Ohio Daycare Ratios: Staff-to-Child Ratios and Group Sizes by Age

Ohio sets one ratio table for licensed centers in Appendix A to OAC 5180:2-12-18, administered by the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.

Young infants under 12 months are 1:5, or 2:12 with two staff members, and older infants from 12 to 18 months are 1:6.

Toddlers run 1:7 from 18 months to 2½ years and 1:8 from 2½ to 3 years, then the table moves to 1:12 for 3-year-olds and 1:14 for 4-year-olds who are not yet kindergarten-eligible.

School-age bands are 1:18 from kindergarten eligibility to under 11 and 1:20 for ages 11 to under 15.

On top of the licensing table, a center pursuing a Gold Step Up To Quality rating must meet lower ratios in 40 percent of its classrooms — for example 1:11 for 3-year-olds and 1:13 for 4-year-olds, against the licensing 1:12 and 1:14.

Group size caps how many children form one group, separately from the staff-to-child ratio.

Ohio's center maximums are 12 for young infants, the band whose ratio is 1:5 or 2:12, 12 for older infants at 1:6, 14 for young toddlers at 1:7, 16 for older toddlers at 1:8, 24 for 3-year-olds at 1:12, 28 for 4-year-olds not yet kindergarten-eligible at 1:14, 36 for kindergarten-eligible children under 11 at 1:18, and 40 for ages 11 to under 15 at 1:20.

The two rules shape different decisions: the group size caps how large any one group can be, so it decides how many groups an enrollment splits into, while the ratio determines how many staff members each group needs.

When a group mixes ages, Ohio applies the ratio of the youngest child in it, so a single infant in a mixed-age group pulls that group to the infant ratio.

Ohio also allows all age groups to be combined when there are twelve or fewer children in the center.

Group size is the part that pauses.

Group size limitations do not apply during nap time, evening sleep time, meal time, snack time, outdoor play, field trips, routine trips or special occasions, while the staff-to-child ratios still apply throughout.

Ohio licensing does not use a lead teacher tier in its ratio rules; the counted role is the child care staff member.

Each one must be at least 16 years old and have completed high school, or be at least a high school junior enrolled in or finished with an early childhood education career-tech program, the CDA or an ECE college-credit program.

New staff, including substitutes and high school students, complete DCY's child care center staff orientation training within 30 days of starting, and until they do they may count in ratio but may not be left alone with children.

The rules also require at least one other employee or child care staff member in the building whenever seven or more children are present.

Family child care homes follow their own chapter, OAC 5180:2-13, which the July 1, 2026 rules rewrote: a Type B home is a provider's permanent residence caring for 1 to 7 children at one time, and a Type A home cares for 8 to 14.

Each child care staff member in a home may care for no more than 7 children at once, and no more than 3 of them may be under age 2; a Type A home may care for up to 14 children at once.

The household counts too: all children under 6 count toward the group size, including the provider's own children and other residents of the home.

Take a small center with three rooms open at once: an infant room with 8 children under 12 months, a toddler room with 7 children aged 18 months to 2½ years, and a preschool room with 16 three-year-olds.

The infant room needs two staff members (8 children at 1:5), the toddler room one (7 at 1:7), and the preschool room two (16 at 1:12) — five staff members on the floor.

Two rules sit outside those room counts.

Whenever seven or more children are in the building, Ohio requires at least one other employee or child care staff member present, and a center with twelve or fewer children may instead combine all ages in one group.

This is arithmetic on the licensing table — an illustration of how the numbers combine, not a staffing plan for a particular center; enrollment shifts through the day, and centers confirm their coverage with DCY.

Ohio renumbered its child care rules into OAC Chapter 5180:2-12 for centers, and most center rules were re-effective on July 1, 2026, so older pages and forms still carry the previous chapter numbering.

The family child care rules in OAC Chapter 5180:2-13 took effect the same day and reset home capacities: Type B homes now care for 1 to 7 children and Type A homes for 8 to 14, different from the numbers on older charts.

The center ratio table itself still carries its earlier appendix text, and our research could not confirm whether DCY will re-promulgate it with changes, so confirm the current table on DCY's rules pages before you build a staffing plan around it.