Home › State guides › Pennsylvania

Home Daycare License Requirements in Pennsylvania (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Pennsylvania means getting a family child care home license from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Certification 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 Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania "family child care home" is defined in 55 Pa. Code § 3290.4 in one sentence: "Family child care home—A home other than the child's own home, operated for profit or not-for-profit, in which child care is provided at any one time to four, five or six children unrelated to the operator." Four, five or six. Not "up to six." Not "one to six." The floor is as real as the ceiling, and it is the floor that surprises people. The applicability section says the same thing from the other direction and adds the age limit. § 3290.3(a): "This chapter applies to facilities in which out-of-home care is provided, at any one time, for part of a 24-hour day to four, five or six children who are not related to the operator and who are 15 years of age or younger. This chapter applies to private or public, profit or nonprofit facilities." The age ceiling is carried by the definition of "child" in § 3290.4: "Child—A person 15 years of age or younger." So a sixteen-year-old in your care is not a "child" for counting purposes at all. And note "for part of a 24-hour day" — Pennsylvania's regime is about care that is not full custody; it explicitly contemplates night care, defined in § 3290.4 as "Night care—Care for a child between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.," and it contemplates 24-hour operation, which § 3290.113(g) regulates by capping the operator at sixteen working hours in any twenty-four.

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

How many children you can care for in Pennsylvania

Six children — but the sentence that says so is one of the most misread sentences in the Pennsylvania Code, and getting it wrong in either direction costs money. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.51, headed "Maximum number of children," reads in full: "The number of children in care may not exceed six children at any one time who are unrelated to either the legal entity or the staff person. At any one time, the related children of either the legal entity or the staff person, but not both, may be excluded in determining compliance with this section." Take it in two halves. FIRST HALF. "The number of children in care may not exceed six children at any one time who are unrelated to either the legal entity or the staff person." The ceiling counts UNRELATED children only, and it measures relatedness against TWO people — the legal entity and the staff person — not one. In the ordinary sole-proprietor case those are the same human being and the rule reads exactly as you would expect: at most six children who are not your parent, child, stepparent, stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (the closed list in § 3290.4). Where they are different people — an LLC or partnership as legal entity, or a designated staff person other than the owner — a child related to EITHER of them is not "unrelated to either," and so is outside the six-count for purposes of the first sentence.

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

Adult-to-child ratios

Pennsylvania does NOT express family child care home ratios as a staff-to-child fraction. There is no "1:4 for infants, 1:5 for toddlers" table in Chapter 3290 the way there is in Chapter 3270 for centers or Chapter 3280 for group homes. The section is even titled "Ratio requirements," and it contains no ratio. Understanding this is the difference between reading Pennsylvania correctly and importing another state's mental model onto it. What Pennsylvania does instead is cap the NUMBER OF CHILDREN BY AGE LEVEL, on the assumption that a family child care home is run by one adult. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.52, headed "Ratio requirements," reads in full: "The operator may provide care to no more than five related and unrelated infants and toddlers at any one time. No more than two related and unrelated infants may receive care at any one time. The following numbers of infants and toddlers are permitted in a family child care home: (1) If no infants are in care, five toddlers are permitted. (2) If one infant is in care, four toddlers are permitted. (3) If two infants are in care, three toddlers are permitted."

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

Training you must complete before licensure

Pennsylvania's pre-service obligation splits cleanly in two, and confusing the halves is what delays certificates. One half is what the APPLICANT must have finished before the regional office will issue a certificate of compliance at all. The other half is what any CAREGIVER must have finished before being left alone with children, whether or not a certificate already hangs on the wall. The regulation writes the first half; an OCDEL certification announcement writes the second; and in a one-adult family child care home you are both people, so both halves fall on you at once. THE ORIENTATION COMES FIRST AND IT IS NOT TRAINING YOU CAN BUY. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(b) provides: "An applicant who may be interested in applying for a certificate of compliance shall participate in an orientation training provided by the Department within 12 months prior to issuance of a certificate of compliance. The orientation does not count toward the annual minimum of 12 clock hours of child care training required in § 3290.31(f) (relating to age and training)." Read both sentences. The orientation must be provided BY THE DEPARTMENT — no vendor, no online marketplace course, no Keystone STARS session substitutes — and it earns you nothing toward the ongoing clock.

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

Ongoing (annual) training

Twelve clock hours a year, per staff person, and the sentence that says so is nine words long. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.31(f): "A staff person shall obtain an annual minimum of 12 clock hours of child care training." Everything difficult about Pennsylvania's ongoing training clock is in what that sentence does not say — not who counts as a staff person, not when the year starts, not who may teach it, and not what happens when you are short. THE NUMBER WAS SIX UNTIL DECEMBER 19, 2020, AND HALF THE ADVICE ONLINE STILL SAYS SIX. The source note on § 3290.31 reads: "The provisions of this § 3290.31 amended May 23, 2008, effective September 22, 2008, 38 Pa.B. 2437; amended December 18, 2020, effective December 19, 2020, except that current staff in child care facilities have 180 days from the effective date of the final-form rulemaking to meet the requirements in subsection (g), 50 Pa.B. 7133." The Department explained the doubling in the preamble to that rulemaking: "The Department is maintaining the increased clock hours of professional development from the proposed regulation in this final-form rulemaking," because "the increase in hours required is consistent with professional development requirements in 5 of the 6 contiguous states of Delaware (15 hours per year), West Virginia (13.5 hours per year), New York (15 hours per year), Maryland (12 hours per year) and Ohio (15 hours per year)," and because "The 6-hour annual professional development requirement was first implemented in 1992, over 27 years ago, and has not been revised since."

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

Background checks

PENNSYLVANIA DOES NOT REQUIRE THREE CLEARANCES ON A FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME. IT REQUIRES FOUR PENNSYLVANIA-ISSUED CERTIFICATIONS PLUS A FULL OUT-OF-STATE SET, AND IT REQUIRES THEM OF EVERY ADULT WHO SLEEPS IN THE HOUSE. Anyone who says the answer is "State Police, ChildLine, FBI" is quoting the general Child Protective Services Law regime that applies to a school volunteer. Certified child care is a separate and harder tier, and the difference is set by 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344(f.1), which the Office of Child Development and Early Learning cites in Announcement C-25-01 as "Additional information for child day-care centers, group day-care homes and family child-care homes." The four Pennsylvania certifications are the Child Abuse History Certification from ChildLine, the Pennsylvania State Police criminal record check, the DHS fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check, and the National Sex Offender Registry verification. The fifth item is a bundle: OCDEL Announcement C-25-01, issued January 15, 2025, effective February 1, 2025, states that "The CPSL requires that an employee, household member, or legal entity, obtain clearances for each state they have resided outside of Pennsylvania within the previous five-year period," and the DHS Keep Kids Safe out-of-state page makes that three checks per state: child abuse registry, criminal history and sex offender registry.

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

The application, step by step

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

1. STEP ONE — COUNT THE CHILDREN WHO WILL BE IN YOUR HOUSE AT ONE INSTANT, BECAUSE THAT NUMBER, AND NOTHING ELSE, DECIDES WHICH BODY OF LAW YOU SPEND THE NEXT SIX MONTHS SATISFYING. Pennsylvania runs three separate certification regimes and one zone of no jurisdiction, and they are divided purely by head count. Three or fewer unrelated children at any one time: the Department of Human Services has nothing to say to you. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.3(a) sets the floor as well as the ceiling — "This chapter applies to facilities in which out-of-home care is provided, at any one time, for part of a 24-hour day to four, five or six children who are not related to the operator and who are 15 years of age…
2. STEP TWO — TELEPHONE YOUR REGIONAL OFFICE, BECAUSE PENNSYLVANIA WROTE THE PHONE CALL INTO THE REGULATION AS A "SHALL," AND BECAUSE THE ORIENTATION YOU BOOK ON THAT CALL IS A HARD PRECONDITION TO ISSUANCE. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(a): "An individual desiring information about the certification requirements for the operation of a family child care home shall contact the Department at the appropriate regional office." That is mandatory language attached to what looks like an information request, and it tells you how the programme is run — the regional office is not a help desk bolted onto self-service, it is the process. There are four regional child development offices and your assignment…
3. STEP THREE — SETTLE ZONING, YOUR DEED AND YOUR LANDLORD BEFORE YOU SPEND A DOLLAR, BECAUSE CHAPTER 3290 CONTAINS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT ANY OF THEM AND DHS WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM THE OUTCOME. Read the whole of 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3290 and you will not find the words zoning, deed, covenant, homeowners association or landlord. The Department's jurisdiction begins at the certificate and stops at your property line. What Chapter 3290 does instead is quietly concede local supremacy in three places, and the concessions are one-way. § 3290.91(b): "Protective gates and devices that can be opened easily are permitted, if they open easily and are not disapproved by building codes or local ordinance."…
4. STEP FOUR — GET THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, THE LONGEST POLE IN THE WHOLE APPLICATION AND THE ONE ITEM DHS HAS WRITTEN AS AN ABSOLUTE BAR. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.14(a): "A certificate of compliance will not be granted by the Department until the legal entity provides a certificate of occupancy as proof of compliance with the applicable requirements in 34 Pa. Code § 403.23 (relating to child day care facilities) and under section 1016(c) of the act (62 P.S. § 1016(c))." Subsection (b) makes it permanent: you "shall maintain ongoing compliance … at all times following issuance of any certificate of compliance." The classification you need is R-3. 34 Pa. Code § 403.23(a): "A dwelling unit where…
5. STEP FIVE — INSTALL INTERCONNECTED SMOKE ALARMS, BECAUSE THE REGULATION YOU WILL BE SHOWN AT THE CODE OFFICE IS BEHIND THE STATUTE THAT BINDS YOU. 34 Pa. Code § 403.23(b)(1), untouched by the January 1, 2026 amendment, still requires a 4—6 child home only to "Have a smoke detector on each floor and in the basement." Interconnection appears only at § 403.23(c)(1), for 7—12 children. That is not the law you must satisfy. Act 42 of 2022, signed July 7, 2022, amended the Fire and Panic Act at 35 P.S. § 1223.6(f.1)(1.1): "The smoke alarms required under this section shall be interconnected via hardwire, Bluetooth connectivity or any other means that allow for communication between smoke alarms…
6. STEP SIX — PULL THREE CLEARANCES FOR YOURSELF AND FOR EVERY ADULT WHO SLEEPS IN THE HOUSE THIRTY DAYS A YEAR, AND START EARLY, BECAUSE THE FBI PRINT IS THE SLOWEST ITEM IN THE FILE AND THERE IS NO WAIVER OF IT FOR A CHILD CARE HOME. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(h)(1): "At initial application for a certificate of compliance, the applicant shall submit clearances for the applicant and for each individual 18 years of age or older who resides in the child care facility at least 30 days in a calendar year." The statute behind it is 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344.1(a). OCDEL's June 2026 application guidance adds the detail that ends most arguments: "The 30 days do not have to be consecutive." A college-age child…
7. STEP SEVEN — COMPLETE THE TEN PRE-SERVICE HEALTH AND SAFETY TOPICS, ONE PERSON DOING ALL OF THEM, AND SEND THE PAPERWORK INSIDE THE APPLICATION ENVELOPE. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(e) is written as a bar on issuance: "Prior to issuance of a certificate of compliance, the applicant or representative of the applicant shall complete professional development in each of the following topics: (1) Prevention and control of infectious diseases (including immunization) and the establishment of a grace period that allows homeless children and children in foster care to receive services while their families … comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements. (2) Prevention of Sudden…
8. STEP EIGHT — CERTIFY IN PEDIATRIC FIRST AID AND PEDIATRIC CPR WITH A PQAS-APPROVED TRAINER, AND STOP EXPECTING SOMEONE ELSE TO PAY FOR IT. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.32(d) is a standing operational rule, not merely an application item: "One or more facility persons competent in pediatric first-aid and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques shall be at the facility when one or more children are in care." In a one-adult family child care home that means you, present, certified, every minute the doors are open — there is no arrangement in which the certified person is elsewhere. § 3290.31(f)(4)(i) defines competence and imposes the renewal duty: "Pediatric first-aid training and pediatric…
9. STEP NINE — HAVE A PHYSICIAN SIGN YOUR HEALTH ASSESSMENT, INCLUDING A TUBERCULOSIS SCREEN, AND SEND IT TO THE DEPARTMENT BEFORE THE CERTIFICATE ISSUES — NOT AFTER. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.151(a): "A facility person providing direct care who comes into contact with the children or who works with food preparation shall have a health assessment on file at the facility. (1) The operator shall submit a health assessment to the Department prior to issuance of an initial or renewal certificate of compliance. (2) A health assessment is valid for 24 months following the date of signature …" Two operative facts. The assessment travels to the Department, not merely into your own file, and it does so at…
10. STEP TEN — FILE THE APPLICATION, ON FORM CD 633, WITH THIRTEEN ATTACHMENTS AND NO FEE WHATSOEVER. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(d): "An applicant desiring to apply for a certificate of compliance shall submit application documents, on forms prescribed by the Department, to the appropriate regional office." Chapter 20 adds the mechanics: § 20.21(b), a legal entity subject to Article X "may not commence operation until notified that a certificate of compliance will be issued"; § 20.21(e), report any fictitious name registered with the Department of State; § 20.12, a corporation submits its articles of incorporation at initial application. THE FORM IS CD 633, "Application for Certificate of…
11. STEP ELEVEN — WRITE THE EMERGENCY PLAN AND MAIL IT TO TWO GOVERNMENT BODIES THAT ARE NOT DHS, BECAUSE IT IS THE ONE WRITTEN POLICY PENNSYLVANIA SPECIFIES IN FULL AND THE ONE CARRYING AN OUTBOUND DISTRIBUTION DUTY. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.24(a): "The facility shall have an emergency plan that provides for: (1) Shelter of children during an emergency including lock-down, shelter in place at the facility and shelter at locations away from the facility premises. (2) Evacuation of children from the facility building and … to a location away from the facility premises … (3) A method for facility persons to contact parents as soon as reasonably possible when an emergency situation arises. (4) A method…
12. STEP TWELVE — BUILD THE PARENT AGREEMENT AND THE TWO RECORD SETS BEFORE THE INSPECTOR ARRIVES, BECAUSE EACH ITEM IS A NAMED SUBSECTION AND RECORDS ARE READ AT THE PRE-CERTIFICATION VISIT. Start with what the parent gets. § 3290.121(a): the operator "shall review with the parent, at the time of application, the facility's general daily schedule, hours in which care is provided, fees, responsibilities for meals, clothing, health policies, supervision policies, night care policies, dismissal policies, transportation and pick-up arrangements," and § 3290.121(b) requires that at enrollment "a parent shall receive in writing the information described in subsection (a)." Eleven subjects, in…
13. STEP THIRTEEN — SKIP THE WELL TEST, THE RADON TEST AND THE LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICY, BECAUSE PENNSYLVANIA REQUIRES NONE OF THEM OF A FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME. Most state family-home regimes bundle a private-well bacteriological test, a lead clearance, a radon measurement and a certificate of liability insurance or a signed notice to parents in lieu of insurance. Chapter 3290 contains none of the four, and this is not an inference from silence — the words well, radon and insurance appear nowhere in the operative text, and the only occurrence of "insurance" in the chapter is at § 3290.182, in a CHILD's record: "Health insurance coverage and policy number for the child under a family policy…
14. STEP FOURTEEN — SUBMIT ANY WAIVER REQUEST, THEN TAKE THE ANNOUNCED PRE-CERTIFICATION INSPECTION, THE ONLY INSPECTION IN YOUR CAREER THAT WILL EVER BE SCHEDULED IN ADVANCE. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(i): "Prior to making a decision about the issuance of a certificate of compliance, the Department's agent shall conduct an announced pre-certification inspection at the location where the family child care home will operate." § 3290.21(e) says it again, and § 3290.11(n) lays out the life-cycle: "(1) An announced pre-certification inspection. (2) An unannounced inspection, not less than annually. (3) In response to a complaint on an unannounced basis." § 3290.11(l) then provides that "Except for §…
15. STEP FIFTEEN — TAKE ISSUANCE OF A TWELVE-MONTH CERTIFICATE, POST IT, AND KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REGULAR ONE AND THE PROVISIONAL ONE YOU MAY BE OFFERED INSTEAD. 55 Pa. Code § 20.51: "A certificate of compliance will be issued to the legal entity by the Department if, after an inspection by an authorized agent of the Department, it is determined that requirements … are met." The term is short: § 3290.11(j), "A certificate of compliance is issued in the manner described in Chapter 20 … for a period not to exceed 12 months from the date of issue," and 62 P.S. § 1009, "All licenses issued by the department under this act shall expire one year next following the day on which issued ……
16. STEP SIXTEEN — REAPPLY SIXTY DAYS BEFORE EXPIRY, EVERY YEAR, AND TREAT THAT DATE AS THE HARDEST DEADLINE IN THE PENNSYLVANIA REGIME. 55 Pa. Code § 20.22(a): "If the legal entity intends to continue operating the facility or agency, it shall complete and submit to the Department an application for a certificate of compliance at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the facility's … existing regular or provisional certificate of compliance." § 3290.11(o) repeats the duty in softer words — "prior to the expiration of the current certificate of compliance" — but § 20.22 supplies the number, and § 3290.3(d) makes Chapter 20 binding on any legal entity "seeking to operate a child care…
17. STEP SEVENTEEN — KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY IN FLIGHT, BECAUSE THREE OF THE FOUR THINGS YOU WILL BE TOLD ARE COMING TO PENNSYLVANIA CHILD CARE ARE EITHER ALREADY DONE OR NOT HAPPENING. First, the rulemaking that imported the federal health and safety schedule into Chapter 3290. It is not pending; it closed six years ago. IRRC regulation 14-542, IRRC No. 3216, "Child Care Facilities," was proposed at 48 Pa.B. 6564 on October 13, 2018, approved by IRRC on October 15, 2020, and published as final-form at 50 Pa.B. 7133 on December 19, 2020, effective on publication except that staff had 180 days to satisfy § 3290.31(g). Its order amended §§ 3290.1—3290.4, 3290.11, 3290.13, 3290.14, 3290.16,…

What you must post on your walls

• THE CURRENT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE, POSTED "IN A CONSPICUOUS LOCATION USED BY PARENTS." This is the anchor posting and its wording matters. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.22(a) reads: "The facility's current certificate of compliance shall be posted in a conspicuous location used by parents, with instructions for contacting the appropriate regional child care office posted at the same location." Read the qualifier "USED BY PARENTS." Chapter 20, which applies to your facility through § 3290.11(l), sets the weaker general standard at § 20.56: "The facility or agency shall post the current certificate of compliance in a public place in the facility or agency." A "public place" and "a conspicuous…
• INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTACTING THE REGIONAL CHILD CARE OFFICE — POSTED, AND POSTED AT THE SAME PLACE AS THE CERTIFICATE. This is the single posting most often missed in a Pennsylvania family child care home, because it is buried as a trailing clause and because the parallel group home rule does not require it at all. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.22(a): the certificate shall be posted "with instructions for contacting the appropriate regional child care office POSTED AT THE SAME LOCATION." Two independent commands sit in that clause. First, the contact instructions must be POSTED, not handed out, not filed, not emailed. Second, they must be posted AT THE SAME LOCATION as the certificate — a notice by…
• THE MOST RECENT INSPECTION SUMMARY, POSTED NEXT TO THE CERTIFICATE, AND IT COMES DOWN ONLY WHEN THE DEPARTMENT SAYS SO. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.22(c): "The operator shall post a copy of each inspection summary issued by the Department NEXT TO the facility's certificate of compliance in a conspicuous location used by parents. The inspection summary MUST REMAIN POSTED UNTIL AN AGENT OF THE DEPARTMENT VERIFIES that each noncompliance item noted on the inspection summary has been corrected." Three things in that sentence decide citations. First, "EACH inspection summary" — not the last one, each one. If you were inspected twice and both carry uncorrected items, both stay up. Second, "NEXT TO the…
• THE EMERGENCY PLAN ITSELF, POSTED — AND THE FOUR THINGS AROUND IT THAT ARE NOT POSTINGS. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.24(e) is one line: "The emergency plan shall be posted in the facility at a conspicuous location." Note what changed from the certificate rule: this one says "in the facility at a conspicuous location," not "in a conspicuous location USED BY PARENTS." The plan is posted for whoever is in the house during the emergency, so the parent-traffic test does not apply and a hallway or kitchen wall serves. The content that must be on that wall is fixed by § 3290.24(a): the plan "provides for: (1) Shelter of children during an emergency including lock-down, shelter in place at the facility and…
• EVACUATION ROUTES, POSTED IN A CONSPICUOUS LOCATION ON EACH FLOOR — A SEPARATE POSTING FROM THE EMERGENCY PLAN. This one is buried inside the fire drill section and is missed precisely because it is not in the emergency plan section. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.94(a)(5) requires the operator or designated staff person responsible for compliance to ensure that "EVACUATION ROUTES ARE POSTED IN A CONSPICUOUS LOCATION ON EACH FLOOR OF THE FACILITY." Read "ON EACH FLOOR." A single evacuation diagram by the front door does not satisfy a house where children nap upstairs and play in a finished basement — you need one on every floor of the facility, and "the facility" in a family child care home means the…
• EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS, POSTED BY EACH TELEPHONE — FIVE NAMED NUMBERS, NOT "911." 55 Pa. Code § 3290.72, in its entirety: "Telephone numbers of the NEAREST HOSPITAL, POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT, AMBULANCE and POISON CONTROL CENTER shall be posted BY EACH TELEPHONE in the facility." Five categories, enumerated, and the enumeration is the point. Pennsylvania does not accept a card reading "In an emergency dial 911." The regulation demands the number of the NEAREST hospital, the NEAREST police department, the NEAREST fire department, an ambulance service and a poison control centre — five separate, locally-specific numbers, written down. An inspector who finds a 911 sticker and…
• THE WRITTEN EMERGENCY-TRANSPORT AND STAFFING PLAN, "CONSPICUOUSLY POSTED" — AND IT ALSO HAS TO LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH YOU. This is a posting hidden inside the admissions subchapter, which is why applicants who read only the "general requirements" sections never find it. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.124(d): "A WRITTEN PLAN SHALL BE CONSPICUOUSLY POSTED which identifies the MEANS OF TRANSPORTING A CHILD TO EMERGENCY CARE and the FACILITY STAFFING PROVISIONS IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY. The plan must accompany a staff person who leaves the facility on an excursion with children." One document, two obligations: display it on the wall and carry a copy on every walking or riding excursion. The content is…
• THE WRITTEN PLAN OF DAILY ACTIVITIES, POSTED "IN A TRAFFIC AREA USED BY PARENTS" — A THIRD LOCATION STANDARD, NOT A SYNONYM. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.111: "(a) A written plan of daily activities, INCLUDING A TIME FOR FREE PLAY shall be established. (b) The written plan shall be POSTED IN A TRAFFIC AREA USED BY PARENTS. (c) Daily activities shall promote the development of skills, social competence and self-esteem. Daily experiences shall recognize the child as an individual and give some choice of activities that respect personal privacy, life-style and cultural background." Pennsylvania now has three distinct location formulas in one chapter and they are not interchangeable: "a conspicuous…
• THAT IS THE WHOLE LIST — EIGHT DOCUMENTS FROM CHAPTER 3290, PLUS TWO FROM OUTSIDE IT. A full-text reading of all 114 sections of 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3290 as the Pennsylvania Code index serves it today yields exactly eight display obligations for a family child care home, and no more: (1) the current certificate of compliance, § 3290.22(a); (2) instructions for contacting the regional child care office, at the same location, § 3290.22(a); (3) each open inspection summary, next to the certificate, § 3290.22(c); (4) the emergency plan, § 3290.24(e); (5) evacuation routes on each floor, § 3290.94(a)(5); (6) emergency telephone numbers by each telephone, § 3290.72; (7) the written…
• KEPT AVAILABLE, NEVER POSTED: THE REGULATIONS, THE PARENT PACKET, AND THE RECORDS. Conflating "kept available" with "posted" is the classic Pennsylvania error, and Chapter 3290 sets three separate traps for it. First, the regulations themselves. Older guidance for Pennsylvania child care told operators to keep a copy of the regulations available for parents to read. The current rule does not say that. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.22(b): "The operator shall PROVIDE the parent of each child enrolled in the facility with INFORMATION ON HOW TO ACCESS THE REGULATIONS IN THIS CHAPTER ELECTRONICALLY and with instructions for contacting the appropriate regional child care office." Since the December 18,…
• WHAT PENNSYLVANIA DOES NOT REQUIRE YOU TO POST, ITEM BY ITEM, WITH THE TEXT THAT SHOWS IT. Budget nothing for these and do not let a vendor sell you a placard pack. NO MENU POSTING. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.165 is the whole rule and it is one sentence: "The operator shall DISCUSS the general menu plan with the parent so that the daily nutritional needs of the child can be met." Discuss. Not write, not post, not retain. This is the single most transferable false requirement in Pennsylvania, because the CHILD CARE CENTER rule in the neighbouring chapter says the opposite: 55 Pa. Code § 3270.165, "An operator shall CONSPICUOUSLY POST THE MENU at least 1 week in advance or provide a menu to each…
• WHAT THE INSPECTOR ACTUALLY DOES WITH YOUR WALLS, AND WHY THE POSTINGS ARE THE FIRST THING CHECKED. Pennsylvania's inspection regime makes the postings the cheapest evidence in the house. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(n) lists the three visits: "(1) An announced pre-certification inspection. (2) An unannounced inspection, not less than annually. (3) In response to a complaint on an unannounced basis." Only the first is announced, and § 3290.11(l) removes even the general protection of Chapter 20: "EXCEPT FOR § 20.32 (relating to announced inspections), the requirements in Chapter 20 apply to child care facilities." § 3290.11(i) fixes the first visit — "Prior to making a decision about the issuance…
• THE POSTINGS YOU ARE ABOUT TO PUT ON THE WALL ARE STILL TITLE 55 POSTINGS — AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY COMING. There is a story circulating that Pennsylvania's child care rules are being recodified out of Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Code into Title 6, which would make every citation in this section stale. Verified today against the index of rules in effect, not against any pinned document, it is false in both halves. Title 6 of the Pennsylvania Code is "AGING," Part I, Department of Aging, comprising Chapters 1, 3, 5, 11, 15, 20, 21, 22, 30 and 35; it has never contained child care. Title 55 is "HUMAN SERVICES," Part I, Department of Human Services, and under Subpart D it still serves "Chapter…
• THE NINTH AND TENTH POSTINGS DO NOT COME FROM CHAPTER 3290 AT ALL — THE TWO CIVIL RIGHTS POLICY STATEMENTS. Every posting so far has a section number in 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3290. These two do not, which is exactly why they are missed: they arrive through the civil rights form, and once your certificate issues nobody points at them again. The regulatory root is § 3290.23(b): "A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WILL NOT BE GRANTED by the Department to a legal entity unless compliance with civil rights laws and applicable regulations has been met," listing six statutes from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (43 P.S. §§ 951—962.2) to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and § 3290.23(c):…

Enrollment forms for each child

• CD 633, "APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE" — ONE FORM FOR ALL THREE FACILITY TYPES, AND THE ONLY APPLICATION THERE IS. Pennsylvania does not publish a family-child-care-specific application. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning publishes a single instrument titled "APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE," headed "Office of Child Development and Early Learning," footer-stamped "CD 633 10/17" on every page, listed on the DHS Child Care Forms index as "Application for Certificate of Compliance: Center, Group, and Family Home (CD 633)." Its first line is a three-way tick box — "Family Child Care Home / Group Child Care Home / Center" — and its second is a three-way…
• THE OCDEL PACKET — "WHAT IS A COMPLETE APPLICATION?", THIRTEEN NUMBERED ATTACHMENTS, AND THE TWO THAT DO NOT APPLY TO YOU. CD 633 alone is not an application. OCDEL publishes a companion checklist, "What Is a Complete Application?", which opens by citing the authority chain — "must obtain a Certificate of Compliance from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) prior to beginning operation of the facility (62 P.S. § 1002; 55 Pa. Code § 20.1, et seq.; 55 Pa. Code §§ 3270.11(a); 3280.11(a); 3290.11(c))" — and then enumerates thirteen items.
• HS 2126, THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLIANCE FORM — A GATE YOUR CERTIFICATION REPRESENTATIVE DOES NOT HOLD, AND THE ONE FORM THAT ORDERS A POSTING. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.23(b) makes civil rights a condition precedent: "A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WILL NOT BE GRANTED by the Department to a legal entity unless compliance with civil rights laws and applicable regulations has been met," listing six statutes from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to the ADA; and § 3290.23(c) turns that into paper: "THE APPROPRIATE FORMS TO ESTABLISH COMPLIANCE SHALL BE INCLUDED WITH THE APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION." The form is HS 2126, "DHS CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLIANCE FORM," in a ten-page packet headed "CIVIL RIGHTS…
• CY 113, "PENNSYLVANIA CHILD ABUSE HISTORY CERTIFICATION," AND CY 999, THE CONSENT/RELEASE THAT MAKES IT USABLE. The child abuse clearance is a two-form transaction and applicants routinely file only the first. CY 113, stamped "CY 113 12/15," is headed "PENNSYLVANIA CHILD ABUSE HISTORY CERTIFICATION" and is sent to "CHILDLINE AND ABUSE REGISTRY, PA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, P.O. BOX 8170 HARRISBURG, PA 17105-8170." Its "PURPOSE OF CERTIFICATION (Check one box only)" list contains two boxes that matter to a family child care home and they are not the same box: "Self-employed provider of child-care services in a family child-care home," which is the operator's box, and "An individual 18…
• WHO NEEDS CLEARANCES AND WHEN — § 6344.1, THE 30-DAY HOUSEHOLD RULE, AND THE 60-MONTH CLOCK THAT RUNS OFF YOUR OLDEST CERTIFICATE. The forms are the easy part; the population and the calendar are where family child care homes get denied. The statutory hook reaching into your house is 23 Pa.C.S. § 6344.1(a): an individual applying "for a certificate of compliance or a license to provide CHILD DAY CARE IN A RESIDENCE shall include criminal history record and child abuse record information required under section 6344(b) FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER WHO RESIDES IN THE HOME FOR AT LEAST 30 DAYS IN A CALENDAR YEAR." § 6344.1(c) makes the consequence mandatory: "The department…
• SP 4-164, THE FBI SERVICE CODES, AND THE NSOR VERIFICATION NOBODY REMEMBERS. The second clearance is a State Police instrument, linked from the DHS Child Care Forms index as "SP 4-164: Request for Criminal Record Check." Current revision, stamped top-left: "SP 4-164 (10-2025)," headed "PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE / REQUEST FOR CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK," telephone "1-888-QUERYPA." Read the revision stamp before you file: an out-of-date sheet is a returned sheet, and the form warns "If this form is not legible or not properly completed, it will be returned unprocessed." Completion is "in ink by the requester" and the result "will be mailed to the requester only" — the state-police analogue of the…
• THE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT — SIGNED, WITNESSED AND DATED, AND THE 45-DAY PROVISIONAL RULE THAT ONE REGULATION STILL CONTRADICTS. OCDEL's application checklist item 4 requires a "Disclosure statement for all applicable members of the legal entity, representative of the legal entity and/or the responsible person as required by the Child Protective Services Law (23 Pa. C.S.A. § 6344 ...). MUST BE SIGNED, WITNESSED, AND DATED." Witnessed: a signature alone is not enough. DHS publishes two versions, not interchangeable. The employment version is titled "DISCLOSURE STATEMENT / APPLICATION FOR CHILD CARE EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING PROVISIONAL EMPLOYMENT / Required by the Pennsylvania Child Protective…
• CD 322, "CHILD CARE STAFF HEALTH ASSESSMENT," AND THE SUBMISSION DUTY THAT EXISTS ONLY FOR FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES. The adult health form is stamped "CD 322 2/12," titled "CHILD CARE STAFF HEALTH ASSESSMENT," and subtitled with its own authority: "(55 Pa. Code §§ 3270.151, 3280.151 and 3290.151)." It has three zones. The employer completes the activity checklist — "Lifting, carrying children / Close interaction with children / Food preparation / Driver of vehicle(s) / Facility maintenance." A "physician, physician's assistant or certified registered nurse practitioner (CRNP)" completes the clinical section, ending with "BASED ON YOUR FINDINGS ... IS THIS INDIVIDUAL SUITABLE TO PROVIDE…
• CD 51 "CHILD HEALTH REPORT," AND THE IMMUNIZATION TRAIL THAT RUNS THROUGH HEALTH, NOT DHS. The child health form is stamped "CD 51 09/08," listed by DHS as "CD 51 (formerly CY 51) Child Health Assessment" and titled "CHILD HEALTH REPORT (55 PA CODE §§ 3270.131, 3280.131 AND 3290.131)". Anything citing "CY 51" predates the renumbering. The parent signs "I authorize the child care staff and my child's health professional to communicate directly ... about my child"; the clinician's block ends with "SIGNATURE OF PHYSICIAN, CRNP OR PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT," "TITLE," "LICENSE NUMBER" and "DATE FORM SIGNED," because § 3290.131(c) provides that "a health report must be written and signed by a…
• CY 321 "AGREEMENT" AND CD 208 "CHILD SERVICE REPORT" — THE PARENT CONTRACT AND THE FORM IT MUST NAME BUT DOES NOT. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.123(a) requires "an AGREEMENT SIGNED BY THE OPERATOR AND THE PARENT" specifying seven terms: the fee per day or week; the date the fee is paid; "the services to be provided to the family and child, INCLUDING THE DEPARTMENT'S APPROVED FORM TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE FAMILY ABOUT THE CHILD'S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ... The operator shall complete and update the form and provide a copy to the family in accordance with the updates regarding emergency contact information in § 3290.124(e)"; arrival and departure times; "the individuals designated by the parent…
• CY 867, "EMERGENCY CONTACT / PARENTAL CONSENT FORM" — SIX SEPARATE PARENTAL CONSENTS ON ONE SHEET, UPDATED TWICE A YEAR. This is the workhorse of the child's file, and its design carries the regulation's structure. CY 867 is footer-stamped "CY 867 10/22," titled "EMERGENCY CONTACT / PARENTAL CONSENT FORM," and subtitled with its authority: "55 PA CODE CHAPTERS 3270.124 (a) (b), 3270.181 & 182; 3280.124 (a) (b), 3280.181 & .182; 3290.124 (a) (b), 3290.181 & .182." The emergency-contact half tracks 55 Pa. Code § 3290.124(b) field by field: the child's name and birth date; "the name, address and telephone number of the child's source of medical care"; "the home and work addresses and home and…
• CY 862, "MEDICATION LOG," AND THE SPECIAL-DIET PAPERWORK THAT TRAVELS WITH IT. Pennsylvania does not oblige a family child care home to give medication at all, and the sentence that says so is the most valuable one in § 3290.133 for a sole operator: "FACILITY PERSONS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ADMINISTER MEDICATION OR SPECIAL DIETS which are requested or required by a parent, a physician, a physician's assistant or a CRNP but are NOT TREATMENT RELATED TO THE CHILD'S SPECIAL NEEDS." What you cannot refuse is accommodation of treatment tied to a special need: "The operator shall make reasonable accommodation in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws to facilitate administration of…
• CY 866, "INCIDENT REPORT FORM," AND THE 24-HOUR / 72-HOUR CLOCK THAT STARTS WITHOUT YOU. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.17(a): "The operator or the operator's designee shall IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY A CHILD'S PARENT and shall notify the appropriate regional office of the Department WITHIN 24 HOURS if one or more of the following occurs: (1) INPATIENT HOSPITALIZATION OR EMERGENCY ROOM TREATMENT of a child receiving care at the facility. (2) A DEATH of a child receiving care at the facility. (3) A FACILITY FIRE THAT REQUIRES THE SERVICES OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT." Then § 3290.17(b): "The operator shall MAIL OR DELIVER A WRITTEN REPORT to the appropriate regional office of the Department WITHIN 72 HOURS after the…
• CY 863, "VERBAL REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF CHILD," AND THE RELEASE PAPERWORK AROUND IT. Release is a two-tier system in Pennsylvania and each tier has its own paper. The normal tier is written designation in advance: 55 Pa. Code § 3290.116(a), "A child shall be released from care ONLY to the child's parent or to an individual DESIGNATED IN WRITING BY THE ENROLLING PARENT. A child shall be released to either parent unless a COURT ORDER ON FILE AT THE FACILITY states otherwise." Two documents there — the written designation, which § 3290.123(a)(5) makes a mandatory term of the parent agreement and § 3290.124(b)(7) makes a mandatory field of the emergency contact form, and the court order, which…
• CY 864 FIRE DRILL AND FIRE DETECTION LOG, CD 356 EMERGENCY DRILL LOG, CD 355 EMERGENCY PLAN DELIVERY — THREE LOGS, THREE CADENCES, AND A CITATION ERROR ON ONE OF THEM. These are the recurring records a certification representative asks for by name. First, the fire drill log. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.94(a)(9) requires "a WRITTEN RECORD ... MAINTAINED ON FILE at the facility indicating the SPECIFIC TIME OF DAY of the drill, the HYPOTHETICAL LOCATION of the fire, the EVACUATION TIME, and the NAMES OF THE FACILITY PERSONS and the NUMBER OF CHILDREN who participate." Names for adults, a count for children. The cadence is § 3290.94(a)(1)-(4): at least once every 60 days, at varying times of day or…
• THE ADULT FILE: FOUR ITEMS, THE MANDATED REPORTER CERTIFICATE, AND A GAP IN § 3290.191 THE GROUP HOME CHAPTER DOES NOT HAVE. What an adult record must contain is short. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.192: "A record shall include a copy of the following information: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the staff person. (2) A written report of initial and subsequent health assessments, including the results of initial and subsequent TUBERCULIN SKIN TESTS, X-RAYS OR OTHER MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION necessary to confirm freedom from communicable tuberculosis. (3) A copy of REQUESTS for the criminal history record and child abuse registry clearance information, a copy of the DISCLOSURE STATEMENT and a…
• WHAT IS OWED ONLY AT RENEWAL — AND THE SIXTY-DAY DEADLINE THAT IS NOT IN CHAPTER 3290. Renewal is the same CD 633 with a different tick box, but four obligations attach to it that do not attach to routine operation. First, the deadline. 55 Pa. Code § 3290.11(o) says only: "A legal entity desiring to renew a certificate of compliance shall submit a correct, completed application and other required materials to the appropriate regional office of the Department PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION of the current certificate of compliance." Read that alone and you file on the last day. Chapter 20 applies through § 3290.11(l), and § 20.22(a) is specific: submit "AT LEAST 60 DAYS PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION of…
• THE RECODIFICATION SCARE IS FALSE — BUT THE CHAPTER RENUMBER BEHIND IT IS REAL, AND IT IS NOT TITLE 6. You will be told that Pennsylvania's child care regulations are moving from Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Code to Title 6, and that the forms and citations above are therefore about to be obsolete. Checked against the index of rules in effect rather than any pinned document: that is false. The Pennsylvania Code table of contents for Title 6 today serves "TITLE 6 — AGING, PART I. Department of Aging," containing Chapters 1, 3, 5, 11, 15, 20, 21, 22, 30 and 35 — fair hearings, age preference, older adult daily living centers, protective services for older adults, domiciliary care. No child…

What's specific about getting licensed in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania draws unusually sharp lines that most states don't. A "family child care home" is defined by an exact headcount — 4, 5, or 6 unrelated children (§ 3290.4); care for fewer than 4 and you generally fall outside certification, while 7 or more pushes you into the separate "group child care home" or center rules. Layered on top is the infant/toddler sub-cap (max 2 infants, max 5 infants-and-toddlers combined) that quietly overrides the "6 children" headline. And since 2020 these homes are formally CERTIFIED with annual unannounced inspections and a required certificate of occupancy — not the light-touch "registration" many out-of-state guides still describe. That specific combination (a strict 4–6 bracket + infant sub-limits + full certification) is what makes the Pennsylvania path distinct.

How long it takes and what it costs in Pennsylvania

Timeline: Realistically plan for about 2 to 4 months from first step to an issued Certificate of Compliance. The pace is set by three parallel bottlenecks: the FBI fingerprint clearance (often 2 to 6 weeks), completing and documenting the 10 required pre-service training topics, and obtaining a certificate of occupancy from your municipality — all of which must be in hand before the DHS regional office schedules its on-site inspection. Once issued, the certificate is valid for no more than 12 months (§ 3290.11) and must be renewed annually, with unannounced inspections in between.

Cost: The certificate itself is inexpensive, but I could not confirm the exact annual certificate fee from the official DHS pages, so verify that figure directly with your DHS regional certification office. The concrete out-of-pocket costs are the three clearances — the PA Child Abuse History (ChildLine) certification, the PA State Police criminal record check, and the FBI fingerprint check — which together typically run under about $50 per adult; many family child care applicants qualify for reduced clearance costs, so check current rates when you apply. Multiply that by every adult 18+ in the household. The required pre-service and 12-hour annual training (§ 3290.31(f)) is often available free or low-cost through the Pennsylvania PD Registry / Keystone STARS system. Budget separately for your municipal certificate of occupancy, which varies by town.

Source: Sources officielles consultées pour Pennsylvania :

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter3290/chap3290toc.html

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter3280/chap3280toc.html

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter20/chap20toc.html

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol50/50-51/1772.html

https://www.pakeys.org/c-24-03/

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/keep-kids-safe/mandated-reporter-training.html

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dhs/documents/keepkidssafe/documents/approved-child-abuse-reco

https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol56/56-N/index.html

Verified 2026-08-26. General information, not legal advice and not a guarantee of licensure — confirm with your state’s licensing agency before applying.