Birth to five CDA credential: what it is, who needs it, and how to earn it

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is the Birth to Five CDA credential?

The Child Development Associate credential is the most recognized entry-level credential in early childhood education in the United States. The Birth to Five version covers any setting where caregivers work with children from newborn through age five. That means infant and toddler rooms, preschool classrooms, family child care homes, and home visiting programs all qualify. The Council for Professional Recognition, a nonprofit set up in 1975, owns and runs the credential ^[1].

Here's the catch. There is no single product called a "Birth to Five" CDA. The Council issues separate credentials by setting type: Infant/Toddler Center-Based (birth to 36 months), Preschool Center-Based (ages 3 to 5), Family Child Care (birth to 5 in a home), and Home Visitor (birth to 5). All four sit inside the range practitioners call "birth to five," so the phrase covers every one of them. If someone tells you they hold a "birth to five CDA," ask which setting type. The competency areas and portfolio evidence differ by setting ^[1].

The CDA is not a degree. It sits below an associate's degree on the education ladder and above a high school diploma in what state licensing agencies and federal quality rating systems recognize. Many states count it for a step on their Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or as a qualification for lead teacher roles in licensed centers.

What are the CDA credential requirements for birth to five settings?

The Council lists four core requirements. None of them are optional ^[1].

First, you need at least 120 clock hours of professional development across the eight CDA subject areas: planning a safe and healthy learning environment, advancing children's physical and intellectual development, supporting social and emotional development, building productive relationships, managing an effective program, maintaining a commitment to professionalism, observing and recording children's behavior, and understanding principles of child development and learning. At least 10 of those 120 hours must land in each subject area. Online coursework counts if the provider is legitimate. Community college courses count. Employer-sponsored training counts if it's documented.

Second, 480 hours of work experience with children in the credential's age range. Those hours have to be in the setting type you're applying for. Pursuing the Infant/Toddler CDA? Hours in a preschool room don't count toward the 480. For Family Child Care, the hours must be in a home-based setting.

Third, you build a Professional Portfolio. It includes a Family Questionnaire (six completed forms from families you work with), a Resource Collection that documents your work, and Reflective Competency Statements across the eight areas.

Fourth, you pass a formal observation by a CDA Professional Development Specialist and sit the CDA Exam, a 65-question multiple-choice test given at Pearson VUE testing centers across the country ^[1].

One more thing. You must be at least 18 years old. There's no college coursework prerequisite, though most people pull training hours from community college courses anyway.

How much does the Birth to Five CDA cost?

The Council's application fee is $425 for first-time applicants as of 2024 ^[1]. That covers the exam, the online portfolio system called CDA 365, and the formal observation session. It does not cover your 120 hours of training, which is the bigger variable.

Training costs swing hard. A community college early childhood certificate that fulfills the 120 hours might run $800 to $2,500 depending on your state and whether you qualify for financial aid. Some state child care resource and referral agencies offer subsidized or free training that counts toward the hours, especially if you work in a state-funded program. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) includes workforce development provisions, and many states spend a slice of their CCDF allocation on CDA training for providers serving subsidy-eligible families ^[2].

Self-funding everything with low-cost online courses? Budget around $600 to $1,200 total. Working at a Head Start program? Your employer may cover the full cost, because Head Start standards require a share of teachers to hold at least a CDA ^[3].

One cost people forget: renewal. The credential lasts three years. Renewal takes 45 hours of continuing education and costs $150 ^[1]. Put it in your long-term budget now.

How long does it take to earn the CDA?

Realistically, six months to two years. It depends on how fast you finish the 120 training hours and whether you already have the 480 experience hours banked.

If you're working full-time in a licensed setting, your work hours pile up toward the 480 at about 40 hours a week, so you could hit 480 in roughly three months. Training is the slow part. A community college course runs about 16 weeks, and you may need three or four classes to reach 120 hours. Online providers let you move faster if you have study time.

Once you submit through CDA 365, the Council schedules your Professional Development Specialist observation within 60 days in most cases. The Pearson VUE exam usually schedules within two to four weeks of application approval ^[1].

The Family Questionnaire trips people up. You need six families to complete the form. In a licensed center that's easy. In a small family child care home with three or four enrolled families, you may have to start those conversations early. Plan for it.

Does the CDA meet Head Start teacher qualification requirements?

Yes, but read the fine print. The Head Start Program Performance Standards (45 CFR Part 1302) require that at least 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a related field, a target set with a September 30, 2011 deadline that has since passed ^[3]. A CDA alone does not meet that 50 percent requirement for a lead teacher role. It is listed as a minimum qualification for teacher assistant and some teacher positions depending on program size and state.

The 2007 Head Start reauthorization set a longer-term goal that 100 percent of Head Start teachers hold a bachelor's degree. That goal has not been fully met across the country. In practice, many programs use the CDA as a floor for assistant teachers and require an associate's or bachelor's for lead teachers. The Office of Head Start states that the CDA satisfies requirements for teacher assistants in all Head Start program options ^[3].

For Early Head Start, which serves children from birth to age three, the CDA Infant/Toddler credential is the recognized one. If you work in an Early Head Start setting, pursue the Infant/Toddler CDA, not the Preschool one, even if some of your enrolled kids are almost three.

Which CDA setting type should you choose for birth to five care?

Pick the setting that matches where you actually work, not where you hope to work someday.

Center-Based Infant/Toddler: for caregivers in a licensed center serving children birth to 36 months. If your room is mixed-age and spans birth to five, call the Council directly about which setting fits.

Center-Based Preschool: for caregivers in a licensed center working mainly with children ages 3 to 5. This is the most common CDA setting type.

Family Child Care: for providers running a licensed (or license-exempt) home-based program serving any mix of ages birth to five. This is what most home daycare operators should pursue. The competency areas cover running a home environment safely, managing family relationships, and handling the business side of care. If you run a family child care home, see our overview of what goes into running a daycare center for how the CDA fits into your licensing picture.

Home Visitor: for professionals who visit families at home to provide parenting support and developmental screening. This one is the least common among child care operators but shows up in programs like Early Head Start Home-Based, Healthy Families America, and Parents as Teachers.

Still unsure? The Council's website has a Setting Advisor tool. Don't guess. Your portfolio evidence and observation are setting-specific, and the wrong choice means redoing them.

How does the CDA affect your state childcare license?

State requirements vary, so this is where you do your homework for your own state. Some states require a CDA or equivalent for lead teachers in licensed centers. Others list it as one of several acceptable options alongside an associate's degree or a set number of college credits in early childhood education. A few states have no credential requirement at all for entry-level staff, though that's getting rarer as states tighten workforce standards ^[4].

Child Care Aware of America tracks state-by-state licensing requirements in its annual reports. Their data shows that as of 2023, roughly 34 states require lead teachers in child care centers to hold some minimum education qualification, ranging from a CDA to a bachelor's degree ^[4].

For family child care providers, the bar is usually lower. Most states require the home provider to complete a set number of training hours each year or every two years but don't mandate a CDA. Holding one often earns you a higher step on the state's QRIS, which can raise your eligibility for childcare subsidy reimbursement rates.

Check your state licensing agency's website directly. Don't rely on secondhand summaries, including this one, for your exact jurisdiction, because requirements change. If you're in Michigan, for example, michigan daycare licensing has specifics on how education qualifications work there.

Can the CDA help you qualify for childcare subsidies or higher reimbursement rates?

In many states, yes. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the federal block grant that funds childcare subsidies for low-income families. States set their own tiered reimbursement structures, and several pay higher subsidy rates to providers who demonstrate quality, often measured partly by staff credentials ^[2].

The CCDF final rule, updated in 2016, encouraged states to build workforce development supports into their plans, including credential attainment pathways ^[2]. A provider who earns a CDA may move up a QRIS tier and collect higher per-child reimbursement from the state's subsidy program. That's real money. In some states the rate gap between QRIS tiers runs $2 to $5 per child per day ^[10].

Some states also offer one-time scholarships or stipends for providers who complete the CDA. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood scholarship program, which operates in over 20 states, funds CDA coursework and exam fees for child care workers who commit to staying in the field ^[5]. Look up whether your state has T.E.A.C.H. before you pay out of pocket.

For families, a provider's CDA doesn't directly change their childcare tax credit eligibility. It signals quality, and quality is something families weigh when they choose care.

What is the CDA 365 system and how does it work?

CDA 365 is the Council's online platform where you build and submit your Professional Portfolio. You create an account, enter your professional development hours, upload your Resource Collection documents, write your Reflective Competency Statements, and track Family Questionnaire submissions. It all lives in one system ^[1].

The platform is functional, not elegant. Common headaches: uploading large documents (there are file size limits), getting family members to finish the digital questionnaire (some families don't have email or rarely check it), and writing the reflective statements at the required length without padding or trimming too far.

A few tips from providers who've done it. Start the Family Questionnaire early, three to four months before you plan to submit. Send paper versions and offer to enter responses for families who aren't comfortable online. For the Resource Collection, the Council's website lists exactly what documents each competency area needs. Print that list and work through it one item at a time.

Once your portfolio is complete, you submit it and the Council schedules your Professional Development Specialist observation. That person comes to your workplace, watches you with children for about one to two hours, then runs a short portfolio review. After the observation, you schedule your Pearson VUE exam.

How does the CDA compare to an associate's degree in early childhood education?

The CDA takes less time and costs less, but it doesn't transfer like college credit. That's the whole trade-off.

Factor	CDA Credential	Associate's Degree (ECE)
Typical time to complete	6 months to 2 years	2 years full-time
Average cost	$600 to $2,500 total	$6,000 to $18,000
College credit earned	None	60+ credits
Transferable to bachelor's	No	Often yes
Accepted for Head Start lead teacher	No (meets assistant level)	Yes
Recognized by state licensing	Varies by state	Generally yes
Renewal required	Yes, every 3 years	No

If your goal is a bachelor's in early childhood education, an associate's is the smarter path because those credits carry forward. If you need a credential now to meet a licensing rule, qualify for a QRIS tier, or get hired in a center-based infant room, the CDA is faster and cheaper.

Plenty of practitioners do both. They earn the CDA first while working, then take college courses toward an associate's or bachelor's that also count toward their CDA renewal hours. The CDA and a college degree aren't mutually exclusive.

What curriculum or professional development counts toward CDA training hours?

Any training covering one of the eight CDA subject areas counts, as long as it's documented with a certificate or transcript showing the date, provider, topic, and number of hours. The Council keeps no approved provider list, which gives you flexibility but puts the burden of showing relevance on you ^[1].

Community college courses in early childhood education almost always qualify. A developmental psychology course, a child health and safety course, and a curriculum planning course together could cover 60 to 90 of your 120 hours. Online platforms like Teachstone (which trains on the CLASS observation tool), Zero to Three's resources, and state-run training registries offer documented training that CDA applicants use all the time ^[8].

Building a curriculum for your program while you work toward the CDA? A few resources worth knowing. The Creative Curriculum for Preschool is one of the most widely used in center-based settings, and its associated training can sometimes count toward CDA hours. Free preschool curriculum resources from NAEYC and state extension offices are a low-cost option that some providers use for both program delivery and professional learning ^[7]. Frog Street Press preschool curriculum also ships with professional development components.

For home visitors and family child care providers, training on child observation and recording methods often counts toward the observing-and-recording subject area. Zero to Three's website has strong free resources for the infant and toddler competency areas ^[8].

Keep every certificate. The Council may ask for documentation during application review or if a question ever comes up about your hours.

How do you renew the CDA credential?

The CDA is valid for three years. Renewal takes 45 hours of professional development completed during that period (at least 4.5 hours in each of the eight subject areas), documentation of current work with children in the CDA's age range, one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) in child development or early care (or three semester hours of college credit), and a completed renewal application with the $150 fee ^[1].

You can apply for renewal up to six months before your credential expires and up to one year after it expires. Let it lapse more than a year, and you start over as a new applicant and pay the full $425 fee again.

The 45 hours is much lighter than the original 120, so most working providers hit it naturally through employer training and their state's continuing education rules for licensing. Track hours as you go. Don't try to reconstruct documentation months later.

Compliance trackers in daycare management platforms, including the tracking features in a compliance toolkit like ChildCareComp, can keep renewal deadlines lined up next to your licensing renewals and annual training requirements.

Is the Birth to Five CDA worth getting if you're not required to have it?

Honest answer: yes, in most cases.

The credential tells families, licensing agencies, and subsidy programs that you completed structured, assessed professional development. That matters even where your state doesn't require it. If you run a family child care home and you're competing for families who compare providers side by side, a CDA on your door or profile is a real differentiator.

For center staff, it's often a clear path to a pay bump or a lead teacher role. Many centers that can't fund a staff member's college degree will cover the $425 CDA exam fee and some training costs, because that's cheap next to recruiting a replacement.

For home providers who want to understand child development more formally, the CDA process itself, more than the card, is genuinely educational. Building the portfolio forces you to observe children systematically, reflect on your practice, and document your environment's safety and learning quality. That work has value beyond the laminated credential.

The one case where I'd hold off: if your end goal is a bachelor's and you plan to start college within the next year anyway, the CDA may not pay for itself if your college courses will cover the same competencies. Put your training hours into coursework that earns transferable credit instead.

Putting together your full compliance picture? Read the cda credential overview next to your state's licensing requirements to see exactly where the CDA fits your situation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Infant/Toddler CDA and the Preschool CDA?

The Infant/Toddler CDA covers caregivers working with children from birth to 36 months in a center-based setting. The Preschool CDA covers ages 3 to 5 in a center. The competency evidence, portfolio content, and observation focus all differ by setting type. Both fall under the birth-to-five range, but you apply for the one that matches your actual room or job.

Can I get the CDA online?

You can do most of the CDA process online. The 120 training hours can come from online courses. The portfolio is built in the Council's CDA 365 online system. But the exam is at a Pearson VUE testing center in person, and the Professional Development Specialist observation happens in person at your workplace. Online-only is not possible, though most steps can be done remotely.

How many questions are on the CDA exam?

The CDA exam has 65 multiple-choice questions given at a Pearson VUE testing center. Questions cover the eight CDA competency subject areas. The Council does not publish a pass rate publicly. Practice exams and the competency area study guides on the Council's website are the best preparation tools.

Does the CDA count as college credit?

No. The CDA credential does not earn you college credits. But some community colleges have articulation agreements that award credit toward an early childhood associate's degree if you hold a CDA. Check with your local community college. Completing CDA training hours through accredited college courses does earn those course credits separately.

Who is the CDA credential issued by?

The Council for Professional Recognition, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., issues the CDA credential. It was established in 1975 with federal funding. Today it operates independently and reports credentialing more than 600,000 early childhood professionals since its start. It owns and administers all four CDA setting types.

What happens if my CDA expires?

If your CDA expires, you have up to one year after the expiration date to renew at the standard $150 fee. If more than a year passes, you lose the credential and must reapply as a new applicant, completing the full process again and paying the $425 application fee. Set a calendar reminder six months before your expiration date.

Can a family child care provider get a CDA for birth to five?

Yes. The Family Child Care CDA setting type is designed for home-based providers serving children from birth to five. The portfolio evidence, competency statements, and observation all reflect the home setting. This is the right CDA track for licensed family child care homes and most license-exempt home providers as well.

Does having a CDA increase my childcare subsidy reimbursement rate?

In many states, yes. States that use a Quality Rating and Improvement System often award higher tiers to providers with credentialed staff, and higher tiers get higher per-child subsidy reimbursement. The gap can run $2 to $5 per child per day in some states. Check your state childcare agency's QRIS rubric to see how the CDA is weighted.

Is financial help available to pay for the CDA?

Yes. The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood scholarship program, available in over 20 states, covers CDA coursework and exam fees for qualifying child care workers. Some states also use Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) workforce development money for CDA support. Contact your state's child care resource and referral agency to find local scholarship and stipend options.

What are the eight CDA subject areas I need training hours in?

The eight areas are: planning a safe and healthy learning environment; advancing physical and intellectual development; supporting social and emotional development; building productive family and community relationships; managing an effective program operation; maintaining a commitment to professionalism; observing and recording children's behavior; and understanding principles of child development and learning. You need at least 10 hours in each.

Does the CDA satisfy Head Start teacher qualification requirements?

The CDA satisfies Head Start requirements for teacher assistants and some teacher roles in Early Head Start and Head Start programs. It does not meet the 50 percent requirement that half of Head Start lead teachers hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in early childhood education. Lead teacher roles in most Head Start programs require at least an associate's degree.

How many hours of work experience do I need for the CDA?

You need 480 hours of work experience with children in the age range and setting type of your CDA. For a center-based preschool CDA, those hours must be with 3-to-5-year-olds in a center. The hours do not have to be paid employment. Supervised practicum or volunteer hours in a qualifying setting may count.

What is the CDA Professional Development Specialist observation like?

A credentialed CDA Professional Development Specialist comes to your workplace and watches you work with children for about one to two hours. After the observation, they review your portfolio with you. The observation is scored using the Council's competency standards. Most candidates say it feels less stressful than expected when their portfolio is complete and organized before observation day.

Can CDA training hours count toward state licensing continuing education requirements?

Often yes. Many states let CDA training hours satisfy required annual or biennial continuing education for licensed providers. The reverse is common too: training you take to meet state licensing requirements can count toward CDA hours if it covers the eight subject areas. Check both your state licensing agency's requirements and the Council's documentation standards.

Sources

1. Council for Professional Recognition, CDA Credential Requirements: CDA requires 120 training hours, 480 experience hours, a Professional Portfolio, a Professional Development Specialist observation, and a 65-question Pearson VUE exam; application fee is $425 for first-time applicants; renewal costs $150 and requires 45 hours every three years
2. Office of Child Care (HHS), Child Care and Development Fund Final Rule 2016: CCDF final rule encourages states to use workforce development supports including credential attainment pathways; states may use CCDF funds to subsidize CDA training for providers serving subsidy-eligible families
3. Office of Head Start (HHS), Head Start Program Performance Standards 45 CFR Part 1302: Head Start performance standards require at least 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide to hold an associate's or bachelor's degree in ECE; CDA satisfies requirements for teacher assistant roles in Head Start and Early Head Start
4. Child Care Aware of America, 2023 Demanding Progress: State Child Care Policies: As of 2023, roughly 34 states require lead teachers in child care centers to have some minimum education qualification ranging from a CDA to a bachelor's degree
5. T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Center, Program Overview: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood scholarship program operates in over 20 states and specifically funds CDA coursework and exam fees for child care workers who commit to staying in the field
6. U.S. Department of Education, Early Childhood Education Workforce Qualifications: Federal workforce goals include increasing credential and degree attainment among early childhood educators as part of improving program quality
7. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Early Childhood Workforce Standards: NAEYC recognizes the CDA as an entry-level professional credential and recommends it as a baseline qualification for early childhood educators
8. Zero to Three, Infant-Toddler Workforce Resources: Zero to Three provides professional development resources for infant and toddler caregivers that align with CDA competency areas for the birth-to-36-months setting
9. Pearson VUE, CDA Examination Administration: Pearson VUE administers the CDA exam at testing centers across the country; exam can typically be scheduled within two to four weeks of application approval
10. Child Care Technical Assistance Network (HHS), QRIS Resource Guide: Many state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems award higher tiers and reimbursement rates to programs with credentialed staff, with per-child rate differences of $2 to $5 per day reported across states