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SAFETY
CDA® Renewal Checklist
The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential™ is the most widely recognized credential in early care and education (ECE). The training equips teachers with the skills needed to succeed in early education.
It's important for educators to keep their CDA® Credential up-to-date!
As of May 2022, the Council for Professional Recognition has created a free CDA Renewal Procedures Guide.
Download your copy:
- The CDA Renewal Procedures Guide (for preschool, infant-toddler, and family child care settings)
- The CDA Renewal Procedures Guide – Home Visitor Edition
The CDA® Renewal Process
Did you know that your CDA® Credential is valid for three years from the date awarded? After that, you'll need to renew the credential so it remains valid!
CDA® renewal aims to ensure educators are well-versed in early education essentials.
ProSolutions Training will help you get your CDA® Renewal Training requirements in place.
Everything You Need to Know to Renew Your CDA® Credential
According to the Council for Professional Recognition, these are the CDA® Renewal requirements:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Continued Professional Education
One part of the renewal process is completing continuing education. You can complete this in three different ways:
- 4.5 continuing education credits (CEUs)
- 45 clock hours of child development or ECE training
- 3 credit hours from courses at an accredited college or university
ProSolutions Training's CDA® Renewal Training includes 45 clock hours/4.5 CEUs. The training is available online with access 24/7.
Plus, our interactive dashboard helps you complete training fast. It's all self-paced, so you can take as many or as few training hours each day. (Note: You can only complete 8 tests per day.)
You need to complete all training after the issue date of your most current CDA® Credential. With ProSolutions Training, you'll receive a training verification at completion.
*Remember you must have documentation to prove completion. Documentation must be in the form of:
- a college or university transcript,
- training agency formal verification letter,
- or training verification form.
All coursework must be relevant and specific to the type of CDA® Credential you hold.
Note: The Council does NOT accept the following types of training documentation:
- Training logs
- State registry printouts that have not been approved by the Council
2. Membership in a national or local early childhood professional organization
Show proof of current membership in an early childhood professional organization. The field of early childhood education includes many professional organizations.
Reasons to join:
- Stay current on early childhood issues
- Join in group efforts to promote positive change
3. Training and Membership Verification
The Council does NOT take Training and Membership submissions. Select a Verifier to review your training and membership documentation.
The Verifier can be:
- an education coordinator,
- a center director,
- assistant director,
- or another authorized staff person.
Note: Your ECE Reviewer can also serve as your Verifier.
CONTINUED WORK WITH CHILDREN
1. Recommendation from an ECE Reviewer
Select an ECE professional to serve as your Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer.
For CDA® Renewal, you must have a recommendation from an ECE reviewer. This person is an ECE professional of your choice. They should have firsthand knowledge of your abilities working in the field in the last year.
There is also a helpful booklet to help your ECE Reviewer. This helps them fill out the required information for your renewal application. You can share the documents with them below:
- Information Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer (preschool, infant-toddler, and family child care settings)
- Information Early Childhood Education (ECE) Reviewer for Home Visitors
2. Recommendation and Verification of 80 Hours of Work Experience
A valid CDA® Credential means you focus on educating and caring for young children. That's why you need current experience working with young children. The hours can be as a volunteer or paid.
SAFETY
1. First Aid and Infant and Child (Pediatric) CPR certification
For your CDA® Renewal, you will also need proof of valid certification in First Aid. As well as both Infant and Child (Pediatric) CPR. The certification must be current when you apply for renewal.
Apply for Your CDA® Renewal
You can apply for your CDA Renewal online or via paper. Before starting the online process, check out the YourCouncil CDA® renewal tutorials available for free on the Council website. These short tutorials walk you through the online application process.
If you don’t want to submit electronically, the CDA® Renewal Procedures Guide includes a paper application. You can fill it out and mail in the paperwork.
Ready to check off the first requirement? Start the CDA Renewal process today.
Enroll in the CDA® Renewal Training courses through ProSolutions Training.
