How to Become a Framer Expert: Requirements & Badge (2026)

Most of what's written about the Framer Expert badge is guesswork from people who don't have it. I hold Pro Expert status, which can't be applied for and can't be bought — it only exists once real clients have paid you through the platform.

Here's how the program works from the inside.

What the Framer Expert program is

Framer Experts is Framer’s official partner program: a vetted directory of freelancers and studios that Framer itself points clients toward. It’s not a course you complete or a test you pass. Framer reviews your work and decides whether you represent the platform well enough to get their referrals.

That last part matters. The badge isn’t a certificate for your LinkedIn. It’s Framer agreeing to send you business. They only do that for people who make the platform look good, which is why the bar is where it is.

There are tiers. Pro Expert is the higher one, and it’s the roughly-100 group I mentioned. [Frankie: confirm current tier names and count before publishing.]

The requirements

Framer doesn’t publish a rigid checklist, but after going through it and talking with other Experts, the pattern is consistent:

Published Framer work, and enough of it. Live client sites, not portfolio mockups. The review looks at real projects with real domains. Quality of structure counts as much as visual polish: clean breakpoints, sane CMS architecture, performance that holds up.

Depth beyond templates. Anyone can customize a template. Experts get accepted on custom components, code overrides, and CMS setups that show you understand what’s under the canvas.

A professional presence. A real business site, clear services, a way for referred clients to contact and pay you. Framer is sending you their users; they check that the experience after the referral is solid.

Community signal helps. It’s not required, but visible contribution counts. In my case that’s organizing the official Framer Meetup Berlin and speaking at Framer Hatch. It tells the team you’re invested in the ecosystem, not just harvesting leads from it.

How the application works

You apply through framer.com/expert/apply with your portfolio and business details. The review is manual, done by the Framer team, and can take weeks. Rejections happen without much feedback, and you reapply after improving the portfolio. [Frankie: add your own timeline — applied when, heard back when.]

My honest advice on timing: don’t apply at year one. The applications that pass have a body of shipped client work behind them. I applied after years of building exclusively in Framer, and the portfolio did the arguing.

What the badge actually gets you

Referrals. Clients come through the Experts directory and through Framer pointing people your way. It’s not a flood, but the leads are pre-qualified: they’ve already chosen Framer, they need someone who knows it.

Trust shortcut. “Certified Framer Pro Expert” ends the are-you-legit conversation in sales calls. For a freelancer competing against agencies, that’s worth more than the referrals.

Access. Earlier contact with the Framer team, input on the platform, events like Hatch.

What it doesn’t get you: clients on autopilot. The badge opens doors; the work through those doors is still yours to win.

Is there a Framer certification?

People search for “Framer certification” expecting a course with an exam. That doesn’t exist. The Expert badge is the closest thing, and it’s earned through reviewed work, not a test. If someone sells you a “Framer certificate,” it’s their certificate, not Framer’s.

The uncomfortable truth about getting in

The program isn’t the goal. It’s a lagging indicator. Every Expert I know got the badge after they were already operating at that level: shipping client sites, building custom components, charging real rates. The badge confirmed it; it didn’t create it.

So the actual path is boring: build in Framer daily, publish client work, go deeper than templates, be visible in the community. Do that for a couple of years and the application becomes a formality.

And if you’re reading this from the other side, as someone who wants to hire rather than become one: that’s exactly what the vetting buys you. Here’s what a Framer developer does and how I work with startups.

Conclusion

The Framer Expert program is a manual review of your shipped work, not a certification you study for. The requirements come down to published client sites, technical depth beyond templates, a professional business setup, and ideally visible community contribution. The badge pays off in referrals and trust, but only ratifies a level you’ve already reached. Build first, apply second.

Building your Framer skills toward it? Framer Pro is where the custom code and CMS depth lives — get 3 months off a yearly Pro plan here.