To apply for a CDA credential, you submit an online application through the Council for Professional Recognition’s YourCouncil portal, pay the $525 fee, and then complete a standardized exam and an on-site verification visit within six months. Before you can submit, you need a high school diploma or GED, 120 clock hours of early childhood training, 480 hours of recent work experience, a completed professional portfolio, and a PD Specialist lined up to conduct your verification visit.1CDA Council. 5 Steps to Obtain a CDA Credential Everything you assemble has to match the specific childcare setting you apply under, so that choice comes first.
Pick Your CDA Setting First
Your setting determines which Competency Standards book you buy, which version of the exam you take, and which age group your work hours and observations must involve. The Council recognizes four:
- Center-Based Preschool: a state-approved center serving children ages three through five. You must be observable with at least eight children, and the program needs at least ten children enrolled and two educators on staff.
- Center-Based Infant-Toddler: a state-approved center serving children from birth through 36 months. You must be observable with a group of at least three, with the same enrollment and staffing minimums.
- Family Child Care: a home-based setting where you work with at least two unrelated children age five or younger, in a home that meets state or local licensing requirements.
- Home Visitor: an established program in which home visits to families with children from birth through age five are the primary method of service delivery.
If you work in a licensed group home with ten or more children enrolled and at least two caregivers, you may apply under the center-based credential instead of family child care.
Meet the Three Prerequisites Before You Apply
Applications stall most often because candidates submit before their hours or training are finished. Have all three of the following complete first.
High School Education
A high school diploma or GED is required. High school juniors and seniors currently enrolled in a career or technical program in early childhood education also qualify.1CDA Council. 5 Steps to Obtain a CDA Credential
120 Clock Hours of Professional Education
You must complete 120 clock hours of formal early childhood training, with at least 10 hours in each of the eight CDA subject areas:2CDA Council. Preschool – CDA Council
- Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
- Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development
- Supporting children’s social and emotional development
- Building productive relationships with families
- Managing an effective program operation
- Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
- Observing and recording children’s behavior
- Understanding the principles of child development and learning
Community colleges, vocational programs, online CDA training providers, and employer-sponsored workshops all qualify. Keep every certificate, transcript, and letter documenting the sessions. You will upload them, and the Council will verify them.
480 Hours of Work Experience
You need at least 480 hours of hands-on work with children in the age group tied to your setting, and those hours must fall within the three years immediately before your application date.1CDA Council. 5 Steps to Obtain a CDA Credential Volunteer hours generally count if the setting meets state licensing requirements and you were working directly with children rather than observing.
Build Your Professional Portfolio
The portfolio is the largest piece of upfront work. Your PD Specialist reviews it during the verification visit, and you organize it around the CDA Competency Standards book for your setting, which you buy from the Council for around $28. Use an original copy. Your specialist will fill out forms attached to the book during the visit, and photocopies are not accepted.3Council for Professional Recognition. CDA PD Specialist Procedures Manual
The portfolio includes:
- A Professional Philosophy Statement of no more than two pages or 500 words, describing how you believe children learn and what your role as an educator looks like in practice.4Council for Professional Recognition. CDA Professional Portfolio Review Presentation
- Six Reflective Statements of Competence, one for each competency goal, at 500 words or fewer, each connecting your daily practice to an item in your resource collection.
- A Resource Collection with practical materials such as emergency contact information, community resource lists, and sample activities aligned to the competency goals.
- Family Questionnaires. Distribute them to families of children in your care and get back more than half. If you hand out 20, aim for at least 11 returned. Include the completed forms and the summary sheet.
- An Education Summary with a cover sheet plus transcripts, certificates, and letters documenting the 120 clock hours.
Working through the Competency Standards book section by section is the most reliable way to avoid missing a required item.
Line Up a PD Specialist
Every candidate needs a CDA Professional Development Specialist to conduct the verification visit, and you cannot finish the application without one. Use the Council’s Find-a-PD Specialist directory: enter your work zip code, classroom setting, and language of instruction. The map returns color-coded pins, green for the closest specialist, blue for those matching your language and setting, and red for specialists in surrounding zip codes.5Council for Professional Recognition. How to Use the Find-a-PD Specialist Directory and Map Click a pin to open a profile, then use the contact button to send a request.
When a specialist agrees to work with you, they share their PD Specialist ID number. The portal requires that number to link your application to a certified evaluator.6Council for Professional Recognition. CDA PD Specialist FAQs Confirm the specialist’s availability inside your assessment window before you enter that number and pay.
Submit the Application Through YourCouncil
The application is online only. As of 2026, submissions go through the YourCouncil portal at yourcouncil.org.7CDA Council. Resolving to Serve You: CDA Process Updates for 2026 The initial credential application fee is $525.8CDA Council. 2025 Pricing Update
Create a YourCouncil profile and enter your name exactly as it appears on the government-issued ID you will present at the testing center. A mismatch will block you from testing. Then enter your education documentation, experience hours, chosen setting, and your PD Specialist’s ID number. Payment is accepted by credit card, money order, or agency voucher. Once you complete checkout and click Apply, the system generates a confirmation receipt.
The Council reviews the submission and, once everything checks out, changes your status to “Ready to Schedule.” You then have six months from that status change to complete both the exam and the verification visit.9CDA Council. Important Update: CDA Exam Scheduling Changes Effective 8-1-2025 Miss that window and you reapply and pay again. Do not submit until your portfolio is complete and your specialist has confirmed availability.
Schedule and Take the CDA Exam
The exam is computerized and administered at Pearson VUE testing centers.10Pearson VUE. Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential It has 65 multiple-choice questions, 60 traditional and 5 scenario-based items that pair a short narrative with an image, and you have one hour and 45 minutes to complete it.
The content mirrors the eight subject areas from your 120 hours of training. There is no separate exam fee; it is covered by the $525 application. Schedule through Pearson VUE’s website or registration line on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring the same government-issued ID that matches your YourCouncil profile.
The Council does not publish a passing score for the exam alone. Your results are combined with the verification visit assessment to produce the credentialing decision, so a borderline exam score does not automatically mean a fail.
Complete the Verification Visit
The verification visit is the hands-on evaluation your PD Specialist conducts at your workplace. It follows the Council’s R.O.R. Model, meaning Review, Observe, and Reflect.11CDA Council. FAQs – CDA Council
- Review: the specialist checks your portfolio against the Competency Standards book. Have your original book available.3Council for Professional Recognition. CDA PD Specialist Procedures Manual
- Observe: the specialist watches you work directly with children, or with a family if you are a Home Visitor candidate, and documents evidence across the 13 functional areas. Observation length runs roughly one to three hours depending on the setting.
- Reflect: after the observation, you and the specialist hold a private reflective dialogue of about 60 minutes covering strengths and growth areas. This conversation is not scored and does not affect the credentialing decision.
Before the visit, get a signed Parent Observation Permission Form from the family whose child, or whose home for home visitors, will be observed. Your specialist submits the assessment to the Council electronically after the visit.
The Credentialing Decision
Once your exam scores and verification visit results both reach the Council, a decision is typically issued within one to three business days if everything is in order. Errors or missing information can stretch the review to four to six weeks.11CDA Council. FAQs – CDA Council
If you earn the credential, the Council mails a certificate and wallet card. If you do not, you will receive information about which areas fell short and the process for reassessment. Your YourCouncil login stays active so you can check status and download documentation.
The CDA credential is valid for three years from the award date, and renewal is a separate application with its own fee and professional development requirements.12CDA Council. Renew Your CDA Everything above concerns the initial credential.