Do You Need a License to Run a Home Daycare in Idaho?

Idaho does not require a license for a family daycare home caring for 6 or fewer children — that count is the statute's own definition of a family daycare home.

The license line sits at 7: a daycare facility serving 7 or more unrelated children needs the basic daycare license the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) issues.

Below that line, licensing is optional, because any home caring for fewer than 7 children may voluntarily comply and receive the same basic license.

Unlicensed does not mean unregulated: a family daycare home caring for 4 or more children must comply with Idaho's criminal history check requirements, and operating a home of 4 or more children without that check is a misdemeanor.

Operating a daycare facility without first obtaining the basic daycare license is a separate misdemeanor, excepted where the chapter exempts the operation.

Idaho's statute sorts child care by capacity, and the names matter when you apply.

A family daycare home cares for 6 or fewer children; a group daycare facility cares for 7 to 12 children; a daycare center cares for 13 or more.

From 7 unrelated children up, the operation is a licensed daycare facility under IDHW's rules.

A family daycare home that opts in receives the same basic daycare license, and an Idaho daycare license runs for two years.

State law defines daycare staff as anyone 16 or older employed by a daycare facility to provide care and supervision, and sets no education requirement for daycare teachers or caregivers; for licensed daycare centers, the operator or license applicant must be at least 18.

Our research did not confirm a minimum age, education or experience rule for family daycare home providers specifically — IDHW's Daycare Licensing unit can confirm what applies.

On training, the 4-hour annual child-development training rule Idaho amended in 2025 is written for daycare centers, and our research did not confirm an annual-hours training rule for family daycare homes outside the subsidy system.

Providers who want Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) subsidy payments must complete the licensing requirements and 12 hours of ICCP training a year.

One requirement connects to licensed homes through the opt-in: at any licensed daycare facility, at least one adult employee with current pediatric rescue breathing and pediatric first aid certification must be on the premises whenever children are present.

A home receives the basic license by voluntarily complying with the chapter's licensing requirements; IDHW can confirm how this certification rule is applied to a licensed home.

The check reaches past the provider.

Idaho requires owners, operators and staff of a daycare facility — and anyone 13 or older who has unsupervised contact with children or is regularly on the premises — to pass an IDHW enhanced criminal history and background check at least every five years, and checks for minors include juvenile justice records.

Idaho Code 39-1114 pulls unlicensed homes into that system: a family daycare home caring for 4 or more children must comply with the section 39-1105 criminal history check even though no license is required.

The individual pays for their own background check and juvenile justice records check.

The application requirements our research captured are inspection and insurance paperwork: under Idaho's daycare licensing rules, an application requires building, electrical and fire code inspection reports where required, local zoning compliance, proof of fire and liability insurance, and background clearances.

What our research did not capture is a family-daycare-specific pre-licensing home visit or inspection checklist — whether IDHW inspects a home below the 7-child line before issuing the opt-in license, and what such a visit covers, is not established in our research.

IDHW's Daycare Licensing unit administers these requirements and can confirm what an application for a home requires.

A family daycare home applies to IDHW for the basic daycare license, under the same chapter of Idaho Code that licenses centers and group facilities.

Fees are capped by statute: $325 per license period for a center with more than 25 children, $250 for a center with 13 to 25, and $100 for all other facilities.

A family daycare home is not a daycare center, so its license sits in that $100 band.

Background checks cost extra, and Idaho puts that cost on the individual.

Once an application is complete, IDHW must issue the license within 60 days; the license is valid for two years, and an application not completed within six months is abandoned.

At a daycare facility — the category a home enters at 7 or more unrelated children — an assistant you hire is daycare staff under Idaho's definition: anyone 16 or older employed by the facility to provide care and supervision, with no state education requirement attached.

Idaho's background-check system reaches the assistant too: owners, operators and staff of a daycare facility must pass the IDHW enhanced check, and anyone 13 or older who is regularly on the premises or has unsupervised contact is included, with juvenile justice records checked for minors.

A family daycare home caring for 4 or more children must comply with the same section 39-1105 check requirements even without a license.

Note that the pediatric rule is adult-specific in its wording: at any licensed daycare facility, at least one adult employee with current pediatric rescue breathing and pediatric first aid certification must be on the premises whenever children are present.

Beyond that, our research did not capture qualification or training rules Idaho sets specifically for assistants in family daycare homes — IDHW's Daycare Licensing unit can confirm what applies before you hire.