What Are the Home Daycare License Requirements in North Carolina?

North Carolina law defines a family child care home as a child care arrangement in an operator-occupied private dwelling where, at any one time, more than two children but fewer than 11 receive child care (G.S. 110-86(3)b, as amended 2025).

The Division of Child Development and Early Education licenses family child care homes under G.S. 110, Article 7 and the Child Care Commission's rules at 10A NCAC 09, alongside child care centers.

A home in this size range is a licensed family child care home, so the center rulebook and center staffing patterns do not transfer to it.

Our research captured the rules for homes of this size; DCDEE can say how the rules treat an arrangement of one or two children.

North Carolina issues every new family child care home the same ladder: once the home meets the applicable requirements, DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license, followed by either a one-star license, which represents minimum standards, or a two- to five-star rated license (10A NCAC 09 .1702(c)).

Capacity is not one flat number.

Under G.S. 110-91(7)b a home may be licensed for up to 8 children with no more than 5 preschool-age children plus 3 school-age children; or 3 children under 24 months plus 3 children aged 2 to 5 plus 3 school-age children, for a total of 9; or up to 10 children when every child in the home is older than 24 months.

The operator's own preschool-age children count in these mixes.

The operator of a licensed family child care home must be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent, and the operator must be the person on site providing care (G.S. 110-91(8)e).

Before DCDEE issues an initial license, the prospective operator must also complete the Division's pre-licensing workshop (10A NCAC 09 .1708).

After the first year, the operator and any staff who work with children complete ongoing training on the same education-based chart the centers follow (10A NCAC 09 .1703(d)): 5 clock hours a year with a four-year ECE-related degree, 8 with a two-year degree or the NC Early Childhood Administration Credential, 10 with a certificate, a diploma or the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential, 15 with 10 years of experience, and 20 for everyone else.

North Carolina child care providers must submit state and national fingerprint checks through the SBI and the FBI (10A NCAC 09 .2703).

An applicant who has lived outside North Carolina in the previous five years must also request a fingerprint criminal check, a sex offender registry check and a child abuse and neglect registry check from each state where they lived.

The family child care application documents this step with a criminal background qualification letter (10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)).

There is a federal floor too: under the CCDF background-check rule (45 CFR 98.43), any individual residing in a family child care home who is age 18 or older counts as a child care staff member who needs the check.

How that federal definition is applied to a household in North Carolina is a DCDEE question, so confirm with the Division.

DCDEE issues the six-month temporary license only once all applicable requirements of G.S. 110, Article 7 and the family child care rules are met (10A NCAC 09 .1702(c)), and the rules' requirements cover the home as well as the operator.

The application already reaches into the house: it must include current pet vaccinations and, when the home's water comes from a well, the well-water test results (10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)).

The sources we read record the requirements a home must document, but not the on-site inspection process or checklist DCDEE uses for family child care homes.

Ask the Division what it looks for before you prepare the home.

The rules require you to complete DCDEE's pre-licensing workshop before an initial license can be issued (10A NCAC 09 .1708); clear the state and national fingerprint checks (10A NCAC 09 .2703); and file an application that includes a criminal background qualification letter, First Aid and CPR completed within the past 12 months, ITS-SIDS training if the home will serve infants, a negative TB test or screening within the past 12 months, a health questionnaire, current pet vaccinations, and well-water results if the home uses well water (10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)).

When all applicable requirements are met, DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license, followed by a one-star license or a two- to five-star rated license (10A NCAC 09 .1702(c)).

Our research did not confirm a North Carolina application fee, or how long the Division takes between application and issuance; ask DCDEE for the current fee and timeline.

The family child care rules set their own requirements for the people who work in a licensed home; the center lead-teacher ladder does not transfer.

A substitute who provides care for 5 or more hours a week during the operator's planned absences must be at least 21, hold a high school diploma or GED, hold First Aid and CPR, have TB screening, and clear a background check (10A NCAC 09 .1729(a)).

The operator and any staff who work with children also follow the annual training chart after the first year (10A NCAC 09 .1703(d)).

Our research did not capture a separate qualification standard for a regular assistant, so confirm the requirements for the role you are hiring with DCDEE.

The family child care home definition carries a 2025 amendment: the statute now describes a home as an arrangement where, at any one time, more than two children but fewer than 11 receive child care (G.S. 110-86(3)b, as amended 2025).

The capacity mixes in G.S. 110-91(7)b top out at 10 children when every child in the home is older than 24 months.

Summaries that cap a North Carolina family child care home at 8 children are out of date: 8 is one licensing option among the mixes, not the maximum.