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

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services licenses Kentucky child care centers.

Center licensure runs under 922 KAR 2:090, health and safety standards under 922 KAR 2:120 and background checks under 922 KAR 2:280, while certified family child-care homes fall under 922 KAR 2:100.

Kentucky's child care licensing forms carry the OIG-DRCC prefix of the Office of Inspector General, and 922 KAR 2:090 was last amended effective February 13, 2025.

Our research read the regulations themselves rather than the administering office's own pages, so address applications to the cabinet and confirm the current office name with CHFS.

Kentucky licenses two kinds of child care center.

A Type I center is licensed for 4 or more children in a nonresidential setting, or for 13 or more children in space separate from the licensee's residence.

A Type II center is the licensee's primary residence caring for 7 to 12 children, counted including children related to the licensee.

Care below that sits in the certified family child-care home tier: a provider caring for 4 to 6 unrelated children must apply for certification, certification stays optional with 3 or fewer children, and a certified home caps at 6 unrelated children plus 4 related children for a maximum of 10. 2026 HB 6, which became law without the Governor's signature on April 14, 2026, also created a Child-Care Microcenter Program for nonresidential programs serving 4 to 24 children; the cabinet must adopt its regulations by July 1, 2027, and no microcenter standards were in force as of our October 2026 research.

A center applicant applies to the cabinet, and the licensure rule ties the application to screening: an applicant shall submit to background checks in accordance with 922 KAR 2:280.

Approval for initial licensure results in a preliminary license for a probationary period of up to six months, and a regular license expires one year from its effective date unless renewed.

The certified family child-care home path runs in parallel: applicants complete 6 hours of pre-service orientation within three months of applying, adults living in the home complete background and TB checks, and a new adult household member must do the same within 30 days of moving in.

Our research files do not set out Kentucky's pre-licensing inspection sequence for a specific site; ask CHFS which inspections and approvals your location needs before you open.

A Kentucky center director must be at least 21 with a high school diploma or GED, may not hold another job during center hours and must designate an adult in charge when absent.

A Type I director needs one of: a bachelor's or master's degree in education or child development, an unrelated degree plus 12 clock hours of child development training, an early childhood associate degree, a Director's Credential plus 1 year of experience, a CDA plus 1 year, or 3 years of full-time paid experience working directly with children.

The Director's Credential is 12 college credit hours from a cabinet-approved program, and a Type II director can combine two lighter options, such as 1 year of full-time paid experience plus 6 more hours of program administration training.

Staff hired after January 1, 2009 who have supervisory power over a child and are not enrolled in secondary education need a high school diploma, GED or the Commonwealth Child Care Credential, at least one person on duty with infants, toddlers or preschoolers must hold current infant and child CPR and first aid, and background checks under 922 KAR 2:280 include fingerprint-supported state and FBI checks with rap back plus registry checks.

Kentucky sets center staff-to-child ratios and maximum group sizes in 922 KAR 2:120.

Infants are staffed at 1:5 with a maximum group size of 10 in a Type I center, toddlers 12 to 24 months old at 1:6 in groups of up to 12 children, children in the 3-to-4-year band at 1:12 with groups capped at 24 children, and children in the 4-to-5-year band at 1:14 with groups capped at 28.

The group-size caps apply only to Type I centers, and the youngest child in a group sets both the ratio and the group size for that room.

Two rules belong in your staffing math: a child related to the director or an employee who receives care in the center counts in the staff-to-child ratio, and staff under 18 count toward ratio only while working with a qualified staff person.

Confirm the full current table for every age band you will enroll with CHFS before you set rooms.

Kentucky charges a nonrefundable initial center licensing fee of $50 and a $25 renewal fee, and the license runs on a yearly clock: a new center opens under a preliminary license for a probationary period of up to six months, then a regular license expires one year from its effective date unless renewed.

Background-check processing through the National Background Check Program is capped at $30 on top of other fees.

The certified family child-care home track costs a $10 certification fee and a nonrefundable renewal fee of $10 every two years, and home applicants must obtain commercial liability insurance of at least $50,000 per occurrence.

Our research did not confirm Kentucky figures for build-out, rent, equipment or payroll.

For national scale: a September 2021 U.S. Treasury report said most for-profit child care facilities operate on razor-thin profit margins usually below 1 percent, and — citing a Center for American Progress cost analysis — put wages at at least 50-60 percent of child care expenses on U.S. averages.

Ask CHFS for the current fee schedule and any local approvals before you commit to a site.

Kentucky's provider awards run through Kentucky All STARS, the state's quality rating system under 922 KAR 2:270, which rates licensed centers and certified family child-care homes on levels 1 through 5.

Subject to funding, the cabinet pays qualifying All STARS providers an initial achievement award, an annual quality award or a subsidy enrollment award.

For staff development, Kentucky's Early Childhood Development Scholarship through KHEAA funds an approved credential, associate, bachelor's or master's degree for a Kentucky resident employed at least 20 hours a week in a participating early childhood facility.

Our research did not confirm a Kentucky startup-grant program or current award amounts for new centers or homes; ask CHFS what funding is currently available and check the All STARS award conditions before you budget.