A system and method for determining the maximum allowed stack current limit rate for a fuel cell stack that considers cell voltage. The method includes estimating a fuel cell stack voltage based on a fuel cell resistance value, stack variables and a current request signal. The fuel cell resistance value can be modeled based on stack temperature and stack relative humidity. The stack variables can include exchange current density and mass transfer coefficient. The method then uses the estimated fuel cell voltage and a look-up table based on estimated voltage to determine a current rate limit value for changing the current of the stack. The method then adds the current rate limit value and the current request signal to obtain the current set-point.