- The Short Answer: Economic Development Finance Professional
- Who Issues the Credential
- Breaking Down Each Word in the Name
- The Four Courses Behind the Letters
- Why Other Credentials Share the Acronym
- How the Credential Is Earned
- Cost and Delivery Formats
- Keeping the Designation Active
- Where the Designation Is Used
- Sequencing Your Preparation
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EDFP stands for Economic Development Finance Professional, a certification administered by Grow America, formerly the National Development Council (NDC).
- Earning it requires completing four courses (ED101, ED201, ED202, ED300) and scoring at least 70% on each course examination.
- ED201 requires ED101, and ED300 requires ED101, ED201 and ED202 first; the series itself has no prerequisites to begin.
- The program page lists US$7,100-$7,400 for the full certification and renewal costs $250 every three-year cycle.
The Short Answer: Economic Development Finance Professional
EDFP stands for Economic Development Finance Professional. It is a professional certification in the public-private finance field, built around the credit analysis, real estate financing and deal structuring skills used to put capital into businesses, projects and communities. If you landed here after seeing "EDFP" on a résumé, a job posting or a LinkedIn profile, that is almost certainly what it means in the economic development world.
The credential is awarded by Grow America, the organization formerly known as the National Development Council. You will still see it described online as the "NDC EDFP" because the program carried that name for decades. The terms "NDC EDFP" and "Grow America EDFP" refer to the same certification, not two different ones.
This article is part of the EDFP Exam Prep library. For a broader introduction, see our explainers on what EDFP is and the meaning of EDFP. If you want to go straight to practice, the main practice test site is built around the same four course areas described below.
Who Issues the Credential
The governing and administering body is Grow America. Its training and professional education arm offers the EDFP certification program alongside a wider course catalog. The program page, the issuer's registration catalog and its frequently asked questions page are the authoritative sources for the rules summarized here.
Because the issuer publishes its own schedule, pricing and recertification policy, candidates should treat the issuer's pages as the final word on any detail that can change, such as session dates and current fees. Our EDFP requirements guide walks through eligibility and prerequisites in more depth.
Breaking Down Each Word in the Name
Economic Development
Economic development is the practice of using public and private resources to create jobs, expand tax bases, revitalize neighborhoods and support business growth. Practitioners work in city and county agencies, state programs, nonprofit lenders, community development financial institutions and similar organizations.
Finance
The "finance" element is where the program is distinctive. Instead of focusing on policy or marketing, the curriculum teaches candidates to read financial statements, evaluate cash flow, size debt, test project pro formas and close financing gaps. It is a technical, numbers-driven designation.
Professional
"Professional" signals a credential held by an individual who has completed required coursework and passed examinations, and who maintains the designation through continuing education. It is not a degree and it is not a license; it is an industry certification.
The Four Courses Behind the Letters
The certification is made up of four required courses. The issuer does not publish a weighted exam blueprint, so the list below should be read as the preparation curriculum rather than a percentage breakdown. For a deeper walkthrough, see our EDFP exam domains guide.
ED101: Economic Development Finance
The foundation course and the entry point to the series. It introduces how public and private capital combine in development deals.
- Core financial concepts used throughout the later courses
- The vocabulary of development lending and project financing
- Available in self-paced online format, with six months of access
ED201: Business Credit Analysis
A credit-underwriting course for evaluating whether a business can repay what it borrows.
- Financial statement analysis and cash flow
- Working capital and debt capacity
- Requires ED101 before enrollment
ED202: Real Estate Development Finance
The real estate course. Class schedules abbreviate it as Real Estate Finance; it is the same course, not a separate credential.
- Pro formas for development projects
- Investment returns and financing gaps
- Structuring capital for property-based deals
ED300: The Art of Deal Structuring and Problem Solving
The capstone course, abbreviated on schedules as The Art of Deal Structuring. It pulls together the earlier material.
- Loan packaging and negotiation
- Workouts and buyouts
- Tax credits as a financing tool
- Requires ED101, ED201 and ED202 first
Notice how the letters in the acronym map onto the sequence: you start with the broad field (economic development finance), move into credit and real estate skills, and finish by structuring complete deals.
Why Other Credentials Share the Acronym
"EDFP" is a short, common-looking set of letters, and several unrelated credentials and terms use it. If you search for the acronym alone, you may see results about entirely different programs run by different organizations, with different exams, fees and schedules. None of that information applies to this certification.
This matters practically. A candidate who budgets from the wrong credential's fee table, or plans around another program's test dates, can make costly mistakes. Everything on EDFP Exam Prep refers only to the Grow America certification. If you want a plain-language answer to the naming question, our pages on what EDFP stands for and what EDFP means cover the same ground from other angles.
How the Credential Is Earned
The requirements are straightforward but strict:
- Complete all four courses: ED101, ED201, ED202 and ED300.
- Pass the examination for each course with a score of at least 70%.
- Respect the prerequisite chain: ED201 requires ED101, and ED300 requires ED101, ED201 and ED202.
There are no prerequisites to start the series, and the overall certification has no completion deadline, so candidates can take the courses at their own pace. The issuer states that scheduled class examinations occur on the final day of the course. You cannot skip coursework and sit an exam alone; the courses are required.
For the live-remote offerings of ED201 and ED300, prerequisite completion is required at least 15 business days before the course starts, so plan your sequence with that buffer in mind.
Key Takeaway
The 70% threshold applies to each of the four course examinations individually. Treat every course as a separate pass-or-repeat checkpoint rather than averaging across the series. Our EDFP passing score guide explains the scoring rule in more detail.
One caution about exam length: no universal question count or duration has been verified for the full certification. A particular ED101 offering delivered through the Housing Training Institute lists a five-hour examination, but that is specific to that delivery and should not be assumed for every course. Ask your provider about the format of the specific session you register for. For a realistic read on difficulty, see how hard the EDFP exam is and what the data says about EDFP pass rates.
Cost and Delivery Formats
The program page publishes a range for the full certification and a range per course, and pricing varies by course and format.
| Item | Published figure |
|---|---|
| Full certification | US$7,100-$7,400 |
| Individual course | US$1,700-$1,850, depending on course and format |
| ED201 Part One (self-paced) | US$1,600; still requires the separately delivered live-remote case-study and exam portion |
| Recertification fee | US$250 per cycle |
Delivery options include self-paced online, live remote and in-person, depending on the course you select. Course materials are included unless the course description says otherwise. Self-paced ED101 access and ED201 Part One access each last six months; those are access windows, not exam timers and not a deadline for the overall certification. Our EDFP certification cost breakdown covers pricing in detail, and the EDFP training overview compares formats.
Keeping the Designation Active
The title Economic Development Finance Professional is not permanent once earned; it is maintained through recertification on a three-year cycle:
- 24 credited continuing-education hours per cycle.
- At least 12 of those hours through Grow America; up to 12 may come from approved external activities.
- Eligible external courses and webinars earn one credit per two actual hours, with activity-specific rules for other activities and issuer approval required.
- Renewal fee of $250, with a published late fee of $50 per year for up to five years.
Holders certified on or before May 6, 2024 have a transition deadline of December 31, 2027; those certified later have three years from their certification date. One quirk worth knowing: the issuer's webpage states the policy is effective September 1, 2025, while the recertification guide says it began May 6, 2024. The discrepancy is historical and the practical deadlines above are what matter for planning.
Where the Designation Is Used
Because the content centers on credit analysis, real estate financing and deal structuring, the designation is most relevant to people who package or underwrite financing for development projects: staff at city and county economic development offices, nonprofit and community lenders, and others who blend public and private capital. Our EDFP jobs page explores the roles where the credential appears.
On compensation, the only figure we cite is PayScale's profile for the certification, which displayed an average base salary of US$74,000 from 29 reports, updated January 3, 2025. That is a small survey of holders and does not show that the certification caused higher pay, nor does it estimate 2026 earnings. For context and caveats, read the EDFP salary guide and our analysis of whether the EDFP certification is worth it.
Sequencing Your Preparation
You do not need a generic study system here; the prerequisite chain already dictates the order. A sensible plan follows the course sequence, leaving buffer time before the live-remote offerings whose prerequisite deadlines are 15 business days out.
ED101 foundations
- Learn the vocabulary and the logic of development finance
- Pass the ED101 exam at 70% or higher before registering for ED201
ED201 credit analysis
- Practice reading statements and tracing cash flow to debt capacity
- Confirm your live-remote prerequisite is complete at least 15 business days ahead
ED202 real estate finance
- Build and stress-test pro formas
- Work out where financing gaps appear and how to fill them
ED300 deal structuring
- Review material from all three earlier courses, since ED300 draws on each
- Practice loan packaging, negotiation and workout scenarios
For a fuller approach, see our EDFP study guide, the one-page EDFP cheat sheet for quick reference, and details on EDFP exam dates and scheduling. When you are ready to test yourself, the practice questions on the main site are organized around these same course topics.
Frequently Asked Questions
EDFP stands for Economic Development Finance Professional. It is a certification administered by Grow America, formerly the National Development Council, covering credit analysis, real estate development finance and deal structuring.
Yes. Grow America is the new name of the National Development Council. The certification and its four-course structure are the same program under both names.
You must complete all four courses (ED101, ED201, ED202 and ED300) and score at least 70% on each course examination. Required coursework cannot be bypassed by taking an exam alone.
No prerequisites are required to start the series. Later courses do have them: ED201 requires ED101, and ED300 requires ED101, ED201 and ED202.
Yes. Active certification uses a three-year cycle with 24 credited continuing-education hours, at least 12 of them through Grow America, and a $250 renewal fee. A late fee of $50 per year applies for up to five years.
In short, when someone asks what EDFP stands for, the answer is Economic Development Finance Professional: a four-course, issuer-administered certification built for people who finance growth in communities. For the full overview of the program, continue with our guide to EDFP certification.