Home › State guides › Arizona

Home Daycare License Requirements in Arizona (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Arizona means getting a family child care home license from the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES/ADES), Child and Community Services Division, Child Care unit. 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 Arizona

'Home facility' means 'a provider's residence that the Department has certified as a location where child care services may be provided' (R6-5-5201(28)). 'Provider' means 'an adult who is not the parent or guardian of a child needing care, and to whom the Department has issued a certificate, and includes a backup provider who performs the provider's duties when the provider is unavailable' (R6-5-5201(39)); 'adult' means a person age 18 or older (R6-5-5201(4)) and an applicant 'shall be at least age 18' (R6-5-5202(B)). 'Child care' means 'the compensated care, supervision, recreation, socialization, guidance, and protection of a child who is unaccompanied by a parent' (R6-5-5201(10));

'compensation' means 'something given or received, such as money, goods, or services, as payment for child care services' (R6-5-5201(18)). The statute puts the number on it: a 'child care home provider' is a person at least 18 years old, not the parent, guardian, caretaker relative or noncertified relative provider of the child, 'who is certified by the department to care for four or fewer children for compensation with child care assistance monies' (A.R.S. Sec. 46-801(6)). Three surrounding definitions decide who else in the house is regulated. 'Child care personnel' means 'all adults residing in a home facility, an in-home provider, and any backup provider' (R6-5-5201(11)) - the whole adult household is inside the regulation, not just the caregiver. 'Household member' means a person who does not provide child care services and who resides in the home facility 'for 21 consecutive days or longer or who resides periodically throughout the year for a total of at least 21 days' (R6-5-5201(29)). 'Backup provider' means 'an adult who, or an entity that, provides child care when a provider is not available' (R6-5-5201(6)) and is mandatory, not optional (R6-5-5222(A)). An 'in-home provider' - 'a provider who cares for a child in the child's home' (R6-5-5201(31)) - holds a different certificate with different limits.

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

How many children you can care for in Arizona

Two numbers, and confusing them is the classic Arizona mistake: FOUR paid children, SIX children present. R6-5-5220(A) reads: 'The Department may certify a provider in a home facility to care for a maximum of four children at a time, from birth through age 12, for compensation. A provider in a home facility may care for a maximum of six children at a time, from birth through age 12, or a child age 13 or older who is a child with special needs, when all of the following conditions are met: 1. No more than four children in care are for compensation; and 2. No more than two of the children in care are younger than age 1, unless a sibling group.' The ceiling on bodies is six, the ceiling on paying customers is four, and the infant sub-cap is two children under age one unless the under-ones are siblings. DES states the six-child figure on its own outward-facing form: 'The DES certified family child care providers can care for a maximum of six children' (CCA-1175A, Landlord Permission to Provide Family Child Care Service, FORFF 03/26). Your own children are inside the count. DES answers this in writing: 'I have children of my own.

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

Adult-to-child ratios

Arizona publishes NO age-banded adult:child ratio table for certified family child care homes. The Section actually titled 'Provider/Child Ratios' (R6-5-5220) contains only the caps - four for compensation, six present, no more than two under age 1 unless a sibling group, nobody 13 or older counted except a child with special needs - and nothing that varies staff by age group. There is only ever one adult in the ratio, because the certificate is personal: 'A certificate is not transferable and is valid only for the provider and location identified on the certificate' (R6-5-5206(B)), and 'Only a provider may discipline a child in care' (R6-5-5212(B)). Article 52 has no concept of an assistant who lets you take more children. What Arizona regulates instead of ratios is ATTENTION. R6-5-5210(D) and (E): 'A provider shall directly supervise each child who is awake' and 'A provider shall have unobstructed access to and shall be able to hear each child who is sleeping.' 'Direct supervision' is 'within sight and sound' (R6-5-5201(24)), so the six children must be placeable in one room within sight - which is why the space test at R6-5-5203(6) speaks of 'a room where the provider can keep all children within sight' and why R6-5-5220(C)(2) lets DES certify below four when the home cannot do that. R6-5-5210(C) closes the obvious loophole: 'A provider shall not engage in activities that interfere with the ability to supervise and care for children, including other employment, and volunteer or recreational activities.'

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

Training you must complete before licensure

Article 52 imposes NO minimum education, no credential, no course hours and no prior child care experience before certification. The only hard threshold in the rule is age: 'An applicant shall be at least age 18' (R6-5-5202(B)). What replaces coursework is a screening of person and premises: three references who 'Have known the applicant at least one year', are unrelated by blood or marriage, and can furnish information on character and ability to care for a child (R6-5-5202(F)); a self-statement of physical and mental health on a Department form for the applicant and every designated individual backup provider (R6-5-5202(G)); the physical, mental and emotional health necessary to perform the duties, with DES entitled to require a physical or psychological examination at the applicant's expense if it has questions the applicant cannot answer (R6-5-5202(H)); at least one face-to-face interview (R6-5-5204(A)(1)); and a Department questionnaire completed during that interview describing the applicant's child-rearing philosophy, the home environment including intra-family relationships, the parenting and discipline methods used by the applicant and by the applicant's own parents, and the applicant's child care training and experience (R6-5-5202(O)). 'The Department shall objectively determine whether to certify an applicant based on the applicant's entire application package, and the information the Department has acquired during the course of the application process' (R6-5-5204(B)). Two training obligations attach, and neither is complete before you open.

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

Ongoing (annual) training

The rule says six hours; the Department's own published requirement says twelve, and a provider has to satisfy both.

THE RULE: 'A certified provider shall attend at least six hours of training each calendar year in any of the following subjects: 1. The Department's child care program, policies, and procedures; 2. Child health and safety, including recognition, control, and prevention of illness and disease; 3. Child growth and development; 4. Child abuse prevention, detection, and reporting; 5. Positive guidance and discipline; 6. Child nutrition; 7. Communication with families; family involvement; 8. Developmentally appropriate practices; and 9. Other similar subjects designed to improve the provider's ability to provide child care' (R6-5-5207(E)). The clock is the CALENDAR year, not the certificate anniversary. 'A provider shall maintain a record of all training, and annually furnish the Department with proof of attendance' (R6-5-5207(F)), and the training record is one of the documents kept separate from household records and made readily available for inspection (R6-5-5219(D)(6)). THE DEPARTMENT'S PUBLISHED REQUIREMENT: 'ADHS Licensed Group Homes and DES Certified Family Child Care Providers must complete 12 hours of ongoing health and safety training every 12 months (based on hire date), and ADHS Licensed Child Care Center providers must complete 18 or more hours every 12 months (based on hire date)', in two or more of these areas: program administration, planning, development or management;

availability of community services and resources; nutrition including age-appropriate feeding; training that maintains and updates the health and safety standards identified in the Provider Registration Agreement; access to physical activity; social-emotional development and behavior models; caring for children with special needs; and child growth and development (DES, Navigating Health and Safety Training).

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

Background checks

The card comes FIRST, and it is a Level I card. A.R.S. Sec. 41-1964(A): 'Child care personnel shall have valid fingerprint clearance cards issued pursuant to section 41-1758.07 before being certified by the department or residing or working in the home of a child care home provider or being designated as a backup provider.' Section 41-1758.07 is the LEVEL I card, whose precluding-offence list is materially longer than the ordinary card at Sec. 41-1758.03 - it adds, among others, felony child neglect, manslaughter and negligent homicide, terrorism, any felony offence involving domestic violence, any violent crime as defined in Sec. 13-901.03, and felony drug or alcohol related offences committed within five years before applying (Sec. 41-1758.07(B)). Article 52 points to the statute rather than restating it: 'Child care personnel and all individual backup providers shall be fingerprinted and pay all required fingerprint fees within the time prescribed in A.R.S. Sec. 41-1964' (R6-5-5207(A)). 'Child care personnel' is the whole adult household - 'all adults residing in a home facility, an in-home provider, and any backup provider' (R6-5-5201(11)) - and the statute repeats it, reaching 'all persons who are eighteen years of age or older and who work or reside in the home of a child care home provider' (Sec. 41-1964(F)). DES says the same on its provider page: 'Background check for provider and all household members aged 18 years and older' and 'Fingerprint clearance card for provider and all household members aged 18 years and older'.

Summarised from the state’s own rules. Every figure above is quoted from the regulation cited on this page.

The application, step by step

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

1. Submit the DES pre-application first. DES routes applicants through an online pre-application (cognitoforms.com/AZCCA1/DESCertifiedHomeBasedChildCareProviderApplication, live 24 August 2026); the paper equivalent is CCA-1259A, 'DES Certified Home-Based Child-Care Provider Pre Application', screened by the Certification Team, which then contacts you with next steps (CCA-1259A; CCA-1322A).
2. Confirm the two threshold facts: you are at least 18 (R6-5-5202(B); R6-5-5201(4)) and you will provide care at an Arizona address. If you live on tribal land the pre-application sends you to your local Tribal Social Services Agency instead of DES (CCA-1259A).
3. If you rent, obtain written permission from the landlord or property manager on CCA-1175A (FORFF 03/26): 'When a child care provider's home is a rental property, the provider must obtain permission in writing from the landlord, or designated property manager, to provide a child care service there.'
4. Get a Level I fingerprint clearance card for yourself and every adult in the household and pay the fingerprint fees: cards must be held 'before being certified by the department or residing or working in the home of a child care home provider or being designated as a backup provider' (A.R.S. Sec. 41-1964(A), referring to Sec. 41-1758.07; R6-5-5207(A)).
5. Complete and notarize the criminal history certification form required by A.R.S. Sec. 41-1964(B), then add the Article 52 disclosure of any child maltreatment acts or CPS investigation (R6-5-5202(J)) and the five-year employment history for yourself, all adult household members and all individual backup providers (R6-5-5202(K)).
6. Designate one or more backup providers and execute the Department's backup provider agreement form. Acceptable backups: an individual aged 18 or older meeting the Article's requirements, a DHS-licensed child care center, a DHS-certified child care group home, or a DES-certified family child care home (R6-5-5202(D)(1)-(4); R6-5-5222(E), (F)). The backup furnishes the same health statement, card and disclosures as the applicant.
7. Furnish the health documents: a self-statement of physical and mental health for you and each backup (R6-5-5202(G)); proof that you, the backup and household members aged 13 or younger are immune from measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio, subject to the religious waiver at R6-5-5202(L)(2); and evidence of freedom from pulmonary tuberculosis for you, all household members and all backups - a negative Mantoux test or a physician's statement based on an examination within three months of the date or anniversary date of certification, resubmitted every succeeding calendar year (R6-5-5202(M)).
8. Supply three references who have known you at least one year, are unrelated to you by blood or marriage, and can speak to your character and ability to care for a child (R6-5-5202(F)), plus the identifying information DES requests about you, your spouse, household members, children living outside the home and the backup provider (R6-5-5202(I)).
9. Write the statement of services on a Department form: the home and its location, hours of operation, your daily rates and fees, the ages of children you will accept, the equipment, materials, daily activities and play areas available, any special child care skills or training, and the behaviour, guidance and discipline methods you use (R6-5-5202(N)).
10. Bring the home up to R6-5-5203 before the inspection: premises safe, sanitary, free from hazards and vermin and in good repair, mobile home skirted; heat, light, ventilation and screening wherever a child will be, temperature held between 68 and 85 degrees F; heating devices vented and safeguarded; tools, sharp objects, lighters, machinery, electrical boxes, outlets and wires and chemicals safeguarded; firearms and ammunition stored separately from one another under lock and key; outdoor play areas fenced at least 4 feet high with self-closing, self-latching lockable gates where conditions pose a danger.
11. Install the six required items: a charged, readily accessible, operable multi-purpose (ABC class) fire extinguisher you know how to operate; at least one UL-approved working smoke detector properly mounted on each level; at least two usable outdoor exits; a posted written plan or diagram for emergency evacuation; a working telephone or other two-way communication device acceptable to the Department; and, where there is water more than 12 inches deep, a life-saving device meaning a ring buoy with at least 25 feet of half-inch rope, or a shepherd's crook (R6-5-5203(8)(a)-(f)).
12. Safeguard water and jumping hazards before certification: a pool or body of water more than 12 inches deep enclosed by a permanent fence at least 5 feet high separating it from all other outdoor areas and from doors and windows, self-closing self-latching lockable gates, openings no more than 4 inches, gates locked when not in use; spas and hot tubs fenced likewise or covered by a hard locked cover supporting at least 100 pounds (R6-5-5203(9), (10)). DES extends this to trampolines: 'Trampoline - Fenced as above or removed. ... All pools, hot tubs/spas, and trampolines must be safeguarded prior to Certification' (CCA-1259A).
13. Sit the interview and the inspection. DES shall conduct at least one face-to-face interview, contact any other person necessary to determine fitness, verify that you and all backups satisfy R6-5-5202, inspect the home against R6-5-5203, run the CHILDS Central Registry checks, and find that you have 'the intent and ability to provide child care that is safe, developmentally appropriate, and in compliance with the requirements of this Article' (R6-5-5204(A)(1)-(6)). During the interview you complete the questionnaire at R6-5-5202(O).
14. Sign the two standing undertakings Article 52 requires as separate documents: a written agreement to abide by the Department's policy on developmentally appropriate discipline, signed by you and all individual backup providers (R6-5-5212(A)), and a form stating that you will abide by the transportation rules of R6-5-5216 (R6-5-5216(I)).
15. Expect the statutory clock and then finish the training. Administrative completeness review 60 days, substantive review 30 days, overall 90 days (R6-5-5205, for the purposes of A.R.S. Sec. 41-1073); if you do not supply information listed in the deficiency notice 'the Department may close the file' and you must reapply (R6-5-5202(R), (S)). After the certificate issues: proof of first aid and infant/child CPR within 60 days (R6-5-5207(C)), DES pre-service health and safety training within 90 days recorded in the Registry, post the certificate conspicuously (R6-5-5206(C)) and execute the child care registration agreement (R6-5-5201(12); R6-5-5219(D); R6-5-5223(A)).

What you must post on your walls

• The certificate itself: 'A provider shall post the certificate in a conspicuous location in the home facility' (R6-5-5206(C)). It carries the location and the total number of children allowed at any one time (R6-5-5206(B), (E)).
• A written plan or diagram for emergency evacuation, listed among the equipment the home facility must have: 'A posted written plan or diagram for emergency evacuation' (R6-5-5203(8)(d)).
• Written notice to parents of the right of access: 'A provider shall allow a parent or a designated representative access to the home facility at all times when the parent's child is present, and shall give parents and designated representatives written notice explaining this right' (R6-5-5207(I)).
• Written notice of the backup care plan (R6-5-5210(B)); at enrollment the provider must additionally 'advise the parent of the possible use of a backup provider' (R6-5-5222(C)).
• Written notification of a household religious immunization exemption: where DES waives household immunization on religious grounds, the applicant affirms in writing 'that families will be notified of the religious exemption before child care services are provided' (R6-5-5202(L)(2)(b)).
• Not posted but permanently on the premises and producible on demand: the records at R6-5-5219(D), which 'shall be readily available for inspection by the Department' and kept 'separate from household and other personal records' - child information, immunization records, TB clearance, certification and monitoring records, health records of child care personnel, training records, unusual incident reports and the daily logs.
• The medication log, recording for every dose the child's name, the medication, the date and time of administration and the dosage (R6-5-5218(I)).
• The daily attendance log on a Department-approved form, signed in and out by the parent or a person designated in writing (R6-5-5219(A)); on the DES record one sheet per child per calendar month, pre-signing prohibited (CCA-0218A, FORFF 06/26).
• Communicable-disease notice to families: 'A provider shall notify the parent of other children in care when a child in care contracts an infectious illness' (R6-5-5218(C)).
• Complaint information, published by DES rather than by the provider: 'The Department shall maintain a file on all complaints against a provider and shall make information on valid complaints available to parents and to the general public upon request and as permitted by law' (R6-5-5224(C)).
• For DES-contracted providers only, and by contract rather than by rule: the provider's Suspension and Expulsion Prevention Policy and the AZ STEPS Parent Information sheet (CCA-1327A), given to families and again upon enrollment (CCA-1353A, sections 5.10, 12.6.1.3).
• For contrast, and useful for telling the two Arizona regimes apart: a child care GROUP HOME certificate 'shall be conspicuously posted in the child care group home for viewing by parents and the public', with current inspection reports kept there (A.R.S. Sec. 36-897.01(J), (K)); a licensed FACILITY must also post its fee schedule and refund policy (Sec. 36-882(O), (P)). Article 52 imposes no fee-schedule posting on certified homes.

Enrollment forms for each child

• CCA-1259A, 'DES Certified Home-Based Child-Care Provider Pre Application' (FORENG 6-19) - the entry point, screened by the DES Certification Team; collects identity, housing and landlord status, employment, household members under 13, background-check history, immunization and TB status and the pool/spa/trampoline safeguards. Its online successor is the DES pre-application at cognitoforms.com/AZCCA1/DESCertifiedHomeBasedChildCareProviderApplication.
• CCA-1175A, 'Landlord Permission to Provide Family Child Care Service' (FORFF 03/26) - signed by the landlord or property manager whenever the home facility is a rental; required before a tenant applicant can be certified.
• Notarized criminal history certification form provided by the Department under A.R.S. Sec. 41-1964(B), covering offences listed in Sec. 41-1758.07(B) and (C), dependency adjudications and any denied or revoked child care licence or certificate; due before certification or within seven working days after residing or working in the home or being designated as a backup.
• Self-statement of physical and mental health on a Department form, from the applicant and every designated individual backup provider (R6-5-5202(G)); refiled at recertification and then also covering freedom from communicable diseases (R6-5-5208(C)).
• Department employment-history form covering the five years immediately preceding the application, beginning with the present or most recent job, for the applicant, all adult household members and all individual backup providers (R6-5-5202(K)).
• Statement of services on a Department form - home and location, hours, daily rates and fees, ages accepted, equipment, materials, daily activities and play areas, special skills or training, and the behaviour, guidance and discipline methods used (R6-5-5202(N)).
• Department questionnaire completed during the interview with the child care specialist - child-rearing philosophy, home environment and intra-family relationships, the parenting and discipline methods used by the applicant and by the applicant's own parents, and the applicant's child care training and experience (R6-5-5202(O)).
• Backup provider agreement form furnished by the Department, 'which identifies the backup provider and contains assurances that the backup provider will be used in accordance with the requirement of this Section' (R6-5-5222(F)); DES's backup intake form is CCA-1260A, 'Back Up Provider Application'.
• Written agreement to abide by the Department's policy on developmentally appropriate discipline, signed by the certified provider and by all individual backup providers (R6-5-5212(A)); and the transportation form: 'A provider shall sign a form that states that the provider will abide by R6-5-5216' (R6-5-5216(I)).
• CCA-0218A, 'Sign-In/Sign-Out Record' (FORFF 06/26) - the Department-approved attendance log required by R6-5-5219(A): one record per child per calendar month, matching the Certificate of Authorization, signed in and out by the parent or a person authorized in writing, pre-signing prohibited, perjury warning on both the parent and the provider side.
• Department-approved unusual incident form: 'On a form approved by the Department, a provider shall promptly log all accidents, injuries, behavior problems, or other unusual incidents at the home facility, including any suspected child abuse or neglect' (R6-5-5219(B)), reported to the parent immediately and to the Department within 24 hours (R6-5-5219(C)).
• Per-child immunization record or exemption affidavit (R6-5-5219(F)) - a record from the child's health care provider showing current age-appropriate immunizations specified in A.A.C. R9-6-702, or a provider's affidavit that immunization would endanger the child's health, or a parent's affidavit of a religion whose teachings oppose immunization; no child may remain enrolled more than 15 days without one of the three. The child care registration agreement itself (R6-5-5201(12); R6-5-5219(D); R6-5-5223(A)) and CCA-1200A 'About Me Questionnaire' (FORFF 06/26) complete the file.

What's specific about getting licensed in Arizona

The defining Arizona quirk: home-based child care is regulated by TWO different agencies, and 'family child care home' is a specific legal lane, not a generic term. A small daycare in your own residence is CERTIFIED by DES (Dept. of Economic Security) under Arizona Administrative Code Title 6, Chapter 5, Article 52 - a certification, not a 'license.' Larger group homes and centers are LICENSED separately by ADHS (Dept. of Health Services). On top of that, in Arizona caring for a very small number of unrelated children in your home is generally exempt from state licensing altogether - so DES certification is the pathway you pursue to operate as a recognized family child care home and to legally accept state subsidy (DES Child Care Assistance) payments. Most states funnel you through one child-care licensing agency; Arizona's DES-vs-ADHS split plus the subsidy-triggered certification model is what genuinely sets it apart, and it's exactly where newcomers get lost.

How long it takes and what it costs in Arizona

Timeline: Realistically plan for about 6 to 12 weeks from starting your application to holding the certificate. The long pole is almost always the Arizona DPS Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card (often several weeks on its own), followed by scheduling the DES home safety inspection. DES publishes formal certification time-frames in rule R6-5-5205; confirm the current published time-frame with your local DES office, since backlogs shift.

Cost: Arizona is friendlier than many states here: DES does not charge a state application fee to become a certified family child care home. Your real out-of-pocket costs are the ones you control: the Arizona DPS Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card (roughly $65 - verify the current DPS fee), a CPR and First Aid certification class (commonly about $50-$100), and a TB test. Treat these figures as approximate and confirm current amounts with DES and DPS before you budget - fees change.

Source: Sources officielles consultées pour Arizona :

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arizona/Ariz-Admin-Code-SS-R6-5-5201

https://des.az.gov/sites/default/files/dl/HPY-330.pdf

https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/Arizona%20R%20Title%206%20Chapter%205%20Article%2052

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/46/00807.htm

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/46/00801.htm

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01964.htm

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01758-07.htm

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/41/01758-03.htm

Verified 2026-08-24. General information, not legal advice and not a guarantee of licensure — confirm with your state’s licensing agency before applying.