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Home Daycare License Requirements in Alaska (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Alaska means getting a family child care home license from the Alaska Department of Health (DOH), Division of Public Assistance, Child Care Program Office (CCPO). Here is exactly what that takes in 2026 — your capacity limit and ratios, the training and background checks, the application steps, and the postings and enrollment forms you need — sourced to the state’s own rules and dated.

Who needs a license — home types in Alaska

Alaska tiers home-based care by headcount: (1) "child care home" = a child care facility, usually in an occupied residence, for no more than 8 children (7 AAC 57.990(a)(8)); (2) "child care group home" = a child care facility, usually in an occupied residence, for nine to 12 children (7 AAC 57.990(a)(7)). (A "child care center" = 13 or more children (7 AAC 57.990(a)(6)) and is NOT home-based.) Licensing is triggered whenever a facility regularly provides child care for five or more children who are not relatives of the caregiver (7 AAC 57.010(a)); a facility that regularly provides care to four or fewer children who are not relatives of the caregiver is exempt (7 AAC 57.015(a)(7)).

How many children you can care for in Alaska

Child care HOME: no more than 8 children under age 13 total — and this count INCLUDES the caregiver's own children under age 12. Of the total in care, no more than 3 may be under 30 months and no more than 2 may be nonambulatory (7 AAC 57.505(a)). Child care GROUP HOME: no more than 12 children under age 13; no more than 5 under 30 months; no more than 4 nonambulatory (7 AAC 57.505(b)). (Verified against the 2006/am.2007 consolidated text; a reported 2026 amendment was not independently confirmed — reconfirm with CCPO.)

Adult-to-child ratios

Alaska does NOT use per-age-band adult:child ratios for homes — homes are governed by total-capacity caps with age/mobility sub-limits (the age-band ratio table applies to child care CENTERS). HOME (7 AAC 57.505(a)): at least 1 caregiver; up to 8 children under 13 (including the caregiver's own children under 12); of the total, no more than 3 under 30 months and no more than 2 nonambulatory. GROUP HOME (7 AAC 57.505(b)): at least 2 caregivers; up to 12 children under 13; no more than 5 under 30 months; no more than 4 nonambulatory. A group home may run with only ONE caregiver (7 AAC 57.505(c)) if (1) the count drops to no more than 8 total and it meets the home rule in (a); or (2) the caregiver has completed one year of licensed home child care (or the equivalent), or meets the college-credit / CDA / Montessori requirements of 7 AAC 57.300(d), AND there are no more than (A) 10 children with none under 30 months, or (B) 12 children who are all school age. (For reference, the CENTER child-to-caregiver ratios in 7 AAC 57.505(d) are: through 18 months [infants] 5 children per caregiver; 19–36 months [toddlers] 6:1; 3–4 yr [preschoolers] 10:1; 5–6 yr [kindergartners] 14:1; 7–12 yr [school age] 18:1, each with a maximum group size of twice the ratio.)

Training you must complete before licensure

Orientation and pre-service training: if a department-approved orientation and pre-service training program is available within 60 miles by road of the facility, the applicant MUST attend and complete it, and the department will suspend processing the application until the requirement is met (7 AAC 57.030(a)). CPR/first aid: except when a substitute caregiver provides care in a child care home for 30 days or less, at least one caregiver on duty at all times must hold valid first-aid and age-appropriate CPR certification (7 AAC 57.350(e)), unless the certification courses are unavailable within 60 miles by road (then distance-learning instruction plus completion of the first available course). Each caregiver must receive facility orientation (policies, satisfying children's needs, emergency procedures and health & safety, and applicable 7 AAC 10.1000–10.1095 and 7 AAC 57.005–57.810 requirements) beginning at employment and completed within 8 weeks (7 AAC 57.350(a)-(b)). Confirm any additional health-and-safety pre-service hours with CCPO (a 2026 code change has been reported but not independently verified).

Ongoing (annual) training

Child care HOME caregiver: at least 12 clock hours of training per year (7 AAC 57.350(g)); a part-time home caregiver (15 hrs/week or less, per 7 AAC 57.990(a)(25)) needs at least 6 hours (7 AAC 57.350(i)). Child care GROUP HOME caregiver: at least 20 hours per year (7 AAC 57.350(h)); part-time 10 hours (7 AAC 57.350(i)). In addition, any caregiver who cares for infants/toddlers must get at least 1 hour of training in the first year of employment and at least 1 hour every 2 years thereafter on shaken-baby syndrome, SIDS prevention, and infant/toddler development (7 AAC 57.350(d)). These hours are on top of orientation and first-aid/CPR (orientation/pre-service hours over 6 may count toward the annual total, 7 AAC 57.350(j)). NOTE: these figures are from the 2006/am.2007 consolidated text; a reported July 24, 2026 amendment could not be independently verified, so confirm the current annual-hour figures with CCPO before relying on them.

Background checks

Fingerprint-based criminal history check through the Alaska Background Check Program under AS 47.05.300–47.05.390 and 7 AAC 10.900–10.990 (Barrier Crimes, Criminal History Checks, and Centralized Registry), required before licensure and continuously. Applies to every individual associated with the facility in the manner described in 7 AAC 10.900(b) — including the applicant/owner/administrator, every caregiver and employee, and household members/other individuals with access to the facility (7 AAC 57.315(a), 7 AAC 57.310(b), 7 AAC 57.030(c)(1)(A) and (c)(5)); the department may additionally review child-protection and licensing records for each such individual age 16 or older (7 AAC 57.315(d)). The owner submits the signed Release of Information Authorization and the items required under 7 AAC 10.910 for each person requiring a check (7 AAC 57.315(e)). An individual may not work (with or without compensation) or reside in the facility if their name is on the state Centralized Registry (7 AAC 10.955) or they otherwise fall under 7 AAC 57.310(b).

The application, step by step

Work through these in order — the prep packet turns them into a checklist you can tick off:

1. Confirm you need a license and which tier: a facility regularly providing care for 5+ children who are not relatives of the caregiver requires a license (7 AAC 57.010(a)); 4 or fewer unrelated children is exempt (7 AAC 57.015(a)(7)). Choose child care home (≤8) or child care group home (9–12). If your home is in the Municipality of Anchorage, licensing may be delegated to the municipality (7 AAC 57.045) — confirm with Anchorage before applying to the state CCPO.
2. Contact the Child Care Program Office (doh.ccpo.info@alaska.gov / 907-269-4500) to request the current application packet and confirm current requirements (a 2026 code change has been reported).
3. Attend and complete the department-approved orientation and pre-service training if one is available within 60 miles by road; otherwise the department will suspend processing your application (7 AAC 57.030(a)).
4. Initiate fingerprint-based background checks for yourself, all caregivers/employees, and household members through the Background Check Program; submit signed Release of Information Authorizations and the items under 7 AAC 10.910 (7 AAC 57.315(e)).
5. Prepare the home: sanitation/water, fire & life-safety, and environmental-health items (7 AAC 10.1000–10.1095); arrange required inspections; assemble a floor plan, emergency/evacuation plan, and facility policies and procedures.
6. Obtain valid first-aid and age-appropriate CPR certification (at least one caregiver on duty must hold it at all times) (7 AAC 57.350(e)).
7. Provide four references for the designated administrator, at least three of whom are unrelated, attesting to good character (7 AAC 57.300(g)).
8. Submit the completed application on the department-supplied form with ages and number of children, hours/days of operation, ownership/household information, and required fees (7 AAC 57.030(c)).
9. The department reviews the application for completeness and notifies you of any omission within 10 days, and inspects/investigates within 90 days after receiving a COMPLETE application (7 AAC 57.025(b)).
10. Receive the provisional and/or biennial (2-year) license; then comply with ongoing training, annual self-monitoring reports (7 AAC 57.050), and biennial renewal (7 AAC 57.030).

What you must post on your walls

• The current child care facility license, posted at the facility
• A summary of the regulatory requirements that apply to the facility, and the department's telephone contact number for reporting a concern regarding child care, given to parents of children in care (7 AAC 57.025(d))
• Emergency evacuation / disaster plan and emergency contact information
• Confirm the full current posting list with CCPO — a 2026 code change has been reported but not independently verified

Enrollment forms for each child

• Application for a Child Care Facility License (child care home / group home) — department-supplied form (7 AAC 57.030(c))
• Release of Information Authorization / criminal-history-check request items, Background Check Program (7 AAC 10.910; 7 AAC 57.315(e))
• Administrator reference information — four references, at least three unrelated (7 AAC 57.300(g))
• Child emergency information / emergency care & transport information — obtained at or before admission (7 AAC 57.400)
• Facility floor plan, emergency/evacuation plan, and policies & procedures
• Fire & life-safety and sanitation/environmental-health inspection documentation
• Exact CCPO form names/numbers were not verifiable from a live official source (health.alaska.gov returned HTTP 403 at check time) — confirm current form numbers directly with the Child Care Program Office

What's specific about getting licensed in Alaska

Alaska's real trap is WHERE and HOW you count. First, if your home sits inside the Municipality of Anchorage, the state may have delegated licensing to the municipality (mechanism in 7 AAC 57.045), so you would apply to Anchorage's own child care licensing program under Anchorage Municipal Code (Title 16) — not the state CCPO — and applicants routinely waste weeks in the wrong queue (confirm the current delegation and municipal contact directly with Anchorage). Second, Alaska licenses home care purely by total capacity, not by per-age adult:child ratios: a "child care home" tops out at 8 children and your OWN children under age 12 count against that 8, with a hard sub-limit of no more than 3 under 30 months and no more than 2 nonambulatory (7 AAC 57.505(a)). Third, the state's regulations are periodically revised and its website was reorganized (legacy CCPO/forms pages returned 403/404 at check time), and a code change effective July 24, 2026 has been reported (thread Alaska) but could not be independently verified — so any number copied from an old handbook or third-party blog may be stale. Verify the current text and forms directly with CCPO before you build your enrollment plan.

How long it takes and what it costs in Alaska

Timeline: Plan on roughly 2–4 months. The department must flag an incomplete application within 10 days and must inspect within 90 days after it receives a COMPLETE application (7 AAC 57.025(b)). The slow steps are usually the fingerprint-based background checks (weeks) and completing the orientation/pre-service training if a session isn't running nearby. You typically receive a provisional license first, then a biennial (2-year) license, which you renew every two years (7 AAC 57.030).

Cost: Varies — confirm current amounts with the Child Care Program Office (or Anchorage licensing if the municipality's delegation applies). Budget for fingerprint/background-check fees for yourself and every household member/caregiver, CPR & first-aid certification, and any state or municipal license/application fee. Specific fee figures were not verifiable from a live official source, so do not rely on a guessed number — confirm with CCPO.

Source: 7 AAC 57 Child Care Facilities Licensing — full regulatory text verified (consolidated Register 178, eff. 6/23/2006, with amendments Register 181, 2/9/2007), reproduced at https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/AK_Title%207%20AAC%2057-%20Child%20Care%20Facilities%20Licensing_H_FINAL.pdf — definitions 7 AAC 57.990, capacity/ratios 7 AAC 57.505, max group size (centers) 7 AAC 57.510, training 7 AAC 57.350, application/renewal 7 AAC 57.030, reviews/timelines 7 AAC 57.025, references 7 AAC 57.300(g), background checks 7 AAC 57.310/57.315 & AS 47.05.300–390 & 7 AAC 10.900–990; statute AS 47.32; Anchorage delegation mechanism 7 AAC 57.045 (specific AMC citation and Anchorage program not independently verified — health.alaska.gov and muni.org/municode were inaccessible at check time). Alaska Dept. of Health, Division of Public Assistance, Child Care Program Office: https://health.alaska.gov

Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice and not a guarantee of licensure — confirm with your state’s licensing agency before applying.