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Home Daycare License Requirements in Kentucky (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Kentucky means getting a family child care home license from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). 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 Kentucky

The statutory definition is the outer wall. KRS 199.894(5) (effective July 15, 2020): "'Family child-care home' means a private home that is the primary residence of an individual who provides full or part-time care day or night for six (6) or fewer children who are not the children, siblings, stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children in legal custody of the provider." Three elements do the work: a private home, which is that individual's PRIMARY RESIDENCE, and six or fewer UNRELATED children. 922 KAR 2:100 Section 1(9) narrows "Home" the same way - "the private primary residence of the certified family child-care home provider and contiguous property" - and Section 1(14) defines "Premises" as "the building and contiguous property in which child care is certified." Relatedness is a closed list, not a family-feeling test. 922 KAR 2:100 Section 1(17) defines "Related" as having one of the following relationships with the provider: child; grandchild; niece; nephew; sibling; step-child; or child in legal custody of the provider. A cousin, a godchild, a neighbour's child and a friend's child are all UNRELATED and occupy one of your six slots.

Kentucky recognises exactly one certified home category - there is no small/large tier inside 922 KAR 2:100 - but it is wrong to say the certified home is the only home-based option in the Commonwealth. The step up is also a home. 922 KAR 2:090 Section 2(2) (child-care center licensure, current version eff. 2-13-2025): "A Type II child-care center.

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 Kentucky

Six unrelated, ten total, and both numbers appear in one sentence. 922 KAR 2:100 Section 10(4): "The maximum number of unrelated children in the care of a certified family child-care home provider shall not exceed six (6) at any one (1) time. A provider may care for four (4) related children in addition to six (6) unrelated children for a maximum child care capacity of ten (10) at any one (1) time." Read the qualifier "at any one time" literally: it is a simultaneous-presence ceiling, not an enrolment figure, so a shift overlap in which a seventh unrelated child is in the house while a sixth has not yet left is a breach on its face. The regulation adds a second, tighter ceiling that is personal to your certificate. Section 10(2): "A provider shall not provide care for more unrelated children than the number authorized on the certificate of operation." The certificate is required to state that figure - Section 2(10)(a)2.b. requires the certificate to contain "the maximum number of unrelated children who may be served," alongside the provider's name and address (2.a.), the identification number (2.c.), and the effective and expiration dates (2.d.).

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

Adult-to-child ratios

Kentucky publishes no age-banded adult-to-child grid for certified homes. KRS 199.8982(1)(f) instructs that "The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations to impose minimum staff-to-child ratios," and what the cabinet promulgated is a pair of trigger thresholds plus a total-capacity cap. The whole ratio rule for ordinary operation is 922 KAR 2:100 Section 10(3): "A provider shall have an assistant present if the provider cares for more than: (a) Four (4) infants, including the provider's own or related infants; or (b) Six (6) children under the age of six (6) years old, including the provider's own or related children." Two observations decide most real cases. First, the trigger is MORE THAN, so four infants alone is a one-adult home and the fifth infant compels a second adult; six children under six is one adult and the seventh compels a second. Second, the count is inclusive of your own family - the parenthetical "including the provider's own or related" means your toddler and your niece are counted for the threshold even though they do not consume an unrelated slot under Section 10(4). The age words are defined: "Infant" means a child less than twelve months of age (Section 1(10)); "Toddler" means a child between twelve and thirty-six months (Section 1(19)); "School-age child" means a child who meets the age requirements of KRS 158.030 or attends kindergarten, elementary or secondary education (Section 1(18)); "Preschool-age" means older than a toddler and younger than school-age (Section 1(15)). Adding an assistant never raises the ceiling.

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

Kentucky asks little before the door opens and pushes most of the learning into the first ninety days, but four gates are genuinely pre-certification. Age and identity: 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(a) requires the applicant to "show proof by photo identification or birth certificate that the individual is at least eighteen (18) years of age." Education: Section 2(3) requires an applicant to have "a high school diploma, general equivalency diploma (GED), or documentation from a comparable educational entity; or a Commonwealth Child Care Credential in accordance with 922 KAR 2:250." That credential is not a shortcut - 922 KAR 2:250 Section 2 requires the candidate to be at least eighteen, to be employed as an early child care provider in a licensed or certified Kentucky facility, and to have completed sixty hours of a planned program of instruction within two years of applying, broken into fourteen hours of child growth and development, fifteen of learning environments, curriculum and social-emotional development, nine of health, safety and nutrition, seven of family and community partnerships, four of child assessment, six of professional development and professionalism, and five of program management and evaluation.

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

Ongoing (annual) training

Three layers, and as of July 2026 the statute now sits above the regulation on one point. Layer one, the first year. 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(9)(b)1. requires the applicant to develop and implement a written plan for obtaining "three (3) hours of cabinet-approved training within the first year of operation, including one and one-half (1 1/2) hours of cabinet-approved pediatric abusive head trauma training in accordance with KRS 199.8982(2)." Layer two, every year after. Section 2(9)(b)2. plans for it and Section 10(1)(a) commands it: "Between July 1 and June 30 of each subsequent year of operation, a provider shall complete at least nine (9) hours of cabinet-approved early care and education training, including one and one-half (1 1/2) hours of cabinet-approved pediatric abusive head trauma training completed once every five (5) years in accordance with KRS 199.8982(2)." The training year is therefore July 1 to June 30, not your certificate anniversary and not the calendar year; the abusive-head-trauma module is a once-every-five-years item counted inside the nine, not an addition to them. "Pediatric abusive head trauma" is defined by KRS 620.020(8) (922 KAR 2:100 Section 1(13)). Layer three, the statutory floor and its 2026 addition.

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

Background checks

922 KAR 2:100 delegates the whole subject to 922 KAR 2:280, "Background checks for child care staff members, reporting requirements, and appeals" (current text eff. 2-20-2024, technical amendment eff. 3-11-2024). Section 2(2)(c)5. of 922 KAR 2:100 requires background checks completed in accordance with 922 KAR 2:280 as part of the application package, and Section 2(5)(a) extends them to "An adult living in the home of the applicant, present during the hours of operation or having unsupervised contact with a child in care, and the applicant's assistant." 922 KAR 2:280 Section 2 confirms the reach: the rule applies to owners, operators and employees, licensees and directors, "An adult household member of a Type II child-care center, family child-care home, or registered relative child care provider," any employee present while a child is receiving care, any person with supervisory or disciplinary control over a child in care, and any person having unsupervised contact with a child in care. The sequence is fixed. The provider requests photo identification and verifies the photograph matches (Section 4(1)(a)); the prospective staff member completes and signs DCC-500, Applicant Child Care Staff Member Waiver Agreement and Statement, and DCC-501, Disclosures to Be Provided to and Signed by the Applicant Child Care Staff Member (Section 4(1)(b)); the provider logs into the Kentucky National Background Check Program portal and enters demographic information so the cabinet can check the child abuse and neglect central registry under 922 KAR 1:470, the National Sex Offender Public Web site, and the Sex Offender Registry established under KRS 17.500 through 17.580 (Section 4(1)(c)).

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. Decide whether certification is compulsory or elective for you. Under KRS 199.8982(1)(a), a family child-care provider SHALL apply for certification if caring for four (4) to six (6) children unrelated to the provider, and a provider caring for three (3) or fewer children MAY apply at the provider's discretion. Confirm too that your house is your primary residence, because KRS 199.894(5) defines the home as "a private home that is the primary residence of an individual."
2. Check the ceiling against your plan before spending anything. 922 KAR 2:100 Section 10(4) caps you at six unrelated children at any one time plus up to four related children, ten total. If you need seven to twelve including your own children, you are not on this track at all: that is a Type II child-care center licence in your primary residence under 922 KAR 2:090 Section 2(2), with a director qualification under 922 KAR 2:090 Section 10(3).
3. Confirm you meet the personal gates. Be at least eighteen and able to prove it by photo identification or birth certificate (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(a)); hold a high school diploma, GED, documentation from a comparable educational entity, or a Commonwealth Child Care Credential under 922 KAR 2:250 (Section 2(3)); and be free of any cabinet or court finding of child abuse or neglect (KRS 199.8982(1)(a)).
4. Obtain commercial liability insurance of at least $50,000 per occurrence. This is a certification condition, not an optional business protection: 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(b) requires the applicant to obtain it, and it is listed among the things an applicant "shall" do before certification.
5. Get current infant, child and adult CPR and first aid certification from an approved agency (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(4), referencing 922 KAR 2:240). Use a face-to-face course: the cabinet's approved-provider list (CHFS/DCBS Division of Child Care, "Approved First Aid and CPR", rev. 8/21/24) states that online-only training without a demonstration of competency will not satisfy certification requirements, and excludes Red Cross "Provisional" and "Online Only" courses.
6. Obtain written documentation from the local authority showing the child-care home complies with local zoning requirements (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(c)3.). If your zoning office resists, cite KRS 199.8982(4)(c), which requires a local government with KRS Chapter 100 land use regulations to name family child-care homes in its zoning text so the board of adjustments can consider conditional use permit applications in residential zones, and KRS 199.8982(4)(b), which supersedes local ordinances imposing extra certification, licensure or training requirements.
7. Run background checks for yourself, your assistant, and every adult who lives in the home, is present during hours of operation, or has unsupervised contact with children (922 KAR 2:100 Sections 2(2)(c)5. and 2(5)(a); 922 KAR 2:280 Section 2). Sign DCC-500 and DCC-501, submit through the Kentucky National Background Check Program portal, pay the fee (NBCP surcharge not to exceed thirty dollars, 922 KAR 2:280 Section 4(2)(b)), and submit fingerprints within thirty calendar days of payment (Section 4(4)(a)).
8. Collect the health documentation. A physician's statement that your health is satisfactory for operating a family child-care home including that you are free of active tuberculosis (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(c)6.), and for each assistant and adult household member either negative tuberculin results or a health professional's statement of freedom from active tuberculosis (Section 2(5)(b)). The statute separately contemplates a tuberculosis risk assessment with appropriate follow-up within thirty days of application (KRS 199.8982(1)(a)5.).
9. Bring the house into compliance before the inspector arrives. Each floor level used for child care needs an unblocked exit to the outside, a smoke detector including in the kitchen and children's sleeping areas, a properly maintained fire extinguisher including in the kitchen, a carbon monoxide detector if there are fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage (Section 12(2)), and at least one accessible working telephone (Section 12(8)(a)). Provide at least thirty-five square feet of indoor child-care area per child excluding bathroom and storage (Section 12(12)), lock firearms and ammunition in separate locked containers per KRS 527.070(1) (Section 12(5)), cover unused outlets (Section…
10. Write the written evacuation plan required by 922 KAR 2:100 Section 19(7)(a) in accordance with KRS 199.895, covering fire, natural disaster or other threatening situation. The cabinet posts a free optional online template that satisfies KRS 199.895 (Section 19(7)(b)); the inspector reviews the plan at the certification inspection (Section 2(7)(b)).
11. Submit the completed OIG-DRCC-03, Initial Certification Application for Family Child-Care Home, with the ten dollar nonrefundable fee, the zoning documentation, documentation of KRS 199.8982(1)(a)1. through 3. and 5., the background checks and the physician's statement - all within NINETY (90) DAYS of initiating the application process (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(c), and Section 21(1)(a) for the form).
12. Pass the unannounced on-site inspection. Upon receipt of a completed application and the fee, cabinet staff shall review and process the application and "Conduct an unannounced inspection of the home pursuant to KRS 199.8982(1)(b), including review of the evacuation plan in accordance with Section 19(7)" (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(7)). KRS 199.8982(1)(b) states flatly that "The inspection shall be unannounced."
13. Complete six hours of cabinet-approved pre-service orientation training within three months of submitting a complete OIG-DRCC-03, covering the 45 C.F.R. 98.41 federal health and safety topics, recognising and reporting child abuse, and developmentally appropriate practices (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(9)(a); KRS 199.8982(1)(a)6.), and file the written plan for obtaining three hours of training plus 1.5 hours of pediatric abusive head trauma training in the first year (Section 2(9)(b)1.).
14. Post and open. Display the certificate in a prominent place (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(10)(a)1.; KRS 199.8982(1)(c)), post the children's and parents' rights and give each parent a copy (Section 20(4); KRS 199.898(3)), post emergency numbers on each level used for child care (Section 12(8)(b)), make a copy of the certification standards available to each parent (Section 20(2)), give each parent the cabinet's name, address and telephone number for complaints (Section 20(3)), and put a written child care agreement in place with each parent naming everyone authorised to collect the child (Section 20(10)).
15. Diary the recurring obligations from day one: nine hours of cabinet-approved training each July 1 to June 30 (Section 10(1)(a)); monthly documented fire drills and quarterly documented earthquake, tornado, shelter-in-place and lockdown drills (Sections 12(21), 12(22), 19(5)); five-year record retention (Section 19(6)); and renewal on OIG-DRCC-04 with a ten dollar fee and a fresh physician's statement submitted ONE MONTH before the two-year certificate expires, since "A certificate that expires shall lapse and shall not be subject to appeal" (Sections 3(1) and 3(2)).

What you must post on your walls

• The family child-care home certificate, displayed in a prominent place, showing the provider's name and address, the maximum number of unrelated children who may be served, the identification number, and the effective and expiration dates - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(10)(a)1. and 2., implementing KRS 199.8982(1)(c) ("shall display the certificate of operation in a prominent place within the residence in which care is provided").
• A replacement certificate indicating the provider is under adverse action, posted in the same prominent place, whenever the certificate is suspended or revoked - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(10)(b)1. and 2.
• The children's and parents' rights, both posted and provided to each parent - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 20(4), implementing KRS 199.898(3) ("shall post these rights in a prominent place and shall provide a copy of these rights to the parent, custodian, or guardian of the child at the time of the child's enrollment"). The rights are enumerated in KRS 199.898(1) and (2).
• A list of emergency telephone numbers - police, fire station, emergency medical care and rescue squad, and poison control center - posted on each level used for child care, or maintained in the contacts of each telephone on that level - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 12(8)(b).
• Each child's food allergies or other allergy care plan, posted prominently where food is served, with the permission of the parent or guardian - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 20(5).
• The proper methods of diapering and hand-washing, available at each diaper changing area - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 14(8).
• The written evacuation plan for fire, natural disaster or other threatening situation, maintained in accordance with KRS 199.895 and reviewed by the cabinet at the certification inspection - 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 19(7)(a) and 2(7)(b); a free optional cabinet template is posted online under Section 19(7)(b).
• A copy of the certification standards, made available to each parent - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 20(2).
• The cabinet's name, address and telephone number for registering a complaint if a parent believes the provider is not meeting the standards, provided to each parent - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 20(3).
• The dated weekly menu, prepared and available to a parent or the cabinet on request and kept on file for thirty calendar days, with substitutions noted on the day the meal is served - 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 15(10) and 15(11).
• The daily planned program of activities, available to a parent or the cabinet on request - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 13(13)(a); and on request the staff-to-child ratios described in Section 10, each statement of deficiency issued during the current certification period, each plan of correction submitted during that period, and the daily schedule including trips outside the home - Section 20(8)(a) through (e).
• Written program information given to parents specifying the rate for child care, the expected frequency of payment, the hours of operation, and the policies on late fees, holidays, vacation, illness and emergency pick up - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 20(1).

Enrollment forms for each child

• OIG-DRCC-03, Initial Certification Application for Family Child-Care Home (edition 11/2023) - the application itself, submitted with the ten dollar nonrefundable fee within ninety days of initiating the application process, and submitted AGAIN with a ten calendar day notice and a new inspection whenever you change location. 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 2(2)(c)1., 2(11)(b), and 21(1)(a).
• OIG-DRCC-04, Certified Family Child-Care Home Renewal Form (edition 11/2023) - submitted one month prior to expiration of the two-year certification, with the ten dollar renewal fee, a fresh physician's statement, and proof of continued compliance with Sections 2, 3 and 10 through 20. 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 3(2)(a) and 21(1)(b).
• OIG-DRCC-05, Certified Family Child-Care Home Request for Appeal (edition 2018) - used to appeal a denial, suspension or revocation, and it must be filed within twenty calendar days of receipt of the notice of adverse action. 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 8(3)(c), 9(1), and 21(1)(c).
• DCC-500, Applicant Child Care Staff Member Waiver Agreement and Statement (edition 01/2022) - completed and signed by the applicant, each assistant, and each adult household member before the background check is initiated through the NBCP portal. 922 KAR 2:280 Sections 4(1)(b)1. and 12(1)(a).
• DCC-501, Disclosures to Be Provided to and Signed by the Applicant Child Care Staff Member (edition 01/2022) - the companion disclosure, signed at the same moment as DCC-500. 922 KAR 2:280 Sections 4(1)(b)2. and 12(1)(b).
• Written documentation from the local authority showing the child-care home is in compliance with local zoning requirements - no form number is assigned; whatever the city or county issues. Submitted with the application under 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(c)3.
• Physician's statement of satisfactory health including freedom from active tuberculosis - required with the initial application (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(c)6.) and again at every two-year renewal in the form of "A physician's statement documenting that the family child-care home provider's health is satisfactory for continued operation" (Section 3(2)(c)).
• Tuberculosis documentation for each assistant and each adult household member: a copy of negative tuberculin results or a health professional's statement documenting freedom from active tuberculosis - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(5)(b), repeated within thirty calendar days for any adult who newly begins residing in the home (Section 2(6)).
• Proof of current infant, child and adult CPR and first aid certification from an approved agency, for the provider (922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(4)) and for each assistant before being left alone with a child (Section 10(6)).
• Certificate of commercial liability insurance of at least $50,000 per occurrence - 922 KAR 2:100 Section 2(2)(b).
• Proof of age and identity (photo identification or birth certificate) and proof of education (high school diploma, GED, comparable-entity documentation, or Commonwealth Child Care Credential under 922 KAR 2:250) - 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 2(2)(a) and 2(3).
• Written corrective action plan - not a numbered form but a mandatory written submission within fifteen calendar days of receiving a statement of deficiency, containing the specific action taken, the completion date, the action assuring ongoing compliance, supplemental documentation, and the provider's signature and date. 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 4(2) and 4(3)(a) through (e); no more than three plans will be reviewed for the same statement of deficiency (Section 4(8)).
• Written child care agreement with each parent, including the name of each person designated by the parent to pick up the child, plus the parent-completed written record for each child on file from the first day of attendance and a current immunization certificate within thirty days of enrollment - 922 KAR 2:100 Sections 20(10), 19(1)(b) and 19(1)(a).
• OIG-DRCC-01, Initial Child-Care Center License Application - not a certified-home form, but the one you file instead if you move up to seven to twelve children in your primary residence as a Type II child-care center. 922 KAR 2:090 Sections 4(1) and 2(2).

What's specific about getting licensed in Kentucky

Kentucky's defining trap is the word on the door: home providers are CERTIFIED, not licensed, and certification hard-caps you at six unrelated children (ten total counting your own/related kids) with no 'large family home' tier to grow into. Unlike California's small/large ladder, there is nowhere to expand within a home — the moment you want a seventh unrelated child you are no longer eligible for certification and must open a licensed child-care CENTER under an entirely different, far heavier rule set, typically requiring a commercial-grade facility, fire-marshal sign-off, and center staffing standards. Many aspiring providers build a business plan around eight to ten paying children and only discover late that the home track legally tops out at six unrelated. A second Kentucky-specific quirk: the state does not hand you a center-style ratio table for homes; compliance is driven by the capacity cap plus assistant-required thresholds (more than four infants, or more than six children under six). A third, easily-missed point: as of the current (11/2023) forms, certified family child-care homes are administered by the Cabinet's Office of Inspector General, Division of Regulated Child Care (OIG/DRCC) — older guidance still points to DCBS's Division of Child Care.

How long it takes and what it costs in Kentucky

Timeline: Realistically 2-4 months from starting the preservice orientation to holding a certificate: about a week for the 6-hour orientation and CPR/first-aid course, 2-6 weeks for fingerprint-based KSP/FBI checks and registry clearances to return for you and all adult household members, plus time to prepare the home and schedule and pass the on-site certification inspection. Delays cluster around background-check turnaround and inspection scheduling.

Cost: Kentucky generally does not charge a fee for family child-care home CERTIFICATION itself (unlike a center license) — confirm current fee status with the administering division (OIG/DRCC). Out-of-pocket costs are mainly the fingerprint-based background checks (roughly $30-$50 per adult, and every adult household member must be checked), a TB test, and CPR/first-aid certification (roughly $60-$100). Exact background-check and course fees vary — confirm with the Cabinet / Kentucky State Police.

Source: Sources officielles consultées pour Kentucky :

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/100/

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/100/14846/

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57467

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50014

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=7243

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0068.pdf

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0146.pdf

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/280/

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