How to Start a Daycare in Arkansas: Licensing Steps, Costs and Staffing

Arkansas child care licensing is run by the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023) moved child care licensing there from the Department of Human Services, so an older checklist may still name the former Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) or DHS as the agency to file with.

The center rulebook OEC currently posts is the Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers, revised 12/01/2020 — our research last confirmed that edition in October 2026, and the agency can tell you whether a newer revision is pending.

OEC's child care licensing page is where the agency posts the rulebooks and the license-type list — start there.

The license type follows the number of children in care and whether they come from more than one family.

Registered child care family homes care for five or fewer children, and registration is voluntary for homes not required to be licensed.

A home must be licensed when one or more persons care for six or more children from more than one family at the same time, and a licensed child care family home may care for a maximum of 16 children.

A licensed child care center cares for 6 or more children from more than one family, and the license-type list OEC publishes exempts programs that operate under 10 hours a week.

Which type you pursue decides which rulebook governs your application — the registered-home rules, the child care family home rules or the center rules.

The published rules set the license terms and the inspection triggers; the application sequence itself runs through OEC Licensing.

A new Arkansas child care center receives a 12-month provisional license, and the one-year license fee must be paid before it is issued.

On the home side, fire and health (food service) inspections are mandatory for family homes licensed for 11 or more children.

Our research did not capture the application form, a pre-licensing orientation requirement or processing times, so ask OEC Licensing what to submit and in what order before you plan a timeline.

Center directors must be at least 21 with one of the rule's qualification routes, and a director-qualified person must be on site at least 50% of the primary operating day.

New directors complete New Directors Orientation, PAS and ERS training within six months.

Center staff must be at least 18, with a high school diploma or GED for direct-care staff; 16- and 17-year-olds only if enrolled in high school or a GED program, directly supervised, never alone with children and without disciplinary control.

Directors, site supervisors and direct-care staff register with the Professional Development Registry within 30 days of hire, complete an 8-hour orientation within 3 months before working alone with children, and log 15 training hours a year.

The director, assistant director or site supervisor and 50% of the staff on site must hold first aid and CPR certificates — infant/child CPR where infants and toddlers are served.

Owners, direct-care staff and others with routine contact clear FBI fingerprint checks before employment and every five years.

In licensed family homes, the primary caregiver must be 21 or older (secondary caregivers 18 or older), and a first aid- and CPR-certified caregiver is on site at all times.

Center ratios run by age band: birth through 18 months at 1:5, 18 to 36 months at 1:8, 2½ to 3 years at 1:12, age 4 at 1:15, age 5 to kindergarten at 1:18, and kindergarten and above at 1:18.

Group size is limited to two times the number of children allowed with one staff member — 10 for infants — and structures licensed before November 1, 2002 are exempt unless expanded.

In licensed family homes, one caregiver may care for up to 6 children (no more than 3 under age 2), 7 (no more than 2 under 2), 8 (no more than 1 under 2), 9 when all are age 2 and up, or 10 when all are age 3 and up; two caregivers may care for up to 16, and homes specializing in infant care keep a 1:3 ratio.

The license fees in the rulebooks are annual: $15 per year for a licensed child care family home, and for centers $15 per year up to 17 children or $50 (17-99) or $100 (100 or more).

A new center pays the one-year license fee before its 12-month provisional license is issued, which puts the fee at the start of your budget rather than the end.

Beyond the license fee, our research captured no Arkansas startup-cost figures for buildings, equipment, insurance or payroll, so build your projections from local estimates and confirm current fees with OEC before you file.

Arkansas' quality system is one state-side lever.

Better Beginnings is a building-block system whose current provider rule book, dated 01/01/23, describes levels one through six, and providers that receive CCDBG child care funding must participate at the level OEC sets.

Certification also carries tax provisions: Arkansas taxpayers using facilities certified at Better Beginnings Level 2 or above can claim an enhanced state child care credit of 20% of the federal credit, and qualifying businesses can get a 3.9% income tax credit on child care employees' salaries.

On the workforce side, T.E.A.C.H.

Early Childhood Arkansas operates under the Arkansas Early Childhood Association, and training registered with the Professional Development Registry or approved by the Department of Higher Education counts toward staff's annual 15 hours — college coursework included.

Our research did not capture Better Beginnings incentive or grant amounts by level, so ask OEC what funding is currently attached to each level.

The agency move is the big one: the LEARNS Act (Act 237 of 2023) relocated child care licensing from the Department of Human Services to the Office of Early Childhood in the Arkansas Department of Education, so a checklist that sends you to DHS or the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education is out of date on where to file.

The center rulebook posted on OEC's licensing page as of October 2026 is still the Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers, revised 12/01/2020, and our research flagged confirming whether a newer revision is pending before you rely on any summary — including this page.