What Are the Home Daycare License Requirements in Missouri?

Missouri statute exempts from licensing anyone caring for six or fewer children, including a maximum of three children under age two, at the same physical address; the caregiver's own school-age children are not counted toward that limit.

The exemption runs in the version effective Aug. 28, 2024.

A home caring for more than six children, or more than three children under two, is past the exemption and needs a child care license.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of Childhood administers Missouri's child care licensing, and the rules for family child care homes sit in 5 CSR 25-400.

Care inside the exemption is unlicensed rather than rule-free: the federal background-check floor described below reaches an exempt home when its care is subsidy-eligible.

Missouri licenses two home types.

A family child care home may be licensed for up to 10 children under the family home rules in 5 CSR 25-400, and a group child care home may be licensed for up to 20, with group home rules in 5 CSR 25-500 alongside the center rules.

The family home rule also sets a caregiver-to-child table with a maximum for children under age two.

The rows of that table did not survive our research's extraction cleanly, so no per-row limits are published here — confirm the current caregiver-to-child limits with DESE before you plan capacity around them.

Caregivers in a Missouri family child care home must be at least 18 years old and have knowledge of the needs of children.

The provider must obtain at least 12 clock hours of child care-related training during each calendar year, and any assistant who works or volunteers more than five hours per week must meet the same training requirement.

Beyond age and training, our research did not capture an education or credential requirement for family home caregivers in the rule text we read, so ask DESE's Office of Childhood what it screens for before you apply.

The federal CCDF rules in 45 CFR 98.43 require a comprehensive background check for every child care staff member of a licensed, regulated or registered provider, and for any subsidy-eligible provider as well.

A licensed Missouri family child care home or group child care home is a licensed provider; a home inside the six-child exemption is covered when its care is subsidy-eligible.

The check combines an FBI fingerprint check, a national sex offender registry search, and state criminal, sex offender and child abuse and neglect registry checks for the current state and every state the person lived in during the past 5 years.

In a family child care home, any household member age 18 or older counts as a child care staff member.

Checks are requested before the person becomes a staff member and repeated at least once every 5 years, and states must complete a request within 45 days of submission.

Missouri's child care background-check rule sits in 5 CSR 25-600, which our research did not read; each state must publish its background-check policies online, so DESE's site is the authority on how to submit and what applies to your household.

A licensing inspection follows the department's receipt of the application, so the home itself is part of the approval process.

The family home rule sets space minimums: at least 35 square feet of usable indoor space per child and at least 75 square feet of outdoor play area per child.

Our research captured that inspection sequence and those space minimums but not DESE's full inspection checklist, so ask the Office of Childhood what an inspector looks at in a family home before your visit.

Applying starts before the paperwork: a Missouri applicant — family home, group home or center — must complete the licensing orientation available on the department's website before applying, and a licensing inspection follows receipt of the application.

A family home application must include a completed safety plan if a sex offender resides within 1,000 feet of the home.

On cost, our research found no application fee stated in the rule text we read (5 CSR 25-400 and 5 CSR 25-500), and no processing timeline either; DESE's Office of Childhood can confirm the current fee schedule and what to expect after you apply.

Missouri's family home rule requires the provider to name at least one assistant who can substitute or meet ratios, and the provider must be present at least 40 hours a week during peak attendance.

An assistant who works or volunteers more than five hours per week must meet the same training requirement as the provider — 12 clock hours of child care-related training each calendar year.

Under the federal CCDF rules, the comprehensive background check must be requested before the person becomes a child care staff member and repeated at least once every 5 years; a new hire may start work once either the FBI fingerprint check or the in-state fingerprint criminal check returns a qualifying result, but must be supervised at all times by a fully checked staff member until every component is complete.

Confirm with DESE how the federal check applies to a paid assistant, and what duties and training currently apply, before you post the job.