What Are the Requirements to Be a Daycare Teacher in Maine?

The Maine DHHS Office of Child and Family Services licenses child care centers, nursery schools and small child care facilities under 10-148 CMR Chapter 32, the Child Care Facility Licensing Rule that took effect September 27, 2021.

Under that rule, a child care center is a facility caring for 13 or more children under 13, and facilities of 3 to 12 children are licensed as small facilities.

A nursery school provides care for 3 or more children aged 33 months to 8 years in sessions no longer than 3½ hours.

It is licensed under the same Chapter 32 rule, and the rule writes its staff requirements for child care staff members across the facility types it licenses, so they describe nursery school teaching staff as well as center staff.

In a small facility, the primary caregiver must be at least 18, hold adult and pediatric first aid and CPR, and have at least 6 hours of pre-licensing training.

Staff qualifications sit in Section 7(F), training in Section 8, and background checks in a separate rule, 10-148 CMR Chapter 34.

Maine's rule defines the lead teacher as the individual having program responsibility for a group of children attending a child care facility.

In a program with 13 or more children, a lead teacher must be at least 18 and meet one of three routes in Section 7(F): a current CDA as awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition or a Maine State-approved credential, or 12 months of direct child care experience, or one year (30 credit hours) of college work including one course in a child-related subject plus six months of experience.

Every route rests on the education baseline that applies to all child care staff members: a high school diploma or equivalent, or enrollment in high school or a GED/HiSET program.

On the staffing side, facilities licensed for 13 to 20 children need at least one lead teacher, and facilities over 21 children need one lead teacher per group.

The chapters of the Maine rule our research covers set one baseline for child care staff members rather than a separate assistant-teacher credential track.

Staff working without supervision must be at least 18, and 16- and 17-year-olds work only under the direct supervision of a staff person over 18.

Every staff member needs a high school diploma or equivalent, or to be enrolled in high school or a GED/HiSET program.

Assistants take the same orientation within their first 90 days of service, register with Maine's Professional Development Network, and complete the annual training hours their program size and weekly hours set.

Within the first ninety days of service, every child care staff member must receive training in the licensing rule; SIDS, shaken baby and safe sleep; medication; allergies; premises safety; infection control; hazardous materials; adult and pediatric first aid and CPR with hands-on skills; and Department-approved mandated reporter training.

The training window runs from the start of service, while the background check rule reaches earlier: a prospective staff member may not begin working until the provider has a Child Care Provider Letter of Eligibility showing they are eligible.

Annual hours depend on program size and on how many hours a week the staff member works.

In programs with more than 13 children, staff working more than 20 hours a week complete 30 hours of ongoing training a year, and staff working less complete 18 hours.

Programs with fewer than 13 children require 12 hours.

Ongoing training must also include Department-approved mandated reporter retraining at least once every four years.

Our research reads the under-13 figure as a single 12-hour requirement and did not confirm separate full-time and part-time hours for small programs, so confirm the hours that apply to your position with the Office of Child and Family Services.

Within the first ninety days of service, staff complete adult and pediatric first aid and CPR training that includes hands-on skills.

The same orientation block covers medication, allergies, premises safety, infection control and hazardous materials, so Maine folds its health-and-safety training into that 90-day window.

On pre-employment health screening, our research confirms the training requirements above but did not confirm a separate medical exam or immunization requirement for center staff under Chapter 32; ask the Office of Child and Family Services what documentation it expects before your first day.

Maine's comprehensive background check includes an FBI fingerprint check (NGI) and the National Sex Offender Registry.

For each state where the individual has resided during the previous five years, it also reaches the state child abuse and neglect registry, the State Bureau of Identification or comparable state agency's crime repository, and that state's sex offender registry.

Clearance is tied to the first day of work under 10-148 CMR Chapter 34: a prospective staff member may not begin working for a child care provider until they have furnished the provider with a Child Care Provider Letter of Eligibility showing they are eligible.

Ask the provider you are applying to how the check is started, and confirm current steps with the Office of Child and Family Services, the agency that licenses Maine child care.

Staff working without supervision must be at least 18.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds may work as child care staff members only under the direct supervision of a staff person over 18.

The education baseline covers every staff member: a high school diploma or equivalent, or enrollment in high school or a GED/HiSET program.

Yes for center staff: Section 8(C) requires every child care staff member to register with Maine's Professional Development Network, which operates as Maine Roads to Quality (MRTQ).

The federal CCDF rule asks states to describe a training and professional development framework but does not require individual staff to join a registry; in Maine, the state licensing rule is what makes registration mandatory.

Maine Roads to Quality appears on the Council for Professional Recognition's list of approved state workforce registries as of October 2026, and the Council accepts workforce registry transcripts from U.S. state and territory registries for the CDA.