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

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) licenses child care agencies — centers, group homes, family homes and drop-in centers — under the Licensure Rules for Child Care Agencies, rule chapter 1240-04-01.

The rules speak of 'educators': for the rules' purposes, an educator is equivalent to the caregiver defined in state law, and that is the title this page uses for daycare teachers.

The requirements below are center requirements; family child care homes follow their own rows in the same rulebook.

In the rows we read, Tennessee's center rules set no separate lead teacher qualification; the classroom baseline is the educator row.

A child care center educator must be at least 18 years old, and no diploma is required unless the educator is the only educator for a group or is used to meet the group requirement — in that case, a high school diploma or equivalent is required.

Individual centers may ask for more than the licensing floor, so read each job posting for what that employer asks.

In the rows we read, Tennessee's center chart sets no separate assistant-teacher qualification.

The rows we found for center classrooms are the educator row above and a student assistant row: a child care center student assistant may be 16 years old with current enrollment in a technical child care educational program, the one younger route in the rows we read.

Beyond that, the educator minimums — at least 18, with a diploma or equivalent required when the educator is the only educator for a group or is used to meet the group requirement — are the floor we found for adult classroom staff.

Before having any contact with children, Tennessee center staff complete a set of required trainings: Licensing Rules and Regulations training, Shaken Baby/Abusive Head Trauma/Child Maltreatment training, the Pre-Service Training course — 'Before You Begin' — and SIDS training if the program serves infants.

These come from the educator chart in the licensure rules, which lists the training staff must finish before they work with children.

In an infant room, the SIDS training applies from the start.

Tennessee center educators complete 12 hours of annual training.

At least 6 of those hours must be in health and safety topics, and 3 in pre-literacy or literacy.

Educators who hold an associate or bachelor's degree in child development or a related field, a CDA credential, or a Certified Child Care Professional (CCP) credential follow the rule's 'experienced educator' training requirements after year one — a track the rulebook's educator chart sets out; confirm with TDHS which track applies to you.

Tennessee center educators must complete CPR training within 90 days of employment.

Separately, center staff cycle through the CCDBG health-and-safety training topics every three years, with drop-in staff on a four-year cycle.

On first aid, the educator requirements we read name CPR; our research did not confirm a separate first-aid requirement for center educators, so check the current rulebook or ask TDHS.

The same is true of staff health checks: our research did not confirm requirements for physicals or screenings for center educators — ask TDHS what applies to your role.

Tennessee requires background checks for all child care staff at least every five years, with fingerprinting under T.C.A. § 71-3-507 and the federal CCDBG requirements, including out-of-state registry checks.

The rule also treats appearing on a state sex offender registry or repository, or the National Sex Offender Registry, as a non-waivable exclusion.

Ask the director what to provide and when; for the current step-by-step process, TDHS is the authority.

For training records, yes: TNPAL — the Tennessee Professional Archive of Learning — is the required system of record for all Tennessee child care training, and staff must create a TNPAL profile.

That makes TNPAL the place your training completions — the pre-service set and your annual hours — are recorded.

Beyond the training-record rule, our research did not confirm any separate registry membership requirement, so a membership question for your role goes to TDHS.

Tennessee's child care licensure rules were revised again in 2025-2026: the rulebook TDHS posts is marked 'February, 2026 (Revised)', with amendments effective November 20, 2025 and February 8, 2026.

At least one older copy of the rules still posted online does not match the current figures, so treat TDHS's February 2026 rulebook as the reference — and confirm any requirement that matters to your job search or staffing with the agency.