CDA credential training for child care centers: the complete guide

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is the CDA credential and why do child care centers need it?

The Child Development Associate (CDA) credential is issued by the Council for Professional Recognition. It is the most widely held early childhood credential in the country, with more than 800,000 awarded since the program launched in 1975. ^[1]

For a child care center, the CDA matters in three concrete ways. Many states count CDA-credentialed staff toward their licensing requirements for teacher qualifications. Higher staff credentials are often required to reach upper tiers in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), which directly affects whether your center can accept subsidy payments at the top reimbursement rates. And the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) state plans have to describe how states support workforce development, so most states tie CDA attainment to wage supplements or scholarship dollars. ^[2]

Here's the plain version. If you run a center and you're trying to keep qualified staff on the floor without bleeding money on turnover, the CDA is one of the cheapest credentials you can help your team earn.

The credential doesn't require a college degree to start. That matters enormously in a field where the median annual wage for child care workers was $31,280 as of May 2023. ^[3]

For a deeper look at what the credential itself involves before getting into training specifics, see our full breakdown of the cda credential.

What are the exact eligibility requirements for the CDA?

The Council for Professional Recognition sets these requirements for center-based candidates:

• A high school diploma or GED equivalent
• 480 hours of professional experience working with children within the past 5 years (at least 240 hours must be with the age group for which you're seeking the credential)
• 120 hours of formal child care education covering all eight CDA subject areas
• A current Pediatric First Aid and CPR certification
• A completed CDA application, including a Professional Portfolio

The 480 hours of work experience is real time in a classroom or group care setting, not online modules. For most full-time center employees, that's roughly 12 weeks of work. Part-timers working 20 hours a week need about 24 weeks just to bank the experience hours, before they touch a single training hour. Schedule around that.

The eight CDA subject areas are: 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; and understanding principles of child development. ^[1] Every hour of formal training has to map to one of these competency areas.

The credential is age-specific. Center-based options include Infant/Toddler (birth to 36 months) and Preschool (3 to 5 years). A center director credential also exists, but it has different requirements. Make sure your staff apply for the credential that matches the age group they actually work with.

How many training hours does a CDA credential require, and what counts?

The number is 120 hours. ^[1] Those hours have to spread across all eight subject areas. The Council doesn't prescribe exact hours per subject, but it does require that no single area gets skipped.

What counts as a formal training hour? The Council accepts coursework from:

• Community colleges and four-year universities
• Council-approved CDA Professional Preparation Programs (PD Programs)
• Online courses from recognized providers
• Employer-based training from organizations with documented curriculum
• Head Start training, resource and referral agencies, and early childhood professional organizations

What doesn't count: casual webinars with no paper trail, staff meetings, and time spent reading articles. You need documentation. The Council requires a Training Certificate or official transcript for every hour you claim. Transcripts need the course name, dates, instructor, and clock hours (or credit hours, which the Council converts at 10 clock hours per semester credit hour or 6.67 per quarter credit hour). ^[1]

Here's a practical tip for directors. Many staff already have scattered training hours from conferences, Head Start workshops, or local resource and referral sessions. Dig through those records before you assume someone is starting from zero. A staffer might already be 40 hours in.

Online training is fully accepted for the 120-hour requirement. The Council's own PD Programs and platforms like Child Care Education Institute (CCEI) and Eager to Learn offer self-paced online options. The CDA exam and the Verification Visit (the in-person observation by a CDA Professional Development Specialist) cannot be done online.

How long does it take to get a CDA credential?

Realistically, 6 to 18 months for most center-based staff. The range is wide for a reason.

The fastest path: a full-time employee who already has 480 documented work hours, enrolls in an intensive cohort through a community college or Head Start grantee, and finishes 120 training hours in one semester can be ready to apply in 4 to 6 months. That's the exception, not the norm.

The typical path: a part-time or new employee who accumulates experience hours while taking online courses at the same time spends 9 to 12 months before submitting an application. Add another 4 to 8 weeks for the Council to process the application, schedule the Verification Visit, and administer the CDA Exam. The exam runs through Pearson VUE testing centers. ^[8]

Once awarded, the credential is valid for 3 years. Renewal takes 45 hours of continuing education plus documented work hours. ^[1]

My honest advice for planning staff development: start the clock the day someone is hired. Document their work hours from day one and enroll them in a training program within the first 30 days. Waiting until a licensing inspection is six months out puts you in a corner.

Phase	Typical Duration
Accumulate 480 work experience hours (full-time)	12 to 16 weeks
Complete 120 formal training hours (online, self-paced)	3 to 6 months
Build Professional Portfolio	4 to 8 weeks
Council application processing	2 to 4 weeks
Verification Visit scheduling and completion	2 to 6 weeks
CDA Exam (Pearson VUE)	1 to 2 weeks to schedule
Total, typical path	6 to 18 months

How much does CDA credential training cost?

Budget for two buckets: application fees and training costs.

The application fee to the Council for Professional Recognition is $425 for first-time applicants as of 2024. Renewal is $150. ^[1] These fees are set by the Council and are the same nationwide.

Training costs swing hard depending on format:

• Community college courses: typically $300 to $1,200 for the full sequence, depending on the school and resident tuition rates
• Online CDA-specific programs: $200 to $600 for self-paced programs covering all 120 hours
• Head Start-sponsored cohort programs: often free or heavily subsidized for participating grantees
• State-funded scholarship programs: many states cover the full training cost plus the application fee through CCDF-funded scholarships

So a staff member who uses a state scholarship and qualifies for fee assistance might pay nothing out of pocket. A center that self-funds someone through a community college program might spend $900 to $1,800 total per person, application fee included.

Child Care Aware of America tracks state-by-state workforce support programs, and its 2023 reporting found that 46 states offered some form of professional development financial assistance tied to the CCDF state plan. ^[4] That doesn't mean every staffer qualifies. It does mean the scholarship route is worth chasing before you reach for the corporate credit card.

One more line item: the Pearson VUE CDA Exam. As of 2024 the exam fee is folded into the application fee paid to the Council, so there's no separate Pearson charge. If a candidate fails and needs to retake, there is a retake fee. ^[1]

What are the best CDA training programs for center-based staff?

There is no single best program. The right pick depends on your staff's schedules, your state's approval requirements, and your budget.

Here are the main categories and what each one actually gives you.

Council-approved PD Programs. The Council for Professional Recognition reviews and approves training programs. An approved PD Program can deliver all 120 hours and the Professional Portfolio development under one roof. Search the Council's online PD Program locator by state. ^[1] These range from online cohorts (8 to 12 months) to intensive workshops.

Community colleges. This is the strongest path for rigor and transferability. A 12-credit Child Development certificate covers the 120 hours, and those credits usually transfer toward an Associate's degree. For staff who want to grow long-term, this path makes sense. The catch is scheduling: courses run on semester timelines and may not fit a swing-shift employee.

Online self-paced platforms. Child Care Education Institute (CCEI), Eager to Learn (part of Child Care Aware), and similar platforms let staff work at their own pace. Quality varies a lot. Look for platforms that issue Training Certificates with the Council's required documentation fields. Cheap platforms that hand out undocumented completion certificates create headaches at application time.

Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. If your center serves Head Start families, your grantee may offer free cohort training. Under the Head Start Act reauthorization, programs must ensure that at least 50 percent of teachers hold an Associate's degree or higher, and grantees regularly fund CDA attainment as a stepping stone toward that. ^[5]

For centers in Delaware: the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware is the primary provider of early childhood professional development and CDA training in the state. DIEEC runs CDA cohort programs and manages scholarship funding through Delaware's professional development system. ^[6] Delaware's QRIS, called Delaware Stars, requires documented staff credentials at each star level, and CDA is a recognized entry point. ^[7]

For context on how curriculum connects to credentialing, options like creative curriculum for preschool or preschool curriculum help CDA candidates tie their training hours to real classroom practice.

How does CDA training connect to CCDF requirements and state licensing?

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 requires every state to describe in its CCDF state plan how it supports child care workforce qualifications and professional development. ^[2] States don't have to mandate the CDA, but the structure of the law pushes hard toward linking credential attainment to subsidy access and QRIS participation.

In practice, this shows up at the state level in three ways.

1. Licensing minimums. Some states require a set percentage of lead teachers to hold a CDA or equivalent. Others require it for directors. Check your specific state's licensing rules, because these vary enormously. A Delaware center licensed under Delaware Code Title 31 and regulated by the Office of Child Care Licensing must meet staffing qualification requirements that recognize the CDA for lead teacher positions in licensed facilities. ^[7]

2. QRIS tiers. Quality Rating and Improvement Systems assign star ratings partly on staff education levels. Moving from a 2-star to a 3-star rating often requires a CDA or higher for a defined percentage of classroom staff. Higher stars usually unlock higher subsidy reimbursement rates, which is real money. ^[9]

3. Subsidy access. Some states have started tying provider eligibility for child care subsidies to minimum quality standards, which include staff credential thresholds. If your staff credentials fall below the line, you may lose the ability to serve childcare subsidy families at all.

The Council for Professional Recognition calls the CDA "the most widely recognized credential in early childhood education," tied to "higher compensation and career advancement." ^[1] That's institutional language, but the mechanism behind it (credential requirements baked into licensing and subsidy rules) makes the claim accurate in practice.

ChildCareComp's compliance toolkit tracks state-specific CDA requirements by licensing tier, which helps when you're managing staff qualifications across multiple age-group classrooms.

What is the CDA Professional Portfolio and how do centers help staff build one?

The Professional Portfolio is one of the three components the CDA Verification Visit specialist evaluates. It is not optional, and it is not a resume. It's a structured collection of work evidence.

The portfolio has to include:

• A Family Questionnaire (completed by at least six families you work with)
• A Resource Collection covering items specified in each of the eight competency areas
• Reflective Statements of Competence for each of the eight areas
• A Philosophy Statement

The Resource Collection is where most candidates get stuck. It calls for documented observations of children, sample activity plans tied to developmental domains, a list of community resources for families, a health and safety checklist, and copies of professional memberships or training records. Nobody assembles that in a week.

The best thing you can do as a director is start a documentation habit early. Get staff saving activity plans, keeping a log of family interactions, and filing training certificates as they go. Centers that run internal CDA cohorts often build shared Portfolio templates and meet monthly to check progress. That accountability structure is what separates the candidates who finish from the ones who stall at 80 training hours.

The Family Questionnaire trips up centers with high family turnover or language barriers. The form comes in multiple languages from the Council. ^[1] Plan ahead. Collecting six completed questionnaires takes longer than people expect.

What happens during the CDA Verification Visit and exam?

The Verification Visit is a formal observation of the candidate working with children in a real classroom. A CDA Professional Development Specialist (a trained third-party observer) schedules the visit, watches a portion of the candidate's workday (typically 1.5 to 2 hours), and reviews the Professional Portfolio.

The candidate schedules the Verification Visit through the Council's system after submitting a complete application. The Council matches candidates with a PD Specialist in their area. Wait times run 2 to 6 weeks depending on location and specialist availability. Rural areas sometimes wait longer.

After the Verification Visit, the candidate takes the CDA Exam at a Pearson VUE testing center. The exam is 65 multiple-choice questions across the eight competency areas. The passing score is 68 percent (45 correct out of 65). ^[8] Most candidates pass on the first try, but the Council does not publish pass rates, so there's no reliable third-party data on failure rates.

A few practical notes. The candidate must bring a valid photo ID to both the Verification Visit and the exam. The exam is computer-based. Candidates who need accommodations request them through Pearson VUE before scheduling. From application submission to receiving the credential, the whole process typically takes 8 to 12 weeks once every requirement is complete.

How do center directors manage CDA training across multiple staff members?

This is where the real operational grind lives. One staff member pursuing a CDA is manageable. Three or four at different stages at once is a scheduling and documentation headache.

The approaches that actually work:

Stagger start dates. Don't enroll everyone at once. Spread enrollment so one person is finishing a portfolio while another is banking hours. That keeps the paperwork load steady and keeps an experienced person on the floor.

Track hours in a shared system. A simple spreadsheet with columns for each staff member, training date, provider, subject area, and hours works fine. Google Sheets with view access for each employee is plenty. The goal is to catch subject-area gaps before the application deadline.

Use group training where you can. Some hours can be earned in group settings, like an all-staff workshop on children's social-emotional development. Document it correctly and every attendee earns hours at the same time. That's efficient.

Partner with your local child care resource and referral agency (CCR&R). Every state has a CCR&R network, and most offer low-cost or free training events that generate documented hours. Find your local agency through Child Care Aware of America. ^[4]

Budget for backfill. Staff pursuing a CDA sometimes step out for cohort sessions or exams during the workday. Budget for substitute coverage. Centers that don't plan for this undermine their own ratios, which is a whole different compliance problem.

For any center working through this alongside a new license application, our compliance toolkit at ChildCareComp includes a staff credential tracker template that maps your team against licensing minimums in real time.

What CDA-specific rules apply in Delaware?

Delaware is a clean example of how a state translates CDA expectations into specific rules.

Delaware's Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) regulates licensed child care centers under Delaware Code Title 31, Chapter 3, and the accompanying administrative regulations. Lead teachers in Delaware licensed centers have to meet educational qualifications, and the CDA is explicitly recognized as meeting the baseline requirement for lead teacher positions in infant/toddler and preschool classrooms. ^[7]

Delaware's QRIS program, Delaware Stars, uses a five-star scale. At the two-star level, centers need at least one staff member with a CDA or higher in the infant/toddler or preschool track (depending on the age groups served). Higher star levels require higher percentages of CDA or degree-holding staff. Centers at four and five stars typically have lead teachers with Associate's or Bachelor's degrees in early childhood, with the CDA as the entry rung. ^[7]

The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware administers the state's professional development registry (PDIS, the Professional Development Information System) and manages scholarship funds for CDA training. Delaware providers can apply for scholarships that cover training costs and the Council application fee through DIEEC. ^[6]

Delaware also participates in the CCDF program, and its state plan describes professional development supports including CDA attainment as a workforce quality strategy. ^[2] Delaware's subsidy program (POC, Purchase of Care) applies higher reimbursement rates to higher-starred providers, so CDA attainment has a direct financial link to subsidy revenue for many Delaware centers.

Managing CDA training for a Delaware center? Start at DIEEC and apply for scholarship funds before you spend anything on training. The funds are limited and competitive, but Delaware has historically funded a meaningful share of applicants.

What are the most common reasons CDA applications get delayed or denied?

The Council for Professional Recognition does not publish denial data, so there's no clean dataset. Based on what the Council's own guidance describes as incomplete applications, these are the frequent problems:

Missing or poorly documented training hours. A training certificate that lacks the provider's name, the dates, the subject area, or the clock hours won't be accepted. Online platforms that issue generic completion badges instead of proper certificates cause real trouble.

Gaps across the eight subject areas. Candidates who take three courses on child development and none on family relationships or professional commitment end up short. The Council requires all eight areas. Track subject-area coverage as training progresses, not after 100 hours are done.

Family Questionnaires that are incomplete or out of date. The questionnaires must come from families the candidate currently works with. A questionnaire from a family whose child left two years ago does not count.

Work experience hours that don't match the credential type. A candidate applying for the Infant/Toddler CDA needs hours with children under 36 months, not preschoolers. Mixing age groups without enough hours in the right one causes delays.

CPR and First Aid that expires mid-review. If a certification lapses during the application review, the candidate may need to recertify before the Verification Visit.

The fix for almost all of this is documentation hygiene from day one. Keep copies of everything in a candidate folder. Review that folder against the Council's checklist at least two months before you plan to submit.

Frequently asked questions

Can a child care center pay for an employee's CDA training and application fee?

Yes, and treat it as a staffing investment. Total cost per employee is typically $500 to $1,500, including training and the $425 application fee. Many states offer CCDF-funded scholarships that reimburse employers or pay providers directly, so check with your local CCR&R before spending anything. Employer-paid CDA costs may be deductible as a business education expense; confirm with your accountant.

Does a CDA credential substitute for an Associate's degree in child care licensing?

In most states, no. The CDA is recognized as a qualification for lead teacher positions in licensed centers, but it typically sits one level below an Associate's degree in early childhood in state licensing hierarchies and QRIS systems. Some states accept a CDA plus experience as equivalent to certain degree requirements, but this is state-specific. Check your state's licensing regulations for the exact substitution rules.

How many CDA training hours can be completed online?

All 120 required formal training hours can be completed online through Council-approved programs or accredited college courses. The in-person pieces are the Verification Visit (a classroom observation by a PD Specialist) and the CDA Exam at a Pearson VUE testing center. Neither of those can be done online.

Is CDA training required to work in a child care center?

It depends on your state and your role. Some states require lead teachers in licensed centers to hold a CDA or equivalent. Others set a timeline for attainment after hire, commonly 1 to 2 years. Assistant teachers often face lower requirements. There is no federal mandate for CDA attainment, but CCDF state plans create strong incentives for states to require or financially reward it.

What is the difference between a CDA and a Child Development Center Director credential?

The CDA is for teachers and caregivers working directly with children in groups. The CDA Director credential is for people managing or directing a child care center or family child care program. The Director credential has different requirements, including added coursework in program administration and management. Many states' licensing rules specifically recognize the Director credential for center director qualification standards.

How often does the CDA credential need to be renewed?

Every three years. Renewal requires 45 hours of continuing education since the credential was issued or last renewed, documentation of ongoing work with children, and a renewal application with fee ($150 as of 2024). Renewal does not require another Verification Visit or exam. Letting the credential lapse and reapplying means going through the full application process again, including the exam.

Does CDA training in Delaware get any state funding support?

Yes. The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware manages scholarship funds for early childhood professionals, including CDA training and application fees. Delaware's CCDF state plan includes professional development support as a workforce quality strategy. Apply for DIEEC scholarships before spending out of pocket; funds are limited but the program has historically covered a meaningful number of applicants.

Can CDA training hours count toward a college degree later?

It depends on where the training was completed. Hours earned through a regionally accredited community college course generate college credits that typically transfer toward an Associate's or Bachelor's degree. Hours earned through standalone online platforms or workshops generally do not generate transferable college credit. If long-term degree attainment is a goal, completing the 120 hours through community college courses is the smarter path even if it takes longer.

What subject areas must be covered in the 120 hours of CDA training?

The Council for Professional Recognition requires training in all eight CDA competency areas: planning a safe and healthy learning environment; advancing children's physical and intellectual development; supporting social and emotional development; building productive family relationships; managing an effective program; maintaining professionalism; observing and recording children's behavior; and understanding child development principles. Every training hour must be documentable by subject area.

How does a CDA credential affect a center's QRIS rating?

Most state QRIS systems assign points or require minimum credentials at each quality tier. Having CDA-credentialed staff typically helps a center move from a baseline rating to a middle tier. Upper tiers generally require higher proportions of degree-holding staff. Since higher QRIS ratings often unlock higher subsidy reimbursement rates, each CDA a center earns can have a direct revenue effect, more than a compliance effect.

What is the CDA Professional Portfolio and how long does it take to complete?

The Professional Portfolio is a required collection of evidence including a Family Questionnaire (completed by at least six families), a Resource Collection mapped to all eight competency areas, Reflective Statements for each area, and a personal Philosophy Statement. Most candidates spend 4 to 8 weeks assembling it once their training hours are complete. Centers that start documentation habits early, saving activity plans and training certificates from day one, cut that time significantly.

Is the CDA exam hard to pass?

The exam is 65 multiple-choice questions with a passing score of 68 percent (45 correct). The Council does not publish pass rates, so there's no reliable public data on how many candidates fail on the first attempt. Candidates who complete all 120 training hours thoroughly and review the CDA competency standards before the exam generally report finding it manageable. Skipping through online training without engagement is the most common path to failure.

Can a family child care provider get a CDA credential, or is it only for center staff?

Both. The Council offers a Family Child Care CDA credential for home-based providers. The eligibility requirements are similar: 480 hours of experience, 120 training hours, First Aid and CPR, and a Professional Portfolio. The portfolio's Resource Collection and Family Questionnaire requirements are adapted for the home-based setting. Many states' licensing and QRIS systems also recognize the Family Child Care CDA for home provider qualifications.

Sources

1. Council for Professional Recognition, CDA Credential Requirements: CDA requires 120 formal training hours across eight subject areas, 480 work experience hours, and the application fee is $425 for first-time applicants; over 800,000 credentials have been awarded since 1975.
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 requires states to describe in their CCDF plans how they support child care workforce qualifications and professional development.
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Child Care Workers: Median annual wage for child care workers was $31,280 as of May 2023.
4. Child Care Aware of America: 46 states offered some form of professional development financial assistance tied to the CCDF state plan as of 2023; Child Care Aware also manages the national CCR&R network.
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start: Under the Head Start Act reauthorization, programs must ensure that at least 50 percent of teachers hold an Associate's degree or higher; grantees regularly fund CDA attainment as a stepping stone.
6. University of Delaware, College of Education and Human Development: The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC), housed at the University of Delaware, is the primary provider of early childhood professional development and CDA training in Delaware, managing the PDIS registry and scholarship funding.
7. Delaware Department of Education, Delaware Stars for Early Success (QRIS): Delaware's licensing regulations under Delaware Code Title 31 recognize the CDA for lead teacher positions; Delaware Stars QRIS requires documented staff credentials at each star level with CDA as the entry point.
8. Pearson VUE, CDA Exam Information: The CDA Exam is administered at Pearson VUE testing centers; the exam is 65 questions with a passing score of 68 percent (45 correct out of 65); the exam fee is included in the Council's application fee.
9. National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, QRIS Compendium: Most state QRIS systems assign points or require minimum credentials at each quality tier, with CDA typically recognized at middle tiers and higher tiers requiring degree-holding staff.