What Qualifications Do You Need to Be a Daycare Director in Arkansas?
A daycare director in a licensed Arkansas child care center must be at least 21 years old and meet one of four education-and-experience paths in the state's center licensing rules, from a related bachelor's degree down to eight years of experience with a CDA or credential completed within two years.
The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) administers the rules.
New directors attend New Directors Orientation plus Program Administration Scale (PAS) and Environment Rating Scale (ERS) training within six months, then complete 15 clock hours of early childhood education training each year.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
At least 21 years old for a child care center director.
One of four paths: a related bachelor's degree; an unrelated bachelor's with four years of ECE experience, a CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential; an ECE associate degree with six years of experience; or eight years of experience with a CDA or credential completed within two years.
Four years with an unrelated bachelor's, six years with an ECE associate degree, or eight years with a CDA or credential completed within two years.
Our research did not confirm a standalone Arkansas director credential; the CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential is listed on two of the four paths.
15 clock hours of early childhood education training each year.
Ways to qualify as a director in Arkansas
- Bachelor's in early childhood education, child development or a related fieldRequirement
The degree path: the rule lists a related bachelor's degree as the qualification on this path.
- Bachelor's outside the field, plus experience or a credentialRequirement
An unrelated bachelor's degree listed together with four years of ECE experience, a CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential.
- ECE associate degree, plus six years of experienceRequirement
An associate degree in early childhood education, child development or a related field, plus six years of experience in early childhood education.
- Eight years of experience, plus a credentialRequirement
Eight years of experience, with a CDA or credential completed within two years.
Who sets director rules in Arkansas?
Director qualifications are licensing rules, and in Arkansas they come from the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023) moved child care licensing to OEC from the Department of Human Services.
The director standards sit in the Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers, the center rulebook currently posted by OEC.
Older documents may still carry the former Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) name rather than OEC's current title.
“The LEARNS Act (Act 237) of 2023 relocated the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education from DHS to a new Office of Early Childhood in the Department of Education”
What education and ECE credits does an Arkansas daycare director need?
The center rulebook lists four qualification paths, and the degree is what separates them.
A bachelor's in early childhood education, child development or a related field is the first path as the rule lists it.
A bachelor's outside the field pairs with four years of ECE experience, a CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential.
An associate degree in early childhood education, child development or a related field qualifies with six years of experience in early childhood education.
For classroom staff, the same rulebook requires everyone who works directly with children to hold a high school diploma or GED.
How much experience does an Arkansas daycare director need?
Experience steps up as the degree steps down.
The unrelated-bachelor's path asks for four years of ECE experience, with a CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential also listed on the path.
The associate-degree path pairs an early childhood degree with six years of experience in early childhood education.
The longest route is eight years of experience, with a CDA or credential to be completed within two years.
“Associate degree in Early Childhood, Child Development, or a related field, plus six (6) years of experience in Early Childhood Education”
Does Arkansas require a director credential or administration coursework?
Our research did not confirm a standalone Arkansas-issued director credential; qualification runs through the education-and-experience paths, and the CDA — the Child Development Associate credential awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition — or a Birth to Pre-K credential enters two of those paths.
Administration coursework is where Arkansas is explicit after hire: every new director and assistant director attends New Directors Orientation plus Program Administration Scale (PAS) and Environment Rating Scale (ERS) training within six months of employment.
Ask OEC what the current rulebook adds beyond the paths described here.
“All new Directors and Assistant Directors or Site Supervisors shall attend New Directors Orientation, Program Administration Scale (PAS), and Environment Rating Scale (ERS) training”
What training hours and renewal rules apply to Arkansas directors?
Directors and assistant directors must obtain 15 clock hours of early childhood education training each year.
The hours count when the training is registered with the Professional Development Registry or approved by the Department of Higher Education, so college ECE coursework can count toward them.
First aid and CPR sit alongside the hours: the director, or an assistant director or site supervisor, must hold certificates of successful completion in both, alongside 50% of the facility staff on site at any given time.
Where a center serves infants and toddlers, infant and child CPR is required.
“Directors and Assistant Directors or Site Supervisors shall obtain fifteen (15) clock hours in early childhood education each year.”
What are the assistant director and designee rules in Arkansas?
The rulebook names two deputy titles, assistant director and site supervisor, and it measures them against the director standard: a director, assistant director or site supervisor meeting director qualifications must be present at each licensed site at least 50% of the center's primary operating day.
The training rules name the deputy titles directly.
New assistant directors and site supervisors attend the same New Directors Orientation plus PAS and ERS training within six months of employment, and they owe the same 15 clock hours of early childhood education training each year.
First aid and CPR follow the same pattern: the rule names the director, assistant director or site supervisor as the certificate-holders, together with half the staff on site.
“must be present at each licensed site a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the center’s primary operational day, on a routine basis.”
Does Arkansas have a professional development registry for directors?
The Professional Development Registry is the state's training registry for center staff, and directors are on its list.
Directors, site supervisors and direct-care staff must be registered with it within 30 days of hire.
Older rule text calls it the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) Professional Development Registry, a name from before the LEARNS Act moved child care licensing to the Office of Early Childhood.
“shall be registered with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) Professional Development Registry within thirty (30) days of hire”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Arkansas licensing rules, agency pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state daycare director requirements series, current as of October 2026. It is not a substitute for the instructions the Office of Early Childhood (OEC), Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education publishes. For the rest of the picture in Arkansas, see daycare teacher requirements in Arkansas, quality rating system (QRIS) in Arkansas, daycare licensing steps in Arkansas, and childcare director pay in Arkansas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a daycare director in Arkansas?
Meet one of the four qualification paths in the center licensing rules: a bachelor's in early childhood education, child development or a related field; a bachelor's outside the field with four years of ECE experience, a CDA or a Birth to Pre-K credential; an ECE associate degree with six years of experience; or eight years of experience with a CDA or credential completed within two years.
A director must be at least 21 years old.
After hire, New Directors Orientation plus PAS and ERS training is due within six months, and 15 clock hours of early childhood education training are due each year.
Do you need a CDA to be a daycare director in Arkansas?
Not on every path.
A related bachelor's degree, or an ECE associate degree with six years of experience, qualifies without any credential.
The CDA — awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition — is one of the listed options on the unrelated-bachelor's path, and a CDA or credential is required on the longest path: eight years of experience, with the credential completed within two years.
Confirm the current paths with the Office of Early Childhood.
What training does a new Arkansas director need in the first six months?
Within six months of employment, a new director must attend New Directors Orientation plus Program Administration Scale (PAS) and Environment Rating Scale (ERS) training.
Registration with the Professional Development Registry is due within 30 days of hire.
From then on, directors and assistant directors complete 15 clock hours of early childhood education training every year.
Do assistant directors need the same qualifications as directors in Arkansas?
When an assistant director or site supervisor is the person meeting director qualifications on site, the rulebook holds that person to the director standard, including presence at the licensed site for at least 50% of the primary operating day.
The training rules name the deputy titles directly: New Directors Orientation plus PAS and ERS training within six months of employment, and the same 15 clock hours of annual training.
Does an Arkansas daycare director need CPR and first aid?
Yes.
The center rule requires the director — or an assistant director or site supervisor — and 50% of the facility staff on site at any given time to hold certificates of successful completion of first aid and CPR.
Where a center serves infants and toddlers, infant and child CPR is required.
More Arkansas Resources
Sources
- Arkansas Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers (Office of Early Childhood) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Better Beginnings, Arkansas's Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (Arkansas Department of Education) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Council for Professional Recognition — CDA educator pathways (retrieved 2026-10-05)
Sourced from the documents listed above. Verified October 2026. This is career and employer information, not licensing or legal advice. Confirm current rules with the Office of Early Childhood (OEC), Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.