New Hampshire Daycare Ratios: Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes by Age
New Hampshire sets staff-to-child ratios and maximum group sizes for licensed child care centers in rule He-C 4002, administered by the New Hampshire DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit.
Children from 6 weeks to 12 months are staffed at 1:4 in groups of no more than 12, and the ratio loosens with age to 1:15 for children 60 months and older and for school-age children.
This page gives the full table, the mixed-age and nap-time rules, who counts in ratio, and how home daycare capacity works.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
New Hampshire DHHS, Child Care Licensing Unit, under rule chapter He-C 4002.
6 weeks to 12 months: 1 staff member to 4 children, group size 12.
12 to 24 months: 1 staff member to 5 children, group size 15.
36 to 47 months: 1 staff member to 8 children, group size 24.
48 to 59 months: 1 staff member to 12 children, group size 24.
1 staff member to 15 school-age children, group size 45.
Caps of 12, 15, 18, 24, 24, 30 and 45 children across the age bands.
New Hampshire ratio rules at a glance
- Child care centerLicense
Rooms follow the age-band ratio and group-size table, and a lead teacher must be on the premises at all times except in school-age-only centers.
- Family day care homeLicense
Serves up to 6 children plus up to 3 school-age children for up to 5 hours a day; a provider working alone keeps no more than 4 children under 36 months and 2 under 24 months.
- Family group day care homeLicense
Serves 7 to 12 children plus up to 5 school-age; with a worker or assistant, no more than 4 of the children may be under 36 months.
- Lead teacherRole
One of every 6 staff required to meet the ratios must be lead-teacher qualified.
- Junior helperRole
Ages 12 and up in centers and 14 and up in family programs; never counted in staff-to-child ratios.
New Hampshire center ratios and group sizes by age
| Age group | Staff-to-child ratio | Maximum group size |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks to 12 months | 1:4 | 12 |
| 12 months to 24 months | 1:5 | 15 |
| 24 months to 36 months | 1:6 | 18 |
| 36 months to 47 months | 1:8 | 24 |
| 48 months to 59 months | 1:12 | 24 |
| 60 months and older | 1:15 | 30 |
| School-age | 1:15 | 45 |
Age bands run by the child's age in months; school-age children are a separate category in the rule.
What are the daycare ratios in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire licenses child care programs through the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit under rule chapter He-C 4002, which sets one staff-to-child ratio for each age band in a center.
Children 6 weeks to 12 months are staffed at 1:4, 12 to 24 months at 1:5, 24 to 36 months at 1:6, 36 to 47 months at 1:8, 48 to 59 months at 1:12, and 60 months and older at 1:15.
School-age children are staffed at 1:15.
The infant band is the tightest: a maximum group of 12 children with one teacher for every 4.
“For children ages 6 weeks up to 12 months, the maximum group size shall be 12 with one teacher for every 4 children.”
Maximum group sizes by age
Group size is a separate limit from the ratio: it caps how many children may be assigned to one group.
New Hampshire caps groups at 12 children from 6 weeks to 12 months, 15 from 12 to 24 months, 18 from 24 to 36 months, 24 from 36 to 47 months, 24 from 48 to 59 months, and 30 from 60 months up.
School-age groups may reach 45.
The cap holds at 24 across both the 3-year-old and 4-year-old bands while the ratio loosens from 1:8 to 1:12, so a full room of four-year-olds runs with fewer staff than a full room of three-year-olds.
Mixed-age and nap-time rules in New Hampshire
Mixed ages do not push a New Hampshire room to its youngest child's row.
The rule bases the staff-to-child ratio and the group size for a mixed-age group on the average age of the children in the group.
Nap time works differently: rooms of children 24 months through 5 years may run with one fewer staff member than the ratio requires, provided the awake children are at no more than half the ratio.
Rooms with children under 24 months get no nap-time reduction, and their full ratios must be kept.
“shall base the staff to child ratio and group size on the average age of the children in the group when there are mixed ages in the same group.”
Who can count in ratio
Not everyone in the room counts toward a New Hampshire ratio.
New Hampshire centers other than school-age-only programs must have a lead teacher on the premises at all times, and one of every 6 staff required to meet the ratios must be lead-teacher qualified.
Junior helpers, ages 12 and up in centers and 14 and up in family child care programs, never count in the staff-to-child ratio.
Assistant teachers may be as young as 15, but they work under the direct supervision of at least an associate teacher.
“one out of every 6 child care staff who are required to be on the premises in order to meet minimum staff to child ratios shall meet the minimum qualifications of a lead teacher.”
Home daycare capacity in New Hampshire
Family child care homes in New Hampshire follow capacity limits rather than the center ratio table.
A family day care home serves up to 6 children, plus up to 3 school-age children for up to 5 hours a day, and a family group day care home serves 7 to 12 children, plus up to 5 school-age children.
In a family day care home, a provider working alone cares for no more than 6 children plus 3 school-age when school is out, with no more than 4 under 36 months and 2 under 24 months.
A family group provider plus a worker or assistant cares for no more than 12 children plus 5 school-age, with no more than 4 under 36 months.
Homes caring only for the provider's own children plus up to 4 additional children are license-exempt, and caring for more requires a license.
Staffing example for a typical center
The table converts directly into headcount.
An infant room at its maximum group of 12 needs 3 staff on the floor at 1:4, a room of 15 children aged 12 to 24 months needs 3 staff at 1:5, and a room of eighteen 2-year-olds needs 3 staff at 1:6.
A room of 24 three-year-olds needs 3 staff at 1:8, while a room of 24 four-year-olds needs 2 staff at 1:12.
Across rooms, one of every 6 staff required to meet the ratios must be lead-teacher qualified, so a center whose rooms together call for 12 staff needs 2 of them lead-teacher qualified, with a lead teacher on the premises at all times.
At nap, a room of children 24 months through 5 years may release one staff member while the awake children stay at no more than half the ratio.
These are illustrations of the arithmetic, not a review of any center's schedule.
Recent changes to New Hampshire's child care rules
New Hampshire rewrote its child care licensing rules: He-C 4002 was readopted with extensive amendments effective September 22, 2025, and expires September 22, 2035.
Ratio and group-size charts published before the rewrite may not match the current table, so confirm the numbers you staff to against the current rule text or with the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the New Hampshire licensing rules, agency pages and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state staff-to-child ratios series, current as of October 2026. It is not a substitute for the instructions the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Child Care Licensing Unit publishes. For the rest of the picture in New Hampshire, see daycare teacher requirements in New Hampshire and daycare licensing steps in New Hampshire.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the infant ratio in New Hampshire daycare?
One staff member for every 4 infants.
New Hampshire's infant band runs from 6 weeks to 12 months, with a maximum group size of 12, so an infant room at its full group size has 3 staff on the floor.
The nap-time reduction does not apply to infant rooms: rooms with children under 24 months keep their full ratio.
Does New Hampshire use the youngest child's ratio for mixed-age groups?
No. When a group mixes ages, New Hampshire bases the staff-to-child ratio and the maximum group size on the average age of the children in the group, not on the youngest child.
That is the rule's own method for mixed-age rooms under He-C 4002.
Do junior helpers count in ratio in New Hampshire?
No. New Hampshire's rules say junior helpers, ages 12 and up in centers and 14 and up in family child care programs, are not calculated in staff-to-child ratios, so they cannot fill a room's required staffing count.
How many children can a home daycare have in New Hampshire?
A family day care home serves up to 6 children, plus up to 3 school-age children for up to 5 hours a day.
A family group day care home serves 7 to 12 children, plus up to 5 school-age children.
In a family day care home, a provider working alone keeps no more than 4 of the children under 36 months, including no more than 2 under 24 months.
What is the ratio for 3-year-olds in New Hampshire?
Children 36 to 47 months are staffed at 1:8 with a maximum group size of 24.
The 4-year-old band, 48 to 59 months, loosens to 1:12 while the group size stays at 24, so a full room of four-year-olds runs with 2 staff where a full room of three-year-olds needs 3.
More New Hampshire Resources
Sources
- New Hampshire Child Care Licensing Rules (New Hampshire General Court) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- New Hampshire Revised Statutes, child care program definitions (New Hampshire General Court) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
- New Hampshire Revised Statutes, child care license exemptions (New Hampshire General Court) (retrieved 2026-10-05)
Sourced from the documents listed above. Verified October 2026. This is career and employer information, not licensing or legal advice. Confirm current rules with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Child Care Licensing Unit.