North Carolina's Childcare Quality Rating System: What It Means for Directors and Staff

North Carolina's quality rating system is the star rated license: the star rating is part of the child care license itself, not a separate program a center joins.

The NC DHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) licenses the state's child care centers and family child care homes under G.S. 110 Article 7 and the Child Care Commission's rules at 10A NCAC 09, and DCDEE issues the one-star and rated licenses.

Every licensed facility first meets the one-star (minimum) standards, so the rating starts automatically with licensure.

Earning a two- to five-star rated license is the operator's choice, made by selecting one of three licensure pathways.

The current rated-license rules took effect July 1, 2025.

The scale runs from 1 to 5 stars.

One star is the licensing floor: the minimum standards every licensed facility must meet.

Two through five stars are the rated license levels, and an operator reaches them by selecting one of three licensure pathways: Program Assessment, Classroom and Instructional Quality, or Accreditation and Head Start.

Family child care homes follow the same one-to-five scale on a set sequence: once a home meets the requirements, DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license, followed by a one-star license or a two- to five-star rated license.

On the Program Assessment pathway, staffing is measured through education: at each star level from 2 to 5, at least 50% of lead teachers and at least 50% of educators must meet that level's individual education standard.

The two-star standard gives lead teachers three options: a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential that is active, with no credit for prior learning; 3 semester hours of early childhood education or child development; or 1 year of ECE experience plus annual continuing education or a competency evaluation.

Four-star options include 12 semester hours of ECE plus 2 years' experience, an Early Childhood Certificate, or 5 years' experience plus 2.0 CEUs a year or a competency evaluation.

At five stars, the options include an AAS degree or higher in early childhood education or child development.

These are rated-license standards that sit above the one-star licensing floor: they describe credentials a center's staff bring to a rating, not the license minimum itself.

Under the Program Assessment pathway, centers are evaluated with ITERS-3, ECERS-3 and SACERS-U (FCCERS-3 for centers located in a residence).

The score bar rises on a fixed date: a 4-star center needs an average score of 3.5 or higher for assessments conducted before January 1, 2028, and 4.0 or higher for assessments on or after that date, averaged across all classroom scores.

Our research captured the assessment tools for the Program Assessment pathway; the rules for the Classroom and Instructional Quality and Accreditation and Head Start pathways were not detailed in the sections we read, so confirm how those pathways are assessed with DCDEE.

For the center, our research did not confirm a bonus payment, grant or subsidy rate schedule tied to a North Carolina star level, so this page names none — ask DCDEE whether any current program ties a center's rating to funding.

For staff, the pay supports the research records are education-based rather than star-based.

North Carolina's Child Care WAGE$ program provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid teachers, directors and family child care providers working with children birth to 5 in participating counties, and the STEP$ program provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid lead teachers, teachers and family child care providers working 40 hours a week with children birth through age 2.

North Carolina's T.E.A.C.H. program (TEACH Early Childhood® North Carolina), administered by Early Years (formerly Child Care Services Association) and funded by NC DCDEE, awards scholarships built on four components: scholarship, education, compensation and commitment.

The connection to the rating runs through education: under the Program Assessment pathway, the star levels' education standards count ECE coursework, credentials and degrees, and these programs are education-based — WAGE$ and STEP$ supplements attach to a staff person's education, and every T.E.A.C.H. scholarship carries an education component.

Because the operator selects the pathway, start by knowing which of the three the center will pursue; our research detailed the Program Assessment pathway, and all three pathways' rules sit in Section .3200.

Its education standard is a staff-mix measure: at least 50% of lead teachers and 50% of educators must meet a level's standard, so a director can count how many already meet the two-star options (an active CDA, 3 semester hours of ECE, or 1 year of experience plus annual continuing education or a competency evaluation), the four-star options (12 semester hours of ECE plus 2 years' experience, an Early Childhood Certificate, or 5 years' experience with 2.0 CEUs a year or a competency evaluation) and the five-star options our research recorded (an AAS or higher in early childhood education or child development).

Assessment timing matters too on this pathway: the average score a 4-star center needs rises from 3.5 to 4.0 for assessments on or after January 1, 2028.

Family child care homes work from the license sequence instead: six-month temporary license, then a one-star license or a two- to five-star rated license.

Confirm the current criteria and process with DCDEE before scheduling training or assessments.

The rated-license rules were rewritten recently: the current rules, 10A NCAC 09 Section .3200, took effect July 1, 2025 and set out the three licensure pathways.

The older star-rating rules in Section .2800 — education and ratio standards for rated licenses — were repealed effective June 1, 2026, so older handbooks, worksheets and charts built on Section .2800 no longer state the current standards.

One dated change sits inside the current rules: the average score a 4-star center needs rises from 3.5 to 4.0 for assessments on or after January 1, 2028.