The National Administrator Credential (NAC) is a privately offered course for child care center directors: the version our research documents, from NECPA, is a 45-hour course organized into 10 competency sections and delivered on-site in 4-5 days or online.
It is not a government credential or a national license, and whether it counts toward a state's director qualification is decided by that state's child care licensing agency — four states' rules in our research name it, and Louisiana's accepts "a national administrator credential".
Here is what the hours cover, what it costs, which states those are, and how it compares.
What is the National Administrator Credential (NAC)?
The National Administrator Credential — NAC for short — is the name several private organizations give their administrator course for child care center directors.
The version our research documents is offered by NECPA: per NECPA's course pages, a 45-hour course for center directors, organized into 10 competency sections and delivered on-site in 4-5 days or online — with its course page also aiming it at emerging leaders moving toward a director role.
Two things the name does not mean: the NAC is not a government credential, and it is not a national license.
Director rules are state rules — what counts toward a director qualification is written in each state's licensing rules, not in any course's name. "National" here is the issuer's branding, and because more than one organization markets courses under the NAC name, check exactly which organization is issuing the course you are looking at.
Where the NAC fits among the other credentials a director hears about — state credentials, the CDA, degrees — is covered on the director credentials page.
What the NAC's 45 clock hours cover
The course description our research holds gives the shape of the course, not a topic-level syllabus: 45 clock hours organized into 10 competency sections, delivered on-site in 4-5 days or online, and positioned for center directors.
It does not list what each section teaches, so we cannot give a module-by-module outline — the current outline is the one the organization offering the course publishes.
Whether the hours count toward anything is a separate question from what they cover.
Under the federal CCDF framework at 45 CFR 98.44, states must set a minimum annual number of training and professional development hours for caregivers, teachers and directors — the federal rule does not set the number, so annual hours differ by state.
Whether a private course's clock hours count toward a given state's training or credential requirement is that state's child care licensing agency's call, so confirm before you enroll rather than after you pay.
What the NAC costs
Our research did not confirm a dollar figure for the NAC, so this page quotes no price.
The course description we hold markets the course as delivered "in a 4-5 day time frame, at a reasonable cost" — the issuer's words, not a fee.
Course fees are set by the organization offering the course, they change, and because several organizations market courses under the NAC name, the same credential name can carry different fees from different providers.
The figure to plan against is the one on the provider's current enrollment page — and if an employer or a state program is sending you, ask what they cover.
Weight the price against the second question: whether your state counts the course.
An inexpensive course your licensing agency does not count toward your state's director qualification is the more expensive option — so confirm acceptance with the agency first, then compare providers on the fee.
Which states accept the NAC?
Acceptance is decided state by state: each state's child care licensing agency defines what counts toward its director qualification.
Our research compiled no 50-state list of the states that accept the NAC, but four states' licensing rules in our research name the credential on a director qualification line, and a fifth, Louisiana's, uses generic wording.
In Utah, a new center director qualifies with one of several listed credentials, among them a National Administrator Credential with 60 training hours (Utah Admin.
Code R381-100-7(4), administered by Child Care Licensing in the Office of Licensing, Utah Department of Health and Human Services).
In Arizona, one director qualification route pairs 18 months of child care experience with an N.A.C., CDA or C.C.P. credential, or 24 college credits including 6 in early childhood (A.A.C.
R9-5-401(1)(b), administered by the Arizona Department of Health Services) — that rule uses the abbreviation N.A.C., and Arizona's teacher-caregiver rule lists an N.A.C. as well.
In Oklahoma, center directors must hold the state's own Director's Credential at bronze level or higher, and the bronze credential's administrative-education line accepts an approved administration/management credential "such as the National Administrator Credential (NAC)" — alongside 3 administrative credit hours or 40 administrative clock hours (OAC 340 Appendix EE, Oklahoma Human Services).
In New Mexico, one director route pairs Program Management 1 (or the NAC) with Child Growth, Development and Learning and 2 years of experience (8.16.2.23 NMAC, administered by the Early Childhood Education and Care Department).
Louisiana's rule is worded generically: a director may qualify with "a national administrator credential" plus one year of experience in teaching or care in a licensed early learning center or comparable setting, and 6 credit hours or 90 clock hours of training (LAC 28:CLXI.1709 B.2, Louisiana Department of Education) — ask the department which credentials it counts under that wording.
In none of these states is the NAC the only route: each rule names other credential, coursework, credit or experience options beside it.
One more state-level detail in our research comes from the issuer's own page rather than a state rule: it states that in Florida the course is recognized at 4.5 CEUs and that SCF-NECPA is approved to offer Florida's "Overview of Child Care Management" course.
That is the issuer's claim about CEU recognition, not a licensing rule — and Florida's actual director credential is its own system, covered on the Florida Director Credential page.
Why the answer varies so much: director requirements themselves vary.
The national snapshot in our research is the Bipartisan Policy Center's 2024 scan of state licensing rules — a secondary review of the rules, not the rules themselves — which counted 3 states with no director requirements and 21 requiring a high school diploma for directors, and listed New Jersey, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. as requiring a bachelor's degree — though New Mexico's current rule, above, also has a route without one.
How an individual state combines degree, credits, experience, credential and training hours is broken down on the director requirements page.
There is also an employer layer on top of the state rule: BLS notes that some employers require a nationally recognized credential of their directors.
If a job posting names the NAC, that is the employer's screen — the posting's state may or may not count the course toward its own qualification.
Open roles are listed on the childcare director jobs page.
Confirm acceptance before you pay for a course
NAC vs Aim4Excellence vs a state director credential
The three differ mainly in who issues them and what accepts them.
| Qualification | Who issues it | Format in our research | What accepts it |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Administrator Credential (NAC) | Private organizations, including NECPA | 45 clock hours, 10 competency sections, on-site in 4-5 days or online | Each state's child care licensing agency decides; the Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico rules in our research name it, and Louisiana's accepts "a national administrator credential" — no full list was compiled — plus employers that set their own credential screens |
| Aim4Excellence | The McCormick Institute | Online, nine self-paced modules | Its program page reports acceptance by 28 state professional development systems |
| State director credential | The state, or a body its rules name — Wisconsin's rules, for example, count credentials from The Registry, Inc., a professional development recognition agency | Varies by state — our research holds no uniform format | The state's own licensing rules; required where the state requires one — Oklahoma, for example, requires its Director's Credential at bronze or higher |
The nearest private comparison our research documents is Aim4Excellence: per the McCormick Institute's program page it is an online National Director Credential of nine self-paced modules built on the Whole Leadership Framework.
Its nine modules are published by name — Leading the Way; Recruiting, Selecting, and Orienting Staff; Promoting Peak Performance; Managing Program Operations; Building a Sound Business Strategy; Designing Indoor and Outdoor Environments; Supporting Children's Development and Learning; Facilitating Responsive Family Engagement; and Evaluating Program Quality — the only one of the two private courses whose module list our research holds.
A state director credential is the only one of the three our research shows a state requiring: Oklahoma center directors must hold the state's credential at bronze level or higher.
Beyond that, states differ sharply on what they require of directors — the 2024 scan above counted 3 states with no director requirements and 21 stopping at a high school diploma.
The deciding question is not which course is better but which one your state counts: ask the state's child care licensing agency where you work before you enroll in any of them.
Career and employer information, not licensing or legal advice. Director credential rules are state rules and they change — confirm the current requirements, accepted courses and renewal terms with your state's child care licensing agency.