What Are the Requirements to Be a Daycare Teacher in Hawaii?
To work as a daycare teacher in a licensed Hawaii group child care center, you must be at least 18 and meet one of five qualification routes in Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-892.2 — from an early childhood or child development degree with 6 months' experience to any bachelor's degree plus 6 months and 12 ECE credits.
Every caregiver also completes DHS-approved health and safety training within 45 days of hire and at least 16 hours of training each year, and Hawaii's background check rules in chapter 17-801 apply to center applicants and staff.
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At a glance
The Hawaii State Department of Human Services, Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD) child care licensing program, under HAR chapter 17-892.2.
One of five routes under HAR 17-892.2-35(k), including an ECE or child development degree plus 6 months' experience, a CDA plus 1 year of supervised teaching, or any bachelor's plus 6 months and 12 ECE credits.
A CDA or an associate degree with an ECE certificate plus 6 months' experience, or 60 college credits with 9 ECE or child development credits plus 6 months' experience.
DHS-approved initial health and safety training, covering 11 topics, within 45 days of hire.
At least 16 hours of DHS-approved training every year, in at least two listed topic areas.
Pediatric first aid and CPR are among the 11 initial health and safety training topics, due within 45 days of hire.
Under HAR chapter 17-801, applicants and staff may not have criminal, sex offender registry, child abuse or neglect, or adult abuse history that may pose a risk to children in care; other states' child abuse and neglect registries are checked for states of residence in the past five years.
Classroom roles in Hawaii, by the rule's own titles
- TeacherRole
The rule's teacher position in a group child care center: five qualification routes under HAR 17-892.2-35(k), each pairing education with experience or supervised teaching.
- Assistant teacherRole
Qualifies with a CDA or an associate degree with an ECE certificate plus 6 months' experience, or 60 college credits including 9 in child development or early childhood courses, plus 6 months' experience.
- Child care aideRole
The rule's aide position: at least 16 years old to count in the staff-child ratio, qualified by a high school vocational child care course or the center's orientation training course.
- Substitute or volunteerRole
Complete the same initial health and safety training as caregivers; substitutes complete 10 hours of training a year, and volunteers serving 10 or more hours a week complete 8 hours.
Who licenses childcare centers in Hawaii?
Hawaii child care centers are licensed by the Hawaii State Department of Human Services, through its Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division child care licensing program.
Group child care centers and group child care homes are licensed under Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-892.2.
Infant and toddler centers are licensed separately under chapter 17-895.1, and family child care homes are registered under chapter 17-891.2.
The staff qualification and training rules on this page sit in HAR 17-892.2-35.
What qualifications does a lead teacher need in Hawaii?
Hawaii's center rule sets five routes to the teacher position in a group child care center.
You qualify with an early childhood education or child development degree plus 6 months' experience; a CDA credential plus 1 year of supervised teaching in an early childhood program; an organized two-year, 60-semester-credit college program with an ECE certificate from a regionally accredited college plus 1 year of supervised teaching; an elementary education bachelor's degree plus 6 months' experience and 6 ECE credits; or any bachelor's degree plus 6 months' experience and 12 ECE credits.
“A child development associate credential, and one year supervised teaching experience in an early childhood program”
What does an assistant teacher need in Hawaii?
Hawaii sets a separate assistant teacher qualification.
You qualify with a CDA or an associate degree with an ECE certificate plus 6 months' experience, or 60 college credits including 9 semester credits in approved child development or early childhood courses plus 6 months' experience.
The rule also names a child care aide position, which qualifies with a high school vocational child care course or the center's orientation training course.
When a center cannot fill a teacher or assistant teacher position, DHS may waive the qualification: the vacancy must have been advertised in the county's largest newspaper, the hire must meet the next lower position's requirements, the center must file a written upgrade plan, and DHS must approve before the hire.
“nine semester credits approved child development or early childhood courses”
What training do you need before you start?
Within 45 days of hire, every caregiver, substitute and volunteer must complete initial training approved by the department in health and safety standards.
The initial training covers 11 topics, including safe sleep, medication administration, abusive head trauma, pediatric first aid and CPR, and child abuse reporting.
The 45-day clock runs from hire, and it applies to volunteers and substitutes as well as caregivers.
“Each caregiver, substitute, and volunteer within forty-five days of hire, shall complete initial training that is approved by the department in health and safety standards”
How many training hours do you need each year?
Each caregiver staff member must complete at least 16 hours of DHS-approved training annually, in at least two of the rule's listed topic areas.
The hours scale down for other roles: substitutes complete 10 hours a year, and volunteers who serve 10 or more hours a week complete 8 hours.
“Each caregiver staff member shall complete at least sixteen hours”
CPR, first aid and health checks
Hawaii folds first aid and CPR into the initial health and safety training: pediatric first aid and CPR are among the 11 topics every caregiver, substitute and volunteer completes within 45 days of hire.
Our research did not confirm a separate Hawaii rule on CPR renewal cycles, pre-employment physicals or TB screening for center staff; the department approves the training, so confirm current details with DHS child care licensing before you enroll in a course.
How does the background check work in Hawaii?
Hawaii's center rule says applicants and staff may not have a criminal history record, sex offender registry history, child abuse or neglect history, or adult abuse history that may pose a risk to children in care; the background check rules sit in HAR chapter 17-801.
The state's child abuse record check also runs name inquiries into other states' child abuse and neglect registries for states where the individual has resided during the past five years, under Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 346.
Ask the hiring director which steps apply to you and when.
“A criminal history record, employment history, sex offender registry history, child abuse or neglect history, or adult abuse history that may pose a risk to children in care”
Infant and toddler centers: a separate licensing chapter
Hawaii licenses infant and toddler centers under their own chapter, HAR 17-895.1, so a teacher in an infant or toddler center works under rules separate from the group child care center chapter this page quotes.
The qualification routes, training hours and health and safety topics above come from the group center rule, HAR 17-892.2; that rule's initial training names safe sleep and abusive head trauma among its 11 topics.
For the requirements that apply inside an infant or toddler center, check chapter 17-895.1 with DHS child care licensing.
Can you work in a Hawaii daycare at 16 or 17?
Center staff other than aides, volunteers, clerical or maintenance staff must be at least 18.
A child care aide must be at least 16 to be counted in the staff-child ratio, and an aide qualifies with a high school vocational child care course or the center's orientation training course.
Of the classroom positions with qualification rules on this page, the aide is the one open at 16 or 17; volunteers also fall outside the 18 minimum.
“A child care aide shall be at least sixteen years old to be counted in the staff-child ratio.”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Hawaii 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 Hawaii State Department of Human Services, Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD) child care licensing publishes. For the rest of the picture in Hawaii, see daycare director requirements in Hawaii, early childhood education programs and scholarships in Hawaii, and childcare teacher pay in Hawaii.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a CDA to be a daycare teacher in Hawaii?
No. The CDA is one of five qualification routes for a Hawaii group child care center teacher, not the only one.
You can also qualify with an early childhood education or child development degree plus 6 months' experience, a two-year, 60-credit ECE certificate program plus 1 year of supervised teaching, an elementary education bachelor's plus 6 months and 6 ECE credits, or any bachelor's plus 6 months and 12 ECE credits.
Assistant teachers qualify through a CDA or an associate degree with an ECE certificate plus 6 months' experience, or 60 college credits with 9 in early childhood courses plus 6 months' experience.
Can you be a preschool teacher in Hawaii without a degree?
Yes, in a Hawaii group child care center.
The teacher rule's CDA route pairs the child development associate credential with 1 year of supervised teaching in an early childhood program, and the certificate route pairs an organized two-year, 60-semester-credit college program with an ECE certificate from a regionally accredited college plus 1 year of supervised teaching.
Neither route asks for a bachelor's degree.
How many training hours does a Hawaii daycare teacher need?
New hires complete DHS-approved initial health and safety training within 45 days of hire, covering 11 topics such as safe sleep, medication, abusive head trauma, pediatric first aid and CPR, and child abuse reporting.
After that, each caregiver completes at least 16 hours of DHS-approved training every year, in at least two listed topic areas.
Substitutes complete 10 hours a year, and volunteers serving 10 or more hours a week complete 8.
What disqualifies you from working at a daycare in Hawaii?
Hawaii's center rule says applicants and staff may not have a criminal history record, sex offender registry history, child abuse or neglect history, or adult abuse history that may pose a risk to children in care.
The screening runs under HAR chapter 17-801, and the state's child abuse record check includes name inquiries into other states' registries for states where the individual lived during the past five years.
Ask DHS child care licensing how a specific record is treated.
Do Hawaii daycare teachers need CPR certification?
Pediatric first aid and CPR are part of the initial health and safety training every caregiver, substitute and volunteer completes within 45 days of hire.
Our research did not confirm a separate CPR renewal cycle in the Hawaii center rule, so confirm current certificate details with DHS child care licensing or the training provider your center uses.
More Hawaii Resources
Sources
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 Hawaii State Department of Human Services, Benefit, Employment and Support Services Division (BESSD) child care licensing.