Renew Your CDA®
Reaffirm your competency as an early childhood educator by renewing your CDA today.
Keep Your CDA® Active
The CDA renewal process gives you the opportunity to reaffirm your competence as Preschool, Infant-Toddler, Family Child Care or Home Visitor Child Development Associate®. In fact, 60% of CDAs renew their credential to enhance their skills based on the latest research in the field. Renewing their CDA, ECE professionals further understand the best ways to educate the children they serve.
A CDA credential is valid for 3 years from the award date, and you must renew your CDA credential before it expires. However, renewing your CDA can be done in as early as 6 months prior to its expiration date. The Council urges you to begin the CDA renewal process early to ensure you have enough time to properly meet all CDA renewal requirements and provide the supporting documentation.
Discover why maintaining an active CDA is important, learn how to renew your CDA, and where you can access the Council’s resources to make renewing your CDA as “Easy as 1, 2, 3!”
PRICE INCREASE NOTICE
Effective August 1, 2025, the Council for Professional Recognition is updating the pricing for the Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ Renewal Application.
To learn more, please visit our webpage on the 2025 Pricing Update.
The Child Development Associate® is a key component to career advancement in the field of Early Childhood Education.
The top benefit of renewing your CDA® is increasing your evidence-based, specialized knowledge of child development and your readiness to handle any classroom situation. However, the reasons to renew go beyond maintaining your ability to provide essential education and care for our youngest learners.
Here are just a few more noteworthy reasons renewing your CDA is important:
- The CDA is nationally transferrable and the most widely recognized ECE credential in the world. The CDA will travel with you and allow you to move up the ladder in your career wherever you go.
- 80% of owners and directors are more likely to hire someone actively holding a CDA than someone without one. They agree that active CDA holders have crucial skills for working in the field of early childhood education and are more prepared for the classroom.
- 73% of CDA holders surveyed reported that the CDA directly led to progress in their careers.
- Over 50% of CDA holders surveyed reported that they earned 10% more than their non-CDA holder colleagues.
- 66% of CDAs specifically renew their credentials to refresh their existing knowledge and to explore new areas of interest in the field.
As illustrated above, keeping your CDA active and renewing your CDA every 3 years allows you to provide the best for the children in your care. It is also a critical factor in your career growth, regardless of other forms of education you have pursued. This is because child care center directors and owners see active CDAs as a sign of individuals continuing to maintain and update their education and skills.
So don’t delay. You can apply to renew your CDA 6 months before it expires. Find out how to renew your CDA in the next section today!
For your convenience, we have summarized the CDA Renewal Process into 3 Easy Steps, which contain an overview of what you will need to renew your CDA. To begin the CDA Renewal Process, first you will need to review the complete process and the requirements for each acceptable item that you will need to submit within the following document: “The CDA Renewal Procedures Guide”.
If you would like a printed copy of either of The CDA Renewal Procedures Guides, you may call our Customer Support team at 800-424-4310 to have one mailed to you. Customers will be responsible for the cost of shipping the guide.
To renew your CDA, a $125 fee is required for online applications and a $150 fee is required for paper applications, BUT there may be funding in your area. Where can you find funding?
- First check with your employer. Making sure their employees have a CDA may be a requirement for their operations. Additionally, often this fee can be covered via funds allocated to professional development.
- Did you know that 67% of surveyed CDA holders were able to get financial support from their employer for their CDA Renewal?
- Second, check for Financial Aid through Scholarships and Grants in your area via the CDA Scholarships Page!
Remember to check with your employer and scholarship agency for their processing times to ensure that you will receive your funding prior to submitting your CDA Renewal Application!
Upon receipt of the application, full payment and supporting documents, Council staff will review the materials to make a credentialing decision. If the materials are incomplete or do not meet requirements, the Council will notify you, and you will be given the opportunity to resolve the problem within a specified time period.