What Are the Home Daycare License Requirements in Indiana?
Indiana requires a child care home license once at least 6 children who are not the provider's own receive care for pay more than 4 hours a day for 10 consecutive days a year.
Indiana licenses two home classes — Class I, up to 12 children at once plus 3 school-age children, and Class II, up to 16 — under the FSSA Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL), which also runs the onsite inspection and whose background check rules reach a licensed home's caregiver and adult household members.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL), which licenses child care homes under IC 12-17.2.
Once at least 6 children who are not the provider's own receive care for pay for more than 4 hours a day for 10 consecutive days a year.
Two licensed home classes: Class I child care homes under 470 IAC 3-1.1 and Class II child care homes under 470 IAC 3-1.3.
A Class I home serves up to 12 children at once plus 3 school-age children during the school year; a Class II home serves more than 12 but no more than 16.
Not established in our research — ask the licensing agency.
Not established in our research — ask the licensing agency.
Our research did not confirm an Indiana application fee — ask OECOSL for the current fee schedule.
Home child care license types in Indiana
- Class I child care homeLicense
Licensed under 470 IAC 3-1.1 to serve up to 12 children at once, plus 3 school-age children during the school year.
- Class II child care homeLicense
Licensed under 470 IAC 3-1.3 to serve more than 12 children but no more than 16.
- Care below the license thresholdLicense-exempt
A home that never meets the IC 12-7-2-28.6 trigger is outside the child care home license rule as our research records it; the 2025 training law names exempt providers, so ask OECOSL whether a smaller home counts as one.
Do you need a license to run a home daycare in Indiana?
Indiana requires a child care home license once a home is caring for at least 6 children who are not the provider's own, for pay, for more than 4 hours a day for 10 consecutive days a year.
That trigger sits in IC 12-7-2-28.6, and the FSSA Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) administers it along with the rest of Indiana's child care licensing under IC 12-17.2.
The home rules are 470 IAC 3-1.1 for Class I homes and 470 IAC 3-1.3 for Class II homes.
Care that stays below the threshold is outside the license rule as our research records it; OECOSL can confirm what a smaller home must still do.
Indiana home daycare license types and capacity
Indiana licenses two classes of child care home.
A Class I child care home may serve up to 12 children at once, plus 3 school-age children — children in full-day kindergarten or older — during the school year.
A Class II child care home serves more than 12 children but no more than 16.
The classes sit under different rule chapters: 470 IAC 3-1.1 for Class I and 470 IAC 3-1.3 for Class II.
Capacity also meets the home ratio rules: where a home is caring for children under 24 months, the mixed infant/toddler ratio is 4:1, or 6:1 only if 2 of the 6 children are at least 16 months and walking, and 12:1 applies only when all children present are over 3.
The ratio chart Indiana adopted for centers in 2025 does not apply to homes.
What qualifications does an Indiana home daycare provider need?
The qualification rule our research records is written for a Class I home licensee: a high school diploma or equivalency, plus a CDA credential or a similar approved program that the licensee has completed, is enrolled in, or agrees to complete within 3 years.
Our research did not capture a separate qualification rule for a Class II licensee, so confirm that side with OECOSL.
Training deadlines apply to home direct care providers, including volunteers: fire safety within 1 week of starting, and abuse and neglect reporting, confidentiality, the inspection checklist and universal precautions within 30 days.
Since July 1, 2025, all Indiana child care staff and volunteers — a list that covers homes as well as centers — must be trained in pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid within 90 days of starting.
The administrative rules still name TB testing for home staff, but a 2025 law removed the statutory requirement, and OECOSL is accepting one site-wide variance to omit TB testing until the rules are updated.
Our research did not establish a minimum age or an annual training-hours total for Indiana home providers.
Do background checks cover you and your household?
Indiana's child care background check combines a fingerprint-based criminal history check, with applicable juvenile history, and the Indiana Child Protection Index, and it adds out-of-state checks for anyone who has lived somewhere else.
Fingerprints are redone every 3 years, or after 180 or more days out of Indiana child care.
For licensed family child care homes the checks reach past the provider: they cover the caregiver and every household member age 18 or older.
“For licensed family child care homes, background check requirements also apply to the caregiver and all household members age 18 or older.”
What are the home inspection requirements in Indiana?
An onsite inspection sits on the path to an Indiana child care license: FSSA's become-a-provider guidance lists passing the onsite inspection from the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning among the steps.
Home applicants take a home-specific Orientation 2 ahead of that point, and once a home is running, its direct care providers train on the inspection checklist within their first 30 days.
Beyond those anchors, our research did not capture the item-by-item checklist an Indiana home inspector works from or a visit schedule, so ask OECOSL what to expect in your home.
How do you apply for an Indiana home daycare license, and what does it cost?
Applicants start with OECOSL's orientation trainings, delivered through Indiana Learning Paths on the state's I-LEAD platform: Orientation 1 covers start-up, and homes take a home-specific Orientation 2 in place of the center version, before the onsite inspection.
Indiana also staffs an Emerging Provider Support team, with a referral form, that guides new center and home applicants.
Our research did not confirm an application fee for an Indiana child care home license, and it did not capture a published processing timeline, so get the current fee schedule and timeline from OECOSL before you apply.
“Pass onsite inspection from the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.”
What does it take to hire an assistant for an Indiana home daycare?
An assistant hired for an Indiana home is child care staff, so plan for Indiana's child care background check: a fingerprint-based criminal history check and the Indiana Child Protection Index, with fingerprints redone every 3 years.
Ask OECOSL to confirm when a new hire must complete the initial check.
The 2025 training law gives a new hire 90 days to complete pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid training, with at least one certified person present at all times, and home direct care providers, including volunteers, get fire safety training within 1 week and the abuse-reporting, confidentiality, inspection-checklist and universal precautions set within 30 days.
The administrative rules still name TB testing for home staff while the site-wide variance stands.
The home ratios decide when a second caregiver becomes necessary: at the 4:1 ratio for a mixed group under 24 months, one caregiver covers at most 4 children, and a Class I home with 12 children in care runs on one caregiver only when every child present is over 3.
Ask OECOSL what applies to any additional caregiver beyond these rules.
What applies to a home under the Indiana license threshold?
A home that never meets the trigger in IC 12-7-2-28.6 — fewer than 6 children who are not the provider's own, or care that stays inside the 4-hour and 10-day limits — is outside the child care home license rule our research records.
The 2025 training law lists exempt providers among the settings whose staff and volunteers must complete pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid within 90 days, but our research did not establish whether a home under the threshold counts as an exempt provider.
Our research also did not capture a separate Indiana registration or listing tier for small homes, so ask OECOSL what applies to a home under the threshold.
What changed for Indiana home daycares in 2025?
Two 2025 changes reach Indiana homes.
Since July 1, 2025, all Indiana child care staff and volunteers — a list that names centers, homes, ministries and exempt providers — must be trained in pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid within 90 days of starting.
And a 2025 law removed the statutory TB testing requirement while the administrative rules still name it; OECOSL is accepting one site-wide variance to omit TB testing until the rules catch up.
One change did not reach homes: the ratio chart Indiana adopted for centers in 2025 does not apply to homes, which keep the home ratios in their own rules.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Indiana licensing rules, agency pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state home daycare license requirements series, current as of October 2026. It is not a substitute for the instructions the The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) publishes. For the rest of the picture in Indiana, see daycare licensing steps in Indiana.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can you watch without a license in Indiana?
Indiana's license trigger is at least 6 children who are not the provider's own, receiving care for pay for more than 4 hours a day for 10 consecutive days a year.
A home that stays under that line is outside the child care home license rule our research records.
The 2025 training law names exempt providers among the settings that need pediatric CPR and first aid training, so ask OECOSL whether a smaller home counts as one and what it must still do.
What is the difference between a Class I and Class II child care home in Indiana?
A Class I child care home may serve up to 12 children at once, plus 3 school-age children in full-day kindergarten or older during the school year, under rule chapter 470 IAC 3-1.1.
A Class II child care home serves more than 12 but no more than 16 children under 470 IAC 3-1.3.
The qualification rule our research records attaches to a Class I licensee; ask OECOSL what it requires of a Class II licensee.
Do you need a CDA to run a home daycare in Indiana?
For a Class I home, Indiana requires the licensee to hold a high school diploma or equivalency and to have completed, be enrolled in, or agree to complete within 3 years a CDA or a similar approved program.
The CDA is not required on day one, but it is on the path: enrollment in one, or an agreement to finish one within 3 years, satisfies the rule as our research records it.
How much does it cost to get a home daycare license in Indiana?
Our research did not confirm an application fee for an Indiana child care home license, so no dollar figure is published here.
OECOSL's become-a-child-care-provider guidance and its Emerging Provider Support team are the places to get the current fee schedule and a processing timeline before you apply.
Do household members need background checks for an Indiana home daycare?
Yes.
For licensed family child care homes, Indiana's background check requirements apply to the caregiver and every household member age 18 or older.
The check itself combines a fingerprint-based criminal history check and the Indiana Child Protection Index, with out-of-state checks for anyone who has lived elsewhere, and fingerprints are redone every 3 years or after 180 or more days out of Indiana child care.
More Indiana Resources
Sources
- Indiana FSSA / OECOSL — Become a child care provider (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Indiana FSSA / OECOSL — Early child care and education legislative changes (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Indiana FSSA / OECOSL — Child care background check requirements (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Indiana FSSA / OECOSL — Child care homes interpretive guide (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 The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL).