Becoming a CFD®

Becoming a Certified Floral Designer (CFD^®)

There are three ways to become an internationally recognized Certified Floral Designer:

Attend and successfully complete the appropriate floral design education programs at an AIFD® Education Partner, approved State Floral Association or SAIFD Chapter and then pass the PFDE^® online test. Read More
Participate in the same Professional Floral Design Evaluation® (PFDE®) as those trying to obtain their AIFD^® designation, held once annually including the online test and hands-on design evaluation. Read more
Participate and earn an average score of 7.0 for all designs with no design lower than a 6.5 in the SAIFD Student Competition at Symposium. Those who meet the minimum requirement can be recommended for CFD to AIFD. They shall then follow the current required process to become a CFD®, including taking and passing the online test with an 80% or higher and paying the necessary fees.

Upon the successful completion of either of these options, candidates will be awarded with the CFD® designation and will receive a CFD® pin, a CFD® certificate, and be listed in the AIFD® online and printed directories. The proper annual fees and continuing education requirements must be maintained in order to receive these benefits.

Obtaining Your CFD® through an AIFD® approved Education Partner, State Association, or SAIFD Chapter

Step 1: A list of approved education providers can be found online here. You are responsible for contacting the school(s) or associations that you are interested in to understand exactly what fees and courses are required for their programs that lead to an invitation from AIFD® to become a Certified Floral Designer.

Step 2: After you have completed the necessary courses of your selected education provider, and if your teacher agrees that your work is at the level required of AIFD’s CFD credential, you will be invited to become an AIFD^® Certified Floral Designer (CFD®) and will need to complete the following:

Your instructor must send your contact information to AIFD® between August 1st and December 1st or between March 1st and March 31st. (Lists received outside of these time periods will be held until the next application window)
Complete the CFD® Application during the application window and submit with a $179 exam fee (which includes your re-certification fees through June 30.).
Take the AIFD® online test based off of The AIFD® Guide to Floral Design (which is a required textbook in the CFD® program) and receive an 80% or better within two (2) weeks of receiving access to the online test.

Spring Course Dates:

March 1- March 31: Education partners/instructors can send student lists to AIFD®

April 30: Deadline to register for the spring exam

May 15: Deadline to complete the spring exam.

Fall Course Dates:

August 1- December 1: Education partners/instructors can send student lists to AIFD®

December 31: Deadline to register for the fall exam

January 15: Deadline to complete the fall exam.

Obtaining Your CFD® through an AIFD® Professional Floral Design Evaluation® (PFDE®)

This approach requires that you enroll as a Candidate and participate in the once annual Professional Floral Design Evaluation® (PFDE®), which is a four (4) hour hands-on design evaluation consisting of five (5) designs. Prior to the hands-on evaluation you must also pass an online test based off of the required textbook The AIFD® Guide to Floral Design, with an 80% or higher.

This is the same PFDE® that those attempting to obtain their Accredited AIFD® membership take. You would participate at the same time during the same evaluations, and based on your evaluation scores you would either obtain your CFD or AIFD designation.

For more details about the steps to enroll in the PFDE®, PFDE® designs and evaluation criteria, fees and deadlines, please visit this page.

Maintaining your CFD® status

CFD® Annual Fees:

CFDs pay an annual fee to AIFD® of $234 (early bird dues of $184). CFD® dues invoices are set out annually in the spring.

CFD® Continuing Education Requirements:

To maintain the status of a CFD® individuals must meet certain continuing education requirements every three years. Every three (3) years he or she must earn 25 Continuing Education Units and must submit an online CEU renewal form (no fee). The Continuing Education requirements can be easily accumulated by attending a Symposium or by attending a plethora of other floral industry design education programs. Continuing Education units can also be earned through demonstrated leadership and participation in floral industry organizations including AIFD®. Click here to learn more about how to earn your Continuing Education units.