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

Montana child care is licensed and registered by the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) under the Montana Child Care Act, MCA Title 52, chapter 2, part 7.

Licensing is administered by DPHHS's Early Childhood and Family Support Division, Child Care Licensing.

The rules in force are ARM Title 37, chapter 96, which took effect May 1, 2025 and replaced the previous chapter 95 — so any guidance sourced to a 37.95 citation is out of date and should be confirmed with Child Care Licensing.

Montana sorts facilities by capacity.

A family day-care home is a private residence caring for three to eight children on a regular basis, and a group day-care home is a private residence or other structure caring for nine to fifteen (MCA 52-2-703).

A day-care center is an out-of-home place serving 16 or more children.

The paperwork differs by type: family and group homes obtain a DPHHS registration certificate rather than a license, while centers must be licensed (ARM 37.96.102).

The threshold into the system is seven: any provider serving seven or more children on a regular basis must be licensed or registered, with drop-in and school-age facilities holding the option of licensure — and below the line, a provider caring for six or fewer children in a private residence need not register if they do not receive state child care subsidy payments.

Group homes also carry a staffing floor: at least two caregivers must be present whenever more than eight children are there (MCA 52-2-737).

Our research captures Montana's licensing thresholds and the rules a facility must meet, but not DPHHS's application packet, its pre-licensing inspection steps or a processing timeline — ask Child Care Licensing what to submit for your facility type and address.

One screening clock is set in rule: background checks are required before anyone works in a child care facility and annually after that, with the national checks repeating every five years (ARM 37.96.1002).

Deficiency notices also shape the timeline — a license or registration runs up to three years, and the three-year license goes only to providers who have not received notice of any deficiencies (MCA 52-2-721).

Montana sets no fixed degree, college-credit or CDA minimum for directors or lead teachers; each must show a combination of education, training, other licensing or experience, approved through the Practitioner Registry or by DPHHS.

Lead teachers must be at least 18; assisting teachers at least 16, under a lead teacher, site director or director; and a trainee — 16 or older — may not be left alone with children until the 30-day orientation is finished and may not stay a trainee past 90 days (ARM 37.96.904, 37.96.907, 37.96.909).

Within 30 days of hire and before unsupervised care, staff in ratio complete hands-on CPR, infant choking response and pediatric first aid, plus safe-sleep training where the license covers infants and abusive-head-trauma training where it covers infants or toddlers; the rest of orientation is due within 90 days (ARM 37.96.914).

Staff and owners working more than 500 hours a year complete 16 hours of Registry-approved annual training (8 in licensed school-age and registered FFN care); staff who must take orientation owe a health and safety refresher at least every three years (ARM 37.96.915, 37.96.918).

Montana's optional Director Credential needs Registry level 4 or higher and is not required to direct a center.

Center ratios under ARM 37.96.106 (maximum group sizes in parentheses): 4:1 (12) for newborns through 11 months; 6:1 (12) for 12 through 23 months; 8:1 (16) for two-year-olds; 10:1 (20) for ages three through five; 20:1 (40) for ages six and over.

Mixed-age groups keep the ratio and group size of the youngest child, and group sizes may be exceeded only at mealtimes, outdoor play, rest periods and large group activities.

At nap time the ratio may double for children two and over when at least half are asleep, another staff member is on site and immediately available, group size and room capacity are not exceeded, and the watcher is not a trainee.

Only the director, site directors, lead teachers, teachers, substitutes and trainees count toward the ratio; support staff and volunteers do not.

Family and group facilities staff mixed ages at 8:1 with no more than three children under two (two staff whenever more than three under-twos are present) or 4:1 serving only under-twos; DPHHS-approved overlap care can add two extra children in a family facility or four in a group facility, children over three only, up to three hours a day, at 10:1 under a written plan.

The clearest cost line is the state's: Montana law says DPHHS may not charge a fee to issue a child care license or registration certificate (MCA 52-2-721).

Licenses and registrations run up to three years — the three-year license is reserved for providers who have not received notice of any deficiencies — and complete renewal paperwork is due 60 to 90 days before expiration (MCA 52-2-721; ARM 37.96.112).

Beyond those rule facts, our research found no Montana startup-cost figures for facility work, equipment, insurance or payroll, so price those items locally rather than from a state-published sheet.

Montana's Treasures, the redesigned Quality Recognition System, launched October 1, 2026, and its first stage is met simply by keeping a license or registration current and filing renewal paperwork on time; Stage 2 lets a program choose a staff career-path route, specialized training or continuous quality improvement, and Stage 3 recognizes NAEYC, NAFCC or AMS accreditation or licensed Head Start and Early Head Start.

The DPHHS pages our research read do not state the incentive amounts per stage, so ask the Quality Unit.

For staffing, the Registered CDA Apprenticeship — run with the Early Childhood Project and the Department of Labor and Industry — is a one-year, 144-hour cohort whose training costs are covered and whose next intake is Fall 2027; employers commit to a wage progression, and apprentices reach Practitioner Registry level 3.

MECAP, the Montana Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program, awards the Child Care Development Specialist Certificate and Registry level 4, and the Professional Development Incentive Award pays participants $1,000 for at least 6 early childhood credits or $400 for 2 to 5 credits.

Montana does not appear on the T.E.A.C.H.

Early Childhood National Center's Programs by State list as of October 2026.

Montana's current child care licensing rules are ARM Title 37, chapter 96, effective May 1, 2025; DPHHS confirmed that date in a May 9, 2025 supplemental notice after a legislative committee objection delayed the original 2024 adoption.

The repealed chapter 95 is still easy to stumble on: legacy handbooks, including a licensing requirements document for child care centers, remained posted on the DPHHS licensing page as of our last check.

Treat any requirement sourced to a 37.95 citation as out of date and confirm it against ARM 37.96 or with Child Care Licensing.