What Are the Home Daycare License Requirements in Utah?
Utah requires a Licensed Family Child Care license once you care for nine or more unrelated children in your home, four or more hours a day, on a regular basis.
The lower tier is a Residential Certificate: the state certifies homes for eight or fewer qualifying children, or up to ten counting your own.
This page covers the two home-care categories, provider qualifications and training, household background checks, the indoor and outdoor space the licensed family rule requires per child, and how to apply.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Child Care Licensing (CCL) in the Office of Licensing, Division of Licensing and Background Checks, Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Nine or more unrelated children, for four or more hours a day, on a regular basis; any home caring for more than ten children under 13 must be licensed.
Two: Licensed Family Child Care and Residential Certificate Child Care, in the family rule chapters R430-90 and R430-50.
Residential certificate: eight or fewer qualifying children, up to ten including the provider's own; licensed family child care: two caregivers for nine to 16 children.
18 for a licensed family child care provider; the certificate rule's age line is not established in our research.
20 hours a year for licensed family child care; 10 hours a year for residential certificate care.
Not established in our research — ask the licensing agency.
Home child care license types in Utah
- Residential Certificate Child CareRegistration
The certificate tier: care of eight or fewer qualifying children in the provider's home, or up to ten counting the provider's own children.
- Licensed Family Child CareLicense
The license tier: care in the provider's home of nine or more unrelated children, four or more hours a day, on a regular basis, staffed by one caregiver up to eight children and two caregivers for nine to 16.
- Care that is not required to be certifiedLicense-exempt
A provider who is not required to be certified but provides care anyway must care for no more than two children under 3 and register with the Office of Licensing to facilitate a background check.
Do you need a license to run a home daycare in Utah?
Utah splits home child care into a certificate tier and a license tier.
A Residential Certificate covers care of eight or fewer qualifying children in the provider's home, or up to ten when the extra children are the provider's own.
The licensed tier starts at nine: the state requires a Licensed Family Child Care license for care in the provider's home of nine or more unrelated children, four or more hours a day, on a regular basis, and any home caring for more than ten children under 13, related or not, must be licensed.
A provider who is not required to be certified but provides care anyway must care for no more than two children under 3 and register with the Office of Licensing to facilitate a background check.
Child Care Licensing (CCL), in the Office of Licensing (OL) of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, administers the rules; the family chapters carry R430 numbers while the center rules moved to R381.
“An individual shall become licensed by OL as a child care provider in accordance with Rule R430-90 when the number of unrelated children in care is nine or more.”
What license types and capacity limits apply to Utah home daycares?
The two categories live in different chapters with different ceilings.
Licensed Family Child Care sits in R430-90 and Residential Certificate Child Care in R430-50, while Utah's center rules moved to R381.
The certificate's ceiling is a headcount: eight or fewer qualifying children, or up to ten including the provider's own.
Licensed family child care is written as a caregiver count instead: one caregiver for up to eight children in care, and two caregivers for nine to 16.
When the group includes children under 2, the rule tightens further — one caregiver per three children under 2, with no more than two children under 18 months per caregiver.
“(a) one caregiver for up to eight children in care; and (b) two caregivers for nine to 16 children in care.”
What qualifications and training does a Utah home daycare provider need?
The licensed family child care rule sets four provider qualifications: be at least 18 years old, pass the Office of Background Processing (OBP) background check, complete the Office of Licensing's new provider training, and complete 20 hours of child care training each year.
The annual hours run on the facility's license date.
Residential certificate providers carry a lighter load: 10 hours of child care training a year, based on the facility's residential certificate date.
“complete at least 20 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's license date.”
What background checks do you and your household need for a Utah home daycare?
Under the center rule, household members aged 12 to 17 need an OBP background check, and household members 18 or older need an OBP check that includes fingerprints.
Our research did not confirm a household-member line in the family child care chapters themselves, so ask Child Care Licensing what it requires for the people who live in your home.
The provider's own clearance is part of qualification too — the licensed family rule conditions the provider on passing the OBP background check, alongside the 18-year minimum age, the new provider training and the annual hours.
Even a provider who is not required to be certified must register with the Office of Licensing to facilitate a background check.
“18 years old or older is considered eligible by an OBP background check that includes fingerprints.”
What are the home inspection requirements for a Utah family child care?
The licensed family child care rule sets the space a home must provide: at least 35 square feet of indoor space for each child in care and 40 square feet of outdoor space per child, with the indoor count including the provider's or an employee's own child.
What our research did not confirm is the inspection process itself — the rule sections and agency pages we read do not lay out what a Utah pre-licensing visit or an ongoing inspection of a family home covers.
The Office of Licensing issues the license, so ask the office what its review of your home involves before you apply.
“The provider shall ensure that there is at least 35 square feet of indoor space for each child in care, including the provider's or employee's own child.”
How do you apply, and what are the fees and timeline in Utah?
Utah license applicants pay fees for each program category, and a renewal request with its fees is due at least 30 days before the license or certificate expires.
The dollar amounts our research could not confirm: the fee rule the researchers checked does not state amounts, so the department's fee schedule, rather than the rule text, appears to carry them.
Ask Child Care Licensing for the current fee schedule and the application steps before you submit anything — our research did not document either for Utah family child care applicants.
“a renewal request and applicable fees at least 30 days before the expiration of their license or certificate;”
What are the rules for hiring a home daycare assistant in Utah?
The licensed family rule sets staffing as a caregiver count: one caregiver for up to eight children in care, and two caregivers for nine to 16.
With children under 2 in the group, one caregiver may care for up to three under-2s, and no caregiver is responsible for more than two children under 18 months.
Beyond that line, our research did not confirm qualification rules for employees of Utah licensed family child care homes — the age, background-check and training lines we could verify attach to the provider and to household members.
Ask Child Care Licensing what it expects of a paid assistant before you hire.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Utah 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 Child Care Licensing (CCL) in the Office of Licensing, Division of Licensing and Background Checks, Utah Department of Health and Human Services publishes. For the rest of the picture in Utah, see daycare licensing steps in Utah.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can you watch without a license in Utah?
Utah's Residential Certificate covers eight or fewer qualifying children in the provider's home, or up to ten counting the provider's own children.
A provider who is not required to be certified may care for no more than two children under 3, with registration with the Office of Licensing to facilitate a background check.
At nine or more unrelated children, four or more hours a day, on a regular basis, a Licensed Family Child Care license is required, and any home caring for more than ten children under 13 must be licensed.
How much does a Utah home daycare license cost?
Our research did not confirm dollar amounts for Utah family child care license or certificate fees; the fee rule the researchers checked does not state amounts.
Utah applicants do pay fees for each program category, and a renewal request with its fees is due at least 30 days before the license or certificate expires.
Ask Child Care Licensing for the current fee schedule before you apply.
What training does a Utah home daycare provider need?
A licensed family child care provider completes the Office of Licensing's new provider training and 20 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's license date.
Residential certificate providers complete 10 hours of training a year, based on the certificate date.
The licensed family rule also requires a passing OBP background check and sets the provider's minimum age at 18.
Do household members need background checks for a Utah home daycare?
Under the center rule, household members aged 12 to 17 need an OBP background check, and household members 18 or older need an OBP check that includes fingerprints.
Our research did not confirm a household-member line in the family child care chapters themselves, so ask Child Care Licensing what it expects for your home.
The provider's own clearance is required too: the licensed family child care rule conditions the provider on passing the OBP background check, along with being at least 18 and completing the new provider training.
How many children can a licensed Utah family child care home take?
The rule sets the count by caregivers: one caregiver for up to eight children, and two caregivers for nine to 16.
When children under 2 are in care, one caregiver may care for up to three under-2s, with no more than two children under 18 months per caregiver.
The residential certificate ceiling is separate: eight or fewer qualifying children, up to ten counting the provider's own.
More Utah Resources
Sources
- Utah Licensed Family Child Care rule (Utah administrative rules) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Utah Residential Certificate Child Care rule (Utah administrative rules) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Utah child care center rule (Utah administrative rules) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- Utah child care licensing fees and renewals rule (Utah administrative rules) (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 Child Care Licensing (CCL) in the Office of Licensing, Division of Licensing and Background Checks, Utah Department of Health and Human Services.