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

North Carolina licenses child care centers and family child care homes through the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) within the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The statute behind the license is Chapter 110, Article 7 of the North Carolina General Statutes, and the Child Care Commission's rules sit at Title 10A, Chapter 09 of the North Carolina Administrative Code.

The license is also the quality system: every licensed facility first meets one-star minimum standards, and the 2025 rated-license rules in 10A NCAC 09 Section .3200 let facilities earn two to five stars through one of three pathways.

Where this page and DCDEE's current rulebook disagree, the rulebook governs.

North Carolina's statute sorts arrangements by where care happens and how many children are present.

A child care center is an arrangement where, at any one time, three or more preschool-age children or nine or more school-age children receive child care.

A family child care home is care in an operator-occupied private dwelling where more than two but fewer than 11 children receive child care.

Capacity inside that range is set by statute: up to 8 children with no more than 5 preschoolers plus 3 school-age children, or 3 children under 24 months plus 3 aged 2 through 5 plus 3 school-age children, or up to 10 children when all are older than 24 months, counting the operator's own preschoolers.

The home operator must be at least 21, hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, and be the person on site providing care.

Confirm which capacity mix fits the plan for your home with DCDEE.

For a family child care home, the rules spell out the sequence.

A prospective operator completes DCDEE's pre-licensing workshop before the division issues an initial license.

The home application assembles a criminal background qualification letter, First Aid and CPR completed within the previous 12 months, ITS-SIDS training if the home will serve infants, a negative tuberculosis test completed within the past 12 months, a health questionnaire, pet vaccination records and, where applicable, well-water results.

When the requirements are met, DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license, followed by a one-star license or a two- to five-star rated license.

Our research captured this home sequence and the star-license starting point that applies to every licensed facility, but not a step-by-step center application checklist or DCDEE's current inspection procedure, so ask the division what a center applicant should expect.

The center director, called the administrator, must be at least 21 and hold the North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential or its equivalent; a new administrator has 6 months to begin and 2 years to complete it.

On-site hours scale with licensed capacity: 20 weekly under 30 children, 25 for 30–79, 30 for 80–199 and 40 for 200 or more.

Rule .0714 puts one person meeting lead teacher requirements in charge of each group, with a lead teacher in attendance at least two-thirds of daily hours and no aide in charge; a 2025 statute lets a lead teacher cover up to two groups (see recent changes).

Lead teachers hold the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential (NCECC) or equivalent, enrolling in it within 6 months and finishing within 18 months — or have 5 years of documented teaching experience in an NC licensed facility.

Staff counted in ratio must be at least 16; anyone under 18 works under the direct supervision of a credentialed staff person at least 21.

New employees and volunteers receive 16 hours of orientation within the first 6 weeks, direct-care staff complete First Aid and CPR within 90 days, and providers submit SBI/FBI fingerprint checks.

Center ratios and group sizes run by age.

Infants from birth through 12 months are staffed at 1:5 with a maximum group of 10, and children 12 through 24 months at 1:6 in a group of 12.

Ratios loosen with age, reaching 1:25 for children 5 and older.

When a center combines age groups, the ratio for the youngest child applies to the whole group, and every child younger than 13 counts in the staff-child ratio.

No group may exceed 25 children.

Those numbers shape the hiring plan: a full infant group of 10 puts at least two staff who count in ratio on the floor.

Rule .0714 still puts a lead-teacher-qualified person in charge of each group, while the 2025 statute lets a lead teacher cover two groups when another person overseeing the group is pursuing NCECC coursework or job training, so confirm with DCDEE which applies to your staffing plan.

Our research did not confirm a current North Carolina application fee or license fee amount, so ask DCDEE for the fee schedule before you budget.

The commitments the rules themselves set are steps and documents rather than dollars: the home's pre-licensing workshop and application packet, plus the state and national fingerprint checks your staff will submit.

The timeline anchor the rules give is the home sequence, where an initial license comes as a six-month temporary license before the one-star or rated license.

Our research captured no North Carolina startup-cost figures and no DCDEE processing timeline; ask the division what to expect for your arrangement.

Three North Carolina early-childhood workforce supports run through Early Years, the renamed Child Care Services Association.

T.E.A.C.H.

Early Childhood North Carolina is administered by Early Years and funded by NC DCDEE, and every T.E.A.C.H. scholarship has four components: scholarship, education, compensation and commitment.

The Child Care WAGE$ program provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid teachers, directors and family child care providers working with children birth to 5 in participating counties.

STEP$ provides education-based salary supplements to low-paid lead teachers, teachers and family child care providers working 40 hours a week with children birth through age 2.

For a new operator these are workforce supports rather than startup funding; our research did not capture current supplement amounts or a North Carolina startup grant for new operators, so ask DCDEE and Early Years what is available now.

Three recent changes matter when you read older pages about opening a North Carolina daycare.

The family child care definition in force is the 2025 amended version, more than two but fewer than 11 children in the operator's dwelling, with capacity mixes that reach 10 children when all are older than 24 months.

The star rated-license standards moved to 10A NCAC 09 Section .3200, effective July 1, 2025, with three pathways to a two- through five-star license.

And a 2025 change to G.S. 110-91(7)a says each lead teacher shall support no more than two groups, and that when a lead teacher covers two groups, another person overseeing the group must be pursuing NCECC coursework or job training toward lead-teacher qualification.

DCDEE's rule .0714 continues to describe one person meeting lead teacher requirements as responsible for each group, so confirm with DCDEE how the two-group statute is being applied before you set your staffing plan.