DECA prepares high school students for marketing, finance, hospitality, entrepreneurship and business management through school chapters and competitive events. Students qualify for ICDC through their chartered association’s events or eligible online competitions. Participation depends on a school chapter and the relevant association; the official sources checked do not provide an exhaustive country eligibility list.
2026–27 season, checked November 4, 2026: ICDC 2027 takes place April 17–20, 2027, in Anaheim, California. The official 2026–27 DECA Guide, linked from DECA’s Guide page, lists February 15, 2027 as final membership eligibility for competitors. Its participation rules require current-year dues on file before February 15 and chartered-association approval. The central calendar lists November 15, 2026 as the initial membership dues deadline.
The Guide’s calendar lists March 15, 2027 for ICDC registration, hotel rooming lists and deposits from chartered associations. Chapters and students follow their own earlier local instructions; this central administrative deadline does not establish a universal student selection cutoff. ICDC qualifying prepared-event uploads open March 23 and are due March 30, 2027. These uploads apply only to the relevant qualified event entries. No cutoff clock is stated in the Guide. The ICDC webpage still displays 2026 upload dates in its FAQ; those are historical and differ in year from the current Guide.
ICDC registration is handled through advisors. Participants must stay in their assigned official DECA hotel for at least four nights beginning on opening night. Membership, competition, registration and travel costs vary. Current individual prices and current travel-scholarship terms were not verified; the earlier catalog’s Marriott travel-scholarship statement is unconfirmed for this cycle. Conference attendance is April 17–20; local qualification and online event schedules are separate.