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Home Daycare License Requirements in Rhode Island (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Rhode Island means getting a family child care home license from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Child Care Licensing. 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 Rhode Island

Two home-based tiers in one rulebook. A 'Family child care home' or FCCH is 'a licensed residence where the resident can provide child care for up to six (6) children, or up to twelve (12) children with one (1) or more approved assistants (dependent on enrollment details)' (218-RICR-70-00-2.1.4(A)(7)). A 'Group family child care home' or GFCCH — a definition ADDED by the 09 August 2026 amendment — is 'an FCCH in which the residence is in compliance with local zoning regulations where the resident can provide child care for eight (8) to twelve (12) children with one (1) or more approved assistants' (2.1.4(A)(8)). A GFCCH is not a separate licence type but an FCCH at the upper end, and the only textual difference in the definition itself is compliance with local zoning — which makes zoning a licensing condition for group providers in a way it is not for a six-child home. The residence must be your own: 2.3.4(A)(1) requires 'one (1) provider, who lives in the residence, and is responsible for the overall program', and the first purpose of the pre-licensing visit is to 'Ensure that the proposed program location is the residence of the applicant' (2.2.1(B)(3)(a)).

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 Rhode Island

Twelve is the ceiling, six is the default, and nearly every dispute is about who counts rather than about the number. A Group Family Child Care Home provider with two assistants 'must care for no more than twelve (12) children at any time, in accordance with the provider's licensed capacity' (218-RICR-70-00-2.3.4(B)(3)); no assistant on site caps you at six (2.3.4(B)(1)); one assistant on site caps you at eight (2.3.4(B)(2)). CAPACITY IS MEASURED, NOT CHOSEN. DHS fixes it at a home visit whose stated purpose includes to 'Measure the program floor space to determine capacity' (2.2.1(B)(3)(c)), and the arithmetic is 'thirty-five (35) square feet of usable space per child in care determined by a measurement visit completed by the Department' (2.3.1(F)(1)). 'Usable floor space' is narrowed to 'available space used by children for activities throughout the day' (2.1.4(A)(20)), so hallways, storage and adult-only rooms buy you nothing — a twelve-child home needs at least 420 measured square feet. Homes licensed before these Regulations are grandfathered, but the grandfathering falls away the moment they 'request an increase to their current licensed capacity' (2.3.1(F)(1)(a)): wanting one more child re-opens the measurement.

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

Adult-to-child ratios

Rhode Island publishes no age-by-age grid. It publishes a staffing table keyed to licensed capacity and to how many approved assistants are physically ON SITE, with a hard sub-cap on children under eighteen months layered over it — the table at 218-RICR-70-00-2.3.4(B)(4), the narrative at 2.3.4(B)(1)-(3). SOLO, NO ASSISTANT ON SITE: maximum six children, of whom 'there must be no more than two (2) children under the age of eighteen (18) months, in care, at any time' (2.3.4(B)(1)(a)). If ALL children are under three, 'a maximum ratio of four to one (4:1) should be maintained unless an approved assistant is employed and on site' (2.3.4(B)(1)(b)) — note the drafting: 'should' here, 'must' in the assistant rows. LICENSED FOR SIX WITH ONE ASSISTANT ON SITE: still six children, but the infant sub-cap doubles to four under eighteen months and no additional assistant is required (2.3.4(B)(4)). The second adult does not raise your headcount here; it raises how many babies you may hold inside it. LICENSED FOR EIGHT WITH ONE ASSISTANT ON SITE: eight children, no more than four under eighteen months (2.3.4(B)(2)(a)).

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

None of it is optional and none of it happens after you open. An applicant 'must contact the Department to formally enroll in an Orientation' and 'must successfully complete Orientation and a course of Pre-Service Training, as determined by the Department, prior to submitting an application' (218-RICR-70-00-2.2.1(A)(1)-(2)); a previously licensed provider reopening more than five years after closure must redo both (2.2.1(A)(3)). FCCH PROVIDER — the age floor is twenty-one, not eighteen (2.3.5(A)(1)). Before initial licensure the provider must evidence, under 2.3.5(A)(2): high school or GED (applicable to all providers initially licensed after the issuance of the 2007 Regulations); the Department's Orientation to Family Child Care; the Department's approved Pre-Service Training; current certification under the most recent American Heart Association guidelines in Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Pediatric First Aid; a Comprehensive Background Check; and evidence of an annual physical and immunization information. The format rule catches people out: 'Initial CPR certification must be done in person', while recertification may be in person or online and pediatric first aid may be either.

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

Ongoing (annual) training

Twelve hours per calendar year for the provider and for full-time assistants, of which four must be in health and safety topics: 'All Family Child Care Home Providers and full time assistants are required to complete twelve (12) hours of professional development training per calendar year' (218-RICR-70-00-2.3.5, 'Professional Development' paragraph, (1)). Three variations sit around that number and they do not use the same arithmetic. Partial-year programmes owe one hour per month of operation ((1)(a)). Part-time emergency-only assistants owe six: 'Assistants who were hired to work less than twenty (20) hours per week are only responsible for emergency care, are required to complete six (6) professional development hours per year, regardless of the program's operating schedule' ((2)) — the closing clause means the partial-year proration does not cut this six down. Mid-year hires prorate at a different rate again: 'Prorated hours will equal two (2) hours per month when calculating for staff hired mid-year' ((6)(a)) — two hours per month, not one. THE FOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY HOURS must come from one of eleven listed topics ((3)(a)): infectious disease prevention including immunization; SIDS prevention and safe sleep; medication administration consistent with standards for parental consent; food and allergic reaction emergencies; building and premises safety including hazards, bodies of water and vehicular traffic; prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome, abusive head trauma and child maltreatment; emergency preparedness for natural disasters or man-caused events; hazardous materials and bio contaminants; precautions in transporting children; Pediatric First-Aid and CPR; and recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect.

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

Background checks

Rhode Island calls it a 'Comprehensive Background Check': 'an all-inclusive set of state and federal criminal background checks and child abuse and neglect registry checks that are required of the provider, all household members eighteen (18) years of age or older and assistants who work or live within a licensed family child care program' (218-RICR-70-00-2.1.4(A)(3)). The definition itself sets the cycle: checks 'must be completed every five (5) years or as requested by the Department'. WHAT IT CONTAINS. Four components (2.1.4(A)(3), repeated at 2.2.1(B)(1)): state and national criminal and sex offender registries under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 40-13.2; child abuse and neglect clearances, also under Chapter 40-13.2; any additional checks required by state or federal law; and out-of-state checks 'in any circumstance where an individual lives or has lived outside of the State of Rhode Island in the previous five (5) years'. Rhode Island is small enough that this five-year trigger catches a large share of applicants — a year in Massachusetts or Connecticut inside the window pulls in that state's checks.

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. Contact DHS and formally enroll in Orientation, then complete the Department's Orientation to Family Child Care AND its approved Pre-Service Training. Both must be finished BEFORE any application is submitted, and a previously licensed provider reopening more than five years after closure must repeat them (218-RICR-70-00-2.2.1(A)(1)-(3)).
2. Confirm the personal thresholds: at least twenty-one years of age, plus a high school diploma or GED for anyone initially licensed after the issuance of the 2007 Regulations (2.3.5(A)). For a Group Family Child Care Home you must instead hold an associate degree or beyond in Child Development or Early Childhood Education, or a CDA in Family Child Care, or a high school diploma/GED plus a full two-year term of licensure as a Rhode Island FCCH provider in good standing (2.3.5(B)(1)).
3. Obtain current American Heart Association Pediatric CPR and Pediatric First Aid — the INITIAL CPR certification must be taken in person — and an annual physical with immunization information (2.3.5(A)(2)).
4. Recruit your approved assistant or assistants BEFORE applying. Every FCCH must have at least one assistant readily available to give immediate care in an emergency, and a programme serving six or more children requires an approved SECOND assistant; this is a condition of initial licensure and of renewal, and another licensed FCCH or GFCCH provider may not be listed as your assistant (2.3.4(A)(2)).
5. Have the applicant, every household member aged eighteen or over, and every assistant clear a Comprehensive Background Check: state and national criminal and sex offender registries and child abuse and neglect clearances under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 40-13.2, plus out-of-state checks for anyone who has lived outside Rhode Island in the previous five years (2.2.1(B)(1), 2.1.4(A)(3)).
6. Get a completed and approved RISES Workforce Registry profile for yourself and each assistant, and a Household Member Profile for each household member — 2.2.1(B)(4) makes this a condition PRIOR to licensure and DHS verifies it during pre-licensure.
7. Obtain the required inspections, in place before an initial licence issues and maintained afterwards: a Life Safety Fire Inspection by the State Fire Marshal, repeated annually; a lead inspection every two years unless a lead-free certificate is obtained, with evidence of construction date required for buildings built after 1978 (Lead Poisoning Prevention 216-RICR-50-15-3); a radon test every three years (216-RICR-50-15-2); and water potability testing under the Rules and Regulations for Private Drinking Water Systems 216-RICR-50-05-2 (2.3.1(A)(1)).
8. Bring the residence into physical compliance before the visit. The conditions that most often fail: a bathroom on the SAME FLOOR as the child care space for anyone applying for initial licensure (2.3.1(D)(2)(a)); heating able to hold at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit with temperature not exceeding 74 degrees in child care areas, hot water no higher than 120 degrees, no portable space heaters while children are in care, no extension cords at all, choke-proof covers on every outlet, and a fire extinguisher in the kitchen area (2.3.1(C)); and an outdoor activity space enclosed, effective 1 January 2023, by a permanent structure such as a fence at least four feet high — or an approved written…
9. Submit the digital application through RISES with the fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 42-12.5-5 — $100 for a family daycare home, $250 for a group family daycare home — plus documentation about the home, the applicant and at least one assistant (2.2.1(B)(2)). Do not let it stall: incomplete initial applications expire six months from the date of submission and you must file a new initial application (2.2.1(B)(7)).
10. Host one or more home visits by a Department representative, serving three purposes: to confirm the location is the applicant's residence, to assess compliance, and to MEASURE the program floor space to determine capacity at 35 square feet of usable space per child (2.2.1(B)(3), 2.3.1(F)(1)).
11. Receive a time-limited Provisional License covering the first six months of operation; pass the monitoring visit and clear any non-compliances, and the licence becomes a Regular License for the remaining eighteen months of the two-year term set by R.I. Gen. Laws 42-12.5-5 (2.2.1(B)(5)-(6), 2.1.4(A)(13)).
12. Post the licence where families and others can easily view it upon entering the home, put up the other required postings, and have the Family Child Care Home Handbook approved by the Department before children arrive (2.2.2(A)(3), 2.3.6(B)(5), 2.3.6(E)(1)).
13. Renew on time. DHS opens a digital renewal application in RISES ninety days before expiry; it must be submitted with all documentation and fees at least THIRTY days before the licence expires. Missing the thirty-day mark may draw a probationary licence; missing the expiry date itself may force closure until a complete application is received and reviewed (2.2.1(C)).
14. Optional on paper, required in practice for CCAP: apply to BrightStars. A DHS licence alone is Level 1 of the five-level framework, BrightStars policy states participation 'is required for the following programs: DHS licensed programs that accept Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)', and ratings renew every three years.

What you must post on your walls

• The current Family Child Care Home license, posted where families and others can easily view it upon entering the home (218-RICR-70-00-2.2.2(A)(3)) and in a prominent place visible to parents/guardians (2.3.6(B)(5)).
• All required emergency phone numbers, posted in a conspicuous place adjacent to the telephone or phone base (2.3.2(M)(4)).
• An individualized graphic evacuation plan identifying all escape routes, posted within the child care area (2.3.2(M)(3)).
• A choke-saving poster outlining the Heimlich Maneuver, prominently displayed in any area where children eat and — language added by the 2026 amendment — visible by the staff sitting with children while eating (2.3.2(N)(4)).
• A regular written cleaning and sanitation schedule including provisions for deep cleaning, posted in a conspicuous place where all parents and visitors can see it (2.3.2(I)(7)).
• Weekly planned menus for meals and snacks (2.3.2(L)(6)), and a regular daily schedule, posted and followed (2.3.7(D)(11)).
• Each child's food allergy information, posted in all areas of the programme the child uses including the food preparation area — but ONLY with parental consent; without consent it must instead be shared verbally with all relevant staff and documented in the child's file (2.3.2(K)(3)).
• If DHS suspends or revokes the licence: the Department's notification of that action, posted in a prominent location near the programme entrance, with parents told the reasoning and timing (2.2.2(D)(4)).
• Staff-Child Ratio posted — not a DHS licensing requirement but a BrightStars requirement from Level 1 upward (Family Child Care Quality Framework, April 2026, Standard Two), and therefore effectively mandatory for any home serving CCAP families.

Enrollment forms for each child

• Digital initial licence application in RISES (Rhode Island Starts Early System) with the fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 42-12.5-5 — $100 family daycare home, $250 group family daycare home — plus documentation about the home, the applicant and at least one assistant (2.2.1(B)(2)). Incomplete initial applications expire six months after submission (2.2.1(B)(7)).
• RISES Workforce Registry profile for the provider and each assistant, and a Household Member Profile for each household member, approved before licensure — carrying identity and education details, Comprehensive Background Check information, the Rhode Island Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Check, health records under Department of Health immunization rules 216-RICR-30-05-3, performance evaluations, the training plan or professional development certification, and documentation of orientation and pre-service training (2.2.1(B)(4), 2.3.6(F)).
• Digital renewal application in RISES, opened ninety days before expiry and due at least thirty days before it (2.2.1(C)(1)); plus the RISES change applications, each on an immediate notification duty: Change of Household Member, Name Change Request, Change of Address, Change of Capacity, assistant association and disassociation, and the Program Closure Request (2.3.6(A)(1), 2.2.2(A)(7)).
• Out of Home Request application in RISES whenever the provider will be out of the home three or more consecutive days, stating dates, reason and how families will be notified (2.3.4(C)(3)); and variance or waiver applications, also filed in RISES and not valid until formally approved by the Licensing Administrator or designee (2.2.3).
• Inspection records: State Fire Marshal Life Safety Fire Inspection report (annual); lead inspection or lead-free certificate (every two years, with evidence of construction date for post-1978 buildings); radon test (every three years); and water potability test (2.3.1(A)(1)).
• The Department's Emergency Preparedness Plan Template with ALL sections completed to address the components at 45 C.F.R. 98.41(a)(1)(vii) (2.3.2(M)(1)); the Family Child Care Home Handbook approved by the Department (2.3.6(E)(1)); a confidentiality policy (2.3.6(B)(3)); a transportation policy if the provider transports children (2.3.6(D)(1)); and proof of liability insurance (2.3.6(B)(2)).
• Per child, in the child's file (2.3.6(F)): a parent-completed application form with the child's and parent's identifying and contact details; date of enrollment; evidence of an annual health exam signed by the child's primary care provider — Kidsnet is expressly NOT acceptable evidence; the immunization record; an Emergency Treatment Form naming two adults contactable if the parents are unreachable, reviewed annually and carried on field trips (2.3.2(C)); written authorization for emergency medical treatment; IEP/IFSP information; written authorization for field trips, swimming and special activities; the names of individuals to whom the child may be released; and a parental consent form…
• Care plans and medication paperwork: a documented health care plan for each child with a disability or special health care need, signed by the child's physician, the parent or guardian and the program administrator (2.3.2(E)(4)); a care plan for each child with food allergies or special nutritional needs (2.3.2(K)(1)); parent/guardian written permission PLUS a written order from a licensed physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner naming the child, medication, circumstances, route, dosage and frequency, with the medication in its original container, and for rescue medication such as albuterol or epinephrine a written protocol; and a daily administration log that travels with…
• Operating records kept on site at least three years (2.3.6(F)): the individual attendance sheet updated at every enrollment change (2.3.4(E)); the volunteer and visitor sign in/sign out sheet (2.3.4(G)(3)); field trip permission slips signed before departure, with three days' written notice to parents (2.3.4(F)(1)); an injury report for every injury signed by the parent/guardian on the SAME day it occurred (2.3.2(N)(5)); safety drill records — one fire drill every month the programme operates with no more than three delayed for weather, every fourth drill obstructed by not using one of the typical exits, and two shelter-in-place drills every twelve months (2.3.2(M)(6)); the monthly first…
• Weekly curriculum plan listing activities and opportunities for the week, materials and equipment needed, and the relevant Rhode Island Early Learning and Development Standards (2.3.7(A)(3)); a documented preadmission family conference for every child enrolled (2.3.7(F)(2)); and written documentation to the parent/guardian giving specific reasons and any conditions of return whenever a provider suspends or terminates a child (2.3.7(F)(5)).
• BrightStars Family Child Care application (1-5 Star Application) with the evidence set out in the Family Child Care Quality Framework, April 2026: an Individual Professional Development Plan, a Quality Improvement Plan completed within ninety days of rating, a Comprehensive Program Self Assessment including the FCC Checklist and DHS Monitoring Report findings, and FCCERS-3 average scores of 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 for Levels 3, 4 and 5.

What's specific about getting licensed in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's real gate is not the classroom but the HOUSE and the HOUSEHOLD. Because DHS licenses the actual residence, an initial license depends on a State Fire Marshal Life Safety fire inspection plus environmental testing of the home (lead, radon, and water potability are all commonly required — confirm the exact set and re-test intervals with DHS), and everyone in the household 18 and older — not just staff — must clear the Comprehensive Background Check and be entered in the RISES Workforce Registry or Household Member Profile before a license issues. A second RI-specific trap is that your own not-yet-in-kindergarten children count against your licensed capacity, so a provider with two toddlers of her own has already spent much of a solo 6-child (or under-3s cap of 4) allotment before enrolling a single paying family. Third, the whole process is digital through RISES, and new providers start on a ~6-month Provisional License before earning a Regular License.

How long it takes and what it costs in Rhode Island

Timeline: Plan on roughly 2-4 months end to end. Orientation + pre-service training and CPR/first aid can be done in a few weeks; the background checks and the home/environmental inspections (fire marshal plus any required lead/radon/water testing) are the long pole and depend on scheduling and any remediation. After the DHS home visit and approval you operate on a ~6-month Provisional License before converting to a Regular License, so full 'settled' licensure runs longer.

Cost: Out-of-pocket varies — confirm the current DHS application fee with RI DHS Child Care Licensing (a modest state fee, not a fixed number verifiable here). Budget separately for: AHA pediatric CPR/first aid course (roughly $60-100), the comprehensive/BCI background checks (confirm current BCI pricing per adult), and the required home tests/inspections (fire marshal, and lead/radon/water as required), which can add several hundred dollars and more if lead remediation is needed. Confirm all fees with DHS and the State Fire Marshal.

Source: Sources officielles consultées pour Rhode Island :

https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/218-70-00-2

https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/218-70-00-7

https://rules.sos.ri.gov/organizations/subchapter/218-70-00

https://codes.findlaw.com/ri/title-42-state-affairs-and-government/ri-gen-laws-sect-42-12-5-5/

https://codes.findlaw.com/ri/title-42-state-affairs-and-government/ri-gen-laws-sect-42-72-1-2/

https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE42/42-12.5/42-12.5-5.htm

https://brightstars.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/FCC-BrightStars-Framework-Updated-April-2026-English.pdf

https://brightstars.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/BrightStars-Policies-FINAL.pdf

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