- EDFP means Economic Development Finance Professional, issued by Grow America (formerly the National Development Council), built from four courses: ED101...
- You must complete all four courses and pass each course exam with at least 70%.
- ED201 requires ED101; ED300 requires ED101, ED201 and ED202. Live-remote ED201 and ED300 need prerequisites finished 15 business days early.
- Published pricing runs US$7,100-$7,400 for the full series; renewal is $250 every three years with 24 credited hours.
Which EDFP This Cheat Sheet Covers
Several unrelated credentials share the acronym. This page covers only the Economic Development Finance Professional certification administered by Grow America, the organization formerly known as the National Development Council (NDC). If you searched for "NDC EDFP" or "Grow America EDFP," you are in the right place. Anything about a different credential's exam fees, testing windows or pass rates does not apply here.
If you need the broader background first, start with what EDFP certification is or what EDFP stands for. This article is the compressed reference you keep open beside your course materials.
The Program at a Glance
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Certifying body | Grow America (formerly National Development Council) |
| Structure | Four required courses, each with its own course examination |
| Courses | ED101, ED201, ED202, ED300 |
| Passing standard | At least 70% on each exam |
| Exam timing | Scheduled class exams occur on the final course day |
| Delivery | Self-paced online, live remote and in-person, depending on the course |
| Completion deadline | None for the overall certification series |
| Starting prerequisites | None required to begin the series |
| Materials | Included unless a course description says otherwise |
Two structural points trip people up. First, there is no single sit-down certification exam; the credential is earned by completing the course sequence and passing the exam attached to each course. Second, required coursework cannot be bypassed by taking an exam alone. For the eligibility angle, see EDFP requirements and prerequisites.
The Four Courses, Condensed
The four course titles are the closest thing to an organizing framework. They are preparation curriculum, not a weighted exam blueprint, so do not assume equal or proportional weighting across them. For a longer treatment, see the complete guide to the four EDFP content areas.
ED101: Economic Development Finance
The foundation course. It frames how public and private capital combine to finance economic development projects and introduces the analytical vocabulary the rest of the series builds on.
- Core financial statement reading and the logic of financing business and real estate projects
- How financing gaps arise and how different capital sources fill them
- Available self-paced; access lasts six months, which is an access window, not an exam timer
ED201: Business Credit Analysis
Where you learn to underwrite a business borrower. Expect heavy use of numbers.
- Financial statements, cash flow and working capital analysis
- Debt capacity and repayment ability
- Pro formas and projections for a borrower
- Structure: the current self-paced Part One is $1,600 and still requires the separately delivered live-remote case-study and examination portion
ED202: Real Estate Development Finance
Real estate underwriting for development projects. The current schedule abbreviates this course as "Real Estate Finance"; it is the same course, not a different credential.
- Development pro formas and project feasibility
- Investment returns and how they drive financing decisions
- Identifying and sizing financing gaps
ED300: The Art of Deal Structuring and Problem Solving
The capstone. The schedule abbreviates it to "The Art of Deal Structuring"; same course.
- Loan packaging and deal structuring across multiple funding sources
- Negotiation between parties with competing interests
- Workouts, buyouts and tax credits as structuring tools
The Prerequisite Chain
The series itself has no entry prerequisites, but the courses depend on each other, and the order matters for scheduling.
| Course | Prerequisite | Timing rule |
|---|---|---|
| ED101 | None | Start here |
| ED201 | ED101 | Live-remote offerings require prerequisite completion at least 15 business days before the course starts |
| ED202 | Check the course page for current rules | Confirm at registration |
| ED300 | ED101, ED201 and ED202 | Live-remote offerings require prerequisite completion at least 15 business days before the course starts |
Passing Rules and Exam Facts
- Passing score: at least 70% on each of the four course exams. There is no averaging across exams in the published rules, so a strong ED101 result does not offset a weak ED201 result. More detail: EDFP passing score explained.
- When exams happen: scheduled class examinations are held on the final day of the course.
- Exam length: no universal question count or duration has been verified for the full certification. One Housing Training Institute offering of ED101 lists a five-hour examination, but that is a delivery-specific allowance and should not be applied to every EDFP exam.
- Access windows are not exam timers: the six-month access to ED101 self-paced and ED201 Part One is about how long you can use the course platform.
- Pass rates: no pass-rate figure should be treated as established. The EDFP pass rate article explains what is and isn't known.
Key Takeaway
Because each course ends with its own exam on the final day, your study effort should peak at the end of each course, not in a single cumulative cram before a certification-wide test. Treat every course as a standalone 70% gate.
For a candid look at the difficulty, read how hard the EDFP exam is. Most of that difficulty comes from the quantitative content in ED201 and ED202.
Money Numbers
| Item | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Full certification | US$7,100-$7,400 |
| Per course | $1,700-$1,850, depending on course and format |
| ED201 Part One (self-paced) | $1,600, plus the separately delivered live-remote case-study and exam portion |
| Recertification | $250 |
| Late renewal fee | $50 per year for up to five years |
Separately scheduled ED201 modules carry their own prices, so the per-course range does not capture every combination. Always confirm the figure on the registration page for the exact offering you select. The full breakdown is in EDFP certification cost.
On earnings, PayScale's page for this certification displays an average base salary of US$74,000 from 29 reports, updated January 3, 2025. That is a small survey of holders. It does not show that EDFP caused a raise, and it is not a 2026 estimate. For context, see the EDFP salary guide and the ROI analysis.
Recertification Rules
Earning the credential is not the end of the paperwork. Active certification runs on a three-year cycle.
- Continuing education: 24 credited hours per cycle.
- Grow America minimum: at least 12 of those hours through Grow America.
- External activities: up to 12 hours may come from approved external activities; issuer approval is required.
- Crediting rule: eligible external courses and webinars earn one credit per two actual hours. Other activities have activity-specific rules.
- Renewal fee: $250, with a $50-per-year late fee for up to five years.
- Transition deadline: holders certified on or before May 6, 2024 have until December 31, 2027; later holders have three years from certification.
Calculations to Have Cold
The course descriptions emphasize credit analysis, cash flow, working capital, pro formas, debt capacity, investment returns and financing gaps. The specific formulas below are standard finance tools consistent with those topics; use your course materials to confirm which conventions Grow America instructors apply.
- Working capital: current assets minus current liabilities.
- Current ratio: current assets divided by current liabilities, a quick liquidity read.
- Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR): cash flow available for debt service divided by total annual debt service. Lenders typically want a cushion above 1.0.
- Loan-to-value (LTV): loan amount divided by appraised value.
- Financing gap: total project uses minus the sum of committed sources.
- Return measures: cash-on-cash return and net operating income relative to cost, central to ED202 thinking.
A Worked Case: One Loan, Three Lenses
The following is an original illustration with invented figures, designed to show how the four courses connect. It is not drawn from any Grow America exam.
A small manufacturer wants to buy and renovate a $2,000,000 building. Uses of funds: $1,500,000 acquisition, $400,000 renovation, $100,000 closing costs and working capital. Sources identified so far: a $1,000,000 senior bank loan and $300,000 of owner equity.
- Find the gap (ED101 thinking): Uses are $2,000,000; committed sources are $1,300,000. The financing gap is $700,000. Your job is to identify what public or subordinate capital might fill it.
- Test the borrower (ED201 thinking): Suppose the company's projected cash flow available for debt service is $260,000 a year and annual payments on the senior loan would be $200,000. DSCR is 260,000 / 200,000 = 1.30. Adding a $400,000 subordinate loan with $60,000 in annual payments raises total debt service to $260,000, dropping DSCR to 1.00. That leaves no cushion, so the structure needs rethinking.
- Test the real estate (ED202 thinking): The senior loan at $1,000,000 against a completed value of, say, $1,800,000 is an LTV of about 56%. Does the renovation actually support that value, and is the owner's projected rent-equivalent savings realistic?
- Restructure (ED300 thinking): Reduce the subordinate loan to $250,000, lengthen its amortization to cut payments, and look for a grant or tax-credit source for the remainder. Negotiate with each party so that no single lender sees an unacceptable risk position.
Key Takeaway
The same deal passes through four lenses: gap identification, borrower repayment capacity, collateral and project value, and structure. Questions in this program tend to reward candidates who can move between these lenses instead of memorizing isolated ratios.
Scheduling Your Prep Around the Courses
Because the exams are tied to course delivery, the useful planning unit is the course, not the calendar week. A sample rhythm for one course:
Pre-course
- Confirm prerequisites and the 15-business-day deadline for live-remote ED201 and ED300
- Review ratio definitions from the prior course
Course days
- Rework every in-class example by hand the same evening
- Flag any formula where you rely on the instructor's spreadsheet
Night before the exam
- Redo two full case problems from scratch without notes
- Rest; the exam is on the final course day
For a fuller method, see the EDFP study guide. To check your numeric fluency before a course exam, try the practice questions on the main practice test site.
What Not to Assume
- Do not assume a fixed exam length. The five-hour figure applies to one specific ED101 offering, not the whole certification.
- Do not treat the four course titles as weighted domains. They are preparation curriculum, not an official exam blueprint.
- Do not read session codes as exam versions. Labels such as "1026RC" or "Self Paced26" identify class sessions and do not signal a new examination version.
- Do not budget for the series with a single number. Prices vary by course and format.
- Do not assume a deadline. The overall certification series has no completion deadline, though course access windows and recertification deadlines do exist.
Prospective hiring context is covered in EDFP jobs, and the EDFP training overview compares delivery formats in more depth.
FAQ
You need at least 70% on each course examination. All four courses and their exams must be completed to earn the Economic Development Finance Professional certification.
No. Required coursework cannot be bypassed by taking an exam alone. Scheduled class examinations occur on the final day of each course.
ED300 requires ED101, ED201 and ED202. For current live-remote offerings, prerequisites must be completed at least 15 business days before the course starts.
Active certification runs on a three-year cycle requiring 24 credited continuing-education hours, at least 12 through Grow America. Renewal costs $250, with a $50 per year late fee for up to five years.
The overall certification series has no completion deadline. Individual access periods, such as six months for ED101 self-paced and ED201 Part One, apply to platform access only and are not exam timers.
Keep this sheet beside your course materials, verify any price or date against Grow America's current pages before you register, and for the broader picture see the EDFP certification overview.