorized online providers all offer programs that satisfy these hours. Whichever route you take, hold onto your transcripts and certificates of completion. You’ll document every hour when you apply.

480 Hours of Work Experience

You need 480 hours of hands-on work with children in the age group that matches your setting, and all 480 hours must fall within the three years before you submit your application.¹ Administrative time doesn’t count. The Council wants direct interaction: leading activities, managing routines, guiding behavior.

Birth-to-Five candidates must split those 480 hours across all three sub-age groups with a minimum of 160 hours in each.² Home Visitor candidates must log their 480 hours in a home visitor program serving families with children from birth through age five.³

The Professional Portfolio

Alongside your work hours, you build a Professional Portfolio that documents your teaching philosophy and practice. Your PD Specialist reviews it during the verification visit, so treat it as substantive work, not paperwork.

A Professional Philosophy Statement, capped at roughly two pages, summarizing your beliefs about early childhood education.
Competency Statements addressing each CDA competency standard, roughly 500 words each, describing how your daily practice meets that standard.
Family Questionnaires completed by the families of children you work with.
A Resource Collection that includes a weekly activity plan, a menu, learning activity ideas, a children’s book bibliography, and a family resource guide.

The resource collection also has to cover your knowledge of state child care regulations, information about professional early childhood associations, and awareness of child abuse and neglect reporting requirements.

Finding a PD Specialist

Every candidate needs a Professional Development Specialist to conduct the verification visit and review the portfolio. The Council sets specific qualifications: at least an associate or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a closely related field, with a minimum of 18 semester hours of coursework focused on children from birth through age five. Beyond the degree, a PD Specialist needs two years of child care experience with a bachelor’s, or four years with an associate’s, including both direct work with children and mentoring at least one other adult.

Your PD Specialist cannot be a relative, and they need to be available during your program’s normal operating hours. The Council maintains a directory to help you find qualified specialists nearby. Identify yours early because you’ll enter their information on your application.

Applying, Fees, and the Six-Month Clock

Once your training, work hours, portfolio, and PD Specialist are in place, apply through the Council’s YourCDA online portal. As of August 2025, the initial application fee is $525 online or $600 for a paper application mailed to the Council.⁵ The fee covers the administrative review, the CDA Exam, and the credential itself if you pass. Payment options include credit cards, checks, and employer-sponsored payments.

After the Council accepts your application, you’ll receive a “Ready to Schedule” notice. That notice starts a six-month window in which you must complete both the verification visit and the CDA Exam. Miss the window and you risk forfeiting the fee and having your candidate record closed.⁴

The CDA Exam

The CDA Exam is a 65-question, multiple-choice test given at Pearson VUE testing centers nationwide.⁶ Questions are scenario-based, asking you to apply what you know about child development, health and safety, learning environments, and family engagement to realistic classroom situations. You schedule the exam through Pearson VUE online or by phone after your Ready to Schedule notice arrives. The test is computer-based, so you only need a valid photo ID.

The Verification Visit and Decision

Your PD Specialist conducts the verification visit at your workplace, observing you with children during a normal day and reviewing your portfolio for completeness and quality.¹ After the observation, the specialist submits findings and a recommendation through the Council’s online system. The Council combines the exam score and the verification visit results and issues a final credentialing decision, typically within several weeks. If you pass, your CDA credential arrives by mail.

Keeping the Credential Active

The CDA is valid for three years from the date it’s awarded. Renewal is a separate process with its own requirements, including 45 clock hours of continuing education (or 4.5 CEUs, or a three-credit college course) completed during the three-year window, plus current membership in a national or local early childhood professional organization. Renewal fees as of August 2025 are $250 online or $300 by paper.⁵ If you let the credential lapse, you have one year from the expiration date to renew before it becomes permanently inactive.⁷ First Aid and CPR certification is no longer required by the Council at renewal as of August 2025; that requirement now sits with state licensing agencies and individual programs.⁸

1
Council for Professional Recognition. CDA Credentialing Program FAQs
2
Council for Professional Recognition. The Birth to Five CDA Credential: A Way to Expand Your Scope
3
Council for Professional Recognition. Home Visitor
4
Council for Professional Recognition. 5 Steps to Obtain a CDA Credential
5
Council for Professional Recognition. 2025 Pricing Update
6
Pearson VUE. Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential
7
Council for Professional Recognition. CDA Renewal Procedures Guide
8
Council for Professional Recognition. Renew CDA