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

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) licenses daycare facilities through Daycare Licensing in its Division of Welfare and Self-Reliance, under Idaho Code 39-11, the Basic Day Care License act, and the IDAPA 16.06.03 Daycare Licensing rules.

IdahoSTARS is not the licensing agency — it is the University of Idaho program that runs the statewide professional development system, the registry and training approval.

The license line sits at 7 or more unrelated children: a place providing daycare services for compensation to 7 or more children not related to the provider is a daycare facility under Idaho Code 39-1102.

Idaho Code 39-1102 sets three size bands: a family daycare home cares for 6 or fewer children; a group daycare facility, 7 to 12 children; and a daycare center, 13 or more.

A daycare facility — the term the license requirement uses — is a place providing daycare services for compensation to 7 or more children not related to the provider.

Homes of 6 or fewer are not required to be licensed, but a home caring for 4 or more children must complete the state criminal history check, and a home with fewer than 7 may opt in to a basic daycare license under Idaho Code 39-1114.

Operating a daycare facility without first obtaining a basic daycare license is a misdemeanor under Idaho Code 39-1115, and so is operating a family daycare home for 4 or more children without the required criminal history check.

An Idaho license application needs building, electrical and fire code inspection reports where required, local zoning compliance, proof of current fire and liability insurance coverage for the facility, and background clearances under the IDAPA 16.06.03.121 application rule.

Once a complete application is in, Idaho Code 39-1104 and 39-1106 require IDHW to issue the license within 60 days, and an application not completed within six months is abandoned.

Our research did not capture IDHW's current application packet, a pre-licensing orientation or a step-by-step inspection sequence for new applicants — ask IDHW's Daycare Licensing unit what to submit, which inspections your site needs and in what order.

City-level daycare ordinances were also outside our research, so check your city's rules alongside state licensing.

Idaho sets no state director credential, education or experience requirement for daycare centers, and Idaho Code 39-1104 requires a person who wishes to operate a daycare facility to be a minimum of 18 years old.

Staff are defined as anyone 16 or older employed by a daycare facility to provide care and supervision, with no education requirement in state law.

At daycare centers, owners and operators must ensure each employee receives 4 hours of ongoing training in child development areas related to daycare every 12 months after the employee's hire date, and every staff member counted in ratio must hold current pediatric rescue breathing and pediatric first aid certification under Idaho Code 39-1119, which the 2025 amendments updated.

Any licensed daycare facility must also have at least one adult employee on the premises with current pediatric rescue breathing and first aid certification whenever children are present.

Owners, operators, staff and anyone 13 or older with unsupervised contact or regularly on the premises must pass an IDHW enhanced criminal history and background check at least every five years, and the individual pays for the check and the juvenile justice records check.

Idaho does not use a ratio table.

Idaho Code 39-1109(4) caps staffing with a point system: 12 points is the maximum per staff member, and each child carries points by age — children under 24 months count 2 points each, children 24 to 36 months count 1.33 points each, children 36 months to under 5 count 0.923 points each, and children 5 to under 13 count 0.48 points each.

Divided out, 12 points per staff member covers 6 children under 2 (12 points ÷ 2 points each), 9 two-year-olds (12 points ÷ 1.33 each), 13 three-to-four-year-olds (12 points ÷ 0.923 each) and 25 school-age children (12 points ÷ 0.48 each) — arithmetic on the point values, not figures the statute prints.

On top of the points, at least one adult employee must be present whenever children are in attendance, and sleeping children must be within sight and normal hearing range of a provider.

Idaho state law sets no maximum group size, and facilities may operate with stricter ratios than the point system.

Idaho Code 39-1107 caps license fees per license period at no more than $325 for daycare centers with more than 25 children in attendance at any given time, $250 for centers with 13 to 25 children and $100 for all other facilities, with background check costs on top.

The background check and the juvenile justice records check are paid by the individual who requests them, per IDAPA 16.06.03.009.06.

Once issued, the license is valid for two years unless suspended or revoked, and it must be posted in a conspicuous place at the facility.

IDHW must issue it within 60 days of a complete application, and an application not completed within six months is abandoned.

Beyond the fee caps and the required fire and liability insurance, our research did not establish Idaho startup costs such as build-out, equipment or insurance premiums, so price those from your own site and staffing plan.

Our research did not confirm a state startup grant for new Idaho daycare operators; ask IDHW and IdahoSTARS what funding is currently open.

IdahoSTARS — the University of Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development program funded by IDHW and CCDBG — runs the professional development system, including a statewide registry, an educational pathway and training approval.

Its Quality Achievers system, Idaho's voluntary Quality Recognition and Improvement System, recognizes Growing Star and Star Achiever programs and offers coaching and incentives that include funding opportunities when programs meet quality goals; licensed home- and center-based providers are eligible, and the incentive amounts were not published on the page our research read.

Providers who want Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) subsidy payments must complete licensing requirements and 12 hours of ICCP training a year, per the IdahoSTARS ICCP page.