What Are the Requirements to Be a Daycare Teacher in Arkansas?
Arkansas sets clear requirements for daycare teachers in licensed child care centers: you must be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or GED.
Center directors, site supervisors and direct-care staff must be registered with the Professional Development Registry within 30 days of hire.
Every staff member who works directly with children completes an 8-clock-hour orientation within 3 months of employment and at least 15 hours of early childhood training each year, and each must clear an FBI fingerprint-based background check before employment.
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 18 years old with a high school diploma or GED — the rule sets one standard for all staff who work directly with children.
The same standard: at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED. Our research found no separate assistant-teacher tier.
An 8-clock-hour orientation within 3 months of employment, repeated every 3 years.
At least 15 hours of early childhood training each year.
The director (or assistant director or site supervisor) and 50% of the staff on site at any given time.
An FBI fingerprint-based nationwide criminal record check before employment, repeated every 5 years.
Classroom roles in Arkansas, by the rule's own titles
- Child care center staff memberRole
The center rule's category for adults who work directly with children: at least 18 years old, with a high school diploma or GED, registered with the Professional Development Registry within 30 days of hire.
- 16- or 17-year-old staff memberRole
May work in a center only while enrolled in high school or a GED program, never alone with children, always directly supervised and without disciplinary control over children.
Who licenses childcare centers in Arkansas?
The Office of Early Childhood (OEC), part of the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, administers child care licensing in Arkansas.
The LEARNS Act, Act 237 of 2023, moved licensing there from the Department of Human Services.
The requirements on this page come from the state's Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers, the rule the agency applies to centers.
What qualifications does a lead teacher need in Arkansas?
Arkansas's center rule sets one standard for staff members who work directly with children, and the rules we researched record no separate, higher qualification for lead teachers.
Each staff member must be at least 18 years old and hold a high school diploma or GED.
Beyond that floor, the rule requires Professional Development Registry registration, an orientation and annual training — not, in the rules we read, a college degree or an early childhood credential.
Individual employers can still ask for more in a job posting, so read each posting before you apply.
“All staff members who work directly with children shall have a high school diploma or GED.”
What does an assistant teacher need in Arkansas?
Assistants meet the same licensing minimum as any other staff member who works directly with children: at least 18 years old and a high school diploma or GED.
Our research found no separate assistant-teacher qualification in the Arkansas center rules.
Arkansas does allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in centers under restricted conditions, covered in its own section below.
What training do you need before you start?
New staff members, and volunteers who count in ratio, complete an 8-clock-hour orientation within 3 months of employment, and a center repeats it every 3 years.
The orientation covers safe sleep, shaken baby syndrome, mandated reporting, medication and other federal health and safety topics.
A new staff member may not be left alone with children until the orientation is finished.
Directors, site supervisors and direct-care staff must also be registered with the Professional Development Registry within 30 days of hire.
“shall receive the following orientation within three (3) months of employment (and every three (3) years thereafter) and shall not be left alone with children until this is completed.”
How many training hours do you need each year?
Every Arkansas center staff member who works directly with children must obtain at least 15 hours of training each year in continuing Early Childhood Education.
Training counts when it is registered with the state Professional Development Registry or approved by the state's higher education department, so college early childhood coursework can count toward the annual 15 hours.
“All staff members who work directly with children shall obtain at least fifteen (15) hours of training each year in continuing Early Childhood Education.”
CPR, first aid and health checks
Arkansas sets a coverage rule rather than requiring a certificate for every employee.
The director, assistant director or site supervisor, and 50% of the facility staff on site at any given time, must hold a certificate of successful completion of first aid and CPR.
Where a center serves infants and toddlers, the CPR must cover infant and child CPR.
Our research did not confirm a separate pre-employment health examination requirement in the center rules we read, so confirm with OEC what applies to the role you are hired for.
“The Director, Assistant Director or Site Supervisor, and fifty percent (50%) of the facility staff that are on site at any given time shall have a certificate of successful completion of first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)”
How does the background check work in Arkansas?
Arkansas requires an FBI fingerprint-based nationwide criminal record check through the Arkansas State Police for center owners, direct-care staff and others with routine contact with children.
The check happens before employment and repeats every 5 years.
The individual is responsible for the cost of the nationwide check.
“The individual is responsible for the cost of a nationwide check.”
Extra training for infant and toddler rooms
Our research did not confirm a separate training total for infant and toddler teachers in the Arkansas center rules.
The required 8-clock-hour orientation already includes safe sleep and shaken baby syndrome topics, and where a center serves infants and toddlers, the first aid and CPR certificates on site must cover infant and child CPR.
Can a 16-year-old work at a daycare in Arkansas?
Arkansas center staff must be at least 18 years old.
The rule makes a narrow exception: 16- and 17-year-olds may work in a center only while enrolled in high school or a GED program, never alone with children, always directly supervised, and without disciplinary control over children.
What is the Arkansas Professional Development Registry?
Arkansas center directors, site supervisors and direct-care staff must be registered with the Professional Development Registry within 30 days of hire.
Federal CCDF rules require each state to describe a training and professional development framework that addresses workforce information, but the federal rule does not require individual staff to join a registry; whether membership is mandatory comes from each state's licensing rules.
In Arkansas, the center licensing rule requires the registration.
“shall be registered with the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) Professional Development Registry within thirty (30) days of hire”
What has changed in Arkansas childcare licensing?
The recent change to know about is structural: the LEARNS Act, Act 237 of 2023, moved child care licensing from the Department of Human Services to a new Office of Early Childhood inside the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Older documents still carry the division's former name, the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE).
The center rulebook this research used is the 2020 revision, and whether a newer revision is pending is unresolved — confirm the current version of any requirement with OEC before you rely on it.
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 teacher 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 director requirements in Arkansas, early childhood education programs and scholarships in Arkansas, and childcare teacher pay in Arkansas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a CDA to work in an Arkansas daycare?
Not under the Arkansas center licensing rules we researched.
Staff who work directly with children must be at least 18 and hold a high school diploma or GED, along with registry registration, an orientation and annual training; a CDA is not among the requirements we verified.
An individual employer can still prefer or require the CDA credential, so read each job posting before you apply.
How many training hours does an Arkansas daycare teacher need?
Two totals.
The first is an 8-clock-hour orientation due within 3 months of employment — new staff cannot be left alone with children until it is finished — and it repeats every 3 years.
After that, every staff member who works directly with children completes at least 15 hours of continuing early childhood education each year.
Training registered with the Professional Development Registry or approved by the state's higher education department counts, so college early childhood coursework can count toward the annual total.
Can a 16-year-old work at a daycare in Arkansas?
Yes, in a limited role.
Arkansas center staff must be 18 or older, but 16- and 17-year-olds may work if they are enrolled in high school or a GED program, are never left alone with children, are directly supervised at all times and do not exercise disciplinary control over children.
These conditions come from the state's center licensing rule.
Does every Arkansas daycare teacher need CPR training?
Arkansas does not require a CPR certificate for every employee.
The state's center rule requires the director, assistant director or site supervisor, plus 50% of the facility staff on site at any given time, to hold certificates in first aid and CPR.
Where infants and toddlers are in care, the certificates must cover infant and child CPR.
Who regulates daycares in Arkansas?
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 there from the Department of Human Services, which is why older documents still say Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE).
Confirm current center requirements with OEC before you rely on them.
More Arkansas Resources
Sources
- Arkansas Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers (Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Better Beginnings quality rating document (Arkansas Department of Education) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Child Care and Development Fund rule on training and professional development (eCFR, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) (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.