What Qualifications Do You Need to Be a Daycare Director in Georgia?
To be a daycare director in a licensed Georgia child care learning center, you must be at least 21 and meet one of 13 education and experience combinations in DECAL's center rule — the rule's examples run from a CDA or an ECE technical certificate with 6 months of experience to an early childhood education bachelor's degree with none.
Before DECAL issues an initial center license, the director responsible for day-to-day operations must have completed a DECAL-approved 40-hour director's training course.
Directors clear a comprehensive records check and complete 10 clock hours of training every year after the first.
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At a glance
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 591-1-1.
At least 21 years old.
One of 13 education and experience combinations; the rule's examples reach from a CDA or ECE Technical Certificate of Credit to a bachelor's degree.
Paired with education: 6 months with a CDA or ECE TCC, 3 months with a non-ECE bachelor's, none with an ECE bachelor's, or 5 years as an on-site director.
A DECAL-approved 40-hour director's training course, completed before the department issues an initial center license.
10 clock hours every calendar year after the first year of employment.
Ways to qualify as a director in Georgia
- CDA or ECE Technical Certificate of CreditCredential
One listed combination pairs a CDA or an ECE Technical Certificate of Credit with 6 months of qualifying child care experience.
- Non-ECE bachelor's degreeCredential
A bachelor's degree outside early childhood education pairs with 3 months of experience.
- ECE bachelor's degreeCredential
An early childhood education bachelor's degree appears in the rule's examples with no experience requirement.
- 40-hour director course plus 5 years on siteCredential
A DECAL-approved 40-hour director course combined with 5 years as an on-site director is another of the listed combinations.
Who sets director rules in Georgia?
Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) licenses Georgia child care learning centers.
The center rules are the Rules and Regulations for Child Care Learning Centers, Chapter 591-1-1 of Georgia's rules and regulations, and a center is any place receiving seven or more children under 18 for pay for group care for fewer than 24 hours a day.
Director qualifications sit in Rule 591-1-1-.31 of those rules, and DECAL administers them.
“"Department" means Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.”
What education and ECE credits does a Georgia daycare director need?
Georgia writes its director qualifications as combinations rather than a single degree.
A director must be at least 21 years old and meet one of 13 education and experience combinations in the center rule.
The rule's examples reach from a CDA — the Child Development Associate credential awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition — or an early childhood education Technical Certificate of Credit, up to a bachelor's degree inside or outside early childhood education.
Because the rule lists 13 combinations and this page quotes only its examples, confirm the current list with DECAL before you apply for a director role.
“Qualifications of Director. The Director must meet the minimum qualifications listed below.”
How much experience does a Georgia daycare director need?
Experience is the other half of each combination, and the rule's examples trade education against it.
A CDA or an early childhood education Technical Certificate of Credit pairs with 6 months of qualifying child care experience, and a bachelor's degree outside the field pairs with 3 months.
An early childhood education bachelor's degree appears in the examples with no experience attached.
A combination built on the 40-hour director's training course, meanwhile, counts 5 years as an on-site director.
Does Georgia require a director credential or administration coursework?
The director-specific course the center rule names is the 40-hour director's training course.
Before DECAL issues an initial center license, the director responsible for the center's day-to-day operations must have completed a director's training course the department has approved.
The education and experience combinations carry the rest of the qualification load; the rule sections in our research name no separate director credential on top of them.
Which courses DECAL approves for the 40-hour requirement is the agency's call, so confirm the current approved-course list with the agency.
“Prior to the issuance of an initial License, the Director of a Center responsible for its day-to-day operations shall have completed a 40-hour director's training course that has been approved by the Department.”
What training hours and renewals apply to Georgia directors?
Georgia's annual training rule covers supervisory and caregiver personnel, the category directors fall in.
Every calendar year after the first year of employment, they complete 10 clock hours of training, including at least 2 hours in language and literacy practices and at least 2 hours in child development and health and safety, with no more than 2 hours in business topics.
On the clearance side, every director submits a Records Check Application and fingerprints and needs a satisfactory Comprehensive Records Check Determination before being present while children are in care.
Center staff are then re-checked at least once every five years, after a 180-day lapse in child care employment, or upon arrest for a covered crime.
“Every calendar year after the first year of employment, all supervisory and caregiver Personnel, except independent contractors, Students-in-Training and volunteers, shall attend ten (10) clock hours of diverse training”
What are the assistant director and designee rules in Georgia?
Georgia requires a center director to be on the premises.
When the director is absent during operating hours, an officially designated person must be on site to assume responsibility for the operation of the center, with full access to required records.
The center rule sections in our research set no separate qualification for that designated person.
Because DECAL administers the rule, a center confirms with the agency who may serve in that role.
“If the Director is absent from the Center at any time during the hours of the Center's operation, there shall be an officially designated person on the Center site to assume responsibility for the operation of the Center”
Do Georgia directors need to join the GaPDS workforce registry?
Not under the licensing rule on its own.
Georgia center training records may be kept in the staff member's personnel file and/or in Georgia's workforce registry and professional development system, GaPDS, and the licensing rule itself does not make GaPDS membership a licensing requirement.
Quality Rated, Georgia's quality rating system, does require registration: all instructional and administrative staff must be registered in GaPDS, and Quality Rated's Portfolio Standard 1 is Director and Teacher Qualifications and GaPDS Verification.
Quality Rated participation is voluntary, but since December 31, 2021 providers must be Quality Rated, or in Provisional or Probationary status, to receive CAPS subsidy funding.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Georgia 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 Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) publishes. For the rest of the picture in Georgia, see daycare teacher requirements in Georgia, quality rating system (QRIS) in Georgia, daycare licensing steps in Georgia, and childcare director pay in Georgia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a CDA to be a daycare director in Georgia?
No. The CDA is one education option the rule's combinations accept: a CDA or an early childhood education Technical Certificate of Credit, paired with 6 months of qualifying child care experience, meets one listed combination.
Other combinations use different education, such as a bachelor's degree outside early childhood education with 3 months of experience or an early childhood education bachelor's with none.
At a center seeking its initial license, the director responsible for day-to-day operations must also have completed the DECAL-approved 40-hour director's training course before the license is issued.
How long does it take to become a daycare director in Georgia?
It depends on the combination a candidate qualifies under.
The rule's examples attach no experience to an early childhood education bachelor's degree, 3 months to a bachelor's outside the field, 6 months to a CDA or ECE Technical Certificate of Credit, and 5 years as an on-site director to the combination built on the 40-hour director course.
At a center seeking its initial license, the director responsible for day-to-day operations must have completed the DECAL-approved 40-hour director's training course before the license is issued.
Do Georgia daycare directors need a background check?
Yes.
Every center director submits a Records Check Application to DECAL and fingerprints to an authorized fingerprinting site, and directors need a satisfactory Comprehensive Records Check Determination before being present while children are in care.
The re-check cycle applies to directors as center staff: at least once every five years, after a 180-day lapse in child care employment, or upon arrest for a covered crime.
Who can run the center when the director is out?
Georgia requires the director to be on the premises, and when the director is absent during operating hours, an officially designated person must be on site to assume responsibility for the operation of the center, with full access to required records.
The rule sections in our research do not set a separate qualification for that designated person, so a center confirms with DECAL who may serve in the role.
Do Georgia daycare directors have to join GaPDS?
Not under the licensing rule by itself: it lets training records be kept in a personnel file and/or in GaPDS, and it does not make GaPDS membership a licensing requirement.
Quality Rated does require registration: all instructional and administrative staff must be registered in the Georgia Professional Development System.
Since December 31, 2021, providers must be Quality Rated, or in Provisional or Probationary status, to receive CAPS subsidy funding, so the registry requirement reaches directors at participating programs.
More Georgia Resources
Sources
- Rules and Regulations for Child Care Learning Centers, Georgia Secretary of State (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Quality Rated, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Quality Rated Program Manual, Bright from the Start: Georgia DECAL (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Council for Professional Recognition — CDA credentialing (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 Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).