What Are the Home Daycare License Requirements in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma requires a home daycare license: Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Child Care Services licenses family child care homes for up to 7 children and large family child care homes for 8 to 12, with exemptions only for a child's own home, relatives and informal occasional care.
The primary caregiver must be at least 21 and hold an Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder certificate at Level 1 or higher within 12 months of licensure, with current CPR and first aid certification before operating.
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At a glance
The Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Child Care Services agency licenses family child care homes and large family child care homes.
Before serving any non-exempt children — the statute exempts only a child's own home, relatives and informal occasional care, and names no unlicensed minimum (confirm with OKDHS Child Care Services).
Family child care home (7 or fewer children) and large family child care home (8 to 12).
12 children in a large family child care home; with one caregiver, a family child care home cares for 7 (no more than 2 under age 2), 6 (no more than 3 under 2) or 5 of any age.
21 for the primary caregiver; assistant caregivers must be at least 16 and substitutes at least 18.
12 clock hours of professional development every year for the primary caregiver.
Not established in our research — ask the licensing agency.
Home child care license types in Oklahoma
- Family child care homeLicense
A family home caring for 7 or fewer children; with one caregiver the counts are 7 (no more than 2 under age 2), 6 (no more than 3 under 2) or 5 of any age.
- Large family child care homeLicense
A residential family home that provides care and supervision for 8 to 12 children.
- Exempt careLicense-exempt
Care in a child's own home, care by relatives, and informal arrangements parents make with friends or neighbors for occasional care.
Do you need a license to run a home daycare in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma licenses family child care homes through Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Child Care Services.
The state defines a family child care home as a family home caring for 7 or fewer children and a large family child care home as one caring for 8 to 12.
The licensing law's exemptions are narrow: care in a child's own home, care by relatives, and informal arrangements parents make with friends or neighbors for occasional care.
As the research read the statute as printed in the licensing publication, there is no minimum number of unrelated children below which a non-exempt home may operate unlicensed — the note on that reading recommends confirming with OKDHS Child Care Services before relying on it.
“Informal arrangements which parents make with friends or neighbors for the occasional care of their children;”
Oklahoma home daycare license types and capacity
Oklahoma licenses two home types.
A family child care home is a family home caring for 7 or fewer children; a large family child care home is a residential family home caring for 8 to 12.
Within a family child care home, the one-caregiver counts are the binding detail: 7 children with no more than 2 under age 2, 6 children with no more than 3 under 2, or 5 children of any age, and a second caregiver is required beyond those limits.
Our research did not capture additional staffing detail for the large family child care home tier, so confirm staffing for a large home with OKDHS Child Care Services.
“"Large family child care home" means a residential family home that provides care and supervision for eight to 12 children for part of the 24-hour day.”
What qualifications does an Oklahoma home daycare provider need?
The rule writes its requirements around the primary caregiver.
A primary caregiver must be at least 21 and, for applications filed after Oct. 1, 2007, hold a high school diploma or GED, and must hold an Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder (OPDL) certificate at Level 1 or higher within 12 months of licensure.
Before operating, the primary caregiver needs current CPR and first aid certification, and health and safety training is required before caring for children.
Caring for infants adds one more prerequisite: at least 2 hours of safe-sleep training before caring for them.
The ongoing obligation is 12 clock hours of professional development every year.
“The primary caregiver is required to complete 12 clock-hours of professional development annually”
What background checks do you and your household need in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma requires background investigations through the OKDHS Office of Background Investigations before hire or access to children, including a national fingerprint-based search and a check of the Restricted Registry, known as Joshua's List, and criminal history reviews — excluding fingerprinting — are resubmitted every five years.
Federal CCDF rules set the floor beneath every licensed provider: each child care staff member needs a comprehensive background check, and in a family child care home any household member age 18 or older counts as a child care staff member who needs it.
The federal components are 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 lived in during the past 5 years, requested before the person becomes a staff member and repeated at least every 5 years.
Each state must publish its background check policies and how to submit a request, so OKDHS is the authority on what to submit for an Oklahoma home.
“programs request a criminal history review process, excluding fingerprinting, for required individuals every five years.”
What are Oklahoma's home daycare inspection requirements?
Our research did not confirm the inspection steps OKDHS Child Care Services requires before licensing a family child care home — whether and how many times the agency visits a home before a first license, or what a licensing visit covers.
The family child care home definitions and rules the license rests on sit in the Oklahoma Administrative Code sections cited on this page, and OKDHS Child Care Services administers them.
Ask OKDHS Child Care Services what an inspection of your home involves before you apply.
How do you apply for an Oklahoma home daycare license, and what does it cost?
Our research did not find an application or license fee for Oklahoma family child care homes, and no processing timeline either, so no amount is published here — OKDHS Child Care Services is the agency to ask for the current application steps and whether a fee applies.
What the rule does establish is preparation that sits before opening: current CPR and first aid certification before operating, health and safety training before caring for children, and at least 2 hours of safe-sleep training before caring for infants.
The primary caregiver's OPDL certificate at Level 1 or higher is due within 12 months of licensure rather than before it.
Contact OKDHS Child Care Services for the current application steps, any fee and what to expect.
When does an Oklahoma home daycare need an assistant, and what do they need?
The one-caregiver caps set the trigger: with one caregiver the caps are 7 children with no more than 2 under age 2, 6 children with no more than 3 under 2, or 5 children of any age, and caring for more than those limits requires a second caregiver.
The rule names two supporting roles: assistant caregivers must be at least 16, and substitutes must be at least 18.
Caregivers may not leave children alone with anyone under 18, and the primary caregiver must be present in the home at least 80 percent of weekly operating hours.
Anyone hired into the home needs the OKDHS background investigation before hire or access to children.
Our research captured no separate training requirement for assistant caregivers, so ask OKDHS Child Care Services what applies before you post the job.
“The primary caregiver is present in the home at least 80 percent of weekly-operating hours”
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Child Care Services publishes. For the rest of the picture in Oklahoma, see daycare licensing steps in Oklahoma.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can you watch without a license in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma's exemptions cover care in a child's own home, care by relatives, and informal arrangements parents make with friends or neighbors for occasional care.
As the research read the statute, there is no minimum number of unrelated children below which a non-exempt home may operate unlicensed — so plan on a license for any other home-based care, and confirm your situation with OKDHS Child Care Services.
Once licensed, a family child care home serves up to 7 children and a large family child care home 8 to 12.
What is the maximum capacity of a home daycare in Oklahoma?
A licensed family child care home serves 7 or fewer children; a large family child care home serves 8 to 12.
With one caregiver, the workable counts are 7 children with no more than 2 under age 2, 6 children with no more than 3 under 2, or 5 children of any age — beyond those limits, a second caregiver is required.
Do you have to be 21 to run a home daycare in Oklahoma?
For the primary caregiver, yes: the rule requires primary caregivers in family child care homes to be at least 21, with a high school diploma or GED for applications filed after Oct. 1, 2007, and an OPDL certificate at Level 1 or higher within 12 months of licensure.
Assistant caregivers may be 16 and substitutes 18, but children may not be left alone with anyone under 18.
How much does an Oklahoma home daycare license cost?
Our research did not find an application or license fee for Oklahoma family child care homes, and no processing timeline either, so no amount is published here.
Ask OKDHS Child Care Services what the current application steps are and whether a fee applies before you budget.
What training do you need before opening a home daycare in Oklahoma?
Before operating, the primary caregiver needs current CPR and first aid certification, and health and safety training is required before caring for children.
Caring for infants adds at least 2 hours of safe-sleep training first.
The OPDL certificate at Level 1 or higher is due within 12 months of licensure, and after opening the rule requires 12 clock hours of professional development every year.
More Oklahoma Resources
Sources
- Oklahoma Human Services Child Care Services — family child care home licensing requirements publication (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Oklahoma Human Services Child Care Services — Licensing Requirements for Child Care Programs (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- eCFR — federal CCDF background check requirements for child care staff (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 Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) Child Care Services.