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Home Daycare License Requirements in North Carolina (2026)

Opening a home daycare in North Carolina means getting a family child care home license from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. 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 North Carolina

The definition of a family child care home in North Carolina now has three moving parts that must be read together, and the statutory version was amended in July 2025 in a way the administrative rule has not yet absorbed. Start with the statute, because it is the newer text. G.S. 110-86(3) defines "Child care facility" as including "child care centers, family child care homes, and any other child care arrangement not excluded by G.S. 110-86(2), that provides child care, regardless of the time of day, wherever operated, and whether or not operated for profit," and then splits the genus into two species. Subdivision a: "A child care center is an arrangement where, at any one time, there are three or more preschool-age children or nine or more school-age children receiving child care." Subdivision b, as it reads today: "A family child care home is a child care arrangement located in an operator occupied private dwelling where, at any one time, more than two children, but less than 11 children, receive child care, provided the arrangement is in accordance with G.S. 110-91(7)b." Session Law 2025-36, s. 18(a) made two changes to that sentence: it struck "a residence" and substituted "an operator occupied private dwelling," and it appended the proviso tying the definition to the capacity rule at G.S. 110-91(7)b.

The credit line at the foot of G.S. 110-86 records the amendment: "... 2023-134, s. 9D.10(a); 2023-137, s. 33; 2024-34, s. 2; 2025-36, ss. 2, 18(a)." Both changes matter. "Operator occupied private dwelling" writes the residency condition into the definition itself rather than leaving it to rule, and it swaps a vague word ("residence") for a Building Code term of art ("dwelling"), which is precisely the vocabulary Part III of the same act then uses to give family child care homes an occupancy classification. The proviso — "provided the arrangement is in accordance with G.S. 110-91(7)b" — means that an arrangement in an operator-occupied dwelling serving, say, six children of whom six are under two years old is not merely over-capacity; it is arguably not a "family child care home" at all, because it is not in accordance with (7)b, and therefore falls to be treated as a child care center under subdivision a (three or more preschool-age children). That is a harsher structure than the ordinary "you exceeded your licensed number" framing, and it is new as of 1 July 2025. The administrative rule has not caught up. 10A NCAC 09 .0102(22) — in a Rule the Commission amended effective July 1, 2025, the same month the statute changed — reads: "'Family Child Care Home', as defined by G.S. 110-86(3)(b) means a child care arrangement located in a residence where, at any one time, more than two children, but less than 11 children, receive child care.

Family child care home operators must reside at the location of the family child care home." The rule purports to quote the statute and quotes the superseded version: "located in a residence," with no reference to the (7)b proviso. Substantively the rule reaches the same place — it adds the residency requirement by its own second sentence — but anyone reading only the rule will not know that the definition is now welded to the capacity provision. Now the underlying question the definition answers: when is a home doing something that requires a licence at all? That is G.S. 110-86(2), which defines "Child care" as "[a] program or arrangement where three or more children less than 13 years old, who do not reside where the care is provided, receive care on a regular basis of at least once per week for more than four hours but less than 24 hours per day from persons other than their guardians or full-time custodians, or from persons not related to them by birth, marriage, or adoption." Four conditions, all of which must be present: three or more children; under thirteen; not living where the care is given; regularly, at least weekly; more than four hours but less than twenty-four per day; and by someone who is not the guardian, full-time custodian or a relative by birth, marriage or adoption.

DCDEE restates the test verbatim on its Getting a License page, and its parent-facing Summary of the Law reduces it to a checklist and adds the operative sentence: "It is only when all of these conditions exist that regulation is required." The exclusions in G.S. 110-86(2) are lettered a through k and are worth listing, because several of them are the answer to "do I need a licence?" for a person who is in fact minding other people's children. Paragraph a excludes "[a]rrangements operated in the home of any child receiving care if all of the children in care are related to each other and no more than two additional children are in care" — note the relatedness runs between the children, not between the children and the caregiver, and note the arrangement must be in the home of a child receiving care. Paragraph b excludes recreational programs operated for less than four consecutive months in a year. Paragraph c excludes specialised activities or instruction such as athletics, dance, art, music lessons, horseback riding, gymnastics, or organised clubs such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H groups and boys and girls clubs.

Paragraph d excludes drop-in or short-term care while parents participate in non-employment activities and are "on the premises or otherwise easily accessible, such as drop-in or short-term care provided in health spas, bowling alleys, shopping malls, resort hotels, or churches." Paragraph d1 excludes employer-provided drop-in care for part-time employees where the child is cared for not more than two and one-half hours that day, the parents are on the premises, and no group in any one room exceeds twenty-five children. Paragraph e excludes public schools; paragraph f excludes certain accredited nonpublic schools; paragraph g excludes vacation Bible schools; paragraph h excludes facilities licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C; paragraph i excludes "[c]ooperative arrangements among parents to provide care for their own children as a convenience rather than for employment," expressly including home-school academic cooperatives; paragraph j excludes an arrangement "consisting of two or more separate components, each of which operates for four hours or less per day with different children attending each component"; and paragraph k excludes track-out programs for school-age children out of school on a year-round calendar.

Two of these — the drop-in exclusions at d and d1 — carry an affirmative registration and notice duty of their own under G.S. 110-99(b), which requires such a person (churches excepted) to "register with the Department that the person is providing only drop-in or short-term child care" and to "display in a prominent place at all times a notice that the child care arrangement is not required to be licensed and regulated by the Department and is not licensed and regulated by the Department." The residency condition is the feature that most distinguishes North Carolina's home licence from, say, California's. The operator must live there: 10A NCAC 09 .0102(22) says "[f]amily child care home operators must reside at the location of the family child care home," and G.S. 110-86(3)b now says the same by defining the setting as an "operator occupied private dwelling." Two further statutory sentences push in the same direction. G.S. 110-91(8)e ends with "Any operator of a licensed family child care home shall be the person on-site providing child care" — the licensee is not an absentee owner who employs a caregiver; the licensee is the caregiver.

And G.S. 110-90.2(a)(2)c sweeps in "[a] member of the household in a family child care home, nonlicensed child care home, or child care center in a residence and who is over 15 years old, including family members and nonfamily members who use the home on a permanent or temporary basis as their place of residence" as a "child care provider" for background-check purposes, which only makes sense in a scheme that assumes the business shares a roof with a household. Because the licence attaches to a dwelling and to a person, the rules make it exceptionally immobile and non-transferable. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(a) opens: "Any person who plans to operate a family child care home (FCCH) shall apply for a license using a form provided by the Division. Only one licensed family child care home shall operate at the location address of any home." Rule .1702(f): "The family child care home license shall be valid only for the location address listed on it." Rule .1702(e): "When a family child care home operator wants to change ownership of the program, the prospective new operator shall apply for a new license in accordance with Paragraph (a) of this Rule, at least 30 days before the change occurs.

The family child care home license shall not be bought, sold, or transferred from one individual to another." Rule .1702(d): "A family child care home operator shall notify the Division no later than 30 calendar days prior to relocation of a family child care home. The operator must apply for a license for the new physical location as described in Paragraph (a) of this Rule. An operator requesting relocation of the family child care home shall not operate until he or she has received a license from the Division for the new location." Rule .1702(g) requires the licence to be returned to the Division "in the event of termination, revocation, suspension, or summary suspension." And Rule .1702(h) lists six changes that require written notice and the issuance of a NEW licence after verification: decreasing capacity, increasing capacity, changes to shifts of care, a change to the age range, removal of a restriction from the licence, and a change to the operator's legal name. Above the home sits a category that catches people out: "Centers Located In a Residence." 10A NCAC 09 .0102(8) defines that as "a child care center located in a residence where, at any one time, more than two children, but less that 15 children, receive child care" (the typographical "less that" is in the code).

So a residence serving eleven to fourteen children is not an over-large family child care home; it is a centre-in-a-residence, licensed under the centre rules, with centre ratios, centre building requirements and a centre-scale fee. The distinction is drawn again in .0102(9), which defines "Child Care Center" as "an arrangement where, at any one time, there are three or more preschool-age children or nine or more school-age children receiving child care," and then carves out: "This does not include arrangements described in Item (22) of this Rule regarding Family Child Care Homes." Two definitional details from .0102 recur throughout the rules and are worth fixing now. A "Preschooler" or "preschool-age child" means "any child who is at least three years of age and does not fit the definition of school-age child in this Rule" (.0102(43)) — but the capacity statute at G.S. 110-91(7)b does not use that word; it uses explicit age bands ("birth to 5 years of age," "birth to 24 months," "2 to 5 years"), which is why the statute rather than the rule governs any question about who counts as what.

And "Infant" means "any child from birth through 12 months of age" (.0102(28)) — the trigger for ITS-SIDS training, the safe sleep policy and the fifteen-minute visual check. Finally, one exclusion added in July 2025 that did not exist before and that a reader in a military county needs to know. Session Law 2025-36, s. 14 created G.S. 110-106.3, "Exemption for certain Department of Defense family child care homes from child care licensure requirements." Subsection (a): "The provisions of this Article shall not apply to a family child care home operating in this State and located outside of the boundaries of a military installation if the family child care home has a certificate issued by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) or the United States Coast Guard to provide child care and has completed background screening by the DOD pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 20351 and 32 C.F.R. Part 86 and received a favorable suitability and fitness determination. This exemption applies to DOD family child care home operators providing child care exclusively to children eligible for care under the DOD Instruction 6060.02." Such a home registers with DCDEE through the installation's family-child-care oversight official rather than applying for a licence, is "exempt from all other requirements of this Article and shall not be subject to licensure" (subsection (d)), and forfeits any future eligibility for a State licence if its DOD certification is suspended or terminated for health, safety or licensing noncompliance, or if abuse, neglect or endangerment is substantiated (subsection (e)). This is a genuine third status alongside "licensed" and "exempt," and it is six weeks older than the entry it replaces in most secondary write-ups of this State.

How many children you can care for in North Carolina

The ceiling is ten children, but "ten" is only reachable in one of three fixed configurations, and the configurations are statutory, not regulatory. They live at G.S. 110-91(7)b, and the text — read on the General Assembly's own published section, which carries the amendment credits "2025-36, ss. 5(a), 6, 7(a), 18(b); 2025-37, s. 6.1(i)" — is this: "b. Family Child Care Home Capacity. - A family child care home is allowed to provide care for one of the following groups of children, including the operator's own preschool-age children and excluding the operator's own school-age children up to 13 years of age: 1. A maximum of eight children, with no more than five children who are from birth to 5 years of age, plus three school-age children. 2. A maximum of three children from birth to 24 months of age, plus three children from 2 to 5 years of age and three school-age children up to 13 years of age, for a total of nine children. 3. A maximum of 10 children if all children are older than 24 months of age." Four things about that provision decide almost every real capacity question. First, "one of the following groups" is exclusive.

These are not cumulative allowances and they are not a menu you can blend. An operator whose licence is written to option 1 may serve eight — five of them birth-to-five and three school-age. An operator on option 2 may serve nine, but only in the 3/3/3 shape: no more than three under twenty-four months, no more than three aged two to five, no more than three school-age. An operator on option 3 may serve ten, but only if every child in care is older than twenty-four months. You cannot take option 3's ten and put a one-year-old in it; the moment a child under twenty-four months is present, option 3 is unavailable and the arrangement must fit option 1 or option 2. Nor can you take option 1's "five children birth to 5" and add option 3's tenth child. Second, the operator's own children are counted asymmetrically, and this is the single most common miscalculation. The preamble says the groups are counted "including the operator's own preschool-age children and excluding the operator's own school-age children up to 13 years of age." So your own two-year-old occupies one of the five birth-to-five slots in option 1, one of the three aged-two-to-five slots in option 2, and one of the ten in option 3. Your own eight-year-old occupies nothing.

The same asymmetry is written into the general standards preamble of G.S. 110-91, which says: "None of the standards in this section apply to the school-age children of the operator of a child care facility but do apply to the preschool-age children of the operator." It is also written into the records rule: 10A NCAC 09 .1721(a) requires the operator to maintain the full health record set "for each enrolled child, including his or her own child(ren) who are not school-age," and .1721(e)(6) requires "daily attendance records for all children in care, including the operator's own preschool children." Your own preschool-aged child needs a health assessment on file, an immunisation record, and an entry in the attendance log with arrival and departure times. Your own school-age child does not. Third, "all children younger than 13 years old shall be counted" for staff-child ratio purposes — that is the opening sentence of G.S. 110-91(7) — and G.S. 110-86(2) fixes the licensing threshold at "children less than 13 years old." Children thirteen and over are outside the scheme but may still be present: the G.S. 110-91 preamble provides that "[c]hildren 13 years of age or older may receive child care on a voluntary basis provided all applicable required standards are met."

Fourth, and practically the most important: capacity is a number written on your licence, not a ceiling you may drift up to. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(h) requires written notice to the Division and the issuance of a new licence for "(1) decreasing the capacity of the family child care home; (2) increasing the capacity of the family child care home; (3) changes to shifts of care; (4) requests to change the age range of the family child care home." The Division's own notice on the point is blunt: "Caution: A change in capacity requires a new permit be issued." Enrolling the ninth or tenth child before the new permit issues is a licensed-capacity violation, and 10A NCAC 09 .2214(2)(a)(i) puts "Licensed capacity" at the top of the list of violations carrying "[a] civil penalty in an amount up to two hundred dollars ($200.00)." Now the layers that can hold you below the statutory number. Building and fire code. Until 1 July 2025 this was a genuine unknown — DCDEE told operators in terms that "the Division is working with the Department of Insurance to determine if an increase in capacity will affect the residential occupancy group for a FCCH which may require additional code requirements be met.

Additional information is forthcoming." Session Law 2025-36, Part III answered it, and answered it in the deregulatory direction. Sections 15, 16 and 17 of that act each address one class of dwelling — one subject to the North Carolina Residential Code (s. 15), one subject to the North Carolina Building Code (s. 16), and one subject to the State of North Carolina Regulations for Manufactured Homes (s. 17) — and each says the same operative thing. Taking section 15(c) as the pattern: "Notwithstanding Section 310, Residential Group R, of the North Carolina Building Code, and Section 203.10, Residential Group R, of the North Carolina Fire Code, a family child care home located within a dwelling subject to the North Carolina Residential Code shall be treated as a Residential Group R-3 occupancy. The building where the family child care home is located shall be permitted to comply with the North Carolina Residential Code, provided that a family child care home must meet only the following additional requirements: (1) Rooms and areas within a family child care home where occupants receive care shall be on the same level of exit discharge. (2) Rooms and areas within a family child care home where occupants receive care shall be located on the same level with, and within a maximum of 40 feet travel distance to, at least one 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher. (3) A family child care home shall have and maintain a Fire Safety, Evacuation, and Lockdown Plan compliant with Section 404 of the North Carolina Fire Code. (4) A family child care home shall have carbon monoxide alarm and detection systems compliant with Section R315 of the North Carolina Residential Code. (5) A family child care home shall have smoke alarms compliant with Section R314 of the North Carolina Residential Code."

Section 16(c) is identical except that in a Building-Code dwelling the carbon monoxide provision is "Section 915 of the North Carolina Building Code" and the smoke alarm provision is "Section R907 of the North Carolina Building Code." Section 17(c) applies the Residential-Code versions (R315 and R314) to manufactured homes. Read the operative words: "must meet ONLY the following additional requirements," and "Notwithstanding Section 310 ... and Section 203.10." This is a cap on what code officials may demand of a family child care home, not a new licensing hurdle imposed by DCDEE. Each of the three sections is addressed, by its subsection (b), to "the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Councils, and State and local governments enforcing the Code," and each carries a sunset at subsection (f): "This section expires when permanent rules adopted as required by subsections (d) and (e) of this section become effective" — those being rules the Residential Code Council and Building Code Council are directed to adopt "to create a family child care home occupancy classification," rules that must be "substantively identical to the provisions of subsection (c)."

No such adopted rule was located on the date of this entry, so on that date the statutory regime appears still to be the operative one; see `verify_flag`. DCDEE reads these sections as licensure preconditions, and it is worth quoting its reading because the practical process follows it even where the framing is loose. The Division's "Important updates for family child care homes!" notice says: "Session Law 2025-36 outlines the specific requirements a family child care home must meet prior to the issuance of a new license and/or an increase in capacity. In consultation with our partners at the Office of State Fire Marshal, DCDEE has learned the following: This change applies to new family child care homes and any existing family child care home that makes a change to their license (increase capacity, change of location, etc.). This change in statute is not retroactive and will sunset once new rules are adopted by the Residential and Building Code Councils. Local ordinances and HOA requirements are still applicable, however there are no R4 occupancy requirements for any of the capacity options."

It then walks the five items, notes that "[c]urrently child care rule .1707(4) only requires one fire extinguisher for every 2500 square feet of floor area" while the statute wants one within forty feet travel distance of every room used by children, and tells operators to "submit a request for an increase in capacity in writing to your licensing consultant. They will schedule a visit and once compliance is verified, they will issue a new permit." Two cautions about that notice. It asserts that operators "currently meet the requirements outlined in items one and three, in accordance with child care rules .1701(1) and .1714" — Rule .1701 has been repealed since October 1, 2017, and the ground-level requirement it means is 10A NCAC 09 .1707(1). And the statute's own words ("must meet only") point the other way from a page that presents the list as an added burden: the five items are the ceiling of what a code official may require of an R-3-treated family child care home, and the accompanying benefit is that a capacity increase no longer risks reclassification into a stricter occupancy group.

Zoning and private covenants. G.S. 110-91's opening sentence subjects every facility to "all State laws and federal laws and local ordinances that pertain to child health, safety, and welfare," and 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(8) requires the applicant to file "copies of any inspections required by local ordinances." DCDEE's capacity notice tells operators wanting an increase to "provide a written request to their consultant with verification there are no local zoning ordinances or homeowner association bylaws/covenants that prohibit the increase," and the Division's Family Child Care Home Handbook states flatly that "[t]he Division follows the local zoning ordinance when determining a FCCH's licensed capacity." That handbook is badly out of date in other respects (see `max_group_size` and `verify_flag`), but the zoning point is consistent with the current application packet, which asks the applicant to "[s]ubmit copies of documentation that you meet any city, county or local ordinance requirements, if applicable, including zoning approval/privilege license." That zoning layer changed in July 2026, six weeks before this entry was verified, and it changed in the operator's favour — partly.

Session Law 2026-51 (House Bill 372), "AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT CITIES SHALL NOT PROHIBIT CERTAIN HOME-BASED BUSINESSES WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS," ratified 1 July 2026 and approved 7 July 2026, added G.S. 160A-205.8. Its subsection (a) provides that "[a] city shall not adopt an ordinance or other regulation prohibiting no-impact home-based businesses within its jurisdictional limits or require a person to apply, register, or obtain any permit, license, variance, or other type of approval to operate a no-impact home-based business within its jurisdictional limit," subject to "reasonable regulations ... narrowly tailored" to public health and safety and to ensuring the activity "[i]s compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential use" and "[i]s secondary to the use of the property as a residential dwelling." Subsection (b) forbids a city to require, as a condition of operating, that the owner "[s]ubmit a petition for rezoning the property for commercial use" or "[i]nstall or equip fire sprinklers in any building or structure subject to the North Carolina Residential Code."

But the definition at subsection (d)(3) is narrow and fact-bound: a "no-impact home-based business" is one where "[t]he total number of on-site employees and clients do not exceed the city's occupancy limit for the residential property" and the activities "[d]o not generate on-street parking or a substantial increase in traffic through the residential area," "[o]ccur inside or in the yard of the residential dwelling," "[a]re not visible from the street," and do not store materials outside the premises. And subsection (c) expressly preserves private restrictions: the section "shall not apply if the operation of a no-impact home-based business is prohibited by the terms of: (1) Any deed, covenant, or agreement restricting the use of the land. (2) Any master deed, bylaws, or other documents applicable to a homeowners association." Two consequences for a prospective operator. The statute is addressed to CITIES under Chapter 160A; it does not on its face bind counties. And an HOA covenant still ends the discussion — which is exactly what DCDEE has been telling operators all along. One last capacity-adjacent rule, easily missed because it lives in the star-rating Section rather than in .1700. If an operator on capacity option 1 wants a five-star rated licence through the Classroom and Instructional Quality Pathway, 10A NCAC 09 .3206(e)(1) provides: "If the family child care home is meeting license capacity requirements in G.S. 110-91(7)(b)(1), no more than four children shall be under the age of twenty-four months of the children who are birth to five years of age.

This requirement shall not reduce the licensed capacity of the family child care home." That is a quality condition on a voluntary rating, not a capacity reduction, and its final sentence says so. The equivalent Program Assessment Pathway rule for homes, .3204, contains no such infant sub-limit at any star level.

Adult-to-child ratios

North Carolina does not publish a staff-to-child ratio grid for family child care homes, and the absence is deliberate rather than an oversight. G.S. 110-91(7) is headed "Staff-Child Ratio and Capacity for Child Care Facilities" and then splits: subdivision a directs the Commission to "adopt rules for child care centers regarding staff-child ratios, group sizes and multi-age groupings" and sets statutory floors for infants and toddlers in centres ("0 to 12 months 1/5, group size 15; 12 to 24 months 1/6, group size 18; 2 to 3 years 1/10, group size 20"), while subdivision b is headed "Family Child Care Home Capacity" and contains no ratio at all — only the three age-banded configurations of eight, nine and ten children. The design assumption is that a family child care home is a one-adult programme in which the licensee is the caregiver, so the age-band capacity IS the ratio. G.S. 110-91(8)e states the assumption explicitly: "Any operator of a licensed family child care home shall be the person on-site providing child care." Two consequences follow that are frequently got wrong. The centre ratio grid in G.S. 110-91(7)a — including the special small-centre grid at (7)a2 for a "licensed capacity of six through 12 children" ("0 to 12 months 1/5 preschool children plus 3 additional school-aged children; 12 to 24 months 1/6 preschool children plus 2 additional school-aged children") — is written for centres, including centres located in a residence, not for family child care homes.

And the ratio rules in Chapter 09 that a search will surface — 10A NCAC 09 .0713 (STAFF/CHILD RATIOS FOR CENTERS) and .1004 (transportation ratios) — are likewise centre rules. Rule .0712, "STAFF/CHILD RATIOS FOR CENTERS WITH A LICENSED CAPACITY OF LESS THAN 30 CHILDREN," is listed in the current NCAC index as REPEALED and is not a source for anything. The two enhanced-ratio rules in the new star-rating Section, .3208 ("enhanced staff/child ratios for a rated license for child care centers") and .3209 ("reduced, enhanced staff/child ratios for a rated license for child care centers"), are by their titles and terms centre rules; no counterpart exists for homes. Also new in July 2025 and centre-only: G.S. 110-91(7)a1a and a1b, which let a centre operating under voluntary enhanced requirements raise the two-to-three-year-old group size from 18 to 20 at a 1/9 ratio, and let a centre operating under "the highest voluntary enhanced requirements" use 1/4 with a group of 12 for infants, 1/5 with 15 for one-year-olds, and 1/8 with 20 for two-to-three-year-olds. None of that reaches a home.

What replaces a numeric ratio for a home is a behavioural supervision standard, and it is stricter than most States' equivalents because it is written in terms of what the operator must be able to perceive. 10A NCAC 09 .1711(a): "Children shall be adequately supervised at all times in a family child care home. 'Adequate supervision' shall mean that: (1) For pre-school age children, the family child care home operator shall be positioned in the indoor and outdoor environment to maximize his or her ability to hear and see the children at all times and render immediate assistance; (2) For school-age children, the operator shall be positioned in the indoor and outdoor environment to maximize his or her ability to hear or see the children at all times and render immediate assistance; (3) The operator shall interact with the children while moving about the indoor or outdoor area; and (4) For children of all ages: (A) the operator shall know where each child is located and be aware of children's activities at all times; (B) the operator shall provide supervision according to the individual age, needs, and capabilities of each child; (C) all of the conditions in this Paragraph shall apply except when emergencies necessitate that adequate supervision is impossible.

Written documentation of emergencies stating the date, time, and reason shall be maintained and available for review by Division representatives upon request; and (D) for children who are sleeping or napping, the operator shall not be required to visually supervise them, but shall be able to hear and respond without delay to them. Children shall not sleep or nap in a room with a closed door between the children and the operator. The operator shall be on the same level of the home where children are sleeping or napping." The conjunctions are the rule. Preschool-age: hear AND see. School-age: hear OR see. Sleeping children: no visual supervision required, but no closed door between operator and children, and the operator must be on the same level of the home. Rule .1711(b) adds an anti-discrimination proviso: "Nothing contained in this Rule shall be construed to preclude a 'qualified person with a disability,' as defined by G.S. 168A-3(9), or a 'qualified individual,' as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act at 42 U.S.C. 12111(8), from working in a licensed child care facility." A distinct and stricter supervision standard governs water: 10A NCAC 09 .1730(d) provides that for aquatic activities "'Adequate supervision' means that the operator shall be able to hear, see, and respond to the children whether in or out of the water" — hear, see AND respond, all three, and .1730(c) additionally requires that at least one person present hold "a life guard training certificate issued by the Red Cross or other training determined by the Division to be equivalent."

Because the programme is one adult, the rules have to say what happens when that adult is not there, and North Carolina answers with three graduated categories plus a hard budget on the operator's own errands. The budget first, because no other State in this dataset has it in quite this form. 10A NCAC 09 .1712 requires a written plan of care from any operator "who intends to complete routine tasks while children are in care," where "routine tasks includes running errands, meeting personal and family demands, attending classes, and attending medical appointments." Subsection (b): "Operators who complete routine tasks with enrolled children shall limit these tasks to no more than two hours per week." Subsection (c): "Children shall not attend classes or medical appointments, with the family child care home operator." Subsection (d): anything beyond two hours a week, or any class or medical appointment, requires "a qualified additional caregiver or substitute provider who meets the requirements of 10A NCAC 09 .1729." The written plan must specify the times, name the individuals who will care for children during the absences, explain how transportation requirements under .1723 will be met if children are transported, say how parents will be notified when children go off premises for unscheduled routine tasks, and be "provided and explained to parents of children in care on or before the first day the child attends the home," with a parent signature acknowledging receipt and separate written permission for transport.

Amending the plan requires written notice to every parent "at least 30 days before the amended plan is implemented," with fresh signed acknowledgements. Category one, the substitute for a planned absence of five hours or more in a week. 10A NCAC 09 .1729(a) requires that person to: "(1) be 21 years old; (2) have a high school diploma or GED; (3) have completed a First Aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course within 12 months prior to caring for children; (4) have completed a health questionnaire; (5) have proof of negative results of a tuberculosis test or screening completed within 12 months prior to the first day of providing care; (6) have submitted criminal background check forms as required in Rule .2703 of this Chapter; (7) have documentation of annual on-going training as described in Rule .1703(d) of this Section after the first year of employment; (8) have completed ITS-SIDS training, if licensed to care for infants; (9) have completed Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training; and (10) have documentation that the operator has reviewed the requirements found in this Chapter, including the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, and in G.S. Chapter 110, Article 7." The rule then adds a records duty: "While the individual provides care at a family child care home, copies of information required by Subparagraphs (1) through (10) of this Paragraph shall be on file in the home and available for review by the Division."

Category two, under five hours a week. Rule .1729(b): "An individual who provides care for less than five hours in a week during planned absences of the operator shall be literate and meet all requirements listed in Paragraph (a) of this Rule except the requirements for annual training and a high school diploma or GED." Same age, same CPR and First Aid, same TB screening, same background check, same maltreatment training, same file — but literacy substitutes for the diploma and no annual training is required. Category three, unplanned absences. Rule .1729(d): "An individual who provides care during unplanned absences of the operator, such as medical emergencies, shall be 18 years old and submit criminal records check forms as required in Rule .2703(j) of this Chapter. The children of an emergency caregiver shall not be counted in the licensed capacity for the first day of the emergency caregiver's service." (The cross-reference to .2703(j) does not land — .2703(j) is the duty to terminate a disqualified provider; the form-submission requirement is .2703(a). The substance is unambiguous: fingerprint-based background check forms, age eighteen.) The second sentence is a small mercy with a sharp edge: the emergency caregiver's own children are outside the licensed capacity for one day only.

Across all three categories, and for volunteers and uncompensated providers besides, orientation comes first. 10A NCAC 09 .1729(c): "The operator shall conduct 16 hours of orientation with all caregivers, prior to the individual caring for children, including substitute providers, volunteers, and uncompensated providers, who are providing care." The sixteen topics include reporting child maltreatment under G.S. 110-105.4 and G.S. 7B-301; review of the home's operational policies "including the written plan of care, safe sleep policy, the transportation policy, identification of building and premises safety issues, the emergency medical care plan, and the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan"; "adequate supervision of children in accordance with Rule .1711(a) of this Section"; shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma; infectious disease control and immunisation; "firsthand observation of the home's daily operations"; instruction in assigned duties; maintaining a safe and healthy environment; medication administration under .1720(b); the home's purposes and goals; "review of G.S. 110, Article 7 and 10A NCAC 09"; "review of Section .2800 of this Chapter if the operator has a two- through five- star license at the time of employment" (a Section repealed effective June 1, 2026 — read Section .3200 instead); the role of State and local government agencies; the individual's obligation to cooperate during visits and investigations; food and allergic-reaction emergencies; and hazardous materials and biocontaminant handling and disposal.

Operator and caregiver must "sign and date a statement that attests that this review was completed," kept on file in the home. One category counts in ratio while its paperwork is still in flight. 10A NCAC 09 .2703(f): "Provisional child care providers are eligible for employment at a child care facility and are eligible to reside in a family child care home, nonlicensed home, or child care center in a residence and shall be counted in staff/child ratio. Provisional child care providers shall be supervised at all times by an individual who received a qualifying result on a criminal background check within the past five years and may not be left alone with children." In a one-adult home that supervision requirement is a real constraint: a provisional caregiver cannot cover the operator's absence, because there would be nobody present to supervise them.

Training you must complete before licensure

North Carolina's pre-service package for a family child care home operator has four layers: a statutory age-and-education floor, a mandatory Division workshop, a documentary bundle that must accompany the application, and a set of trainings the rules formally date from licensure but which are pre-service in substance because the clock starts running the day the licence issues. Layer one, the statutory floor. G.S. 110-91(8)e: "Effective January 1, 1998, an operator of a licensed family child care home shall be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Operators of a family child care home licensed prior to January 1, 1998, shall be at least 18 years of age and literate. Literate is defined as understanding licensing requirements and having the ability to communicate with the family and relevant emergency personnel. Any operator of a licensed family child care home shall be the person on-site providing child care." Two corrections to the way this requirement is usually cited. It is subdivision (8)e, not (8) generally — subdivisions a through d and f are about centres.

And it is NOT supported by G.S. 110-91(8a): the current statute prints "(8a) Expired pursuant to Session Laws 2010-178, s. 2, as amended by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 10.4A, effective July 1, 2011." Any source citing "G.S. 110-91(8), (8a)" for the twenty-one-and-diploma rule — including DCDEE's own Family Child Care Home Handbook — is citing a subdivision that has been expired for fifteen years. The eighteen-and-literate grandfather clause survives only for homes licensed before 1 January 1998. A related and widely repeated requirement does not appear in current law at all. The Handbook states, under "Age and Education" and expressly attributed to statute, that "Licensed FCCH providers in operation as of October 1, 2010 must have your education certified by the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals by July 1, 2012" and that "Licensed FCCH providers that began operating after October 1, 2010 must have your education certified within 60 days of licensing," adding "By law, you must have your level of education certified by the Institute for Child Development Professionals (Institute) even if you do not have any formal education beyond high school."

No rule in 10A NCAC Chapter 09 as published today imposes that duty on a family child care home operator. The Institute appears in the Chapter only twice: at 10A NCAC 09 .0102(35), which defines "North Carolina Early Educator Certification" and then describes the process as optional — "Information on the voluntary certification process can be found on the North Carolina Institute for Child Development Professionals website at https://ncicdp.org/certification-licensure/eec-overview/" — and at .1703(g), which requires a technical assistance provider to be "endorsed by the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals" if their hours are to count toward annual training. Institute certification is relevant if you are pursuing a rated licence (education standards under 10A NCAC 09 .3217 are assessed against verified coursework and credentials) but the sixty-day mandatory-certification rule stated in the Handbook is not traceable to any rule in force; see `verify_flag`. Layer two, the pre-licensing workshop, which is a hard gate. 10A NCAC 09 .1708(a): "The prospective operator of the family child care home shall complete the pre-licensing workshop provided by the Division prior to the Division issuing an initial license.

The Division shall provide workshops for new family child care home applicants. Prospective licensees shall download, complete, and submit the pre-licensing registration form to the Division. The pre-licensing registration form contains demographic information and workshop location preferences." Rule .1708(b) sets the order of operations: "After completing the pre-licensing workshop, the prospective family child care home operator shall submit an application for a family child care home license and all supporting documentation as specified in 10A NCAC 09 .1702." The Division's application packet enforces the same order in step 1: "The enclosed application packet should only be completed and submitted, after successful completion of the Family Child Care Home (FCCH) Pre-Licensing Workshop. If you have not completed the workshop, please review the 'FCCH Process for Licensure' document for next steps." The packet's checklist adds a document the rule does not name: "A copy of the Pre-Licensing Workshop training certificate with completion date." The application profile page also asks "Did you attend a Prelicensing Workshop? Yes / No," with the workshop date, city and county, and if no, a reason from a closed list ("Pending Current Owner / DPI / Location Change").

One caution: the URL the rule gives for the registration form — http://ncchildcare.nc.gov/pdf_forms/prelicworkshop.pdf — returned HTTP 404 when tested on the date of this entry. Layer three, the documentary bundle. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b) is the operative list: "The applicant for a family child care home license shall also submit supporting documentation with the application for a license to the Division. The supporting documentation shall include: (1) a copy of a non-expired qualification letter in accordance with 10A NCAC 09 .2702; (2) a copy of documentation of completion of a First Aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course within 12 months prior to applying for a license; (3) a copy of documentation of completion of ITS-SIDS training within 12 months prior to applying for a license, if requesting a license to care for infants ages 12 months and younger; (4) proof of negative results of the applicant's tuberculosis test or screening completed within the past 12 months; (5) a completed health questionnaire ... and includes a statement signed by the staff member that indicates that the person is emotionally and physically fit to care for children; (6) a copy of non-expired pet vaccinations for any pet in the home; (7) if a home has a private well, a negative well water bacteriological analysis; (8) copies of any inspections required by local ordinances; and (9) any other documentation required by the Division according to the rules in this Section to support the issuance of a license."

Note the twelve-month windows in (2) and (3): First Aid, CPR and ITS-SIDS must have been completed within the twelve months BEFORE you apply, not merely be unexpired. ITS-SIDS is defined at 10A NCAC 09 .0102(30) as "the Infant/Toddler Safe Sleep and SIDS Risk Reduction Training developed by the NC Healthy Start Foundation and administered by the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center for the Division of Child Development and Early Education for caregivers of children ages 12 months and younger," and it is required only if the licence will cover infants twelve months and younger — which is also the trigger for the written safe sleep policy under .1724(a). The Division's current application packet (revised 11/2025) demands more than .1702(b) does, and the extra items are the ones that actually delay applications. Its checklist, headed "In addition to submitting your Application - Facility Profile the following items must be submitted," lists: a non-expired criminal background check qualification letter, which "[a]lso includes household members aged 16 years and older"; negative TB test or screening results within the past year; "[a] copy of the results for lead testing for water"; "[a] copy of the results for lead base paint/asbestos hazard testing"; the pre-licensing workshop certificate; a negative well water bacteriological analysis if on a private well; First Aid and CPR certificate or card "with completion date/expiration date"; the ITS-SIDS certificate if caring for children twelve months and younger; a completed health questionnaire; up-to-date pet vaccinations; and "copies of documentation that you meet any city, county or local ordinance requirements, if applicable, including zoning approval/privilege license."

Two of those extras have a rule behind them that is easy to miss because it sits in the sanitation rule rather than the application rule. 10A NCAC 09 .1725(a)(2), added by the amendment effective January 1, 2024 under the authority of S.L. 2021-180 and 45 CFR 98.41, requires the operator to "collect and submit samples of water from each water outlet used for drinking or food preparation for lead analysis to the local health department or a laboratory certified to analyze for lead in drinking water by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health. Results of the analysis shall be on file in the home. For operators that submit an application for licensure after the effective date of this Rule, water samples shall be collected by the operator and tested during the application process." So lead-in-water testing is a genuine pre-licensure requirement for every new home, whether on a well or on a public supply — it is outlet-based, not source-based.

The lead-paint and asbestos item traces to 10A NCAC 09 .1707(2), which requires that "all family child care homes must be free of lead poisoning hazards as defined in G.S. 130A-131.7(7) and asbestos hazards"; "Asbestos hazard" is defined at .0102(5) as "a condition that results in an exposure to asbestos is excess of the standards set forth in 10A NCAC 41C .0607(a) or a category of asbestos containing material defined at 40 C.F.R. 763.88(b)(1)-(6)." Separately, the well-water analysis is not a one-off. 10A NCAC 09 .1725(a)(1) requires the operator to "collect and submit samples of water from each well used for the children's water supply for bacteriological analysis to the local health department or a laboratory certified to analyze drinking water for public water supplies by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health every two years. Results of the analysis shall be on file in the home." Layer four, the trainings dated from licensure. Three of these are pre-service in every practical sense because you will be in your first licensed year while completing them, and a consultant will ask.

Child maltreatment. 10A NCAC 09 .1703(a)(5) requires the operator to "[c]omplete Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of licensure," notes that "[t]his training shall count toward requirements set forth in Paragraph (d) of this Rule," and gives the source: "Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training is available at https://www.preventchildabusenc.org/." Ninety days is the shortest of the post-licensure clocks and the one most often missed. Note also that an additional caregiver under .1729(a)(9) must have completed the same training BEFORE providing care — the ninety-day grace is the operator's alone. Emergency preparedness. 10A NCAC 09 .1714(b): "Existing family child care home operators (operator or operators) shall complete the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care training. Within one year of the effective date of a new license, the operator of a new family child care home shall have completed the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care training. When the trained staff member leaves employment, the family child care home shall ensure that another staff member completes the required training within four months of the vacancy."

The training is defined at .1714(a) as one "developed by the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center for child care operators and providers on creating an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan and practicing, responding to, and recovering from emergencies in child care facilities." Then .1714(c) sets a second, nested deadline: upon completing the training the operator "shall develop the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan ... on a template provided by the Division available at https://rmp.nc.gov/portal/# completed within four months of completion of the Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care training, and available for review." The plan's ten required elements are at .1714(d) and include written procedures for accounting for everyone in attendance and who carries the attendance lists; how and when children will be transported; methods for communicating with parents, emergency personnel and law enforcement; how nutritional and health needs will be met; the relocation and reunification process; emergency telephone numbers; evacuation diagrams "showing how the operator, family members, children and any other individuals who may be present will evacuate"; the date of last revision; "specific considerations for non-mobile children and children with special needs"; and the location of the Ready to Go File.

The Ready to Go File is itself defined in the same subparagraph as "a collection of information on children, additional caregivers and the facility, to utilize, if an evacuation occurs," containing a copy of the plan, pick-up contact information, each child's Application for Child Care, medication authorisations and instructions, action plans for children with special health care needs, a list of known food allergies of children and additional caregivers, additional caregiver contact information, Incident Report forms, an area map and emergency telephone numbers. The plan must be reviewed annually or whenever information changes (.1714(e)), reviewed with additional caregivers before they care for children and annually thereafter (.1714(f)), and its existence and location made known to all substitutes and volunteers with documentation in their personnel files (.1714(g)). Health and safety training. 10A NCAC 09 .1703(b) requires operators and staff to "complete health and safety training within one year of employment, unless the operator or staff member has completed the training within the year prior to beginning employment or within the year prior to receiving a license," and states that it "shall be in addition to the pre-licensing visit and new staff orientation requirements set forth in Rules .1702(d) and .1729(c) of this Section." (The cross-reference to .1702(d) does not land — .1702(d) is now the relocation rule; the pre-licensing visit is .1702(c) and .1709(a)(1) and (b)(1).) Two categories are exempt: "(1) service providers such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists; and (2) substitutes who provide services for less than 10 days in a 12-month period."

The eleven topic areas at .1703(c) are: "(1) Prevention and control of infectious diseases, including immunization; (2) Administration of medication, with standards for parental consent; (3) Prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions; (4) Building and physical premises safety, including identification of and protection from hazards that can cause bodily injury such as electrical hazards, bodies of water, and vehicular traffic; (5) Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster, or a man-caused event; (6) Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of biocontaminants; (7) Precautions in transporting children, if applicable; (8) Prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and child maltreatment; (9) CPR and First Aid training as required in Rule .1102(c) and (d) of this Chapter; (10) Recognizing and reporting child abuse, child neglect, and child maltreatment; and (11) Prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and use of safe sleeping practices." Two further pre-service obligations are written as policies rather than courses but must exist before the first child arrives.

Under .1726(a) an operator "licensed to care for children up to five years of age shall develop and adopt policies to assist staff in preventing shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma," covering recognition and reporting of signs and symptoms, strategies for coping with a crying or distraught child, understanding infant care and the brain development of children up to five, a list of prohibited behaviours ("shaking a child, tossing a child into the air or into a crib, chair, or car seat, and pushing a child into walls, doors, and furniture"), and resources for staff and families; the policy must be given and explained to parents on or before the first day of care with a signed acknowledgement, reviewed with staff before they provide care, and changed only on fourteen days' written notice. Under .1727(a) the operator "shall provide a written copy of and explain the operator's discipline practices to each child's parent at the time of enrollment," obtain a signed and dated parental statement, and give fourteen days' written notice of any change.

Both duties are echoed in statute: G.S. 110-91(10) requires each facility to "have a written policy on discipline, describing the methods and practices used to discipline children," discussed with and given to each parent "prior to the first time the child attends the facility," with any change "communicated in writing to the parents prior to the effective date of the change," and it bans corporal punishment outright except in religious-sponsored facilities that have filed the notice described in the statute. A final note on the health assessment layer, because it changed on a contingent schedule that matured shortly before this entry. G.S. 110-91(1) requires that "[e]ach child shall have a health assessment before being admitted or within 30 days following admission to a child care facility," performed by one of an enumerated list of practitioners. The section is printed in two versions, one "Effective until contingency met or until June 30, 2026" and one "Effective once contingency met or June 30, 2026." Session Law 2025-37, s. 6.1(i) made the amendment and s. 6.3 set its trigger: "Section 6.1 of this act becomes effective when the North Carolina Medical Board adopts the permanent rules required under Section 6.2 of this act or June 30, 2026, whichever occurs first."

That date has passed, so the operative list is now "(i) a licensed physician, (ii) the physician's authorized agent who is currently approved by the North Carolina Medical Board, or comparable certifying board in any state contiguous to North Carolina, (iii) a certified nurse practitioner, (iv) a licensed physician assistant, or (v) a public health nurse meeting the Departments Standards for Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program" — the physician assistant is new. The same statute preserves a religious objection: "no health assessment shall be required of any staff or child who is and has been in normal health when the staff, or the child's parent, guardian, or full-time custodian objects in writing to a health assessment on religious grounds which conform to the teachings and practice of any recognized church or religious denomination." The parallel rules definition, 10A NCAC 09 .0102(25), already included the physician assistant: "'Health care professional' means: (a) a physician licensed in North Carolina (b) a nurse practitioner approved to practice in North Carolina; or (c) a licensed physician assistant."

Ongoing (annual) training

There is no single flat number. North Carolina scales the operator's annual ongoing training inversely to their education and experience, and the table is at 10A NCAC 09 .1703(d)(1). After the first year of employment, the family child care home operator and staff who work with children must complete on-going training as follows: "Four-year degree or higher advanced degree in a child care related field of study from a regionally accredited college or university — 5 clock hours. Two-year degree in a child care related field of study from a regionally accredited college or university, or persons with a North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential — 8 clock hours. Certificate or diploma in a child care related field of study from a regionally accredited college or university, or persons with a North Carolina Early Childhood Credential — 10 clock hours. 10 years documented experience as a teacher, director, or caregiver in a licensed child care arrangement — 15 clock hours. If none of the other criteria in this chart apply — 20 clock hours." Twenty is the number that applies to a new operator holding only the high school diploma or equivalent that G.S. 110-91(8)e requires.

The figure falls as credentials accumulate, and the two named North Carolina credentials do real work here: the North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential (defined at 10A NCAC 09 .0102(34)) drops the requirement to eight, and the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential (defined at .0102(36) as "the state early childhood credential that is based on completion of required early childhood coursework taken at any North Carolina Community College," with substantially equivalent coursework approvable by the Division) drops it to ten. "Regionally accredited" is defined at .1703(e) by listing six accrediting bodies: the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the New England Association of School and Colleges, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Northwest Accreditation Commission, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Part-time staff may prorate instead. Rule .1703(d)(4): "any staff working less than 40 hours per week may choose to complete on-going training requirements as outlined in Paragraph (d)(1) of this Rule or the training requirement may be prorated as follows: 0-10 hours per week, 5 clock hours; 11-20, 10; 21-30, 15; 31-40, 20." Note this is an election, not an automatic reduction, and it is expressed in working hours per week rather than education.

What does NOT count. Rule .1703(d)(3) is explicit: "cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid training shall not be counted toward meeting annual on-going training activities in Subparagraph (d)(1) of this Rule." They are nevertheless separately mandatory and must be kept current: .1703(a)(2) requires the operator to "[r]enew First Aid training on or before expiration of the certification appropriate for the ages of children in care," and .1703(a)(3) the same for CPR. The renewal trigger is the certificate's own expiry, not a fixed interval — which means the widely repeated claim that North Carolina requires "first aid training every three years" (as DCDEE's own May 2006 Summary of the Law for parents still says) is not what the rule says. ITS-SIDS runs on a fixed cycle: .1703(a)(4) requires the operator to "[r]enew ITS-SIDS training every three years from the completion of previous ITS-SIDS training." The health questionnaire is annual: .1703(a)(1) requires the operator to "[u]pdate the health questionnaire annually," and permits the Division to require an evaluation of the operator's emotional and physical fitness "when there is reason to believe that there has been a deterioration," or written proof of freedom from active tuberculosis "when the Division determines that the operator was exposed to a person with active tuberculosis."

What must be cycled through. Rule .1703(d)(2) requires the operator to "complete health and safety training as part of on-going training so that every five years, all the topic areas set forth in Paragraph (c) of this Rule will have been covered" — the eleven health and safety topics, on a rolling five-year cycle, inside whatever annual hour total applies. How the hours may be earned. Rule .1703(h): "A combination of college coursework, Continuing Education Units (CEU's), clock hours, or countable technical assistance shall be used to complete the requirements in Subparagraph (d)(1) of this Rule." Technical assistance converts at a punitive rate and is gated. Rule .1703(f): "For every three hours of countable technical assistance provided, one hour may be counted toward annual training requirements set forth in Subparagraph(d)(1) of this Rule, not to exceed 50 percent of the total required so long as: (1) the family child care home has a 3-5 star rated license; and (2) the participating operator or staff member has earned at least 18 semester hours in early childhood education." "Countable technical assistance" is then defined at .1703(g) as assistance provided "by a person who has been endorsed by the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals as a technical assistance provider" and must include "(1) a cycle of observation; (2) identified goals based on the observation; (3) a timeline for completion of identified goals; (4) evaluation and feedback for each participant; (5) technical assistance time in the family child care home; and (6) one-on-one consultation with each participant at a time when they are not responsible for a child or group of children."

Who may deliver training. Rule .1703(l)(1) exempts from prior Division approval any "training offered by a college or university with nationally recognized regional accreditation, a government agency, or a state, or international professional organization or its affiliates, provided the content complies with G.S. 110-91(11)," while requiring government agencies and state or national professional organisations to file an annual training plan (conferences excepted). Everyone else needs prior approval under .1703(l)(2): submit the Division's on-going training approval forms "15 business days prior to the training event," including trainer name and qualifications, training name, target audience and content; submit a roster of attendees with county of employment and daytime phone within fifteen days after the event; provide evaluations for attendees to complete; and keep rosters and evaluations on file for two years. Rule .1703(l)(3) permits distance learning "from trainers approved by the Division or offered by an accredited post-secondary institution, as listed on the United States Department of Education's Database of Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions and Programs," with a hard exception: "Distance learning shall not be permitted for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid."

The Division approves training on the trainer's education, training and experience relevant to the topic, content compliance with G.S. 110-91(11), and appropriate contact hours (.1703(m)); it denies approval to those who fail those standards or who "intentionally falsify any information submitted to the Division" (.1703(n)), and falsification carries a permanent bar: "Agencies, organizations, or individuals who intentionally falsify any information submitted to the Division pursuant to this Rule shall be permanently ineligible to apply for approval of training" (.1703(o)). Denial or a falsification determination is appealable under G.S. 110-94 and the APA (.1703(p)). The statutory content frame is G.S. 110-91(11), "Staff Development," which directs the Commission to adopt minimum ongoing standards limited to nine topic areas: "a. Planning a safe, healthy learning environment; b. Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development; c. Positive ways to support children's social and emotional development; d. Strategies to establish productive relationships with families; e.

Strategies to manage an effective program operation; f. Maintaining a commitment to professionalism; g. Observing and recording children's behavior; h. Principles of child growth and development; and i. Learning activities that promote inclusion of children with special needs." The same subdivision contains a carry-forward allowance that the rules do not repeat and that operators rarely use: "A person may carry forward in-service training hours that are in excess of the previous year's requirement to meet up to one-half of the current year's required in-service training hours." Two documentation duties attach. Rule .1703(i) requires the operator and staff to "complete a professional development plan within one year of employment and at least thereafter," documenting professional development goals, appropriate to the ages of children in care, listing the continuing education, coursework or training needed, "completed by the operator and staff member in a collaborative manner," and "maintained in their personnel file." Rule .1703(j) requires "a record of training activities in which each staff member participates, including copies of training certificates or official documentation provided by the trainer," and specifies the fields: "the subject matter, topic area in G.S. 110-91(11), training provider, date provided, hours, and name of staff who completed the training," kept "on file and current."

Rule .1703(k) requires a parallel record of countable technical assistance with dates and times, participating staff names and the provider's name. Since 1 July 2025 there is a further annual layer for any home holding a rated licence. 10A NCAC 09 .3221(e) requires that "[t]he operator of a family child care home and any additional caregivers, as set forth in Rule .1729 of this Chapter, shall complete a continuous quality improvement plan that addresses professional goals," updated annually, accompanying the professional development plan, maintained in the operator's personnel file, and containing at least one professional goal with timeframe, resources and steps; documentation of the reason or source of need; documentation of efforts, changes and challenges; a new goal on annual review if the previous one is achieved or changed; and the operator's own account of "how progress toward or completion of a goal has enhanced their knowledge, skills, and abilities."

Homes on the Classroom and Instructional Quality Pathway take on more still: 10A NCAC 09 .3206(c)(7) requires a three-star home to complete annually either "five hours of coaching or mentoring by a center administrator of a licensed child care center with a star-rating of three stars or higher, an operator of another licensed family child care home with a star-rating of three stars or higher, or a community resource partner," or "five on-going training hours," or "0.5 continuing education unit" — in each case "in addition to applicable requirements" of the baseline training rule and of the education standards rule .3217; the four-star and five-star versions at .3206(d)(9) and .3206(e)(10) impose the same choice against higher-rated mentors, and .3206(d)(8) and (e)(9) add curriculum- and formative-assessment-specific training on top. Rule .3217 itself makes annual continuing education an alternative route to the education standard at every star level: 0.5 CEU per year for the two-star Option Four, 1.0 for the three-star Option Three, 1.5 for the four-star Option Four, and 2.5 for the five-star Option Five, each "in addition to applicable requirements in Rule .1703 of this Chapter."

Background checks

North Carolina runs a fingerprint-based State and national criminal history check on every "child care provider," and in a family child care home the statutory definition of that term reaches beyond the people who work there to the people who live there. The statute is G.S. 110-90.2, "Mandatory child care providers' criminal history checks." Subsection (a)(2) defines "child care provider" as a person who: "a. Is employed by or seeks to be employed by a child care facility providing child care as defined in subdivision (1) of this subsection, whether in temporary or permanent capacity, including substitute providers; b. Owns or operates or seeks to own or operate a child care facility or nonlicensed child care home providing child care as defined in subdivision (1) of this subsection; or c. Is a member of the household in a family child care home, nonlicensed child care home, or child care center in a residence and who is over 15 years old, including family members and nonfamily members who use the home on a permanent or temporary basis as their place of residence." Paragraph c is the one that catches families out: your adult son who sleeps at the house between semesters, your partner who has not moved in but "uses the home on a temporary basis as their place of residence," and your own sixteen-year-old all require checks.

The rules add the mechanics: 10A NCAC 09 .2703(q) provides that "[a]ny individual over the age of 15 who resides ... in a child care facility on either a temporary or permanent basis shall comply with the requirements of Paragraph (a) of this Rule within 5 days of either moving into the facility or within 5 days after their 16th birthday," and .2703(r) puts the reporting burden on the licensee: "Operators shall notify the Division of all new child care providers ... who are hired or have moved into the child care facility within five business days." (Rule .2703(q) cross-refers to "10A NCAC 09 .0102(40)" for the meaning of "resides"; .0102(40) defines "Passageway." The definition actually meant is .0102(26), "Household member," which "means a person who resides in a family home as evidenced by factors including maintaining clothing and personal effects at the household address, receiving mail at the household address, using identification with the household address, or eating and sleeping at the household address on a regular basis.") The rules' own roster of covered roles is at 10A NCAC 09 .0102(11): "'Child care provider' as defined by G.S. 110-90.2(a)(2) includes the following employees who have contact with the children in a child care program: (a) facility directors; (b) child care administrative staff; (c) teachers; (d) teachers' aides; (e) substitute providers; (f) uncompensated providers; (g) cooks; (h) maintenance personnel; and (i) drivers."

The timing rule is "before," not "during." 10A NCAC 09 .2703(a): "In addition to the requirements in Rules .0302 and .1702 of this Chapter, a child care provider, as defined in G.S. 110-90.2, shall submit the following to the Division prior to the issuance of a license or prior to beginning employment: (1) any forms required by the State Bureau of Investigation or Federal Bureau of Investigation to process a state and national fingerprint check as required by G.S. 110-90.2; and (2) fingerprint impressions submitted on an FD-258 applicant fingerprint card or other form required by the Division and State Bureau of Investigation; (3) any applicant who has lived outside of North Carolina in the previous five years, shall submit an affidavit attesting that the applicant has requested a background check from: (A) the state criminal registry or repository, with use of fingerprints, (B) the state sex offender registry or repository, and (C) the state-based child abuse and neglect registry and database for each state in which the applicant has lived, at any time and for whatever length of time, within the five years preceding the application."

The rule then names the portal: "All forms referenced in this Paragraph are available through the Automated Background Check Management System (ABCMS) at https://ncabcms.nc.gov/DCDEE/Applicant/." Note the breadth of the out-of-state trigger — "at any time and for whatever length of time" within five years — which means a three-month stay in another State pulls in three separate registry requests for that State. The output document is a qualification letter, and it is the thing that actually authorises presence. 10A NCAC 09 .2702(4) defines "a 'qualification letter' or 'qualifying letter'" as "the letter issued by the Division notifying an individual that he or she is a qualified child care provider," and .2702(1) defines "a 'qualified child care provider'" as "an individual who is fit to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children based on their criminal history and all other requirements in accordance with G.S. 110-90.2." Rule .2701 states the operative permission in one line: "An individual may work or be present in any child care facility during the time the individual holds a valid qualification letter from the Division."

Rule .2703(e) makes the file copy mandatory: "Child care providers, as defined in G.S. 110-90.2(a), shall have a valid qualification letter prior to employment or living in a child care facility and the qualification letter shall be kept on file at the facility for review by representatives of the Division." The letter has a shelf life and a renewal duty. Rule .2703(n): "The qualification letter shall be valid for a maximum of five years from the date of issuance." Rule .2703(o): "Prior to the expiration date of the qualification letter, the child care provider shall complete and submit the forms listed in Paragraph (a) of this Rule." The statute sets the same rhythm at G.S. 110-90.2(b): "The Department shall ensure that, prior to employment and every five years thereafter, the criminal history of all child care providers is checked and a determination is made of the child care provider's fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children based on the criminal history." An incomplete application dies quietly: .2703(s) provides that "[a]ny application for a criminal background check that is not complete ... within 30 days of beginning the application, will expire and be withdrawn by the Division."

What is checked. G.S. 110-90.2(a)(3) defines "[c]riminal history" as "a county, state, or federal criminal history of conviction or pending indictment of a crime or criminal charge, whether a misdemeanor or a felony, that bears upon an individual's fitness to have responsibility for the safety and well-being of children," then lists by Chapter 14 Article: "Article 6, Homicide; Article 7B, Rape and Other Sex Offenses; Article 8, Assaults; Article 10, Kidnapping and Abduction; Article 13, Malicious Injury or Damage by Use of Explosive or Incendiary Device or Material; Article 14, Burglary; Article 16, Larceny; Article 17, Robbery; Article 19, False Pretenses and Cheats; Article 19A, Obtaining Property or Services by False or Fraudulent Use of Credit Device or Other Means; Article 19C, Identity Theft; Article 26, Offenses Against Public Morality and Decency; Article 27, Prostitution; Article 29, Bribery; Article 35, Offenses Against the Public Peace; Article 36A, Riots and Civil Disorders; Article 39, Protection of Minors; Article 40, Protection of the Family; Article 52, Miscellaneous Police Regulations; and Article 59, Public Intoxication," together with cruelty to animals under Article 3 of Chapter 19A, drug offences under the Controlled Substances Act, and alcohol offences "such as sale to underage persons in violation of G.S. 18B-302 or driving while impaired in violation of G.S. 20-138.1 through G.S. 20-138.5," and "similar crimes under federal law or under the laws of other states."

The rules widen what counts as an adverse event: 10A NCAC 09 .2702(5) provides that "a 'conviction' includes when a plea of guilty or no contest is accepted by the trial court or a court enters an order granting a prayer for judgment continued," and .2702(6) that "a 'pending criminal charge' includes, but is not limited to, a charge that has been deferred pursuant to G.S. 15A-1341(a1)." In North Carolina a prayer for judgment continued is a conviction for this purpose.

Three bars are absolute and admit no weighing. G.S. 110-90.2(a1): "No person shall be a child care provider or uncompensated child care provider who has been any of the following: (1) Convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony crime involving child neglect or child abuse. (2) Adjudicated a 'responsible individual' under G.S. 7B-311(b). (3) Convicted of a 'reportable conviction' as defined under G.S. 14-208.6(4)." Everything else is discretionary and weighted. 10A NCAC 09 .2703(b): where a provider has convictions, a pending indictment or pending charges, "they may submit to the Division additional information concerning the conviction or charges the Division shall use in making the determination," and the Division "shall also consider the following in making its decision: (1) the length of time since conviction; (2) whether the child care provider is currently on probation; (3) the nature of the offense; (4) the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense or offenses; (5) the evidence of rehabilitation; (6) the number and type of prior offenses; (7) the age of the child care provider at the time of occurrence; and (8) any additional information the applicant wishes the Division to consider regarding the applicant's criminal history." A separate, non-criminal disqualifier sits at G.S. 110-90.2(b1): "The Department may prevent an individual from being a child care provider if the Department determines that the individual is a habitually excessive user of alcohol, illegally uses narcotic or other impairing drugs, or is mentally or emotionally impaired to an extent that may be injurious to children."

The application's signature block asks the applicant to certify the negative: "I hereby certify that I do not habitually use alcoholic beverages to excess nor use illegal narcotics or other impairing drugs." The provisional status, and its practical uselessness in a one-adult home. 10A NCAC 09 .2702(3) defines "a 'provisional child care provider'" as someone who resides or has resided outside North Carolina in the previous five years, has supplied the county criminal history from the county or counties where they reside or have resided out of state, and is fit under G.S. 110-90.2(b) "but the Division has not yet received the results of the state sex offender registry check, the state abuse and neglect registry, or the state criminal history check" from those States. Rule .2703(f): "Provisional child care providers are eligible for employment at a child care facility and are eligible to reside in a family child care home, nonlicensed home, or child care center in a residence and shall be counted in staff/child ratio. Provisional child care providers shall be supervised at all times by an individual who received a qualifying result on a criminal background check within the past five years and may not be left alone with children.

Child care facilities found to be in violation of this Paragraph may be issued an administrative action up to and including revocation of their child care license or notice of compliance." Because a family child care home has exactly one qualified adult on site, a provisional caregiver cannot be the person covering the operator's absence. Rule .2703(g) requires the applicant to complete and submit the documents specific to the former State or States, and to supply copies and proof of submission on request; .2703(h) sets the release valve: "Within 45 days of issuing a provisional status to an applicant, the Division shall issue a qualification letter to a provisional child care provider if no criminal background check results that would disqualify the applicant are returned or if there is no response to the applicant's or the Division's request" for the out-of-state registry or criminal history checks. The statute says the same at G.S. 110-90.2(d1). Consequences of a bad result are automatic and run against the licensee as much as the individual. Rule .2703(i): a disqualified provider "shall not be eligible for employment in child care until a qualification letter has been issued."

Rule .2703(j): "A child care facility shall terminate the employment of any child care provider upon receipt of a notice of disqualification of the provider from the Division notwithstanding any appeal by provider of the disqualification." Rule .2703(k): "Disqualification of a child care provider living in a child care facility shall be grounds for issuance of a summary suspension of the license in accordance with 10A NCAC 09 .2213." Rule .2703(l): refusal to dismiss a disqualified provider is grounds for suspension, denial or revocation, and "[i]f an applicant appeals the disqualification, the child care provider shall not be employed during the appeal process." And 10A NCAC 09 .2215(a)(10) lists among the grounds for denying a licence outright: "if the applicant is a disqualified child care provider or has a disqualified household member residing in the child care facility pursuant to G.S. 110-90.2." A continuing self-reporting duty runs for the whole life of the licence. Rule .2703(m): "Operators, as defined by G.S. 110-86(7), shall include the criminal history mandatory reporting requirement in all new employee orientation information.

All child care providers ... who have incurred any pending charges, indictments, or convictions (other than minor traffic offenses) since the last qualification letter was issued by the Division shall notify the operator of such charges within five business days or before returning to work, whichever comes first. The operator shall notify the Division of any such pending charges, indictments, or convictions within one business day of being notified." One business day, from operator to Division. Rule .2703(p) allows the Division to run a fresh check at any time if it opens an investigation "involving alleged criminal activity by the child care provider," and .2703(t) allows it to refuse or revoke a qualification letter where the individual failed to comply with the out-of-state documentation duty, "provided false information in connection with either an application or a criminal background check," or is not qualified "pursuant to G.S. 110-90.2 or 42 USC 9858f." Costs are split. G.S. 110-90.2(g): "The child care provider shall pay the cost of the fingerprinting and the federal criminal history record check in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.14. The State Bureau of Investigation shall perform the State criminal history record check.

The Department of Health and Human Services shall pay for and conduct the county criminal history record check. Child care providers who reside outside the State bear the cost of the county criminal history record check and shall provide the county criminal history record check to the Division of Child Development as required by this section." The applicant's procedural rights are unusual and worth knowing precisely, because they do not run through the ordinary administrative appeal. G.S. 110-90.2(d) requires the Department to notify the provider and the employer in writing of the fitness determination but forbids disclosure of the criminal history itself ("the Department shall not release nor disclose any portion of the child care provider's criminal history to the child care provider or the child care provider's employer"), and to advise the provider of the procedure "for completing or challenging the accuracy of the criminal history." Then: "A child care provider who disagrees with the Department's decision may file a civil action in the district court of the county of residence of the child care provider within 60 days after receiving written notification of disqualification.

Review of the Department's determination disqualifying a child care provider shall be de novo. No jury trial is available for appeals to district court under this section." The statutory notice that must be furnished to every applicant repeats the sixty-day district court route and warns that "[a]ny child care provider who intentionally falsifies any information required to be furnished to conduct the criminal history record check shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor." Refusal to consent is itself grounds to prohibit the person from providing child care. Subsection (e) makes everything received privileged and not a public record, permitting destruction after one calendar year; subsection (f) grants a qualified immunity from negligence liability to employers, owners and agencies acting under the section, not extending to "gross negligence, wanton conduct, or intentional wrongdoing." Finally, a rule outside Section .2700 that operates as a standing screen on who may be on the property at all. 10A NCAC 09 .1710(a): "The family child care home operator shall not knowingly permit a person on the premises of a family child care home who has been convicted of a 'reportable conviction' as defined in G.S. 14-208.6(4)." "Premises" is defined broadly at .0102(42): "the entire child care building and grounds including natural areas, outbuildings, dwellings, vehicles, parking lots, driveways and other structures located on the property."

Two further screens sit in the same neighbourhood: the Child Maltreatment Registry under G.S. 110-105.5, membership of which bars a person from being a caregiver, and the separate scheme for unlicensed subsidy-receiving homes at 10A NCAC 09 .2704, where the qualification letter is valid for only three years rather than five and the process runs through a local purchasing agency rather than the Division. Note also that the corporate carve-out at 10A NCAC 09 .0102(38) — "stockholders of corporations who own child care facilities shall not be subject to mandatory criminal history checks pursuant to G.S. 110-90.2 unless they are a child care provider" — has essentially no application to a family child care home, where the licensee is by statute the person on-site providing the care.

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 are inside the definition before you spend anything. You need a licence only if the arrangement meets every element of G.S. 110-86(2): 'three or more children less than 13 years old, who do not reside where the care is provided, receive care on a regular basis of at least once per week for more than four hours but less than 24 hours per day from persons other than their guardians or full-time custodians, or from persons not related to them by birth, marriage, or adoption.' Check the lettered exclusions at G.S. 110-86(2)a-k, especially paragraph a (care in the home of a child receiving care where 'all of the children in care are related to each other and no more than two additional children are in care'), paragraph i (parent cooperatives 'as a convenience rather than for employment'), and paragraph j (two or more separate components each of four hours or less with different children). Confirm too that you will live at the address: 10A NCAC 09 .0102(22) requires that 'family child care home operators must reside at the location of the family child care home', and since 1 July 2025 G.S. 110-86(3)b defines the setting as 'an operator occupied private dwelling'. Until you are licensed, DCDEE's own application packet warns, 'you may legally care for two children or less who are unrelated to you. It is a Class I felony to willfully operate a family child care home without being licensed' (see G.S. 110-98, 110-99(a), 110-103(b)).
2. Meet the personal floor before anything else, because nothing later cures it. G.S. 110-91(8)e: 'an operator of a licensed family child care home shall be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or its equivalent', and 'Any operator of a licensed family child care home shall be the person on-site providing child care.' The old eighteen-and-literate standard survives only for homes licensed before 1 January 1998. Do not rely on G.S. 110-91(8a) for this requirement, as DCDEE's own handbook does: the current statute prints '(8a) Expired pursuant to Session Laws 2010-178, s. 2, as amended by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 10.4A, effective July 1, 2011.'
3. Complete the Division's pre-licensing workshop FIRST. 10A NCAC 09 .1708(a): 'The prospective operator of the family child care home shall complete the pre-licensing workshop provided by the Division prior to the Division issuing an initial license... Prospective licensees shall download, complete, and submit the pre-licensing registration form to the Division.' Rule .1708(b) fixes the order: 'After completing the pre-licensing workshop, the prospective family child care home operator shall submit an application for a family child care home license and all supporting documentation as specified in 10A NCAC 09 .1702.' Keep the certificate: the Division's application checklist requires 'A copy of the Pre-Licensing Workshop training certificate with completion date', and the profile page asks for the workshop's date, city and county. Note that the registration-form URL printed in the rule, http://ncchildcare.nc.gov/pdf_forms/prelicworkshop.pdf, returned HTTP 404 when tested for this entry; request the form from the Division or from the 'FCCH Process for Licensure' document referenced in the current packet.
4. Clear the criminal history record check through ABCMS for yourself and for everyone who lives in or will work at the home. 10A NCAC 09 .2703(a) requires, 'prior to the issuance of a license or prior to beginning employment', the SBI/FBI forms for a state and national fingerprint check plus 'fingerprint impressions submitted on an FD-258 applicant fingerprint card', with all forms filed 'through the Automated Background Check Management System (ABCMS) at https://ncabcms.nc.gov/DCDEE/Applicant/'. Anyone who has lived outside North Carolina 'at any time and for whatever length of time, within the five years preceding the application' must additionally file an affidavit attesting that they have requested, for each such State, a fingerprint-based criminal registry check, a sex offender registry check and a child abuse and neglect registry check (.2703(a)(3)). Household members are covered by statute, not courtesy: G.S. 110-90.2(a)(2)c reaches 'a member of the household in a family child care home ... who is over 15 years old, including family members and nonfamily members who use the home on a permanent or temporary basis as their place of residence', and 10A NCAC 09 .2703(q) gives such a person five days from moving in or from their sixteenth birthday. The output you need on file is a non-expired qualification letter (.2702(4), .2703(e)), valid for a maximum of five years (.2703(n)). Do not let the application stall: an incomplete background application 'will expire and be withdrawn by the Division' after thirty days (.2703(s)).
5. Complete First Aid, CPR and — if you will be licensed for infants — ITS-SIDS, all within the twelve months BEFORE you apply. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(2) and (3) require 'documentation of completion of a First Aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course within 12 months prior to applying for a license' and 'documentation of completion of ITS-SIDS training within 12 months prior to applying for a license, if requesting a license to care for infants ages 12 months and younger'. Distance learning is not permitted for CPR or First Aid (.1703(l)(3)). ITS-SIDS is defined at .0102(30) as the Infant/Toddler Safe Sleep and SIDS Risk Reduction Training administered by the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center.
6. Get the health documentation. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(4) requires 'proof of negative results of the applicant's tuberculosis test or screening completed within the past 12 months', and (b)(5) 'a completed health questionnaire ... [that] includes a statement signed by the staff member that indicates that the person is emotionally and physically fit to care for children'. The questionnaire is not a one-off: .1703(a)(1) requires the operator to 'Update the health questionnaire annually'.
7. Test the water — both ways — and clear the lead and asbestos hazards. 10A NCAC 09 .1725(a)(2), effective 1 January 2024, requires the operator to 'collect and submit samples of water from each water outlet used for drinking or food preparation for lead analysis', with results kept on file, and for a new applicant 'water samples shall be collected by the operator and tested during the application process'. If you are on a private well, .1702(b)(7) requires 'a negative well water bacteriological analysis' with the application and .1725(a)(1) requires the bacteriological analysis to be repeated 'every two years'. The Division's packet also asks for 'A copy of the results for lead base paint/asbestos hazard testing', which implements 10A NCAC 09 .1707(2): 'all family child care homes must be free of lead poisoning hazards as defined in G.S. 130A-131.7(7) and asbestos hazards'.
8. Prepare the residence to 10A NCAC 09 .1707, which is the operative building rule for homes (not .1702(c), which some agency material still cites). It requires that '(1) all children are kept on the ground level of exit discharge'; '(2) all family child care homes must be free of lead poisoning hazards ... and asbestos hazards'; '(3) all homes are equipped with an electrically operated (with a battery backup) smoke detector, or one electrically operated and one battery operated smoke detector located next to each other'; '(4) all homes are provided with at least one five pound 2-A: 10-B: C type extinguisher for every 2,500 square feet of floor area'; '(5) heating appliances shall be installed and maintained according to any North Carolina Building Code provisions governing the building'; '(6) all indoor areas used by children are heated when the indoor temperature is below 65 degrees and ventilated when the indoor temperature is above 85 degrees'; '(7) pipes or radiators that are hot enough to be capable of burning children and are accessible to the children are covered or insulated'; and '(8) children are cared for in space designated as the caregiving area on a floor plan provided by the operator to the Division'. That last subparagraph also imposes a standing duty: 'Changes to the designated caregiving space shall be submitted to the Division 30 days prior to the new space being used by children.'
9. Understand the building-and-fire-code treatment that has applied since 1 July 2025, and what it does and does not require. Session Law 2025-36, ss. 15, 16 and 17 provide that a family child care home in a dwelling subject respectively to the Residential Code, the Building Code or the Regulations for Manufactured Homes 'shall be treated as a Residential Group R-3 occupancy' and that the dwelling 'shall be permitted to comply' with its own code, 'provided that a family child care home must meet only the following additional requirements: (1) Rooms and areas ... where occupants receive care shall be on the same level of exit discharge. (2) Rooms and areas ... shall be located on the same level with, and within a maximum of 40 feet travel distance to, at least one 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher. (3) A family child care home shall have and maintain a Fire Safety, Evacuation, and Lockdown Plan compliant with Section 404 of the North Carolina Fire Code. (4) ... carbon monoxide alarm and detection systems compliant with Section R315 of the North Carolina Residential Code [Section 915 of the Building Code in a Building-Code dwelling]. (5) ... smoke alarms compliant with Section R314 of the North Carolina Residential Code [Section R907 of the Building Code].' The provisions bind 'the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Councils, and State and local governments enforcing the Code' and each sunsets 'when permanent rules adopted as required by subsections (d) and (e) of this section become effective'. DCDEE treats these five items as verified by the licensing consultant before a new licence or a capacity increase issues; note that its notice on the point cites 'child care rules .1701(1)', a rule repealed effective 1 October 2017 (the live ground-level rule is .1707(1)).
10. Clear the local layer before you rely on a number. G.S. 110-91's opening sentence subjects every facility to 'local ordinances that pertain to child health, safety, and welfare'; 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(8) requires 'copies of any inspections required by local ordinances'; and the Division's packet asks you to 'Submit copies of documentation that you meet any city, county or local ordinance requirements, if applicable, including zoning approval/privilege license.' Since 7 July 2026, G.S. 160A-205.8 (added by S.L. 2026-51) forbids a CITY to prohibit a 'no-impact home-based business' or to require any 'permit, license, variance, or other type of approval' to operate one, and forbids a city to require a rezoning petition for commercial use or fire sprinklers in a Residential-Code structure; but the definition is narrow (on-site employees and clients within the city's occupancy limit; no on-street parking or substantial traffic increase; activity inside or in the yard and 'not visible from the street'), it is a Chapter 160A city statute that does not on its face bind counties, and subsection (c) preserves any deed, covenant or HOA restriction. An HOA covenant still ends the discussion.
11. File the application packet on the Division's form with the whole documentary bundle. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(a) lists the thirteen items of information the form must carry, from owner name through 'signature of applicant'. The current packet (revised 11/2025) directs applicants to mail it to 'Division of Child Development and Early Education, Regulatory Services Section/Team Support Unit, 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699', and warns that 'Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms will be returned to you.' On receipt, 'the Division shall assess the information provided to determine if the prospective licensee may be denied a license for one or more of the reasons set forth in 10A NCAC 09 .2215' (.1702(a)) — grounds that include prior denial, revocation or summary suspension of any facility you owned or operated, voluntary relinquishment during such proceedings, a CACFP Notice of Termination and Disqualification, substantiated abuse, neglect or maltreatment, a disqualified household member, and a relationship with a former operator falling in those categories. Rule .2215(c) adds an absolute bar: 'Operators who held a child care facility license or permit that was denied, revoked, subject to a cease operation order, or summarily suspended within the past five years shall be ineligible to apply for a new child care license.'
12. Pass the announced pre-licensing visit, then the initial assessment. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(c): 'Upon receipt of a complete application for a family child care home and supporting documentation, a Division representative shall make an announced visit to each home.' Rule .1709(a)(1) says the same from the inspection side: 'The Division shall conduct at least one announced visit prior to the initial issuance of license.' This is also the one moment when the whole property is open to inspection: .1709(b) permits the Division to inspect 'the entire premises of the family child care home' only in six situations, the first of which is '(1) Prior to issuance of the initial license'. The Division's packet describes the sequence in two visits: a pre-licensing consultation visit at which the consultant 'will review of all applicable child care requirements, observe all indoor and outdoor areas of your home, and provide technical assistance', and then, on request, an initial assessment at which 'the lead child care consultant will observe the entire child care home and adjacent property, including but not limited to natural areas, outbuildings, dwellings, vehicles, and other structures.' Note that .1702(c) excuses the announced visit 'if the applicant is subject to the circumstances in 10A NCAC 09 .2214' — a cross-reference that does not land, since .2214 is the civil penalty schedule for homes; the denial grounds are .2215.
13. Receive the six-month temporary licence. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(c)(1): 'if all applicable requirements of G.S. 110, Article 7 and this Section are met, a six month temporary license shall be issued.' If some requirements are not met, .1702(c)(4) provides that 'the Division representative shall establish with the applicant a time period for the home to achieve compliance', and a licence issues if compliance is achieved within it. Rule .1702(c)(5) fixes the term: 'The temporary license shall remain in effect for six months or until the issuance of a star-rated license, a special provisional license, provisional license, summary suspension, suspension, probationary license, or a denial of a rated license to the operator.' The statutory basis is G.S. 110-88(10) (rules 'for the issuance of a temporary license which shall expire in six months'). The Division's packet adds that 'During the six-month period, two visits will be conducted.'
14. Put the required documents, policies and postings in place before the first child arrives. Post the licence 'in a place in the home that parents are able to view daily' (.1702(i)) and post with it the Division's Summary of the Law, which G.S. 110-102 requires to be 'posted with the facility's license in accordance with G.S. 110-99' and also given to each parent before enrolment with a signed acknowledgement. Post the emergency telephone numbers and First Aid information sheet (.1719(a)(12), (14)), children's special diets and food allergies in the food preparation area and eating area (.1706(e)), the safe sleep policy and poster if licensed for infants (.1724(b)), the written schedule of developmentally appropriate activities (G.S. 110-91(12)), and swimming pool safety rules if there is a pool (.1730(h)). Have the written operational policies of .1715(a) ready to hand to every family 'on or before the child's first day of attendance' (.1715(b)), together with the discipline policy (.1727), the shaken baby syndrome policy if you serve children up to five (.1726), the safe sleep policy if you serve infants (.1724(c)), and the written plan of care if you intend to run errands during care hours (.1712(e)(6)).
15. Start the post-licensure clocks the day the licence takes effect, and diarise them. Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment training within 90 days of licensure (.1703(a)(5)). The Emergency Preparedness and Response in Child Care training within one year of the effective date of the new licence (.1714(b)), and then the written Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan on the Division of Emergency Management template at https://rmp.nc.gov/portal/# within four months of completing that training (.1714(c)). Health and safety training covering the eleven topic areas of .1703(c) within one year (.1703(b)). A professional development plan within one year (.1703(i)). Annual ongoing training thereafter on the sliding scale of .1703(d)(1). And the annual licence fee — $52.00 for a family child care home under the G.S. 110-90(1a) band for facilities with a capacity of 'twelve or fewer children' — which DCDEE bills yearly and whose non-payment 'is a violation of NCGS § 110-90(1a) and can result in a revocation of your child care license'.
16. At the end of the six-month temporary period, take the one-star licence — or apply for more. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(c)(2): 'a one-star rated license shall be issued to a family child care home operator who complies with the minimum standards for a license contained in this Section and G.S. 110-91 at the end of the six month temporary time period.' To go higher, apply on the Division's form under 10A NCAC 09 .3202(b) and pick exactly one of three pathways under .3202(c) — Program Assessment (.3204 for homes), Classroom and Instructional Quality (.3206 for homes), or Accreditation and Head Start (.3207) — because 'Requirements for licensure pathways may not be combined.' Ignore the reference in .1702(c)(3) to 'Section .2800 of this Chapter': every operative rule of Section .2800 was repealed effective 1 June 2026, and the governing standards are Section .3200. Expect an assessment consisting of 'a review of Division records and site visits' (.3202(d)); if you fall short you may accept the rating the Division found you eligible for, withdraw and reapply, or appeal under G.S. 110-91 (.3202(e)(2)). Once rated, the home is 'reassessed by the Division at least once every three years' (.3222(d)), with one free program assessment in each three-year period (.3222(e), .3223(b)), and a reduction in rating is appealable under G.S. 110-94 (.3223(c)).

What you must post on your walls

• The family child care home licence itself, posted where families see it daily. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(i): 'The family child care home license shall be posted in a place in the home that parents are able to view daily.' The statutory version is broader and applies to every facility: G.S. 110-99(a1), 'Each child care facility shall display its current license in a prominent place at all times so that the public may be on notice that the facility is licensed and may observe any rating which may appear on the license. Any license issued to a child care facility under this Article shall remain the property of the State and may be removed by persons employed or designated by the Secretary in the event that the license is revoked or suspended, or in the event that the rating is changed.' The rules add a return duty at .1702(g): the licence 'shall be returned to the Division in the event of termination, revocation, suspension, or summary suspension.' Failure to post carries money: 10A NCAC 09 .2214(3)(a)(viii) lists 'Posting current license' among the violations attracting a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars.
• The Summary of the North Carolina Child Care Law, posted with the licence — not merely handed to parents. G.S. 110-102 requires the Secretary to provide each operator 'a summary of this Article for the parents, guardian, or full-time custodian of each child receiving child care in the facility to be distributed by the operator', requires operators to 'provide a copy of the summary to each child's parent, guardian, or full-time custodian before the child is enrolled', requires the parent to 'sign a statement attesting that he or she received a copy of the summary before the child's enrollment', and then states: 'The summary of this Article shall be posted with the facility's license in accordance with G.S. 110-99.' The statute prescribes its contents, including the name and address of the Secretary, the address of the Commission, how parents may obtain public files on individual facilities, and 'a statement regarding the mandatory duty prescribed in G.S. 7B-301 of any person suspecting child abuse or neglect has taken place in child care, or elsewhere, to report to the county Department of Social Services', with the definitions from G.S. 7B-101, G.S. 14-318.2 and G.S. 14-318.4 and a note that 'this reporting law does not require that the person reporting reveal the person's identity.' DCDEE publishes the home-specific version, 'Summary of the North Carolina Child Care Law for Family Child Care Homes', which carries the line 'This summary shall be posted for the public to view in accordance with GS 110-102'. Read the caution in `verify_flag` before relying on that document's contents: the copy DCDEE serves is dated May 2006 and is materially out of date.
• Emergency telephone numbers, visible in the home. 10A NCAC 09 .1719(a)(12) requires the operator to 'have a working telephone within the family child care home', forbids a phone in a room that is sometimes locked from being the only one available during operating hours, and requires that 'Telephone numbers for the fire department, law enforcement office, emergency medical service, and poison control center shall be posted in a location visible in the home.' The record-retention table at .1721(f)(4)(B) requires the emergency numbers posting to be kept 'a minimum of one year from the revision or replacement date'.
• A First Aid information sheet, posted for quick reference. 10A NCAC 09 .1719(a)(14): the operator shall 'have a First Aid information sheet posted in a place for quick referral by staff members. The information sheet shall include First Aid guidance regarding burns, scalds, fractures, sprains, head injuries, poisons, skin wounds, stings and bites. A child care operator may request a First Aid information sheet from the North Carolina Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center at 1-800-367-2229.'
• Each child's special diet or food allergies, posted in two places. 10A NCAC 09 .1706(e): 'Children's special diets or food allergies shall be posted in the food preparation area and in the child's eating area.' The supporting paperwork sits at .1706(d): if a diet is prescribed by a health care professional, a signed statement must be on file with written instructions from the parent, health care professional or licensed dietitian/nutritionist; if not prescribed, written parental instructions must be on file. The allergy posting is one of the five records in the .1721(f)(4)(A) table that need be kept only 'a minimum of 30 days from the revision or replacement date'.
• The safe sleep policy and a safe sleep poster, if the home is licensed for infants. 10A NCAC 09 .1724(b): 'The operator shall post a copy of the safe sleep policy and poster about safe sleep practices in a prominent place in the infant sleeping room or area where parents and caregivers are able to view daily.' Note the location is the infant sleeping room or area, not simply somewhere prominent. A second, narrower posting applies only where a child has a sleep-position waiver on file: .1724(g) requires that 'For each infant with a waiver on file at the home as specified in Paragraph (e) of this Rule, a notice shall be posted for quick reference near the infant's crib, bassinet, play pen, or mat that shall include: (1) the infant's name; (2) the infant's authorized sleep position; and (3) the location of the signed waiver', adding that 'No confidential medical information, including an infant's medical diagnosis, shall be shown on the notice.' There is no general requirement to post sleep information beside every infant's crib — only beside the crib of an infant with a waiver.
• The written schedule of developmentally appropriate activities, displayed for parents. G.S. 110-91(12): 'Each child care facility shall have a planned schedule of developmentally appropriate activities displayed in a prominent place for parents to review and the appropriate materials and equipment available to implement the scheduled activities.' The rule content behind it is 10A NCAC 09 .1718(a)(6), (7) and (8), which require developmentally appropriate activities 'as planned on a written schedule and activity plan' (which 'may be combined as one document'), a schedule showing blocks of time for active and quiet play, developmentally appropriate times and activities, daily free choice and guided activities, 'a minimum of one hour of outdoor play throughout the day, if weather conditions permit', a daily gross motor activity, and for children under two 'individualized caregiving routines such as eating, napping, and toileting' interspersed among daily events. Both the daily schedule and the activity plan need be retained only thirty days from revision under .1721(f)(4)(A).
• Swimming pool safety rules, if there is a pool on the premises. 10A NCAC 09 .1730(h): 'Swimming pool safety rules shall be posted and visible to children and staff for any swimming pool located on the child care facility premises. These rules shall state: (1) the location of a First Aid kit; (2) that only water toys are permitted; (3) that children are not allowed to run or push one another; (4) that swimming is allowed only when the operator is present; and (5) that glass objects are not allowed.' Rule .1730(g) separately requires any outdoor pool on the premises to be 'enclosed by a fence that is at least four feet high, separated from the remaining outdoor play area by that fence, and locked and inaccessible to children when not in use', and .1730(i) requires all pools used by children to meet the 'Rules Governing Public Swimming Pools' at 15A NCAC 18A .2500.
• Given to parents rather than posted, but often confused with a posting: the written operational policies, a copy of which 'shall be given to the parents on or before the child's first day of attendance and the parents shall be notified in writing of any changes in policy' (10A NCAC 09 .1715(b)); the discipline policy, of which the operator 'shall provide a written copy of and explain ... to each child's parent at the time of enrollment' with a signed dated parental statement retained as long as the child is enrolled and fourteen days' written notice of any change (.1727); the safe sleep policy, given and explained to the parent of each infant 'on or before the first day the infant attends the home' with a signed acknowledgement and fourteen days' notice of amendment (.1724(c), (d)); the shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma policy, given and explained to the parents of children up to five years of age on or before the first day of care with a signed acknowledgement and fourteen days' notice of change (.1726(b), (c)); the written plan of care, 'provided and explained to parents of children in care on or before the first day the child attends the home' with signed acknowledgement, and amended only on thirty days' written notice (.1712(e)(6), (f)); and written notice to each parent of the smoking and tobacco restriction, required by .1719(a)(11) ('notify the parent of each child enrolled in the facility, in writing, of the smoking and tobacco restriction').

Enrollment forms for each child

• Family Child Care Home Application Packet — 'Application for a Child Care License / Application - Facility Profile', the Division's form, currently 'Revised 11/2025'. 10A NCAC 09 .1702(a) requires it to include: owner name; facility name, address, phone number, email address and location address; facility contact information; requested age range; hours of operation; type of care to be provided; type of building; type of family child care home; proposed opening date; proposed number of children to be served; type of business operation; history of operation or licensing of child care facilities; and the signature of either 'the individual who will be responsible for the operation of the family child care home and for assuring compliance with G.S. 110, Article 7 and this Chapter' or 'an officer of an entity' with that responsibility. The current form also requires a business-type election from a closed list (sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation, non-profit corporation, government), answers to 'HAVE YOU, OR ANY OTHER PERSON LISTED ON THIS APPLICATION, PREVIOUSLY OPERATED A CHILD CARE FACILITY? ... This applies to any child care facility in the US, including military installations' and 'DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A CHILD CARE LICENSE FOR ANOTHER LOCATION?', an attestation of citizenship or work-authorised status under penalty of perjury with alien number where applicable, and the certification 'I hereby certify that I do not habitually use alcoholic beverages to excess nor use illegal narcotics or other impairing drugs'. Note that the URL printed in the rule itself, https://ncchildcare.nc.gov//PDF_forms/Family_Child_Care_Home_Application_Packet.pdf, did not resolve when tested for this entry; the packet is served from https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/PDF_forms/Family_Child_Care_Home_Application_Packet.pdf.
• Pre-licensing registration form, and then the pre-licensing workshop certificate — the first is required by 10A NCAC 09 .1708(a) ('Prospective licensees shall download, complete, and submit the pre-licensing registration form to the Division'), the second by the Division's application checklist ('A copy of the Pre-Licensing Workshop training certificate with completion date'). The URL the rule gives for the registration form returned HTTP 404 on the date of this entry.
• Non-expired criminal background check qualification letter from ABCMS, for the applicant and for every household member aged sixteen and older and every person who will work at the home, together with FD-258 fingerprint cards, the SBI and FBI forms, and the five-year out-of-state affidavit where applicable — 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(1), .2702(4), .2703(a), (e). The letter is valid a maximum of five years (.2703(n)) and must be kept on file at the home for Division review (.2703(e)).
• First Aid and CPR certificate or card, completed within the twelve months before application, showing completion and expiration dates, and the ITS-SIDS certificate if the licence will cover children twelve months and younger — 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(2), (3). Thereafter First Aid and CPR must be renewed 'on or before expiration of the certification appropriate for the ages of children in care' (.1703(a)(2), (3)) and ITS-SIDS 'every three years from the completion of previous ITS-SIDS training' (.1703(a)(4)).
• Negative tuberculosis test or screening result from within the past twelve months, and the completed health questionnaire including the signed statement 'that the person is emotionally and physically fit to care for children' — 10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(4), (5); the questionnaire is updated annually under .1703(a)(1).
• Water testing results: lead analysis for 'each water outlet used for drinking or food preparation', collected and tested by the operator 'during the application process' and kept on file (10A NCAC 09 .1725(a)(2)); and, for a home on a private well, a negative bacteriological analysis with the application (.1702(b)(7)) and every two years thereafter (.1725(a)(1)). The Division's checklist also requires 'A copy of the results for lead base paint/asbestos hazard testing', implementing .1707(2).
• Non-expired pet vaccination records for any pet in the home (10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(6)), retained a minimum of one year from replacement (.1721(f)(4)(B)); plus, under .1719(b)(3), 'prior to enrollment of children in a family child care home, and before new animals come into the family child care home, the family child care home operator shall obtain each parent's signature on a form acknowledging the type of animal located on the premises and where the animal will be kept during operating hours', maintained in each child's file.
• Copies of any inspections required by local ordinances (10A NCAC 09 .1702(b)(8)), retained on file 'for as long as the license remains valid' (.1721(f)(5)); the Division's checklist expands this to 'documentation that you meet any city, county or local ordinance requirements, if applicable, including zoning approval/privilege license'.
• Floor plan designating the caregiving area, filed with the Division, plus a thirty-day advance submission before any new space is used by children — 10A NCAC 09 .1707(8): 'children are cared for in space designated as the caregiving area on a floor plan provided by the operator to the Division as specified in 10A NCAC 09 .1709. Changes to the designated caregiving space shall be submitted to the Division 30 days prior to the new space being used by children.'
• Per enrolled child, including the operator's own children who are not school-age (10A NCAC 09 .1721(a)): a copy of the child's health assessment required by G.S. 110-91(1); a copy of the child's immunisation record; and a completed, parent-signed application for enrolment, for which the Division supplies form DCD-0377 and which, if a substitute form is used, must carry the child's full name and the name the child is to be called, date of birth, 'any allergies and the symptoms and type of response required for allergic reactions', 'any health care needs or concerns, symptoms of and the type of response required', 'fears or behavior characteristics that the child has', the names of individuals to whom the child may be released, emergency contact names and phone numbers, the child's physician's name and phone number, and 'authorization for the operator to seek emergency medical care in the parent's absence'. Rule .1721(b) then makes the release list binding: 'The family child care home operator and staff shall release a child only to an individual listed on the application.'
• A medical action plan attached to the enrolment application for any child 'with health care needs such as allergies, asthma, or other chronic conditions that require specialized health services', updated annually and whenever the parent or health care professional changes it, and which may include the diagnoses with dietary, environmental and activity considerations, health care professional contact information, scheduled medications, and 'medications to be administered on an emergency basis with symptoms, and instructions' — 10A NCAC 09 .1721(a)(4).
• Medication authorisations and the medication record — 10A NCAC 09 .1720(b) and .1721(a)(5). No prescription or over-the-counter medication and no topical ointment, repellent, lotion, cream, fluoridated toothpaste or powder may be given 'without written authorization from the child's parent' and 'without written instructions from the child's parent, physician or other health professional' (.1720(b)(1)). Standing authorisations have fixed maxima: up to six months for chronic conditions and allergic reactions (.1720(b)(6)); up to twelve months for topical ointments, teething gels, insect repellents, lotions, creams, fluoridated toothpaste and powders (.1720(b)(7)); open-ended for a single weight-appropriate dose of acetaminophen when a child has a fever and the parent cannot be reached (.1720(b)(8)); and open-ended during a public health emergency declared by the State Health Director (.1720(b)(9)). Ordinary over-the-counter permissions are 'valid for up to 30 days at a time' and such medications 'shall not be administered on an "as needed" basis' outside those exceptions (.1720(b)(4)). Every administration must be recorded with the child's name, date, time, amount and type of medication and 'the name and signature of the person administering the medication' (.1720(b)(13)), kept during administration and for six months after (.1721(f)(2)). A medication error triggers its own written record under .1720(b)(14), including the actions taken and 'the actions that will be taken by the operator to prevent a future error', signed by operator and parent and kept in the child's file.
• The Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, on the template provided by the Division of Emergency Management at https://rmp.nc.gov/portal/#, with its ten required elements and the Ready to Go File — 10A NCAC 09 .1714(c), (d) and .1721(e)(1); reviewed annually or on any change (.1714(e)), reviewed with additional caregivers before they care for children and annually (.1714(f)), and its existence and location documented for substitutes and volunteers (.1714(g)). Retained one year from revision (.1721(f)(4)(B)).
• The written Emergency Medical Care plan required by 10A NCAC 09 .1713, setting out the steps to follow in a child medical emergency: determining whether the situation calls for First Aid or for 'calling 911 in accordance with CPR or First Aid training recommendations'; ensuring the signed emergency-care authorisation from the enrolment application 'is taken with the ill or injured child to the medical facility'; notifying parents or the emergency contact; and 'obtaining substitute providers, if needed, to maintain adequate supervision of children who remain in care'. It must be 'reviewed with all additional caregivers and substitute providers prior to caring for children and whenever the plan is revised' and available for Division review during operating hours; retained one year from revision (.1721(f)(4)(B)).
• The Written Plan of Care under 10A NCAC 09 .1712, if the operator intends to complete routine tasks while children are in care — errands, personal and family demands, classes, medical appointments — capped at 'no more than two hours per week', with classes and medical appointments never to be attended with children in tow. It must specify the times and place them on the written schedule, name the additional caregivers or substitutes who will cover, address transportation compliance under .1723, say how parents will be notified of unscheduled off-premises errands, and be signed for by parents, who must also give separate written permission for transport. Retained one year from revision (.1721(f)(4)(B)).
• Written operational policies under 10A NCAC 09 .1715(a), covering at least: days and hours of operation; the age range of children served; admission requirements and enrolment procedures; parent fees and payment plan; 'information about services provided by the operator, such as number of meals served, before and after school care, and transportation'; items to be provided by parents; 'a schedule of daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning duties'; 'written procedures for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect'; the discipline policy for behaviour management; 'a description of opportunities for parent participation'; and nutrition policies.
• Operating logs and periodic records under 10A NCAC 09 .1721(e): the Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (e)(1); monthly fire drill documentation showing 'the date each drill is held, the time of day, the length of time taken to evacuate the home, and the operator's signature' (e)(2); Incident Reports on the Division's form DCDEE-0058, completed 'each time a child is injured or when a child receives medical treatment', signed by the person completing it and by the parent, a copy given to the parent, filed in the child's file, and — where medical treatment was required — mailed to a Division representative 'within seven calendar days after the incident' (e)(3); a cumulative Incident Log on the Division's form (e)(4); a monthly outdoor play area hazard checklist on the Division's form with pass/fail entries and, for failures, 'the problem and solution' (e)(5); 'daily attendance records for all children in care, including the operator's own preschool children ... maintained as children arrive and depart' (e)(6); and documentation of quarterly lockdown or shelter-in-place drills with date, time, duration and the signature of the person who conducted the drill (e)(7), the drills themselves being required every three months by .1719(a)(16).
• Transportation records, if children are transported — written parental permission naming when, where and by whom, which may be given as standing permission 'valid for up to 12 months' (10A NCAC 09 .1723(5)); written permission for off-premises activities, likewise capable of standing form for up to twelve months (.1723(15)(a), (b)); and the identifying packet carried in the vehicle or off premises containing 'the child's name, photograph, emergency contact information, and a copy of the emergency medical care information form' (.1723(13), (15)(c)). All retained one year from revision (.1721(f)(4)(B)).
• Personnel records for the operator and for every additional caregiver, substitute, volunteer and uncompensated provider: the professional development plan (.1703(i)); the training record showing 'the subject matter, topic area in G.S. 110-91(11), training provider, date provided, hours, and name of staff who completed the training' with certificates attached (.1703(j)); the countable technical assistance record with dates, times, participant names and provider name (.1703(k)); for each additional caregiver the ten items of .1729(a) 'on file in the home and available for review by the Division'; the signed and dated statement attesting completion of the sixteen-hour orientation under .1729(c); and, for any home holding a rated licence, the individual continuous quality improvement plan required by .3221(e). Additional caregiver and substitute records are kept 'for as long as the individual is employed and for one year from the employee's last date of employment' (.1721(f)(3)).
• Supplemental food opt-out acknowledgement, where a parent elects out under G.S. 110-91(2)h.1 — 10A NCAC 09 .1706(c) requires the operator to 'obtain the parents signature acknowledging the parental decision', keep it in the child's file and give the parent a copy; and an individual written feeding plan, signed by the parent or health care professional and dated on receipt, for each child under fifteen months, specifying 'the type and amount of milk, formula and food, the frequency of feedings' (.1706(i)). The infant feeding plan is one of the records retained only thirty days from revision (.1721(f)(4)(A)).
• Safe sleep waivers, where an infant is not to be placed on their back — 10A NCAC 09 .1724(e) requires the waiver to state 'the infant's name and birth date', be 'signed and dated by the infant's health care professional or parent', specify 'if a wedge is needed ... why it is needed and how it should be used', and give 'the infant's authorized sleep positions'; the waiver is retained in the child's record for as long as the child is enrolled, and .1724(f) requires the documents verifying fifteen-minute visual checks on sleeping infants to be 'maintained for a minimum of one month'.
• Records format and retention rules that govern all of the above — 10A NCAC 09 .1721(f): children's records other than medication slips are kept 'as long as the child is enrolled and for one year from the date the child is no longer enrolled'; medication records six months after administration; additional caregiver and substitute records one year past employment; programme records including documentation of operator qualifications 'for as long as the license remains valid', except for the thirty-day and one-year tables at (f)(4)(A) and (B); well water analysis, pool inspection and local-ordinance inspections 'for as long as the license remains valid'; records may be paper or electronic 'provided that all required signatures are preserved in a paper format, PDF, or other graphic format'; and 'All records required in this Chapter shall be available at the family child care home for review by the Division during the hours of operation listed on the child care license.'

What's specific about getting licensed in North Carolina

North Carolina layers on requirements most states don't, and the standout is environmental: the mandatory Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids lead-in-water testing at every drinking/food-prep outlet PLUS a lead-paint and asbestos determination before a license is granted — a relatively new NC mandate that catches out-of-state guides completely by surprise. NC is also stricter on the operator: you must be at least 21 years old AND hold a high school diploma or equivalent (many states allow 18), you must physically reside in the home you're licensing, and the state's definition of a family child care home is a residence caring for more than two but fewer than eleven children. Finally, NC starts you on a 6-month temporary license that then becomes a 1-to-5 Star Rated License — the rating system parents see — rather than a single flat 'license.'

How long it takes and what it costs in North Carolina

Timeline: Plan for roughly two to six months from start to your temporary license, and let the calendar — not your motivation — set the pace. The gating steps are the required one-day FCCH Pre-Licensing Workshop (offered on a rolling quarterly schedule, so missing a session can cost you weeks), the DCDEE criminal background check for you and every household member 16 and older, and the Clean Classrooms lead/water lab results. Once your completed application and documents are in, a lead child care consultant schedules a pre-licensing consultation, then an initial assessment; when everything passes, DCDEE issues a temporary license valid for 6 months, which converts to a full Star Rated License after that period.

Cost: The clearly published, recurring cost is North Carolina's Annual License Fee of $52.00 for a family child care home (NCGS §110-90(1a)) — due online by the state's December deadline each year, with a 10% late fee and possible revocation if unpaid. Budget separately for the variable start-up items, which change by provider and county and are not a single fixed figure: the DCDEE criminal background check fee, CPR and First Aid certification for you and any staff, a TB test/screening, and any local sanitation, fire, building, or zoning inspection your county requires. Lead-in-water sampling is coordinated through the state's Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids program. I could not verify exact dollar amounts for those variable items from the official pages, so confirm current prices with your lead child care consultant rather than trusting a round number online.

Source: PRIMARY — RULES, read from the official publisher of the North Carolina Administrative Code, the Office of Administrative Hearings Rules Division, starting from its browsable index of rules in force rather than from any pinned or dated file. Index: http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac.asp (NCAC Table of Contents) > Title 10A - Health and Human Services > Chapter 09 - Child Care Rules, at http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac.asp?folderName=\Title 10A - Health and Human Services\Chapter 09 - Child Care Rules. Consolidated chapter served by that index and downloaded whole on 2026-08-25: http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2010a%20-%20health%20and%20human%20services/chapter%2009%20-%20child%20care%20rules/chapter%2009%20rules.html (909,527 bytes).

Individual rule files from the same server, used to confirm the consolidated file is current, follow the pattern http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2010a%20-%20health%20and%20human%20services/chapter%2009%20-%20child%20care%20rules/10a%20ncac%2009%20.1702.html and were fetched for .1702, .1703, .1707, .2801 and .3201. Rules relied on: 10A NCAC 09 .0102 (definitions, Amended Eff. July 1, 2025); Section .1700, FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME REQUIREMENTS — .1701 (Repealed Eff. October 1, 2017), .1702 (application and issuance, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1703 (on-going requirements and the annual training table, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021, transferred from .1705 in the October 1, 2017 readoption), .1704, .1705 (transferred), .1706 (nutrition, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1707 (building, Amended Eff. January 1, 2024), .1708 (pre-licensing, Eff. October 1, 2017), .1709 (inspections), .1710 (parental access), .1711 (supervision), .1712 (written plan of care), .1713 (emergency medical care), .1714 (emergency preparedness and response, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1715 (operational policies, Eff. March 1, 2019), .1716, .1718 (daily operations, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1719 (safe indoor/outdoor environment, Amended Eff. September 1, 2019), .1720 (medication), .1721 (records, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1722 (prohibited discipline), .1723 (transportation), .1724 (safe sleep, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1725 (sanitation, Amended Eff. January 1, 2024), .1726 (shaken baby syndrome), .1727 (discipline policy), .1728 (overnight care), .1729 (additional caregiver and substitute provider qualifications, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1730 (activities involving water, Amended Eff. February 1, 2021), .1731 (temporary adoption expired July 14, 2017);

Section .2200 rules .2214 (schedule of civil penalties for family child care homes) and .2215 (denial of a license); Section .2700 rules .2701, .2702, .2703 (Amended Eff. December 1, 2023) and .2704; Section .2800 (status verified rule by rule — every operative rule 'Repealed Eff. June 1, 2026'); and Section .3200, STANDARDS FOR TWO THROUGH FIVE STAR RATED LICENSES, rules .3201-.3226, every one 'Eff.

July 1, 2025', with .3202 (application and the three pathways), .3204 (program assessment pathway for family child care homes), .3206 (classroom and instructional quality pathway for family child care homes), .3207 (accreditation and Head Start pathway), .3217 (enhanced education standards for family child care home operators), .3220 (family and community engagement standards for family child care home operators), .3221 (continuous quality improvement standards), .3222 (maintaining the star rating) and .3223 (requesting or appealing a change in rating) relied on directly. PRIMARY — STATUTE, from the North Carolina General Assembly. N.C.G.S. Chapter 110, Article 7 (Child Care Facilities) in full: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_110/Article_7.html. G.S. 110-91 as its own section, where the two alternative versions of subdivision (1) and the full amendment credit line appear: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_110/GS_110-91.html. G.S. 143B-168.3 (Child Care Commission - powers and duties): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_143B/GS_143B-168.3.html.

Provisions relied on: G.S. 110-85, 110-86 (definitions, incl. (2) and its exclusions a-k, (2a), (3)a and b as amended by S.L. 2025-36 s. 18(a), (4a), (5a), (6), (7), (8)), 110-88 (Commission powers (1)-(14)), 110-88.1, 110-90 (Secretary's powers, incl. (1a) fee table and (4) rating basis), 110-90.2 (mandatory criminal history checks, incl. (a)(1)-(5), (a1), (b), (b1), (c), (d), (d1), (e), (f), (g)), 110-91 (mandatory standards, incl. the preamble, (1) in both printed versions, (2)g-i, (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) with (7)a and (7)b, (8)a-f, (8a) expired, (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15)), 110-92, 110-93, 110-94, 110-98, 110-98.1, 110-98.5, 110-99, 110-101.1, 110-102, 110-102.1, 110-102.1A, 110-102.2, 110-103, 110-104, 110-105, 110-105.3 through 110-105.6, 110-106, 110-106.2, 110-106.3 (added by S.L. 2025-36 s. 14), 110-107; and G.S. 160A-205.8 (added by S.L. 2026-51). PRIMARY — SESSION LAWS. Session Law 2025-36, House Bill 412, 'AN ACT TO MAKE CHILD CARE REGULATORY REFORMS; AND TO MAKE BUILDING CODE REVISIONS', ratified 26 June 2025, approved 9:24 a.m. 1 July 2025, read in full (13 pp.): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/PDF/2025-2026/SL2025-36.pdf — Part I (decoupling QRIS from subsidy, ss. 1(a)-(d)), Part II (regulatory changes, ss. 2, 5-14.2), Part III (building code revisions, ss. 15, 16, 17 and 18, plus the ss. 19.1-19.3 Licensed Childcare Licensure Workgroup) and Part IV (effective when it became law).

Session Law 2025-37, ss. 6.1(i) and 6.3 (contingent amendment of G.S. 110-91(1) to add the licensed physician assistant, effective on adoption of the Medical Board's permanent rules or 30 June 2026, whichever first): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2025-2026/SL2025-37.html. Session Law 2026-51, House Bill 372, 'AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT CITIES SHALL NOT PROHIBIT CERTAIN HOME-BASED BUSINESSES WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS', ratified 1 July 2026, approved 9:49 a.m. 7 July 2026, read in full (2 pp.): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/PDF/2025-2026/SL2026-51.pdf. Session Laws index for the 2025-2026 biennium, scanned by title for further 2026 enactments: https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/SessionLaws. TRANSPORT NOTE: ncleg.gov returns HTTP 403 to direct requests from the network used for this research (curl with browser headers, the fetch tool, and a real headless Chrome over CDP were all blocked); these ncleg.gov URLs were retrieved through the r.jina.ai reader proxy, which returns the General Assembly's text under a 'URL Source: https://www.ncleg.gov/...' header.

Re-read directly from ncleg.gov before republishing any quotation. SECONDARY — AGENCY MATERIAL, cited above only where expressly attributed to DCDEE and never as a substitute for the code. DCDEE, Getting a License / Family Child Care Home Licensing: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Services/Licensing/Family-Child-Care-Home-Licensing. Licensing Requirements: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Provider/Licensing/Licensing-Requirements. Annual License Fee (fee table; page still describes the January-December 2025 cycle): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Services/Licensing/Annual-License-Fee. Child Care Rules, Law and Public Information (which links the July 1, 2025 rulebook PDF discussed in verify_flag): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Services/Child-Care-Rules-Law-and-Public-Information. Child Care Commission Rule Changes (newest entry 'Rule changes effective October 1, 2023'): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Home/Child-Care-Commission/Rule-Changes. 'Important updates for family child care homes!' (DCDEE's reading of S.L. 2025-36): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Whats-New/important-updates-for-family-child-care-homes. 'State Budget Language About New Family Childcare Ratio' (verbatim G.S. 110-91(7)b options): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Whats-New/state-budget-language-about-new-family-childcare-ratio.

Family Child Care Home Application Packet, 'Revised 11/2025': https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/PDF_forms/Family_Child_Care_Home_Application_Packet.pdf. Application for Child Care, form DCD-0377: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/pdf_forms/DCD-0377.pdf. Incident Report, form DCDEE-0058: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/pdf_forms/DCDEE-0058.pdf. Incident log: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/pdf_forms/incident_log_i.pdf. FCCH outdoor inspection checklist: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/pdf_forms/fcch_outdoor_inspection_checklist.pdf. Family Child Care Home Handbook, Chapter 1 (cited only to show what it asserts; see verify_flag): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Portals/0/documents/pdf/F/fcch_chp1.pdf. 'Summary of the North Carolina Child Care Law for Family Child Care Homes', dated May 2006 (the document G.S. 110-102 requires to be posted and given to parents): https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Portals/0/documents/pdf/S/summary_ncchild_law_homes.pdf. DCDEE consolidated rulebook as the Division serves it, retained here only as evidence of its staleness: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Portals/0/documents/pdf/C/Chapter_9_Child_Care_Rules_Effective_July_1_2025.pdf. Background check portal named in 10A NCAC 09 .2703(a): https://ncabcms.nc.gov/DCDEE/Applicant/. Emergency plan template portal named in 10A NCAC 09 .1714(c): https://rmp.nc.gov/portal/#.

Verified 2026-08-25. General information, not legal advice and not a guarantee of licensure — confirm with your state’s licensing agency before applying.