Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential
What you'll learn
You build skills across the Council's six CDA competency goals, from keeping a safe, healthy learning environment to partnering with families, and show them through training, observation and assessment for the national credential.
- Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
- Advancing children's physical and intellectual development
- Supporting social and emotional development
- Building productive relationships with families
- Observing and recording children's behavior
Source: the provider's official page ↗
Is this right for you?
- Level
- Intermediate People with some experience who want to go further or prove what they know.
- What you get
- A certification employers can verify, made for the top of your résumé and your LinkedIn profile.
- How you learn
- In person.
- How to use it
- Put it at the top of your résumé and under Licenses and certifications on LinkedIn, with the verification link so hirers can confirm it in seconds. Name it in every application that uses this skill, and send it straight to recruiters and hiring managers.
- Why it's worth it
- Federal Head Start rules require Early Head Start teachers to hold at least a CDA credential or a comparable credential. Source ↗
- Time
- 120 education hours plus 480 work experience hours; assessment scheduling varies
- Before you start
- High school diploma (or junior/senior in an early education CTE program); 120 clock hours of education across the eight CDA subject areas; 480 hours of experience with children birth to 5 within three years before applying; Professional Portfolio; Verification Visit by a PD Specialist; 65 question CDA Exam.
- How you are tested
- Training varies; in person Verification Visit and proctored exam
- Renewal
- Valid three years; renewal $250 online ($300 paper) with renewal requirements
- Full cost details
- $525 initial application online ($600 paper); renewal $250 online ($300 paper), effective August 1, 2025. The 120 training hours are separate and may be free (e.g. iCDA series) or paid.
- Where it applies
- United States national credential; setting specific (preschool, infant toddler, family child care, home visitor). It is not a state facility license.
Jobs asking for this
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Sources and what we verified
CDA FAQs: eligibility, 120 hours, 480 hours, portfolio, exam, 3 year validity, $525 and $250 ↗2025 Pricing Update: $525 online / $600 paper initial; $250 online / $300 paper renewal from Aug 1, 2025 ↗What we verified: Current fee verified on the Council's 2025 Pricing Update and FAQs (loaded Oct 12, 2026): $525 online initial application, $600 paper. No newer increase found. The Council calls it a credential; it is assessed (exam plus observation), so awardType certification.
Fees and eligibility can change. Confirm current terms with the issuer before you pay.
Also listed for: AI for Child Care Workers