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Home Daycare License Requirements in Utah (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Utah means getting a family child care home license from the OFFICE OF LICENSING (OL). 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 Utah

WHAT COUNTS AS A "FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME" IN UTAH — THE DEFINITIONAL MACHINERY, ELEMENT BY ELEMENT. Utah does not use the phrase "family child care home" as a legal term for the small track. The statute's term is "residential child care"; the two regulatory products are a "Residential Child Care Certificate" and a "licensed family child care" licence. Whether you need either depends on five interlocking definitions — "child care," "qualifying child," "related child," "residential child care," and "sporadic" — plus a headcount. Get any one wrong and you land in the wrong track or in unlicensed operation, which is a class A misdemeanour under Section 26B-2-707(1)(a). 1. "CHILD CARE" — THE THRESHOLD CONCEPT. Utah Code Section 26B-2-401(4): "'Child care' means continuous care and supervision of a qualifying child, that is: (a) in lieu of care ordinarily provided by a parent in the parent's home; (b) for less than 24 hours a day; and (c) for direct or indirect compensation." The rules restate it in near-identical terms. R430-50-2(10): "'Child care' means continuous care and supervision of at least one qualifying child that: (a) is in place of care ordinarily provided by a parent in the parent's home; (b) occurs for less than 24 hours a day; and (c) is provided for direct or indirect compensation." R430-8-2(6) is word-for-word the same.

Three elements, all of them load-bearing. "Continuous" excludes drop-in supervision that is not care. "Less than 24 hours a day" is what separates child care from residential treatment or foster care. And "direct or indirect COMPENSATION" is the element people misjudge: indirect compensation includes barter, reciprocal childcare arrangements with value attached, and care that "directly affects or is related to a business licensed in this state" — the last phrase is drawn from Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(v), which exempts "care provided to a qualifying child, in the home of the provider, for less than four hours a day or on a sporadic basis, UNLESS that child care directly affects or is related to a business licensed in this state." A gym crèche in someone's home attached to a licensed business does not get the short-hours exemption. 2. "QUALIFYING CHILD" — THE UNIT OF COUNT, AND ITS ASYMMETRY. The statute, Section 26B-2-401(10): "'Qualifying child' means an individual who is: (a)(i) under the age of 13 years old; or (ii) under the age of 18 years old, if the person has a disability; and (b) a child of: (i) a person other than the person providing care to the child; (ii) a regulated provider, if the child is under the age of four; or (iii) an employee or owner of a licensed child care center, if the child is under the age of four."

The rule, R430-50-2(32), says the same thing in list form: "'Qualifying child' means a child: (a) child who is younger than 13 years old and is the child of an individual other than the child care provider or caregiver; (b) child who is younger than four years old and is the child of the provider or a caregiver; or (c) child with a disability who is younger than 18 years old and is the child of an individual other than the provider or caregiver." R430-8-2(19) is identical. The asymmetry is the whole point. SOMEONE ELSE'S child counts from birth to the day before their thirteenth birthday, or to the day before their eighteenth if the child has a disability. YOUR OWN child counts only while under four. Your own five-year-old is not a qualifying child — but, as the ratio and group-size rules show, she is not invisible either: she is counted in group size and, in some circumstances, in the caregiver-to-child ratio, and she is counted for square footage. Section 26B-2-402(7) says so explicitly: "Notwithstanding the definition of 'qualifying child' in Section 26B-2-401, the licensing committee and the department shall count children through age 12 and children with disabilities through age 18 toward the minimum square footage requirement for indoor and outdoor areas, including the child of: (a) a licensed residential child care provider; or (b) an owner or employee of a licensed child care center."

So Utah runs a child through three different counting rules at once: one for whether you need a permit (qualifying children), one for how many caregivers you need (ratio and group-size tables), and one for how big your house must be (square footage). They do not produce the same number. 3. "RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE" — THE LOCATION ELEMENT. Section 26B-2-401(12): "'Residential child care' means child care provided in the home of the provider." R430-50-2(34) is even shorter: "'Residential child care' means care that takes place in a child care provider's home." The negative definition matters as much. Section 26B-2-401(2): "(a) 'Center based child care' means child care provided in a facility or program that is not the home of the provider. (b) 'Center based child care' does not include: (i) residential child care; or (ii) care provided in a facility or program exempt under Section 26B-2-405." A converted outbuilding on your lot, a rented storefront, a church basement — none of those are "the home of the provider," and care there is centre-based and governed by Title R381, not R430, with a licensing threshold of five children rather than nine.

The rules make the "home" element operationally strict in an unexpected way. R430-50-9(16) and R430-90-9(16) both provide that "If the house is subdivided, any part of the building is rented out, or any area of the facility is shared including the outdoor area, OL may inspect the entire facility and the provider shall ensure that covered individuals in the facility comply with this rule, except when: (a) there are no connecting interior doorways that can be used by an unauthorized individual; (b) there is a separate entrance for the child care program; (c) there is a separate mailing address for the rented area; (d) there is a signed rental or lease agreement for the rented area; and (e) there is no shared access to the outdoor area, unless a qualified caregiver is with the children each time children in care are using the outdoor area." A basement tenant, a duplex neighbour or a shared yard pulls that whole space — and the people in it — inside the licence unless all five conditions are met. 4. "RELATED CHILD" — WHO DOES NOT COUNT, AND WHO STILL DOES. R430-50-2(33): "'Related child' means a child for whom a provider is the parent, stepparent, grandparent, step-grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, step-sibling, aunt, step-aunt, great-aunt, uncle, step-uncle, or great-uncle." R430-8-2(20) is identical, and R430-8-2(21) adds the companion term: "'Relative care' means care provided to a qualifying child by or in the home of the parent, legal guardian, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, step-sibling, aunt, uncle, step-aunt, step-uncle, great-aunt, or great-uncle."

Read that list closely: it stops at great-aunt and great-uncle. COUSINS ARE NOT ON IT. Nieces and nephews are reached only via the aunt/uncle limb, i.e. from the caregiver's side. A first cousin once removed is not a related child in Utah. Neither is a godchild, a family friend's child, or a foster child placed by the state (which is a separate licensing category entirely). The statutory exclusion that mirrors this is Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(iv): the Part does not apply to "care provided to a qualifying child by or in the home of a parent, legal guardian, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt." Note that the STATUTORY relative list is SHORTER than the RULE's related-child list — no great-grandparents, no step-relatives, no great-aunts. This is a real divergence and a provider who is relying on a step-grandparent or great-aunt relationship to escape licensure is relying on the rule, not the statute. Crucially, related children are not weightless. R430-90-3(5) requires a licence "if they provide child care in the person's home for more than ten children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A CHILD IS RELATED to the person providing child care."

And the statutory version, Section 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i), applies the same ten-child ceiling to the unlicensed: "A person that does not hold a license or certificate from the department under this part may not, at any given time, provide child care in the person's home for more than 10 children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." 5. "SPORADIC" AND THE FOUR-HOUR FLOOR — THE TWO WAYS OUT. Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(v) exempts "care provided to a qualifying child, in the home of the provider, for less than four hours a day or on a sporadic basis, unless that child care directly affects or is related to a business licensed in this state." The rules build the four-hour floor into both triggers as a positive element: R430-50-3(1)(d) requires care "for four or more hours a day" and R430-90-3(1)(c) the same. R430-50-3(3)(a) and R430-90-3(2) both carve out sporadic and related-only care: "OL will not issue a license if care is only for related children or on a sporadic basis."

Neither the statute nor R430-50 nor R430-90 defines "sporadic" numerically. R430-8-5(2)(b)(ii) offers the only quantitative handhold in the whole scheme: the background-check duty attaches to unlicensed residential care provided "for more than two days a week." That is a registration trigger, not a definition of sporadic, and it should not be read as one — but it is the only number the rules give, and a provider operating three or more days a week should assume they are not sporadic. R430-8-2(3) defines the measuring window: "'Calendar week' means from Sunday through Saturday." 6. THE THREE-TIER HEADCOUNT, STATED PLAINLY. TIER A — UNLICENSED, UNCERTIFIED, BUT BACKGROUND-CHECKED. Eight or fewer qualifying children (or up to ten including your own), more than two days a week, four or more hours a day, in your home, for compensation, not sporadic, not related-only. R430-8-5(3): such a provider "shall: (a) register with OL to facilitate the OBP background check process in accordance with this section; and (b) care for no more than two children under the age of three." The statutory twin, Section 26B-2-405(1)(b)(ii): "A person providing care described in Subsection (1)(a)(viii) may not provide, at any given time, child care in the person's home for more than two children who are under three years old." R430-50-3(3)(b) repeats it: such a person "shall: (i) care for no more than two children under the age of three; and (ii) register with OL to facilitate a background check in accordance with Sections R430-50-8 and 26B-2-405." THE UNDER-THREE CAP IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY MISSED RULE IN THE UTAH SCHEME.

An unlicensed, uncertified home provider in Utah may take a total of eight children but no more than TWO of them may be under three years old. Certification lifts that cap entirely — R430-50 imposes an under-two ratio instead, not an under-three headcount. For a provider whose market is infants, the certificate is not optional in practice. TIER B — RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE (R430-50). Eight or fewer qualifying children, or up to ten children including the provider's own, on all seven R430-50-3(1) elements. Note the statutory phrasing at Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(viii), which is what makes the certificate voluntary rather than mandatory at this size: the Part does not apply to "residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children, unless the provider requests to be licensed under Section 26B-2-403 or certified under Section 26B-2-404." So at eight or fewer, certification is an OPT-IN — but the background-check duty at Section 26B-2-406 is not, because Section 26B-2-405(1)(c) provides that "A person providing care described in Subsection (1)(a)(viii) that is not a certified provider or a licensed provider under this part is subject to the requirements of Section 26B-2-406." TIER C — LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE (R430-90). Nine or more unrelated children under the rule (nine or more qualifying children under the statute), or more than ten children in total under 13 regardless of relation.

Mandatory: "A person SHALL obtain a license." 7. AGE VOCABULARY USED THROUGHOUT THE RULES. R430-50-2 fixes the age bands that the ratio, sleep, diapering and activity rules all use: "(24) 'Infant' means a child who is younger than 12 months old"; "(41) 'Toddler' means a child who is 12 months through 23 months old"; "(31) 'Preschooler' means a child age two through four years old"; "(36) 'School-age child' means a child age five through 12 years old." There is no separate "two-year-old" band in the Utah home rules — the ratio breakpoints are drawn at 18 months and at two years, not at the age-band boundaries. 8. WHO ELSE IS INSIDE THE PERIMETER — "COVERED INDIVIDUAL" AND "INVOLVED WITH CHILD CARE." The definition that decides whose life the licence touches is in R380-600-2(13): "'Covered individual' means: (a) a caregiver; (b) a director; (c) a member of the administration or governing body; (d) a volunteer who has unsupervised access to any client or any client's records, except a parent or legal guardian of a child or vulnerable adult enrolled in the program having access to their own child or vulnerable adult; (e) an employee; (f) AN INDIVIDUAL AGE 12 YEARS OR OLDER WHO RESIDES IN THE FACILITY; (g) an owner; and (h) anyone who has unsupervised access to any client or any client's records."

Because the facility IS the home, limb (f) sweeps in the provider's own twelve-year-old, her adult son, her mother-in-law and her lodger. R430-50-2(26) defines the companion phrase: "'Involved with child care' means to do any of the following at or for a child care program: (a) care for or supervise children; (b) count in the caregiver-to-child ratio; (c) have unsupervised contact with a child in care; (d) own, operate, direct; (e) RESIDE; or (f) volunteer." Residing in the home is, by definition, being involved with child care. R430-50-2(8) defines who becomes a "caregiver," which is a functional test rather than a job title: "'Caregiver' means a covered individual who protects the health and safety of children. A covered individual is a caregiver when they: (a) count in the caregiver-to-child ratio; (b) meet the physical or emotional needs of the children, including diapering, toileting, feeding, or protecting them from harm; or (c) supervise children." A spouse who feeds the children at lunchtime is a caregiver for that period and must meet the caregiver training and clearance requirements.

Guests are a defined third category: R430-50-2(21) "'Guest' means an individual who is not a covered individual and is at the child care facility for a short time with the provider's permission." Guests may not be alone with children — R430-50-11(4): "The provider shall ensure that any guest does not have unsupervised contact with any child in care, including during any offsite activity and transportation" — and do not count in ratio, per R430-90-10(6): "The provider shall ensure that guests do not count in caregiver-to-child ratio." But a guest who overstays becomes a background-check subject: R430-50-7(7), "The provider shall submit a background check as required in Section R430-50-8 for each guest who is 12 years old and older and stays in the home for more than two weeks." 9. WHAT IS DEFINITIVELY OUTSIDE.

Section 26B-2-405(1)(a) excludes, in full: "(i) a facility or program owned or operated by an agency of the United States government; (ii) group counseling provided by a mental health therapist, as defined in Section 58-60-102, who is licensed to practice in this state; (iii) a health care facility licensed under Part 2, Health Care Facility Licensing and Inspection; (iv) care provided to a qualifying child by or in the home of a parent, legal guardian, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt; (v) care provided to a qualifying child, in the home of the provider, for less than four hours a day or on a sporadic basis, unless that child care directly affects or is related to a business licensed in this state; (vi) care provided at a residential support program that is licensed by the department; (vii) center based child care for four or fewer qualifying children, unless the provider requests to be licensed under Section 26B-2-403;

or (viii) residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children, unless the provider requests to be licensed under Section 26B-2-403 or certified under Section 26B-2-404." Section 26B-2-405(2) adds a second, different class of exclusion — from licensing and certification only, not from the whole Part — covering school-administered programmes, higher-education laboratory programmes, care at a public school by an outside organisation under contract, federal-land summer camps, 501(c)(3) programmes operated under written agreement with a municipality or county for children over four and under 13, and drop-in care where "the parent or guardian of the qualifying child is at all times physically present in the building where the care is provided and the parent or guardian is near enough to reach the child within five minutes if needed," the care lasts under four hours, is sporadic, involves no diapering and no preparing or serving of meals.

Those Subsection (2) programmes still owe the state paperwork: Section 26B-2-405(3) requires an exempt provider to submit "the information required under Subsections 26B-2-406(1) and (2)" plus counts of children under two, two to under five, and five and over; and Section 26B-2-405(4) requires them to "post, in a conspicuous location near the entrance of the exempt provider's facility, a notice prepared by the department that: (a) states that the facility is exempt from licensure and certification; and (b) provides the department's contact information for submitting a complaint." R430-8-4(2) adds the annual filing: "A provider listed in this subsection shall submit to OL, each year the program is open for business, an application for verification of license exempt status on the form provided by OL."

How many children you can care for in Utah

HOW MANY CHILDREN A UTAH HOME PROVIDER MAY HAVE, AND WHY THERE IS NO SINGLE NUMBER. Utah does not publish "the" capacity of a family child care home. It publishes four different ceilings that bind simultaneously — a permit-type ceiling, a document ceiling, a table ceiling, and a square-footage ceiling — and the binding one is whichever is lowest on the day. A provider who quotes only the headline "8" or "16" will overfill and be cited. CEILING 1 — THE PERMIT-TYPE CEILING (WHICH DOCUMENT YOU HOLD). RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE. R430-50-3(1) allows certification for a provider caring "(c) for eight or fewer qualifying children or up to ten children including the provider's own children in accordance with Subsection 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i)." The statutory anchor, Section 26B-2-404(1): "Except as provided in Section 26B-2-405, a person may request a Residential Child Care Certificate from the department if the person provides residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children." R430-50-10(1) states the operational version: "The provider shall maintain at least one caregiver for up to eight children in care."

The department's own public description agrees: "This certificate is issued to residentially-based child care programs caring for up to 8 children." The "up to ten including the provider's own children" limb needs care, because the cross-reference is odd. Subsection 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i) reads: "A person that DOES NOT HOLD a license or certificate from the department under this part may not, at any given time, provide child care in the person's home for more than 10 children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." On its face that subsection governs the UNLICENSED, not the certified. The rule nonetheless imports the ten-child figure into the certificate threshold. The practical reading — and the one consistent with the group-size table in the licensed-family rule — is that a certificate holder may have eight children IN CARE, and the household total including her own children may reach ten. That reading is not spelled out anywhere in R430-50, and it is flagged in verify_flag.

LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE. R430-90-10(1): "The provider shall maintain at least: (a) one caregiver for up to eight children in care; and (b) two caregivers for nine to 16 children in care." Sixteen is the ceiling, and it is unattainable with a single adult. The department's public description: "This license is issued to residentially-based child care programs that care for up to 16 children." CEILING 2 — THE DOCUMENT CEILING (WHAT IS PRINTED ON YOUR PERMIT). Neither 8 nor 16 is automatic. Each certificate and licence carries an individually approved capacity, and exceeding THAT is the citation. R430-50-9(4): "The provider shall ensure that the number of children in care at any given time does not exceed the capacity identified on the residential certificate, except when providing after school child care for up to two additional school-age children." R430-90-9(4): "The provider shall ensure that the number of children in care at any given time does not exceed the capacity identified on the license, except when providing after school child care for up to three additional school-age children."

Note the asymmetry: the certificate holder gets TWO extra after-school children; the licensed family provider gets THREE. Both derive from the statutory mandate at Section 26B-2-402(3): "The department shall make rules that allow a regulated provider to provide after school child care for a reasonable number of qualifying children in excess of the regulated provider's capacity limit, without requiring the regulated provider to obtain a waiver or new license from the department," reinforced by Section 26B-2-403(2): "Notwithstanding Subsection (1), a certified provider may, in accordance with rules made by the department under Subsection 26B-2-402(3), exceed the certified provider's capacity limit to provide after school child care without obtaining a license from the department." So a certificate holder approved for eight may lawfully hold ten during the after-school window, and a licensed family provider approved for sixteen may hold nineteen — but only school-age children, and only after school. R380-600-2(7) defines the term the permit uses: "'Capacity' means the maximum number of children the provider is allowed to care for at any given time" (R430-50-2(7)). And R380-600-3(15) makes clear the permit can carry more restrictions than the rule: "The provider shall adhere to any individualized parameter on a program or facility license or certificate to promote the health, safety, and welfare of any client.

Parameters may include: (a) adequate square footage to determine capacity. (b) an admission or placement restriction; or (c) an age restriction." Changing capacity is a formal amendment, not a phone call. R380-600-4(1): "A provider must submit a complete program change application to amend an existing license at least 30 days before any of the following changes: (a) an increase or decrease of capacity, including any change to the amount of space used to provide services..." and (2) "A provider may proceed with any changes or make them public after approval by OL." Thirty days' notice, and no self-help. CEILING 3 — THE TABLE CEILING (YOUR OWN CHILDREN EAT YOUR CAPACITY). This is where Utah is genuinely unusual, and where the licensed family rule does something no summary ever reproduces: it publishes two explicit sliding tables. R430-90-10(4): "The provider may not exceed the group sizes found in Table 1 and Table 2." TABLE 1, headed "Maximum Group Size With One Caregiver," has three columns: "Number of provider's and caregiver's own children ages 4-12 years present during child care hours"; "Maximum allowed number of children in care, including the provider's and caregivers' own children younger than 4 years old"; and "Total number of children present in the home during child care hours."

Its rows read, verbatim: 0-4 children / 8 children / 12 children. 5 children / 7 children / 12 children. 6 children / 6 children / 12 children. 7 children / 5 children / 12 children. 8 children / 4 children / 12 children. 9 children / 3 children / 12 children. 10 children / 2 children / 12 children. 11 children / 1 child / 12 children. TABLE 2, headed "Maximum Group Size With Two Caregivers," same three columns, reads: 0-8 children / 16 children / 24 children. 9 children / 15 children / 24 children. 10 children / 14 children / 24 children. 11 children / 13 children / 24 children. 12 children / 12 children / 24 children. 13 children / 11 children / 24 children. 14 children / 10 children / 24 children. 15 children / 9 children / 24 children. 16 children / 8 children / 24 children. 17 children / 7 children / 24 children. 18 children / 6 children / 24 children. 19 children / 5 children / 24 children. 20 children / 4 children / 24 children. 21 children / 3 children / 24 children. 22 children / 2 children / 24 children. 23 children / 1 child / 24 children. Read the tables' logic. The third column is a hard cap on BODIES IN THE HOUSE: 12 with one caregiver, 24 with two.

The second column is the paying capacity. The first column is your own school-age children. Below the free allowance (four own children with one caregiver, eight with two) nothing happens. Above it, every additional own child aged 4-12 present during child care hours costs you exactly one paying slot, one for one, until the paying capacity reaches one child. A worked example, because it is the single most useful thing on this page. A licensed family provider with two caregivers and six of her own children aged 4-12 at home during care hours: Table 2 row "0-8 children" applies, so she may still take 16 in care, with 24 total in the house. Add three more (nine own children 4-12): row "9 children" caps her at 15 in care. If she has twelve own children in that band, she is capped at 12 in care. The certificate track has no published tables — R430-50-10 has no Table 1 or Table 2 — so a certificate holder's ceiling is the eight in R430-50-10(1) plus the counting rule at R430-50-10(3), described under ratios. There is a second, subtler point in the tables' second-column heading: "Maximum allowed number of children IN CARE, INCLUDING the provider's and caregivers' own children YOUNGER THAN 4 YEARS OLD."

Your own under-fours are not free. They occupy paid capacity, because they are qualifying children under Section 26B-2-401(10)(b)(ii). Your own 4-12s do not occupy capacity directly but reduce it via Column 1 once you exceed the allowance. Your own 13-and-overs are outside the tables entirely but still count toward the "total number of children present in the home" only if under 13 — the column heading says "children," and R430-90-3(5) uses "under the age of 13" as its own benchmark; a 15-year-old sibling is not counted as a child for capacity but IS a covered individual for background purposes under R380-600-2(13)(f). CEILING 4 — THE SQUARE-FOOTAGE CEILING. Both rules impose the same floor space test, and it silently caps capacity in a small house. R430-50-9(1) and R430-90-9(1) are identical: "The provider shall ensure that there is at least 35 square feet of indoor space for each child in care, including the provider's or employee's own child." Sixteen children therefore requires at least 560 usable square feet, and eight requires 280. What counts and what does not is spelled out. R430-50-9(2)/R430-90-9(2): "The provider may include floor space used for furniture, fixtures, or equipment as indoor space per child if the furniture, fixture, or equipment is used: (a) by children; (b) for the care of children; or (c) to store materials for children."

That permission is statutory, not discretionary — Section 26B-2-402(8): "Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(a)(i), the licensing committee and the department may not exclude floor space used for furniture, fixtures, or equipment from the minimum square footage requirement for indoor and outdoor areas if the furniture, fixture, or equipment is used: (a) by qualifying children; (b) for the care of qualifying children; or (c) to store classroom materials." Conversely R430-50-9(3)/R430-90-9(3): "When measuring indoor space for children's use, the provider may not include any: (a) bathroom; (b) closet; (c) entryway; (d) hallway; and (e) lobby." Outdoors, R430-50-9(19) and R430-90-9(18): "The provider shall ensure that the outdoor area has at least 40 square feet of space for each child using the area at one time." Note "using the area AT ONE TIME" — the outdoor test is per rotation, not per enrolment, so a small yard can be managed by splitting the group, whereas the indoor 35 square feet is per child in care and cannot be split. And remember Section 26B-2-402(7): for square footage, "the licensing committee and the department shall count children through age 12 and children with disabilities through age 18 toward the minimum square footage requirement for indoor and outdoor areas, including the child of: (a) a licensed residential child care provider."

So your own eleven-year-old, who does not eat a capacity slot under Table 1's free allowance, DOES eat 35 square feet. THE UNDER-THREE CAP FOR THE UNREGULATED. Below the certificate, a fifth ceiling applies and it is age-based rather than headcount-based. Section 26B-2-405(1)(b)(ii): "A person providing care described in Subsection (1)(a)(viii) may not provide, at any given time, child care in the person's home for more than two children who are under three years old." R430-8-5(3)(b) repeats it as a duty of the registering provider: "care for no more than two children under the age of three." R430-50-3(3)(b)(i) repeats it again. This is the reason an unlicensed Utah home provider cannot build an infant-room business: two under-threes, full stop, regardless of how many older children she serves. THE TEN-CHILD ABSOLUTE FOR THE UNREGULATED. Section 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i): "A person that does not hold a license or certificate from the department under this part may not, at any given time, provide child care in the person's home for more than 10 children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care."

This is the outer wall for anyone without paper. It counts your own children, your nieces, everyone under 13 in the house receiving care. R430-90-3(5) is the mirror image, phrased as a licensing trigger rather than a prohibition: "An individual shall be licensed by OL as a child care provider if they provide child care in the person's home for more than ten children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." THE TWO-FACILITY CEILING. R430-90-3(4): "A licensed family child care provider may not be licensed for more than two facilities at the same time." A provider cannot franchise herself across three homes. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU EXCEED. Over-capacity is noncompliance with R430-50-9(4) or R430-90-9(4) and runs through the ordinary penalty ladder: warning, citation, civil money penalty, plan of correction, conditions, suspension, revocation (R380-600-8(2)). Repeat over-capacity doubles the money penalty: R380-600-8(6), "If a rule noncompliance resulted in a CMP and there is a repeat instance of the same rule noncompliance within a 36-month period, the provider shall pay double the amount of the original CMP and, for each subsequent noncompliance of the same rule issued, double the amount of the previous CMP not to exceed $10,000." The statutory ceiling on any single violation, per Section 26B-2-703(4), is "$10,000 per violation."

Operating above the licence line without the licence is separately a class A misdemeanour under Section 26B-2-707(1)(a). VARIANCES — THE ONLY LAWFUL WAY AROUND A NUMBER. R380-600-6(1): "The division director, OL director, or the director's designee, may grant a variance after determining that a variance is not likely to: (a) compromise client health and safety; or (b) provide an opportunity for abuse, neglect, exploitation, harm, mistreatment, or fraud." The procedure is strict: "(2) The provider may not deviate from any rule before receiving written approval signed by the OL director or the director's designee. (3) A provider seeking a variance shall submit a written request to OL on an OL-approved variance request form. (4) The provider must submit a variance request at least 30 days before the proposed start date unless the provider documents a need to expedite the request. (5) The provider shall sign the approved variance and comply with the terms of the written variance, including any conditions or modifications contained within the approved written variance. (6) If the variance is still needed, the provider must request renewal for a variance 30 days before the variance expires." A variance is time-limited, written, signed, and renewable — never implied.

Adult-to-child ratios

CAREGIVER-TO-CHILD RATIOS IN A UTAH HOME, AS AMENDED 5 JUNE 2026. Utah does not publish an age-band ratio grid of the kind most states use (1:4 for infants, 1:6 for toddlers, and so on). It publishes ONE headline ratio per track plus a set of under-two overrides, and then modifies the count with a rule about the provider's own children. The result is compact but easy to misapply. 1. THE DEFINITION OF THE THING BEING MEASURED. R430-50-2(9): "'Caregiver-to-child ratio' means the number of caregivers responsible for a specific number of children." R430-50-2(8): "'Caregiver' means a covered individual who protects the health and safety of children. A covered individual is a caregiver when they: (a) count in the caregiver-to-child ratio; (b) meet the physical or emotional needs of the children, including diapering, toileting, feeding, or protecting them from harm; or (c) supervise children." R430-50-2(19): "'Group' means the children who the provider assigns to one or more caregivers for their care and supervision." R430-50-2(20): "'Group size' means the total number of children in a group per room or area."

Note that "caregiver" is a FUNCTIONAL status, not a job. Anyone in the home who supervises or meets children's physical needs is a caregiver at that moment and must satisfy the caregiver requirements — age, clearance, preservice training, annual training. 2. RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE — R430-50-10, IN FULL. "(1) The provider shall maintain at least one caregiver for up to eight children in care. (2) When caring for children younger than two years old, the provider shall ensure that: (a) there is at least one caregiver for every three children younger than two years old; (b) each caregiver cares for no more than two children younger than 18 months old; and (c) there are at least two caregivers if more than three children younger than two years old are present and there are more than six children in care. (3) The provider shall include the provider's and employee's own child age four years old or older in care: (a) in the group size when the parent of the child is working at the facility; and (b) in the group size and the caregiver-to-child ratio when the parent of the child is not working at the facility."

That is the complete ratio law for a certificate holder. Unpack it: — HEADLINE: 1:8. One adult may lawfully hold eight children of any mix of ages ABOVE two. — UNDER-TWO OVERRIDE ONE: 1:3 for children under two. A single caregiver may not have four children under two. — UNDER-18-MONTHS OVERRIDE: a hard per-caregiver cap of TWO children under 18 months. This is stricter than the under-two ratio and binds first. One adult, two babies under 18 months, full stop — she may add a third child aged 18-23 months to reach the 1:3 under-two ratio, but not a third under-18-months. — THE TWO-CAREGIVER TRIGGER: (2)(c) requires a second caregiver only when BOTH conditions hold — more than three children under two AND more than six children in care.

Four under-twos with five other children present (nine in care) exceeds capacity anyway; four under-twos with two others (six in care) does NOT trigger the second caregiver under (2)(c), but DOES violate (2)(a), because four under-twos with one caregiver breaks 1:3. The subsections stack; (2)(c) is an additional trigger, not a substitute. 3. LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE — R430-90-10, IN FULL (RATIO SUBSECTIONS). "(1) The provider shall maintain at least: (a) one caregiver for up to eight children in care; and (b) two caregivers for nine to 16 children in care. (2) The provider shall include the provider's and employee's own child age four years old or older in care: (a) in the group size when the parent of the child is working at the facility; and (b) in the group size and the caregiver-to-child ratio when the parent of the child is not working at the facility. (3) When caring for children younger than two years old, the provider shall ensure that: (a) there is at least one caregiver for every three children younger than two years old; (b) each caregiver cares for no more than two children younger than 18 months old; and (c) there are at least two caregivers if more than three children younger than two years old are present and there are more than six children in care. (4) The provider may not exceed the group sizes found in Table 1 and Table 2. (5) The provider may include caregivers and volunteers who are 16 or 17 years old in the caregiver-to-child ratio. (6) The provider shall ensure that guests do not count in caregiver-to-child ratio."

The under-two provisions are word-for-word identical to the certificate track. The differences are: the second caregiver at nine children; the two published tables; and the explicit statement in (5) that sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds count in ratio. 4. THE SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD PROBLEM. R430-90-10(5) permits a 16- or 17-year-old to count in ratio. R430-50-7(4)(c) and R430-90-7(4)(c) both set the caregiver minimum age at 16: a caregiver "is at least 16 years old." But supervision law then restricts what a minor caregiver may do alone. R430-50-11(2): "The provider shall ensure a 16 or 17 year old staff or household member may only have unsupervised contact with a child in care, including during offsite activities and transportation, if: (a) the director or the director designee is physically present and available as needed; and (b) the staff or household member is not a volunteer." And R430-50-11(3): "The provider may not assign a staff member, volunteer, or household member who is younger than 16 years old to care for or supervise any child in care." So: a paid 16-year-old counts in ratio and may be alone with children only while the director or designee is physically present in the building. A 16-year-old VOLUNTEER may never have unsupervised contact.

And a 15-year-old may never be assigned to care for or supervise, in any capacity. Note the interaction with the presence rules. In the certificate track, R430-50-7(1) requires that "The provider shall remain present at the home at least 50% of the time each week the program is open for business," and R430-50-7(2) that "If the provider is not present, the provider shall ensure that there is at least one covered individual who is 18 years old or older present at the facility when there is a child in care." An 18-plus adult must always be present in a certificate home; a 16-year-old cannot be the only person there. In the licensed family track the requirement is stricter still: R430-90-7(1), "The provider or the provider designee shall be present at the home when a child is in care," and R430-90-7(2), the designee must, before being left alone with a child, "(a) complete OL's new provider training; and (b) have current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications." 5. THE OWN-CHILDREN COUNTING RULE, WHICH IS THE MOST MISQUOTED PROVISION IN UTAH. R430-50-10(3) and R430-90-10(2) are identical and turn on a single fact: is the child's parent working at the facility at that moment? — If the parent IS working: the own child aged 4+ counts in GROUP SIZE only. — If the parent is NOT working: the own child aged 4+ counts in GROUP SIZE AND IN THE RATIO.

The logic is intuitive once seen. If mum is on shift, she is already an adult in the numerator; her nine-year-old occupies space and attention but does not create a new adult requirement. If mum has gone out, the nine-year-old is a child someone else must watch, so he lands in the denominator. What about own children UNDER four? They are qualifying children in their own right under Section 26B-2-401(10)(b)(ii) and therefore are simply "children in care" — counted in ratio and capacity like anyone else's toddler, and (crucially) subject to the under-two and under-18-month overrides. A provider with her own newborn and her own eighteen-month-old has already used her entire under-18-months allowance. 6. THE GROUP-SIZE TABLES AS A RATIO CONSTRAINT. Although Tables 1 and 2 of R430-90-10 are formally group-size caps, they operate as ratio law because they are indexed on the number of caregivers. Table 1 is "Maximum Group Size With One Caregiver" and Table 2 is "Maximum Group Size With Two Caregivers." Table 1's second column starts at 8 children in care and slides down to 1 as the provider's and caregivers' own 4-12s rise from five to eleven; the third column is fixed at 12 total bodies.

Table 2's second column starts at 16 and slides down to 1 as own 4-12s rise from nine to twenty-three; the third column is fixed at 24. There is no Table 3: the rule does not contemplate a three-caregiver family home, and 16 remains the ceiling regardless of how many adults are present. 7. WHERE THE RATIO MUST BE MAINTAINED — NOT JUST IN THE LIVING ROOM. R430-50-18(6)(d) requires, for offsite activities, that "the required caregiver-to-child ratio and supervision are maintained during the entire activity." R430-50-20(5)(d) requires the same when walking or using public transport: "the caregiver-to-child ratio is maintained." R430-50-18(5)(c) removes lifeguards from the count: "each lifeguard and pool personnel does not count toward the caregiver-to-child ratio." R430-90-10(6) removes guests. And R430-50-11(6) allows a limited relaxation for school-age children outdoors: "The provider may allow school-age children to go outdoors while caregivers are indoors if: (a) a caregiver can hear the children when children are outdoors; and (b) the children are in an area completely enclosed within a fence, wall, or solid natural barrier that is at least four feet high."

That is an audible-supervision exception for five-to-twelves only; it does not exist for preschoolers, because R430-50-11(1)(d) requires the caregiver to be "remaining in the outdoor area when a child younger than five years old is in the outdoor area." 8. THE SUPERVISION FLOOR THAT SITS UNDER EVERY RATIO. Ratios are a headcount; supervision is a standard, and Utah writes it out. R430-50-11(1): "The provider shall ensure that each caregiver provides and maintains active supervision of each child, including: (a) focusing attention on the children and not on caregivers' personal interests; (b) interacting in-person with the children at least every 15 minutes; (c) knowing the number of children in their care at any time; (d) remaining in the outdoor area when a child younger than five years old is in the outdoor area; and (e) remaining inside the home when a child in care is inside the home." R430-90-11(1) says the same with the clauses reordered. Sleeping infants get a specific fifteen-minute rule. R430-50-11(7): "The provider shall ensure that a caregiver monitors each sleeping infant by: (a) personally observing each sleeping infant at least once every 15 minutes; or (b) placing each infant to sleep within the sight and hearing of a caregiver."

And awake infants and toddlers get a positive-interaction rule at R430-50-24(1): "The provider shall ensure that each awake infant and toddler receives positive physical and verbal interaction with a caregiver at least once every 15 minutes." 9. THE STATUTORY BASIS FOR RATIO-MAKING, AND ITS LIMIT. The department's authority to set ratios comes from Section 26B-2-402(1)(a)(ii), which lets it make rules "as necessary to protect qualifying children's common needs for a safe and healthy environment, to provide for ... competent caregivers, considering the age of the children and the type of program offered by the licensee," and from Section 26b-2-902(1)(a)(i)(L), which lists "staff to client ratios" among the closed set of subjects on which the office may set basic health and safety standards. Section 26B-2-402(6) imposes a proportionality duty: "In licensing and regulating child care programs, the licensing committee and the department shall reasonably balance the benefits and burdens of each regulation and, by rule, provide for a range of licensure, depending upon the needs and different levels and types of child care provided."

That is the statutory reason Utah has two home tracks with different ratios rather than one. 10. A PRACTICAL RATIO WORKSHEET. For a CERTIFICATE holder working alone: count every child in care including your own under-fours; add your own 4-12s only if their parent is not working at the facility; the total may not exceed 8 (or your printed capacity, whichever is lower), plus up to two extra school-age children after school. Then check the under-two layer: no more than three under two, and no more than two under 18 months. If you have four or more under two AND more than six in care, you need a second caregiver — and you need one anyway if you have four or more under two, because 1:3 fails. For a LICENSED FAMILY provider with two caregivers: the ceiling is 16 in care, 24 bodies total, reduced one-for-one by each of your own and your caregivers' 4-12s above eight. Under-two layer: no more than SIX under two (two caregivers × 1:3), no more than FOUR under 18 months (two caregivers × 2). Sixteen- and seventeen-year-old paid staff count as caregivers; guests never do; lifeguards never do.

Training you must complete before licensure

WHAT A UTAH HOME PROVIDER AND EVERY ADULT IN THE HOUSE MUST COMPLETE BEFORE A SINGLE CHILD ARRIVES. Utah's preservice regime has four distinct components, and they are owed by different people at different moments: (1) NEW PROVIDER TRAINING, owed by the provider; (2) the TWO-AND-A-HALF HOUR PRESERVICE TRAINING, owed by every caregiver and every other staff member; (3) PEDIATRIC FIRST AID AND CPR, owed by at least one person present at all times; and (4) the CODE OF CONDUCT SIGN-OFF, owed by every staff member before working with clients. Missing any one of them is a citation on the first inspection. 1. NEW PROVIDER TRAINING — THE PROVIDER'S OWN OBLIGATION. R430-50-6(1): "The provider shall: (a) be at least 18 years old; (b) be considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care; (d) complete at least 10 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's residential certificate date; and (c) complete the new provider training offered by OL." (The (c)/(d) ordering is inverted in the published text; it is reproduced here as printed.) R430-90-6(1) is the licensed-family twin: "The provider shall: (a) be at least 18 years old; (b) be considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care; (c) complete the new provider training offered by OL; and (d) complete at least 20 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's license date."

New provider training is OL's own course; the rule does not fix its length. In the licensed family track it is also owed by the provider's designee before that person may ever be left alone with a child — R430-90-7(2): "The provider must ensure that, before being left alone with a child, the provider designee: (a) completes OL's new provider training; and (b) has current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications." The department's public application walkthrough places it at Step 3, "Complete 'new provider training' plus 'preservice training'," i.e. BEFORE the application is submitted at Step 4. 2. THE TWO-AND-A-HALF HOUR PRESERVICE TRAINING — OWED BY EVERYONE WHO WORKS. R430-50-7(4): "The provider shall ensure that each caregiver working with a child: (a) completes at least ten hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's residential certificate date, or at least 45 minutes of child care training each month they work if hired partway through the facility's licensing year; (b) completes the 2-1/2 hour preservice training offered by OL BEFORE becoming involved with child care; (c) is at least 16 years old; (d) is considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care; and (e) knows and follows any applicable law and this rule."

It reaches beyond caregivers. R430-50-7(5): "The provider shall ensure that any other staff, including any driver, cook, and clerk: (a) completes the 2-1/2 hour preservice training offered by OL before becoming involved with child care; (b) is considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care; (c) is introduced to other staff and to the caregiver's assigned group; (d) knows and follows any applicable law and this rule; and (e) reviews the information in each child's health assessment in the caregiver's assigned group, including allergies, food sensitivities, and other individual needs." A cook who never touches a child still owes the full 2.5 hours. The licensed family version, R430-90-7(4) and (5), is materially identical, except that the caregiver's annual figure is twenty hours and the pro-rata is "at least 1-1/2 hours of child care training each month they work if hired partway through the facility's licensing year," and the "introduced to other staff" and "reviews the information in each child's health assessment" duties are attached to the caregiver rather than to other staff.

Volunteers do NOT owe preservice training — R430-50-7(6) requires only that "The provider shall ensure that each volunteer is considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care" — but a volunteer with unsupervised access is a covered individual under R380-600-2(13)(d) and may not be left alone if 16 or 17 (R430-50-11(2)(b)). 3. THE FIFTEEN MANDATORY PRESERVICE TOPICS, VERBATIM. R430-50-7(11): "The provider shall ensure that each covered individual required to complete preservice training receives the 2-1/2 hour preservice training offered by OL that includes at least the following topics: (a) administration of medication; (b) applicable laws and requirements under Rule R430-50; (c) building and physical premises safety; (d) child and brain development, including the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language principles of child growth; (e) children whose special needs may include a disability; (f) emergency preparedness, response, and recovery plan; (g) pediatric first aid and CPR; (h) precautions in transporting children; (i) prevention and control of infectious diseases including immunizations; (j) prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergy reactions; (k) prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, child maltreatment, and coping with crying babies; (l) prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and the use of safe sleeping practices; (m) prevention, signs, and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse, and legal reporting requirements; (n) recognizing the signs of an individual experiencing homelessness and available assistance; and (o) safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials and bio contaminants."

That list maps one-for-one onto the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant health-and-safety training requirements, which is why "recognizing the signs of an individual experiencing homelessness" — an unusual topic for a state health rule — appears in it. R430-50-2(17) defines the term: "'Experiencing homelessness' means anyone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." R430-90-7(11) reproduces the same fifteen topics with ONE difference, and it is a drafting error worth knowing about: its item (b) reads "applicable laws and requirements under Rule R381-70" — the out-of-school-time CENTRE rule — where the certificate rule correctly reads "Rule R430-50." The licensed family rule therefore currently directs its own trainees to the wrong rule for their own legal-requirements module.

This is a leftover from the R381→R430 renumbering and is recorded in verify_flag. 4. PEDIATRIC FIRST AID AND CPR — A PRESENCE REQUIREMENT, NOT A HEADCOUNT REQUIREMENT. R430-50-7(14): "The provider shall ensure that at least one covered individual with a current Red Cross, American Heart Association, or equivalent pediatric first aid and CPR certification is present when a child is in care: (a) at each offsite activity; (b) at the facility; and (c) in each vehicle transporting a child." R430-50-7(15): "The provider shall ensure that CPR certification includes hands-on testing." R430-50-7(16): "The provider shall ensure that current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records for each covered individual required by this rule to have them are on-site for review by OL." R430-90-7(15), (16) and (17) are the licensed-family equivalents, with (17) adding a records list: "The provider shall ensure that the following records for each caregiver and volunteer are on-site for review by OL: (a) the date of initial employment or association with the program; (b) a current pediatric first aid and CPR certification, if required in this rule; and (c) a six-week record of the times worked each day."

Three things to notice. First, the requirement is PEDIATRIC — an adult-only CPR card does not satisfy it. Second, CPR must include HANDS-ON TESTING, which rules out fully online certifications. Third, the person must be PRESENT, including in each vehicle — so a provider who is the only certified adult cannot send an uncertified assistant on the school run. The statute reinforces this from a different angle. Section 26B-2-404(2)(c) makes it a minimum qualification for the certificate itself: "annual training consisting of 10 hours of department-approved training as specified by the department by administrative rule, INCLUDING A CURRENT DEPARTMENT-APPROVED CPR AND FIRST AID COURSE." So for a certificate holder, CPR/first aid is not merely an on-site presence duty — it is written into the statutory qualification for the certificate, and the ten hours of annual training must include it. 5. THE CODE OF CONDUCT SIGN-OFF — THE STEP MOST OFTEN MISSED. R380-80 applies to child care through R380-600-8(1)(c), which requires the provider to "comply with and ensure each staff member complies with the department Provider Code of Conduct as established in Rule R380-80." R380-80-5(11): "Each provider shall give each staff a copy of this rule, Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights as part of their initial employment." R380-80-5(12): "Each provider shall sign and ensure each staff signs off on reading, understanding, and agreeing to follow this rule, Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights BEFORE WORKING WITH CLIENTS." R380-80-5(1): "The provider shall ensure that staff and volunteers are supervised, qualified, and trained to: (a) meet the needs of the clients as required by rule; and (b) follow any applicable laws, policies, procedures, and rules."

The code itself, at R380-80-5, contains substantive conduct rules a new caregiver must be trained on, including (5) "Each provider shall refrain from using or permitting the use of corporal punishment and shall only utilize restraint as an intervention to protect individuals from self-harm, from harming others, or from damaging property," and (8) "Each provider may not be under the influence or use alcoholic beverages or controlled substances without medical prescription while serving clients."

The client-rights list at R380-80-6(1) must be communicated to families: "(a) be informed of their rights; (b) be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness; (c) be free from potential harm or acts of violence; (d) be free from discrimination; (e) be free from abuse, neglect, mistreatment, exploitation, and fraud; (f) have equal access to food, shelter, and health services; (g) be free from retaliation for reporting any violation to their rights; (h) privacy of current and closed records; and (i) communicate and visit with family, attorney, clergy, physician, counselor, or case manager or worker assigned to client, unless therapeutically contraindicated or court restricted." 6. WHO MAY BE A CAREGIVER AT ALL — THE AGE FLOOR AND THE PRESENCE FLOOR. R430-50-7(4)(c) and R430-90-7(4)(c): a caregiver "is at least 16 years old." R430-50-11(3): "The provider may not assign a staff member, volunteer, or household member who is younger than 16 years old to care for or supervise any child in care." R430-50-11(2): a 16- or 17-year-old may have unsupervised contact only if "(a) the director or the director designee is physically present and available as needed; and (b) the staff or household member is not a volunteer." R430-50-20(4)(a): a driver "is at least 18 years old" and "(b) has and carries with them a current, valid driver's license for the type of vehicle being driven."

Presence floors: R430-50-7(1) "The provider shall remain present at the home at least 50% of the time each week the program is open for business"; R430-50-7(2) "If the provider is not present, the provider shall ensure that there is at least one covered individual who is 18 years old or older present at the facility when there is a child in care"; R430-90-7(1) "The provider or the provider designee shall be present at the home when a child is in care." 7. THE EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTE — THE ONE PERSON WHO MAY WORK WITHOUT TRAINING OR CLEARANCE. R430-50-14(11): "If the provider must leave the children due to an emergency and a background checked covered individual who is at least 18 years old or older is not available to stay with the children, the provider may leave the children in the care of an emergency substitute who: (a) is at least 18 years old; (b) substitutes the caregiver for the minimum time possible and for less than one business day; and (c) signs a written background statement before being left alone with the children." R430-50-14(12): "Before leaving for the emergency, the provider must obtain a signed, written background statement from the emergency substitute stating that the emergency substitute: (a) has not been convicted of a felony; (b) has not been convicted of a crime against a person; (c) is not listed on the state or national sex offender registry; and (d) is not being investigated for abuse or neglect by any federal, state, or local government agency." R430-50-14(13): "Within five working days after the occurrence, the provider shall submit emergency substitute's written background statements to OBP for review."

This is a narrow, self-certifying, sub-one-business-day escape hatch with a five-working-day reporting tail. It is not a substitute-pool mechanism and cannot be used to cover planned absences. 8. WHEN THE TRAINING MUST BE DONE, RELATIVE TO THE APPLICATION. The department's published thirteen-step application sequence puts training at Step 3 and the application itself at Step 4, before the supplementary documents (Step 5, "business license, fire inspection, kitchen inspection, and facility floor plans," due within 180 days), the UtahID and portal creation (Step 6), the background checks (Step 7), the W-9 (Step 8), the emergency plan (Step 9), the on-site inspection (Step 10), the affidavit of lawful presence (Step 11), the fees (Step 12) and the licence itself (Step 13). The rules impose the same ordering as a matter of law for the clearance: R430-50-7(4)(b) and (d) both use the phrase "before becoming involved with child care," and R430-50-8(2)(c) forbids the provider to "allow the individual to be involved with child care" unless "they have an eligible OBP background check determination."

Since "involved with child care" includes merely residing at the facility (R430-50-2(26)(e)), the household's clearances must precede opening day, not accompany it. 9. THE HARD STOP BEFORE OPENING. R380-600-3(1): "Until a license or certificate is approved by OL, an applicant or provider may not: (a) accept any fee; (b) enter into any agreement to provide a client service; or (c) provide any client service." R380-600-3(18): "Unless previously approved by OL to provide services before receiving a license or certificate for special circumstances, a provider must submit an application, any required fee, and obtain a new or a renewed license or certificate before providing any service that requires a license or certificate." No enrolment contracts, no deposits, no care, until the paper issues.

Ongoing (annual) training

ANNUAL TRAINING IN A UTAH HOME — TEN HOURS OR TWENTY, AND EVERYTHING THAT HANGS OFF THAT NUMBER. 1. THE TWO NUMBERS, AND WHOSE ANNIVERSARY THEY RUN FROM. RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE: TEN HOURS. R430-50-6(1)(d): the provider shall "complete at least 10 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's residential certificate date." R430-50-7(4)(a): each caregiver working with a child "completes at least ten hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's residential certificate date, or at least 45 minutes of child care training each month they work if hired partway through the facility's licensing year." LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE: TWENTY HOURS. R430-90-6(1)(d): the provider shall "complete at least 20 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's license date." R430-90-7(4)(a): each caregiver "completes at least 20 hours of child care training each year, based on the facility's license date, or at least 1-1/2 hours of child care training each month they work if hired partway through the facility's licensing year." The training year is NOT the calendar year and NOT the fiscal year.

It runs from the facility's certificate or licence date — i.e. from your own anniversary. Two providers in the same town have different deadlines. A licensor arriving in March will measure your hours against your own anniversary, and a provider who has been counting January-to-December will be short. The ten-hour figure is not merely a rule; it is statutory for the certificate. Section 26B-2-404(2) lists among "the minimum qualifications for a Residential Child Care Certificate": "(c) annual training consisting of 10 hours of department-approved training as specified by the department by administrative rule, including a current department-approved CPR and first aid course." So a certificate holder's ten hours must INCLUDE the CPR and first aid course, by force of statute. There is no equivalent statutory sentence for the twenty-hour licensed-family figure, which is purely a creature of R430-90-6(1)(d) and R430-90-7(4)(a) made under Section 26B-2-402(1). 2. THE PRO-RATA FOR MID-YEAR HIRES. Certificate track: "at least 45 minutes of child care training each month they work" (R430-50-7(4)(a)).

Forty-five minutes × twelve months = nine hours, not ten; the rule tolerates the rounding. Licensed family track: "at least 1-1/2 hours of child care training each month they work" (R430-90-7(4)(a)). Ninety minutes × twelve = eighteen hours, not twenty; same tolerance. The pro-rata is per MONTH WORKED, so a caregiver hired in September in a facility whose licence year ends in December owes 45 minutes × 4 (certificate) or 1.5 hours × 4 (licence), not a full year's hours. 3. THE INTERACTIVITY REQUIREMENT — HALF THE HOURS. R430-50-7(13): "The provider shall ensure that at least half of the required annual training is interactive." R430-90-7(13) is identical. Neither rule defines "interactive," and that is a real gap. On the plain meaning, self-paced video modules with no live component are not interactive; instructor-led sessions, live webinars with question-and-answer, coaching visits and in-person workshops are. For a certificate holder that means at least five interactive hours a year; for a licensed family provider, at least ten. The absence of a definition is recorded in verify_flag. 4. WHAT THE HOURS MUST COVER — TWO DIFFERENT CURRICULA.

The certificate rule takes the shortest possible route. R430-50-7(12): "The provider shall ensure that annual child care training includes at least each topic listed in: (a) Sections R430-50-7 through R430-50-24; and (b) Subsections R430-50-7(11)(a) through (o)." Read literally, limb (a) makes the annual curriculum the ENTIRE SUBSTANCE OF THE RULE — eighteen sections covering personnel, background checks, facility, ratios, supervision, guidance, safety, emergencies, infection control, food, medications, activities, play equipment, transportation, animals, sleep, diapering and infant/toddler care — and limb (b) adds the fifteen preservice topics on top. Ten hours to cover all of that is thin, which is why in practice OL-approved training catalogues package it as recurring modules.

The licensed family rule spells the curriculum out instead of cross-referencing. R430-90-7(12): "The provider shall ensure that annual child care training includes at least each topic listed in: (a) administration of medication; (b) building and physical premises safety; (c) child and brain development, including the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language principles of child growth; (d) children with special needs; (e) emergency preparedness, response, and recovery plan; (f) pediatric first aid and CPR; (g) prevention and control of infectious diseases including immunizations; (h) precautions in transporting children; (i) prevention of and response to emergencies due to food and allergy reactions; (j) prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, child maltreatment, and coping with crying babies; (k) prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and the use of safe sleeping practices; (l) prevention, signs, and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse, and legal reporting requirements; (m) recognizing the signs of an individual experiencing homelessness and available assistance; (n) safe handling and disposal of hazardous materials and bio contaminants; and (o) Sections R430-90-7 through R430-90-24." Note that the licensed-family list omits one item present in the preservice list — "applicable laws and requirements under Rule R381-70/R430-50" — and adds, at (o), the same wholesale incorporation of the rule's substantive sections.

Note also that PEDIATRIC FIRST AID AND CPR is an annual topic in both tracks, at (f), which is consistent with the statutory instruction in Section 26B-2-404(2)(c) and with the practical reality that most pediatric CPR certifications run two years and therefore must be refreshed inside the training cycle. 5. THE DOCUMENTATION — WHAT A LICENSOR WILL ASK TO SEE. The licensed family rule is explicit and the certificate rule is not, which is itself worth knowing. R430-90-7(14): "The provider shall ensure that documentation of each individual's annual child care training is on-site for review by OL and includes the: (a) date of the training; (b) name of the individual or organization that presented the training; (c) total hours or minutes of the training; (d) training topic; and (e) whether the training was interactive or not." Five fields, including the interactivity flag — so the interactivity requirement is auditable line by line even though the term is undefined. R430-50 contains no parallel documentation subsection; a certificate holder should nonetheless keep the same five fields, because R380-600-7(3) and (5) give OL "full access to ... any program or facility record" and require the provider to "make available and permit reproduction of program or facility records and documents by, or on behalf of, the department as necessary to ascertain compliance."

The licensed family rule also requires, at R430-90-7(17), that for each caregiver and volunteer the following be on-site: "(a) the date of initial employment or association with the program; (b) a current pediatric first aid and CPR certification, if required in this rule; and (c) a six-week record of the times worked each day." That six-week attendance record is how OL reconstructs whether ratios were met on a given day and whether a mid-year hire's pro-rata hours are right. Certification records are separately required in both tracks: R430-50-7(16), "The provider shall ensure that current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records for each covered individual required by this rule to have them are on-site for review by OL." 6. WHO OWES THE HOURS. CAREGIVERS: yes, in full, under R430-50-7(4)(a) / R430-90-7(4)(a). THE PROVIDER: yes, separately, under R430-50-6(1)(d) / R430-90-6(1)(d). A provider who is also a caregiver owes one set of hours, not two, but the duty is stated twice. OTHER STAFF (drivers, cooks, clerks): NO annual requirement. R430-50-7(5) and R430-90-7(5) impose preservice training and background clearance on them but say nothing about annual hours.

VOLUNTEERS: no annual requirement; R430-50-7(6) requires only OBP eligibility. THE PROVIDER DESIGNEE in a licensed family home: R430-90-7(2) requires new provider training and current first aid and pediatric CPR before being left alone with a child; if the designee is also a caregiver she owes the twenty hours as a caregiver. 7. THE ANNUAL RENEWAL CLOCK THAT THE TRAINING YEAR TRACKS. Because the training year runs from the certificate or licence date, and because R380-600-3(19) provides that "A license or certificate expires at midnight on the last day of the same month the license or certificate was issued, one year after its effective date," the training deadline and the renewal deadline are the same month. R380-600-3(8) then requires the renewal request "at least 30 days before the expiration," so in practice a provider must be able to demonstrate the year's hours roughly a month before the anniversary, not on it. Late renewal is possible within thirty days after expiry with "applicable late fees"; after thirty days the provider must file "a new application for a new license or certificate and applicable fees."

If the provider elected the two-year licence available under R380-600-3(17) to non-residential-treatment programmes, the licence expires "two years after the effective date" (R380-600-3(20)) — but the training obligation remains ANNUAL, because R430-90-6(1)(d) says "each year," and the anniversary is still "the facility's license date." A two-year licensee must still complete twenty hours in each of the two years. 8. THE STATUTORY INSPECTION THAT VERIFIES IT. For certificate holders, the annual inspection is statutory, not merely regulatory. Section 26B-2-404(2)(b) requires as a minimum qualification "an initial and annual inspection of the provider's home within 90 days of sending an intent to inspect notice to: (i) check the immunization record, as defined in Section 53G-9-301, of each qualifying child who receives child care in the provider's home; (ii) identify serious sanitation, fire, and health hazards to qualifying children; and (iii) make appropriate recommendations." And Section 26B-2-404(3): "If a serious sanitation, fire, or health hazard has been found during an inspection conducted pursuant to Subsection (2)(b), the department shall require corrective action for the serious hazards found and make an unannounced follow up inspection to determine compliance."

Section 26B-2-404(4) adds complaint-driven inspection powers for "(a) child abuse or neglect; (b) serious health hazards in or around the provider's home; or (c) providing residential child care without the appropriate certificate or license." The department's public statement of the verification practice is short: "Caregivers must complete training before and after starting work in child care. DLBC verifies that all required staff have completed their training each year." 9. A LIMIT ON WHAT TRAINING MAY BE ABOUT. Section 26B-2-402(5)(a) forbids the department from reaching into pedagogy: "The licensing committee and the department may not regulate educational curricula, academic methods, or the educational philosophy or approach of the provider." And (5)(b): "The licensing committee and the department shall allow for a broad range of educational training and academic background in certification or qualification of child day care directors." Utah's annual hours are therefore health-and-safety hours, not early-childhood-education credit hours, and no degree or CDA credential is required of a home provider anywhere in R430-50 or R430-90. Section 26b-2-902(1)(a)(i)(K) reinforces the flexibility: rules on "staff qualifications and training" must include "standards for permitting experience to be substituted for education, unless prohibited by law." 10. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE HOURS ARE SHORT.

Training deficiency is ordinary noncompliance under R380-600-8(1)(a), and runs the ladder at R380-600-8(2) from warning through citation, civil money penalty, plan of correction, conditions, increased monitoring, admission restrictions, suspension and revocation. R380-600-7(9) requires the provider to "come into compliance within the required correction time frames as stated in the respective inspection report" and to "pay any applicable penalty and inspection fee." R380-600-5(10) adds a specific cost: "The provider shall pay OL an additional follow-up inspection fee each time OL has to conduct an additional follow-up inspection for lack of compliance with the same rule." A repeated training shortfall therefore costs money twice — once as a penalty, once as re-inspection fees — and the citation is posted publicly for at least 36 months under R380-600-7(11).

Background checks

THE UTAH SCREENING REGIME FOR A HOME CHILD CARE PROVIDER, AS THE RULES AND THE CODE STOOD ON 26 AUGUST 2026 — AND THE TWO HOME TRACKS ARE NOT SCREENED DIFFERENTLY. 1. THE HEADLINE CORRECTION. A Residential Certificate and a Licensed Family Child Care licence differ on nearly everything else, so it is natural to expect different background requirements. There are none. Utah Admin. Code Section R430-50-8 and Section R430-90-8, both titled "Background Checks," came out of the same rulemaking packet, took effect the same day, 5 June 2026, and are the same rule twice. Across eighteen subsections the entire delta is three pieces of copy-editing: R430-50-8(2) says "an online background check form" where R430-90-8(2) says "an online background check application"; R430-50-8(8) says "has pled no-contest" where R430-90-8(8) says "has pled no contest"; and R430-50-8(17)(b) says "the provider can demonstrate to OBP" where R430-90-8(17)(b) says "the provider demonstrates to OBP." Not one age, threshold, offence, deadline, fee trigger or appeal window differs between the two tracks. 2. WHICH RULE SERIES GOVERNS, VERIFIED AGAINST THE INDEX AND NOT A SAVED LINK.

The Utah Office of Administrative Rules' index of rules in effect, queried for "R430" on 26 August 2026, returns under program "Residential Child Care Licensing" exactly three live rules: R430-8 "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing" (effective 5/8/2025), R430-50 "Residential Certificate Child Care" (effective 6/5/2026) and R430-90 "Licensed Family Child Care" (effective 6/5/2026), all three with effectiveEndDate 6/17/2030. R430 survived the 2022 health-and-human-services merger intact for the residential tracks; R381 is the centre series. But the real trap is not R430 versus R381: Utah keeps four separate background-screening rules and only one is yours. R501-14 "Human Service Program Background Screening" (effective 7/2/2025) governs human services programs, not child care — and it is mid-amendment, filed in Utah State Bulletin Vol. 2026 No. 15 with comment open to 31 August 2026, so anyone reading it as the child care rule is reading a rule both wrong and moving.

Your rule is R430-90-8 or R430-50-8, and the general provisions feeding it sit in R380-600, "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement" (effective 5/8/2025), which both home rules import at their opening definition line: "Terms used in this rule are defined in Rule R380-600." 3. THE STATUTE IS 26B-2-406, AND IT IS NOT 26B-2-120. The famous tiered Utah screening statute — automatic three-year denial list, seventeen-limb comprehensive review triggers, nine-factor mitigation examination — is Utah Code Section 26B-2-120, "Background check -- Direct access to children or vulnerable adults," and it sits in Title 26B, Chapter 2, PART 1, Human Services Programs and Facilities, its own definition of "Applicant" reaching only an individual associated with a certification, contract or licensee "with the department UNDER THIS PART." Child care licensing is Part 4. Your statute is Utah Code Section 26B-2-406, "Disqualified individuals -- Criminal history checks -- Payment of costs," effective 5/1/2024, "Amended by Chapter 235, 2024 General Session," and the legislature's version list shows one entry only, "Current Version" — no pending or future text.

Section 26B-2-120 by contrast sits at a text effective 5/6/2026 (Chapter 358, 2026 General Session) marked "Superseded 1/1/2027" by a further text from Chapter 445 — none of which reaches a family child care home. House Bill 472, Chapter 153, Laws of Utah 2026, effective 6 May 2026, renumbers 26B-2-103 to 26B-2-901 and 26B-2-104 to 26B-2-902 and amends 26B-2-101, 80-2-1001 and 80-2-1002 — it touches no section of Part 4, and Sections 26B-2-401 through 26B-2-407 all still carry 2023 and 2024 effective dates. Stale statute, fresh rule — which is why the rule, not the code, holds the operative detail. 4. EXACTLY WHO MUST BE SCREENED, AND THE AGE THRESHOLD QUOTED FROM THE RULE. The controlling term is "covered individual," defined not in R430-90 but at R380-600-3(13): "'Covered individual' means: (a) a caregiver; (b) a director; (c) a member of the administration or governing body; (d) a volunteer who has unsupervised access to any client or any client's records, except a parent or legal guardian… having access to their own child; (e) an employee; (f) an individual age 12 years or older who resides in the facility; (g) an owner; and (h) anyone who has unsupervised access to any client or any client's records."

Limb (f) is your household threshold and it is TWELVE, not eighteen. The home rules restate it identically at R430-90-7(8) and R430-50-7(8): "The provider shall ensure that each household member who is: (a) 12 to 17 years old is considered eligible by an OBP background check; and (b) 18 years old or older is considered eligible by an OBP background check that includes fingerprints." Alongside, R430-90-7(4)(d) requires each caregiver to be "considered eligible by an OBP background check before becoming involved with child care," floor age 16 at (4)(c); (5)(c) extends it to "any other staff, including any driver, cook, and clerk"; (6) covers every volunteer flatly, with no unsupervised-access qualifier; R430-90-6(1)(b) catches the provider personally. R430-90-7(7) closes the guest loophole, requiring a background check "for each guest who is 12 years old and older and stays in the home for more than two weeks." Residence triggers screening because R430-90-2(27) defines "involved with child care" as, among other things, to "count in the caregiver-to-child ratio," "have unsupervised contact with a child in care," "own, operate, direct," "reside," or "volunteer."

The statute is broader in one direction and narrower in another: Section 26B-2-406(1)(a) demands identifying information "which shall include fingerprints" for owners, directors, governing-body members, employees, providers of care, "volunteers, except parents of children enrolled in the programs," and "all adults residing in a residence where child care is provided," while Section 26B-2-406(2)(a) covers "any person age 12 through 17 who resides in the residence" and says their information "does not include fingerprints." Read the statute alone and you print no fingerprints for a 16-year-old. The rule says otherwise: R430-90-8(2) requires an application "and fingerprints for any individual age 16 years old and older, EXCEPT for any individual 12-17 years old who is ONLY listed as a household member." The exception hangs on "only": a 16-year-old who is both the provider's child and a paid caregiver has a dual role, so prints are due. OBP's June 2026 Resource Manual: Child Care Background Clearance: "Ages 16 - 17: Yes. If the applicant works or volunteers for the child care program. No. If the applicant is only a household member."

Ages 12 to 15 are "name-based check only." 5. THE SYSTEM IS UCLAPP, NOT DACS, AND GETTING THAT WRONG WASTES A WEEK. Utah DHHS runs two background-management systems, and the child care one is not the advertised one. The Office of Background Processing's overview page lists the "Direct access clearance system (DACS)" as its "Health and human services background management system" — exactly its scope: human services and health facilities. The child care system is named only in OBP's June 2026 manual glossary: "UCLAPP — Utah Certification and Licensing Application-This system houses all licensing information as well as operates at [as] the background clearance system for Child Care Applicants." The rule uses neither name; R430-90-8(1) and (2) call it "the licensing provider portal." In practice it is provider.dlbc.utah.gov, the applicant form at provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/background-screening-form, reached through a UtahID account. The department's walkthrough places portal creation at step 6 and background checks at step 7, warning to allow "up to 4 business days" after applying before the portal opens.

The manual is emphatic on step one: "The covered individual (applicant) must initiate the background check form. Providers cannot complete the form on behalf of the applicant." They supply "Personal information, previous addresses (last 5 years), and disclosure of any criminal history," selects the provider, and acknowledges the FBI privacy act statement. The request then sits inert until the provider acts: "The background check cannot proceed until the provider authorizes the Background Check Form," and, in the line that decides who pays, "Authorizing this form confirms the program's agreement to pay the required fees." Before any of that, R430-90-8(1) makes the provider search the portal first and either "associate that individual with the provider's facility" or decline to, where the person is already associated with another CCL facility and "will be at the facility for no more than one business day." Clearance is portable: an already-cleared person is added by giving the new provider their BCUID number, and OBP's "Background E-Card" "is valid at any licensed child care facility in Utah." 6. WHICH DATABASES ARE ACTUALLY SEARCHED.

OBP publishes the list: "The Office of Background Processing (OBP) will examine your background through 9 different sources, including: The Utah criminal registry/repository; The Utah sex offender registry; The Utah child abuse and neglect database; The FBI next generation identification system; The National Crime Information Center sex offender registry; Interstate criminal registry/repositories; Interstate sex offender registries; Interstate child abuse and neglect databases; Juvenile records (for anyone younger than 28 or with adult criminal findings)." The backing for the first four is Section 26B-2-406(1)(b), under which the Utah Division of Criminal Investigation and Technical Services within the Department of Public Safety runs the state check and "shall submit fingerprints… to the FBI for a national criminal history record check." The juvenile cut-off is not folklore but Section 26B-2-406(2)(b), which directs the department to access juvenile court records for adjudications that would be a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult where the person "is under the age of 28," or is over 28 with an adult criminal finding.

The child abuse database is the Division of Child and Family Services' Licensing Information System, created by Utah Code Section 80-2-1002 and defined at R430-90-2(30) as the source of an "LIS supported finding." The registry is the Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry under Utah Code Title 53, Chapter 29, plus a national registry. Utah's own guidance then contradicts itself on the out-of-state limb. OBP's child care page lists "Interstate child abuse and neglect databases" without qualification; its out-of-state registries page states the applicant-supplied requirement far more narrowly — such a check is required "if the agency for whom you are applying with is providing YOUTH RESIDENTIAL SERVICES and you have lived outside of the State of Utah during the past five years." A family child care home is not youth residential services. What the child care rule does with out-of-state residence is simpler: R430-90-8(3)(b) makes having "resided outside of Utah since their last background check was completed" a trigger to submit an entirely new application, fingerprints and fee.

Do not chase a foreign registry letter unless OBP asks, but assume any period living out of state voids your Utah clearance. The five-year, other-state sweep is federal, under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9858f(b) — Utah meets it administratively rather than by restating it in R430. 7. RAP BACK, AND THE GAP UNDERNEATH IT. Continuous monitoring is real, and documented only in OBP's manual glossary: "Rap Back — Record of arrest and prosecution. When a covered individual is fingerprinted they are enrolled in Nationwide FBI rap back. OBP is notified nightly of any updates to a covered individual." The authority is Utah Code Section 53-10-108 (current text effective 9/1/2025, amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session), whose Subsection (13)(a) lets a qualifying entity register fingerprints with "the FBI Rap Back System" or the WIN Database rap back system, conditional on statutory authority, a signed waiver and a privacy risk mitigation strategy. Your clearance is therefore not a photograph taken once. A new arrest anywhere in the country reaches OBP overnight, and R430-90-8(16) then lets the division act pre-conviction: on evidence that a covered individual "has been arrested or charged with an offense that may be denied under Subsections (7) and (8), the division may act to protect the health and safety of a child."

Note what is NOT in your statute: Section 26B-2-406 contains no rap back clause, no ongoing-monitoring consent and no fingerprint-retention clause at all. Those express provisions sit at 26B-2-120(2)(c)(ii), (3)(c) and (4)(c)-(f) — consent to "ongoing monitoring of fingerprints and registries," submission for "checking, retaining, and monitoring," and the FBI Next Generation Identification retention machinery — and that section governs Part 1, not child care. The one retention rule your statute gives you is Section 26B-2-406(6): "The department may retain background check information submitted to the department for up to one year after the day on which the covered individual is no longer associated with a Utah child care provider." 8. THE DISQUALIFYING OFFENCES, IN THE TWO TIERS THAT ACTUALLY APPLY. Tier one, the general grounds, is R430-90-8(7): "OBP MAY consider a covered individual not eligible for any of the following reasons: (a) a pending charge for a felony offense; (b) any felony conviction; (c) any of the reasons listed under Subsection (8); (d) LIS supported findings that occurred no more than 15 years from the date the application was submitted; (e) the covered individual knowingly making a false statement related to their background check; (f) the covered individual refusing to consent to the criminal background check; or (g) the covered individual's name appearing on the Utah or national sex offender registry."

Tier two, the named offences, is R430-90-8(8): "OBP may also consider a covered individual not eligible if the individual has been convicted, has pled no contest, or is currently subject to a plea and abeyance or diversion agreement for any of the following pending charges or convictions, REGARDLESS OF SEVERITY: (a) child pornography; (b) driving under the influence while a child is present in the vehicle; (c) lewdness involving a child; (d) pornographic material or performance; (e) providing dangerous weapons or firearms to a minor; (f) sexual battery; (g) sexual enticing of a minor; (h) sexual exploitation; (i) voyeurism; or (j) any crime against an individual." Limb (j) is not filler: "any crime against an individual" is the broadest single disqualifier in Utah child care law, and it swallows simple assault. There is exactly one mandatory eligibility in the rule, R430-90-8(9): "OBP SHALL consider a covered individual eligible if the only background finding is a conviction or plea of no contest to a nonviolent drug offense that occurred ten or more years before OBP conducted the background check."

Everything else is permissive on its face, then hardened by R430-90-8(15)(a): "OBP shall rely on relevant information from Subsections (7) and (8) as conclusive evidence and may deny a covered individual based on that information." Behind the rule the statute is far harsher. Section 26B-2-406(3) provides that a licensee "may not permit a person who has been convicted, has pleaded no contest, or is currently subject to a plea in abeyance or diversion agreement for ANY FELONY OR MISDEMEANOR," or who has an equivalent juvenile adjudication, "to: (a) provide child care; (b) provide volunteer services…; (c) reside at the premises where child care is provided; or (d) function as an owner, director, or member of the governing body." Read literally, any misdemeanor at all bars residence. The relief valves are Section 26B-2-406(4)(a), letting the department exempt by rule "specific misdemeanors" and equivalent juvenile acts; (4)(b), letting the executive director "consider and exempt individual cases not otherwise exempt"; and (5), the ten-year nonviolent drug carve-out. Here is what no guide tells you: the department has never published, in R430-50 or R430-90, the list of "specific misdemeanors" exempted under (4)(a).

It drafted Subsections (7) and (8) in the permissive "may" instead — that is how it exercises the (4)(b) individual-case power. OBP's own public statement is blunter than either text: "Approval will be denied for any Covered Individual with a felony or misdemeanor A conviction, plea in abeyance, conversion, no contest, or diversion. Approval may also be denied for specific misdemeanor B or C convictions, such as offenses against a person, pornography, prostitution or any type of sexual offense, simple assault, lewdness, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, selling or supplying alcohol to a minor, and animal cruelty." 9. THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW — WHERE IT REALLY LIVES FOR A CHILD CARE APPLICANT. Do not cite 26B-2-120(7); your mitigation clause is R430-90-8(14): "The OBP director or designee may consider any additional relevant background information in making the decision to grant, deny, or continue an eligible determination on a background check, including: (a) intervening circumstances regarding an offense or finding; (b) steps taken to correct or improve since any offense or finding; (c) surrounding circumstances of an offense or finding; (d) the length of time since an offense or finding; and (e) the type and number of offenses or findings."

Five factors, not nine, and the burden of feeding them is yours: on an "Initial Determination" that the applicant did not pass, OBP notifies both applicant and provider and "will then request additional information from the applicant to make a final determination." For someone under an open charge, R430-90-8(17) allows access to a child only when "OBP has authorized conditional access" and "the provider demonstrates to OBP that the work arrangement does not pose a threat to the health or safety of any child." And there is a factual-error route that is not an appeal at all, R430-90-8(12): where the covered individual "disagrees with the information provided by the Department of Public Safety (DPS), the covered individual may appeal the information to DPS" — correcting or expunging "is the Covered Individual's responsibility," after which "the Covered Individual must submit a new Background Check form and legal documentation of the expungement, dismissal, etc." Fixing the record and appealing the decision are different queues; running the wrong one first burns your fifteen days. 10. THE APPEAL WINDOW, AND THE MISCITATION INSIDE THE RULE. R430-90-8(18) and R430-50-8(18) both read: "A covered individual may request a hearing, in accordance with Section R497-100-5, within 15 calendar days of being informed in writing of any OBP decision."

Follow that pin and you land on the wrong section: R497-100-5 is headed "Commencement" and concerns notices of agency action and requests for agency action; the fifteen-day right the rule is invoking is in the NEXT section, R497-100-6(1): "When an agency commences an informal adjudicative proceeding, if statute or agency rule does not provide otherwise, a party may request a hearing within 15 calendar days of receipt of the notice of agency action." R497-100-6(3) supplies the only escape from a missed deadline: the defaulting party must "demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it was virtually impossible or unreasonably burdensome to file the request within 15 calendar days." R497-100 is current at effective date 9/19/2025, and its Section 2(3) definition of "Aggrieved person" — "any applicant, person, or recipient who is dissatisfied with an agency action" — is what carries a screened household member, who holds no licence, into the process at all, since Section 2(1)(j) otherwise speaks only of licence actions by the Division of Licensing and Background Checks. OBP takes the appeal through the provider portal's "Request for Administrative Hearing" tab, or, without portal access, on a standalone form whose current PDF is dated March 2026. Miss it and the lock-out is two years: R430-90-8(15)(c) allows a denied applicant to resubmit "no sooner than two years from the date of separation or upon substantial change to the covered individual's circumstances." 11. TIMING — WHAT MUST CLEAR BEFORE WHAT.

Nothing in Utah gives a new person a grace period; the gate is a status, not a date. R430-90-8(2)(c) lets the provider "only allow the individual to be involved with child care if they have an eligible OBP background check determination," and because "involved with child care" includes residing, a new adult moving into the home must be eligible BEFORE moving in. There is no "within thirty days of a new household member arriving" rule in Utah; any guide that gives you one invented it. Against the licence, the department's published sequence puts background checks at step 7, before the pre-licence inspection at step 10 and before "Wait to receive your license" at step 13; R380-600-4(5) requires an applicant for an initial OR renewal licence to submit "a background check for each covered individual." Against contact, R430-90-2(46) defines "unsupervised contact" as "being with, caring for, communicating with, or touching a child in the absence of a caregiver or other employee who is at least 18 years old and is considered eligible by CCL," while R430-90-11(3) bars anyone under 16 from being assigned to care for or supervise a child.

Then four hard clocks, the ones inspectors count. Ten working days for the child in the house who has a birthday, under R430-90-8(4): "Within ten working days from when a child who resides in the facility turns 12 years old, the provider shall ensure that an online background check application is submitted." Forty-eight hours for trouble, under R430-90-8(13): "The provider and the covered individual shall notify OBP within 48 hours of becoming aware of a covered individual's arrest warrant, felony or misdemeanor arrest, charge, conviction, or LIS supported finding," failure to do so risking "disciplinary action, including license revocation." Five days for departures, under R430-90-8(15)(b): the provider "shall separate that employee in the program's roster in the online system within five days." And one business day, the only tolerance in the rule, under R430-90-8(1)(b), for a person already cleared at another CCL facility. 12. RENEWAL AND RECHECK CADENCE — AND THE FIVE-YEAR RULE UTAH DOES NOT WRITE DOWN. R430-90-8(3) gives an exhaustive list of three re-submission triggers: "To keep a covered individual's background check eligibility current, the provider shall require the covered individual to submit a new background check application, fingerprints, and any fee if the covered individual has: (a) not been associated with an active, CCL approved child care facility within the past 180 days; (b) resided outside of Utah since their last background check was completed; or (c) turned 18 years old and has not previously submitted fingerprints for an OBP background check" — an 18-year-old who did print at 16 or 17 owes only the new application.

OBP calls the first "The 180-Day Rule": the clearance "becomes void" and "The applicant must restart the background check process, including new fingerprints and full fees." Otherwise, "Renewal: No. Fingerprints are not required for a renewal." There is no five-year recheck anywhere in R430-50, R430-90 or Section 26B-2-406. That cadence is federal: 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9858f(d)(3) requires a request "not less than once during each 5-year period following the first submission date," with Subsection (d)(4) waiving it for someone holding a qualifying check within five years who has been separated from a child care provider in the State "for a period of not more than 180 consecutive days" — Utah's 180 days. Utah closes the federal loop with annual licence renewal plus nightly Rap Back rather than a calendar recheck, and the annual cadence is not optional: R380-600-4(17)(a) offers a two-year licence only "if the provider is not a residential or foster care program or facility." A home licence renews yearly, with an announced inspection 30 to 90 days before expiry and a renewal request "at least 30 days before the expiration" (R380-600-4(8)(a)). 13. FEES, AND WHO ACTUALLY PAYS.

The Child Care Licensing Fee Schedule effective 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, issued under the FY 2026 Appropriation Act, prices "Background screening — Required background check (exempt for family, friend, & neighbor providers)" at $20.00 each, "Fingerprint processing" at $42.00 each and "Fingerprint record replication" at $10.00 each. Every online payment adds a "$2.00 processing fee" per transaction. Cloning is the cheap path and OBP prices it: "If fingerprints are eligible for cloning… The total fee will be $30 ($20 for the background check fee and $10 for the cloning fee)" — against $62 for a fresh screening plus prints. Cloning rests on Utah Code Section 53-10-108(17)-(18) and is arranged by email to OBP, not in the portal. On who pays, the texts disagree and both bind you. Section 26B-2-406(1)(b)(iii): "A person required to submit information to the department under Subsection (1) shall pay the cost of conducting the record check." OBP's page: "You or your provider must pay the associated background check and fingerprint processing (if required) fees to DLBC." The manual resolves it in favour of the programme — authorising the form "confirms the program's agreement to pay the required fees."

Budget as the payer, and note the live scan vendor's own charge "is separate from any fees owed to DLBC, which must be paid in full regardless." Prints must be "prepared by a local law enforcement agency or an agency approved by local law enforcement" (R430-90-8(5)); the applicant brings photo ID, the fingerprint authorisation form printed from the provider's portal, and payment. As to speed, the manual's only quantified figure is that after fingerprints reach BCI "for enrollment in ongoing monitoring, the state and national criminal history report is typically received within 1 to 14 days," with the warning that decides most delays: "all personal information provided on the application must match exactly the information provided at the fingerprinting appointment." 14. WHAT AN UNREPORTED RESIDENT COSTS. There is no soft landing. R430-90-8(11): "If a covered individual is considered not eligible by OBP… the provider shall prohibit that individual from being employed by the child care program or RESIDING AT THE FACILITY until the reason for the background check finding is resolved." Against the provider personally, R430-90-8(10): "OL may suspend or deny their license until the reason for the background check finding is resolved."

Against the licence at renewal, R380-600-4(11)(e) lets OL deny an initial or renewal application, issue a civil money penalty or impose conditions where OBP has given notice that a covered individual is not eligible "and that covered individual is still in the program or facility." Utah Code Section 26B-2-703(4) permits civil monetary penalties "in a sum not to exceed $10,000 per violation," and R380-600-8(6) doubles a repeat of the same rule within thirty-six months and doubles again on each subsequent repeat, "not to exceed $10,000." A Notice of Emergency Agency Action bites immediately, "shall expire 30 days after the date of issuance," and carries only five calendar days to appeal under R380-600-8(15)(b) rather than the usual fifteen. R380-600-8(4) requires OL to post citations and penalties "on the division website for at least 36 months." Operating outside the licence at all is criminal: Utah Code Section 26B-2-707(1)(a), "any person who owns, establishes, conducts, maintains, manages, or operates a program or facility in violation of this chapter is guilty of a class A misdemeanor." 15. THE THIRD REGIME, FOR PEOPLE BELOW THE LICENSING LINE.

Caring for eight or fewer qualifying children puts you outside Part 4 licensing under Utah Code Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(viii) — but Section 26B-2-405(1)(c) pulls you straight back in: "A person providing care described in Subsection (1)(a)(viii) that is not a certified provider or a licensed provider under this part is subject to the requirements of Section 26B-2-406." R430-50-3(1)(b) restates it: such a person "shall: (i) care for no more than two children under the age of three; and (ii) register with OL to facilitate a background check in accordance with Sections R430-50-8 and 26B-2-405." The operative rule is R430-8-5, whose Subsection (2)(b) reaches "any unlicensed residential child care provider, except for sporadic care, who provides care: (i) for eight or less qualifying children at one time or for up to ten qualifying children including their own; (ii) for more than two days a week; and (iii) in the provider's home for four or more hours a day," and whose Subsection (3) requires that provider to "register with OL to facilitate the OBP background check process." R430-8-5(6) through (21) then reproduce the licensed regime's screening machinery almost verbatim — the same 180-day rule, ten named offences, five mitigation factors, 48-hour notification, five-day roster separation and fifteen-day hearing right.

Registration runs through the CCRRP registration or the DWS FFN application, and the fee schedule exempts "family, friend, & neighbor providers" from the $20 charge. Dropping below the licensing threshold removes your licence, your inspections and your training hours — not a single line of your background screening obligation.

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 — DECIDE WHICH OF UTAH'S TWO HOME REGIMES YOU ARE IN, BECAUSE EVERY LATER STEP FORKS HERE AND THE CHOICE IS PRACTICALLY IRREVERSIBLE WITHOUT A NEW APPLICATION AND A NEW FEE. Utah does not have one home licence. It has a RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE under Utah Admin. Code Rule R430-50 and a LICENSED FAMILY CHILD CARE licence under Rule R430-90, and the switch between them is a headcount. Utah Code Section 26B-2-404(1): "Except as provided in Section 26B-2-405, a person may request a Residential Child Care Certificate from the department if the person provides residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children." Section 26B-2-403(1)(b): a person "shall obtain a license from the department if... the person provides residential child care for nine or more qualifying children." The rules restate it without ambiguity. R430-50-3(2): "An individual shall become licensed by OL as a child care provider in accordance with Rule R430-90 when the number of unrelated children in care is nine or more." R430-90-3(1)(d) requires the licence for care "for nine or more unrelated children," and R430-90-3(5) adds a second trigger that catches large households: "An individual shall be licensed by OL as a child care provider if they provide child care in the person's home for more than ten children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." Now the numbers that should actually decide it for you, because they are not symmetrical. OUTDOOR SPACE: the certificate track has no outdoor requirement at all — R430-50-9(17) reads "IF there is an outdoor area used by children in care, the provider shall comply with Subsections R430-50-9(18) through R430-50-9(23)" — while R430-90-9(17) is flat mandatory: "The provider shall ensure that there is an outdoor area that is safely accessible to any child," with 40 square feet per child using it at one time and, where the street speed is 25 mph or higher within half a mile, a four-foot fence. If you have no fenceable yard, the licence track is closed to you and the argument is over. ANNUAL TRAINING: ten hours on the certificate (R430-50-6(1)(d)), twenty on the licence (R430-90-6(1)(d)). PRESENCE: on the certificate you must "remain present at the home at least 50% of the time each week the program is open for business" (R430-50-7(1)); on the licence "the provider or the provider designee shall be present at the home when a child is in care" (R430-90-7(1)), which is what lets a licensed family home run without you. AFTER-SCHOOL OVERFLOW: two extra school-age children on the certificate (R430-50-9(4)), three on the licence (R430-90-9(4)). MONEY: the Department of Workforce Services subsidy bands published by the Division on its own comparison chart, updated 17 June 2025, are $525–$675 for a residential certificate and $640–$850 for licensed family. The state fee is identical on both tracks, so the licence buys more capacity and more subsidy for the same $62 base. Time cost: none — this step is a decision, not a filing, and it is the only step that cannot run in parallel with anything else.
2. STEP TWO — CHECK WHETHER YOU ARE BELOW THE LICENSING THRESHOLD ALTOGETHER, AND UNDERSTAND THAT "EXEMPT" IN UTAH STILL MEANS REGISTERED, BACKGROUND-CHECKED AND CAPPED. Utah Code Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(viii) excludes from the whole child care licensing part "residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children, unless the provider requests to be licensed under Section 26B-2-403 or certified under Section 26B-2-404." That sentence is the reason thousands of Utah homes operate with no certificate. It comes with two hard caps in the same section. Subsection 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i): "A person that does not hold a license or certificate from the department under this part may not, at any given time, provide child care in the person's home for more than 10 children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, regardless of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." Subsection (1)(b)(ii): "A person providing care described in Subsection (1)(a)(viii) may not provide, at any given time, child care in the person's home for more than two children who are under three years old." Two under three. Not three. That single number pushes most infant-heavy home programmes onto the certificate whether they wanted regulation or not. And the exclusion does not excuse screening: Subsection (1)(c) makes an unlicensed provider under (1)(a)(viii) "subject to the requirements of Section 26B-2-406," the criminal-history section. Rule R430-8-5(2)(b) applies the screening duty to "any unlicensed residential child care provider, except for sporadic care, who provides care: (i) for eight or less qualifying children at one time or for up to ten qualifying children including their own; (ii) for more than two days a week; and (iii) in the provider's home for four or more hours a day," and R430-8-5(3) requires that provider to "register with OL to facilitate the OBP background check process" and to "care for no more than two children under the age of three." The Division calls this registration CCRRP — Child Care Registered Residential Provider — and its application page states the rule in plain words: "Residential child care programs caring for 8 or fewer qualifying children are required to register their program with OL as a Child Care Registered Residential Provider (CCRRP) and complete a background check." Separately, Section 26B-2-405(1)(a)(v) excludes "care provided to a qualifying child, in the home of the provider, for less than four hours a day or on a sporadic basis, UNLESS that child care directly affects or is related to a business licensed in this state" — the four-hour and sporadic escape hatches, both of which R430-50-3(1)(d) and R430-90-3(1)(c) mirror by requiring "four or more hours a day" before either regulated track bites. Get this wrong in the direction of operating unregistered and the exposure is criminal, not merely administrative: Section 26B-2-707(1)(a) provides that "any person who owns, establishes, conducts, maintains, manages, or operates a program or facility in violation of this chapter is guilty of a class A misdemeanor," and conviction "does not preclude the office from... denying, placing conditions on, suspending, or revoking a license, certificate, or certification." This step takes an afternoon of honest arithmetic and runs in parallel with nothing, because it decides whether the rest of the list applies to you at all.
3. STEP THREE — PULL THE RULE TEXT THAT IS ACTUALLY IN EFFECT TODAY, FROM THE INDEX AND NOT FROM A BOOKMARK, BECAUSE UTAH MOVED THESE RULES AND THESE STATUTES IN 2025 AND 2026 AND THE OLD CITATIONS STILL CIRCULATE. Query the Office of Administrative Rules index of current rules for R430 and it returns, for Health and Human Services, programme "Residential Child Care Licensing": rule number 50, "Residential Certificate Child Care", ruleType "Current Rules", filing type "Amendment", effectiveDate 6/5/2026, effectiveEndDate 6/17/2030, comment period 4/16/2026 to 5/15/2026; and rule number 90, "Licensed Family Child Care", same ruleType, same "Amendment", same effectiveDate 6/5/2026, same end date and same comment window. Both home rules were amended out of one rulemaking packet and both took effect on 5 JUNE 2026. Any Utah home-provider guide, checklist or blog post written before that date describes superseded text even where it quotes the right rule number. Three more rules bind you and are not optional reading: R380-600, "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement" (effective 5/8/2025), which carries the entire application, fee, inspection, expiry and renewal machinery for every Office of Licensing programme including yours; R380-80, the Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights; and R430-8, "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing" (effective 5/8/2025, filed as a Repeal and Reenact). The Division's own rules page says it plainly: "R380-80 and R380-600 apply to all child care programs. R430-8 outlines exemption criteria and requirements for exempt programs." Two renumbering traps sit on top of this. First, the statute that creates your regulator moved: Utah Code Section 26B-2-901 now carries the text creating the Division of Licensing and Background Checks, with the codifier's note "Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 153, 2026 General Session" and an effective date of 6 May 2026 — the same text lived at 26B-2-103 until then, and H.B. 472 of the 2026 General Session (Loubet; enrolled as Chapter 153) is what moved it. Second, and far more likely to cost you money, Utah's municipal land use law was recodified: Section 10-9a-101 no longer returns a current version at all, and the Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act now sits in Title 10, Chapter 20, with sections such as 10-20-506 "Conditional uses" carrying the note "Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 15, 2025 Special Session 1" and an effective date of 6 November 2025. Every zoning memo that cites 10-9a-305 or 10-9a-505.5 at your city planner is citing a repealed chapter. Finally, download the inspection tool, not just the rule: the Division publishes a "Residential Certificate Inspection Checklist" for R430-50 and a matching one for R430-90, both marked "Revised 06/2026", and each states on its face, "This inspection checklist is the tool OL licensors use to ensure consistency for every inspection." That is the document you will be scored against. Reading time: a full day for both rules plus the checklist. Runs in parallel with everything after it, and should — but do it first, because the two later steps that fail most often, zoning and screening, are triggered by things you will only notice while reading.
4. STEP FOUR — COMPLETE NEW PROVIDER TRAINING AND THE TWO-AND-A-HALF-HOUR PRESERVICE COURSE BEFORE YOU FILE, NOT AFTER, BECAUSE THE DIVISION SEQUENCES TRAINING AHEAD OF THE APPLICATION AND THE COURSE ITSELF SAYS IT GATES ISSUANCE. The Division's application walkthrough puts this at step 3, ahead of "4. Submit your application", and states the split: "All providers are required to complete new provider training. Licensed family and residential certificate providers are required to complete preservice training in addition to new provider training. All directors, provider/director designees, and caregivers are required to complete preservice training." The rules impose it on both tracks. R430-50-6(1) requires the provider to "(c) complete the new provider training offered by OL"; R430-90-6(1)(c) is word-for-word the same. NEW PROVIDER TRAINING is not a class and not a video: it is a twelve-page self-paced course delivered as a State of Utah form, whose opening screen reads "New providers are required to complete this training before being issued a license, certificate, or approval from DLBC. There is a quiz at the end of this training. You must get at least 8/10 questions correct in order to complete this training and receive a certificate. You may retake the quiz as many times as you would like." Its stated outline runs from provider qualifications and inspections through the provider portal, making payments, the licensing process and DWS subsidy payments. Budget two to three hours and keep the completion certificate — your licensor will ask for it. PRESERVICE TRAINING is the other one, hosted on the Division's course site and marked "Updated March 2026", described there as: "Preservice training reviews basic health and safety topics. All employees must complete this course before working in child care. This course takes approximately 2 ½ hours to complete." The rule fixes its content precisely. R430-50-7(11) requires that the 2-1/2 hour preservice training include at least fifteen listed topics, among them administration of medication; "applicable laws and requirements under Rule R430-50"; the emergency preparedness, response and recovery plan; pediatric first aid and CPR; prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma and child maltreatment; prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and safe sleeping practices; the signs, symptoms and legal reporting of child abuse and neglect; and "recognizing the signs of an individual experiencing homelessness and available assistance." R430-50-7(4)(b) and R430-90-7(4)(b) require every caregiver to complete it "before becoming involved with child care," and R430-50-7(5)(a) extends the same duty to "any other staff, including any driver, cook, and clerk." On the licensed family track there is one extra person to train early: R430-90-7(2), "The provider must ensure that, before being left alone with a child, the provider designee: (a) completes OL's new provider training; and (b) has current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications." THIS STEP RUNS FULLY IN PARALLEL. Every adult who will be a caregiver or staff member can sit preservice on their own device at the same time as you sit new provider training, and none of it depends on the portal, the fee, or the application. Do not plan on the Division's old rule-review videos: it removed them, telling providers they "have been removed because they no longer contain the most up-to-date information."
5. STEP FIVE — SUBMIT THE ONLINE APPLICATION THROUGH THE DIVISION'S PROVIDER SYSTEM, AND START THE CLOCK THAT KILLS MORE UTAH APPLICATIONS THAN ANY OTHER PROVISION. There is no paper route and no generic form: each programme type has its own online application, and the two home ones are the RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE APPLICATION and the LICENSED FAMILY APPLICATION, both filed at provider.dlbc.utah.gov under the /ccl path. Get the facility name right on the first screen, because the Division's instruction is a naming rule, not a suggestion: "Residential providers: On your application the name of your facility must be your surname (last name) followed by your given name (first name). For example Doe, Jane. If you have a separate name for your business, you will include that as your DBA name." What R380-600-3(5) requires you to put in front of the Office of Licensing is: "(a) a complete application as provided by OL; (b) any required fee for each category of program or facility application; (c) except as described in Subsection 26B-2-120(12), a background check for each covered individual; (d) any policy and procedure, or updates if already submitted, as required by OL; (e) name and contact information for each responsible decision-maker, including any owner or program or facility director; and (f) documentation that verifies the applicant's compliance with, or exemption from, fire and business license requirement." Then the clock. The Division's own instruction at step 5 reads: "You must submit the following documents within 180 days of submitting your application (failure to do so will result in the closure of your application)" — business licence or a written statement from your city that none is required; a current fire inspection or a written statement from your local fire authority that none is required; a current kitchen inspection or a written statement from your local health department that none is required. One hundred and eighty days from the day you press submit, and the penalty is closure of the file, not an extension. THE TRAP IS THAT THE RULE AND THE WEBSITE DO NOT AGREE, AND THE RULE IS SHORTER. R380-600-3(10): "A new applicant shall submit a new initial application and applicable fees if they have not successfully completed the application process six months from the date of the initial application." Six months is near enough to 180 days — but R380-600-5(2) says something different again: "The applicant shall pay a new application fee if the applicant has not completed the application process 12 months after the date of initial application if the applicant desires to continue with the application process." A twelve-month fee clause sitting beside a six-month closure clause. Plan to the SIX-MONTH number and treat the twelve-month sentence as a fee provision that will not save your file. Two more provisions bite here. R380-600-3(6): "An applicant shall notify OL in writing of any changes to the application, including withdrawal of the application" — a moved address or a new household member mid-application is a written notice, not a silent edit. And R380-600-3(14): "A denied applicant may not reapply for a minimum of a three-month period beginning on the date of denial," which is why filing early with an incomplete file is worse than filing late with a complete one. Submission takes under an hour. It cannot run in parallel with the portal step that follows, because the portal does not exist for you until this application is in.
6. STEP SIX — CREATE A UTAHID AND THEN WAIT FOUR BUSINESS DAYS FOR YOUR PROVIDER PORTAL, THE ONE HARD SEQUENCING WALL IN THE WHOLE PROCESS. The Division's step 6 reads: "The provider portal is a secure system used to manage background checks for your program, submit your W-9 to DLBC, and other important functions. To access the provider portal, you will need to create a UtahID. After submitting an application and creating a UtahID, you will be able to access your provider portal. Allow up to 4 business days after submitting your application before trying to access your provider portal." UtahID is the state's single sign-on account, not a licensing account; creating one takes minutes and can be done before you file. What cannot be done early is the association between that UtahID and your pending facility, which is what the Division builds during those four business days. Everything downstream that involves other human beings is gated behind it, and the background check page repeats the warning in its own voice: "If you recently submitted an application for a new child care program, allow up to four business days before submitting any background check requests for your program." Read the two sentences together and the practical consequence is that Friday afternoon is the worst possible time to submit an application: four BUSINESS days from a Friday submission is the following Thursday, and every household member's screening waits behind it. The rule underneath this is R380-600-3(13), "A provider approved by OL to certify their own program or facility site shall register each certified site using the licensing provider portal," and R430-50-8(1), which makes the portal the compliance instrument rather than a convenience: "Before a new covered individual becomes involved with child care, the provider shall use the licensing provider portal search to verify that the individual is eligible and: (a) associate that individual with the provider's facility." The portal is also where you will authorise other people's background checks, download the physical fingerprint form each of them must carry to their appointment, submit your W-9, and — later — file your renewal request. The Division's licensor tooling calls the underlying system UCCLAPP; the inspection checklist has a pre-inspection line item "Facility Personnel Listed in UCCLAPP", which is the licensor confirming that the people in your house match the people in the portal. If those two lists differ on inspection day you will be cited for a background-check failure even where every individual is personally clear. This step costs four business days of pure waiting and runs in parallel with nothing that depends on the portal — but it is the ideal window to work the local business licence, zoning and fire steps, which do not touch the state at all.
7. STEP SEVEN — SCREEN YOURSELF AND EVERY HUMAN BEING IN THE HOUSE FROM AGE TWELVE, AND UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AUTHORISE AND PAY WHILE THEY APPLY. Utah splits this between two offices: the Office of Licensing issues your certificate or licence, but the OFFICE OF BACKGROUND PROCESSING (OBP) decides eligibility, and neither acts on the other's behalf. Utah Code Section 26B-2-406(1)(a) requires each person requesting a residential certificate, licence or renewal to submit "the name and other identifying information, which shall include fingerprints, of existing, new, and proposed: (i) owners; (ii) directors; (iii) members of the governing body; (iv) employees; (v) providers of care; (vi) volunteers, except parents of children enrolled in the programs; and (vii) all adults residing in a residence where child care is provided." Subsection (2)(a) adds "any person age 12 through 17 who resides in the residence where the child care is provided" and states that for them "the identifying information required... does not include fingerprints." R430-50-7(8) puts the same duty in operational form: each household member "(a) 12 to 17 years old is considered eligible by an OBP background check; and (b) 18 years old or older is considered eligible by an OBP background check that includes fingerprints." R430-90-7(8) matches word for word. THE SEQUENCE IS COUNTER-INTUITIVE AND IS WHERE FAMILIES LOSE A WEEK. Each adult completes and submits their OWN online request — "Adults must complete and submit their own form. Parents or guardians may complete a request form on behalf of their child" — and then, per the Division's instructions, "After submitting a background check request, the provider (or owner) of the facility you selected in step 3 must log into their provider portal and authorize your background check request. Unless this step is taken, your background check request will not be processed by the Office of Background Processing (OBP)." A form sitting unauthorised looks submitted to the person who submitted it and does not exist to OBP. R430-50-8(2) codifies your side: authorise through the portal, "pay any required fee," and "only allow the individual to be involved with child care if they have an eligible OBP background check determination." Fingerprints are required if you are 18 or older and have not previously submitted prints on the Next Generation FBI fingerprint or rap-back system; if you are 18 or older and have lived outside Utah since your last prints; if you are 18 or older and have not been associated with any Utah child care facility for 180 days; or if you are 16 or older in any role other than household member. Your provider must print the fingerprint form from the portal for the individual to carry to the appointment. Two rolling duties start now and never stop: R430-50-8(4), within ten working days of a resident child turning 12 you must get an application submitted, authorise it and pay; and R430-50-7(7), a guest who is 12 or older and "stays in the home for more than two weeks" needs one too. Realistic elapsed time: two to six weeks, dominated by fingerprint appointment availability. RUNS IN PARALLEL with fire, health and local permitting — and it is the step most worth starting the hour your portal opens.
8. STEP EIGHT — READ THE DISQUALIFICATION LIST BEFORE YOU SPEND ANYTHING, BECAUSE ONE INELIGIBLE ADULT IN THE HOUSE ENDS THE APPLICATION AND NO AMOUNT OF COMPLIANCE ELSEWHERE CURES IT. R380-600-3(11)(e) lets the Office of Licensing deny an initial or renewal application outright where "the applicant or provider received a notice from OBP that a covered individual in the program or facility is not eligible due to an OBP background check and that covered individual is still in the program or facility," and R430-50-8(10) adds the provider-specific version: "If the provider is not eligible by OBP, OL may suspend or deny their license until the reason for the background check finding is resolved." The grounds are broad. R430-50-8(7): OBP may find a covered individual not eligible for "(a) a pending charge for a felony offense; (b) any felony conviction;... (d) LIS supported findings that occurred no more than 15 years from the date the application was submitted; (e) the covered individual knowingly making a false statement related to their background check; (f) the covered individual refusing to consent to the criminal background check; or (g) the covered individual's name appearing on the Utah or national sex offender registry." R430-50-8(8) adds a list that bites "regardless of severity" on conviction, no-contest plea, plea in abeyance or diversion, and even on a pending charge: child pornography; driving under the influence while a child is present in the vehicle; lewdness involving a child; pornographic material or performance; providing dangerous weapons or firearms to a minor; sexual battery; sexual enticing of a minor; sexual exploitation; voyeurism; "or any crime against an individual." The single statutory forgiveness is narrow — R430-50-8(9), eligible where "the only background finding is a conviction or plea of no contest to a nonviolent drug offense that occurred ten or more years before OBP conducted the background check," which tracks Section 26B-2-406(5)(a). WATCH THE 1 JANUARY 2027 TIGHTENING. Section 26B-2-120, the background-check section R380-600-3(5)(c) points to, exists in two versions on the legislature's own index: a current text amended by Chapter 358 of the 2026 General Session and effective 6 May 2026, and a successor amended by Chapter 445 of the 2026 General Session and effective 1 January 2027. The difference is a widening. Where the current text disqualifies on "an offense included in Title 76, Chapter 5b, Sexual Exploitation Act, OTHER THAN Section 76-5b-206," the 1 January 2027 text drops the carve-out and reads "an offense included in Title 76, Chapter 5b, Sexual Exploitation Act"; and where the current text reaches "an offense described in Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses, OTHER THAN Section 76-5-417, 76-5-418, or 76-5-419," the successor reaches the whole of Part 4. If a household member's history sits inside one of those excepted sections, an eligibility determination issued in 2026 does not guarantee a renewal determination in 2027. This step is reading and honesty, not filing; it costs nothing and runs in parallel with everything, but doing it late is how applicants lose $200 in fees and three months to the R380-600-3(14) reapplication bar.
9. STEP NINE — GET THE LOCAL BUSINESS LICENCE AND SETTLE ZONING, AND ACCEPT THAT IN UTAH THIS IS ENTIRELY YOUR BURDEN WITH NO STATE PROTECTION BEHIND YOU. R380-600-3(2) is the whole of the state's position: "Each applicant and provider shall comply with any applicable rule, statute, zoning, fire, safety, sanitation, building and licensing law, regulation, ordinance, and code of the city and county where facility or agency will be or is located." The Office of Licensing does not obtain, negotiate or waive any of it; it only wants the paper, and R380-600-3(5)(f) says which paper: "documentation that verifies the applicant's compliance with, or exemption from, fire and business license requirement." The Division's application step 5 accepts either "A copy of your current business license, or a written statement from your city stating you are not required to obtain a business license" — and that written statement is a real, commonly used alternative in Utah's smaller municipalities and unincorporated county areas. NOW THE PART NO CHECKLIST WILL TELL YOU. Many states preempt local zoning for family child care, declaring a home programme a permitted residential use. UTAH DOES NOT. Read the recodified Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act — Title 10, Chapter 20, effective 6 November 2025 — end to end and the phrases "child care", "day care" and "home-based business" do not appear anywhere in it. The only home-occupation carve-out the Legislature wrote into that chapter is for education: home-based microschools and micro-education entities, which the chapter expressly shields, including from any requirement "to obtain a business license." Child care got no equivalent. What you do get is the general conditional-use protection at Section 10-20-506(2)(a)(i): "A land use authority shall approve a conditional use if reasonable conditions are proposed, or can be imposed, to mitigate the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of the proposed use in accordance with applicable standards," qualified immediately by (2)(a)(ii), which "does not require elimination of the detrimental effects," and by (2)(c), which lets the authority deny where those effects "cannot be substantially mitigated." So if your city classifies home child care as a conditional use, you are entitled to a reasoned decision and to conditions that genuinely relate to mitigation — parking, drop-off, hours, fencing — but you are not entitled to approval. And note the citation trap: every older Utah zoning memo cites 10-9a-305 or 10-9a-505.5, and Section 10-9a-101 no longer returns a current version, because Chapter 15 of the 2025 Special Session 1 renumbered the entire act into Chapter 20. HOA COVENANTS ARE A THIRD, SEPARATE PROBLEM AND THE STATE IS NOT IN IT. A recorded declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions is private contract law between you and your association; the Office of Licensing will issue your certificate without ever asking whether your CC&Rs permit a business, and the association can enforce against you the day after. Read your declaration before you spend a dollar, and if it prohibits commercial use of a lot, resolve it before the on-site inspection, not after. This step is the longest pole in the Utah timeline: business licence turnaround is typically two to six weeks and a conditional-use hearing commonly six to twelve, and both run entirely in parallel with training, screening and fire. Start it the day you decide, not the day you file.
10. STEP TEN — OBTAIN FIRE CLEARANCE, AND NOTE THAT THIS IS THE ONE CLEARANCE WHERE THE CERTIFICATE AND THE LICENCE ARE MEASURED BY DIFFERENT TEXT. What the Division wants at application step 5 is "A copy of a current fire inspection for your facility, or a written statement from your local fire authority stating your facility is not required to have a fire inspection," within the 180-day window. Most Utah home programmes take the second option, because many local fire authorities do not inspect single-family dwellings for a home child care use — and that is precisely where the rules stop being identical. WHEN YOUR FIRE AUTHORITY WAIVES THE INSPECTION, YOUR LICENSOR PERFORMS IT INSTEAD, AGAINST A SHORT ENUMERATED LIST, AND THE TWO LISTS DIFFER BY ONE WORD THAT COSTS MONEY. R430-50-4(1), residential certificate: "If the local fire authority states in writing that an applicant for a new residential certificate or a renewal does not require a fire inspection, OL shall verify the applicant's compliance with the following: (a) address numbers and letters are readable from the street; (b) boiler, mechanical, and electrical panel rooms are not used for storage; (c) exit doors operate properly and are well maintained; (d) there are no obstructions in exits, aisles, corridors, and stairways; (e) there are working smoke detectors that are properly installed on each level of the building; and (f) THERE IS AT LEAST ONE UNOBSTRUCTED FIRE EXTINGUISHER that is currently charged, serviced, and mounted not more than five feet above the floor." R430-90-4(1) is identical through (e) and then diverges at (f): "there is at least one unobstructed fire extinguisher ON EACH LEVEL OF THE BUILDING, currently charged and serviced, and mounted not more than five feet above the floor." One extinguisher for the whole home on the certificate; one per level on the licence. In a two-storey house with a basement that is three units, three service tags, three mounting heights, and three items a licensor will physically check. Everything else in the substituted list is cheap and is failed anyway: house numbers legible from the street (a repainted kerb or a $12 sign), nothing stored in the furnace or electrical panel room (the single most common Utah citation in this cluster, because that room is where households keep everything), and smoke detectors on each level that actually sound when tested. Buy extinguishers with a current service tag, not a hardware-store canister with no tag; "currently charged, serviced" is two conditions and the licensor reads the tag. THE FIRE OBLIGATION IS NOT A ONE-OFF. Both rules apply the same test to "a new residential certificate OR A RENEWAL", and the Division's renewal instructions confirm it: "When submitting a renewal request, you will also need to submit a copy of your program's current fire clearance, or a written statement from your local fire authority stating that a fire inspection is not required. You may submit your renewal request before submitting your fire clearance, but your fire clearance documentation will need to be submitted before your program is approved for renewal." So this is an annual document, every year, forever. Elapsed time: a written waiver statement is usually days; an actual fire inspection is one to four weeks depending on the district's schedule. Runs fully in parallel with background screening, the health/kitchen step and local permitting.
11. STEP ELEVEN — HANDLE THE KITCHEN AND SANITATION CLEARANCE, AND KILL THE WELL-AND-SEPTIC MYTH BEFORE IT COSTS YOU A LABORATORY BILL. The Division's step 5 wants "A copy of a current kitchen inspection for your facility, or a written statement from your local health department stating you are not required to have a kitchen inspection," and, exactly as with fire, the waiver shifts the inspection onto your licensor against an enumerated list. R430-50-4(2): "If an applicant for a new residential certificate serves food and the local health department states in writing that a kitchen inspection is not required, OL shall verify the applicant's compliance by ensuring: (a) any chemical is stored away from food and food service items; (b) any reusable food holder, utensil, and food preparation surface is washed, rinsed, and sanitized before each use; (c) food is properly stored, kept to the proper temperature, and in good condition; (d) the refrigerator is clean, in good repair, and working at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit; (e) there is a working handwashing sink in the kitchen; (f) there is a working stem thermometer available to check cooking and hot hold temperatures; and (g) there is a working thermometer in the refrigerator." R430-90-4(2) is the same seven items in a different order — the one clearance where the two tracks are genuinely identical, except that the licensed-family text applies the test to "a new license or a renewal" while the certificate text names only the new application. NOW THE MYTH. Nothing in R430-50 or R430-90 requires water testing of any kind — not for a private well, not for a septic system, not at all. Search both rules end to end and the words "potable", "culinary", "water supply", "sewer" and "sanitary survey" do not occur. The only water-quality provision in the child care part of the statute is Section 26B-2-407, "Drinking water quality in child care centers," which reads in its entirety, "A child care center, as defined in Section 19-4-115, may comply with Section 19-4-115" — permissive, and addressed to CENTERS, not homes. The building requirement that does bite is lead: R430-50-9(5), "The provider shall ensure that any building or play structure on the premises constructed before 1978 that has peeling, flaking, chalking, or failing paint undergoes a test for lead," and if lead paint is present, "contact their local health department within five working days and follow required procedures for remediation of the lead hazard." ONE 2026 CHANGE THAT LOOKS LIKE RELIEF AND IS NOT YOURS. H.B. 379 of the 2026 General Session, "Child Care Provider Food Preparation Amendments" (Chief Sponsor Tracy J. Miller, Senate Sponsor Heidi Balderree, Chapter 195), enacted Section 26B-7-417 effective 6 May 2026 and frees qualifying child care kitchens from commercial food-service requirements — no commercial dishwasher, oven, range, hood, freezer or refrigerator; no certified food safety manager where every food handler holds a permit; no three-compartment sink where no raw meat, fish or poultry is prepared; no separate handwashing sink. Read the definitions before you celebrate: Subsection (1)(b) defines a "child care food preparation kitchen" as the kitchen "in the CENTER BASED CHILD CARE FACILITY of a licensed provider." A residential certificate holder and a licensed family home are both outside it. Days if your health department waives, two to four weeks if it inspects; runs in parallel with fire and screening.
12. STEP TWELVE — PUT CURRENT PEDIATRIC FIRST AID AND CPR IN THE HOUSE BEFORE ISSUANCE, BECAUSE ON THE CERTIFICATE TRACK IT IS A STATUTORY QUALIFICATION AND NOT MERELY A RULE. Utah Code Section 26B-2-404(2) lists "the minimum qualifications for a Residential Child Care Certificate" and (c) is: "annual training consisting of 10 hours of department-approved training as specified by the department by administrative rule, INCLUDING A CURRENT DEPARTMENT-APPROVED CPR AND FIRST AID COURSE." That sentence does two things at once. It makes CPR and first aid a statutory element of the certificate, so no rule amendment can quietly drop it, and it folds the course INTO the ten hours rather than adding it on top — meaning your CPR class is training hours you have already banked, not an extra burden. There is no equivalent sentence anywhere in Section 26B-2-403 for the licensed family track, where the requirement lives purely in rule. The operational text is the same on both. R430-50-7(14): "The provider shall ensure that at least one covered individual with a current Red Cross, American Heart Association, or equivalent pediatric first aid and CPR certification is present when a child is in care: (a) at each offsite activity; (b) at the facility; and (c) in each vehicle transporting a child." Read the three limbs together: if you take four children to a park in your car, the certified person has to be in that car, and if a second adult stays home with the rest, the coverage has to work in both places at once. R430-50-7(15) removes the online-only shortcut — "The provider shall ensure that CPR certification includes HANDS-ON TESTING" — so a purely virtual card will be rejected. R430-50-7(16) makes it a records item: current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records "for each covered individual required by this rule to have them are on-site for review by OL." R430-90-7 carries the same three provisions. THREE WORDS TO CHECK ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU PAY FOR THE CLASS: pediatric, current, and hands-on. An adult-only CPR card is not pediatric. A card that expired last month is not current. A fully online course with no skills check is not hands-on. Utah names Red Cross and American Heart Association as safe harbours and accepts "equivalent" — but you will be the one arguing equivalence to a licensor on inspection day, so prefer a named provider. The licensed-family track has an extra person to certify before opening: R430-90-7(2) requires that before being left alone with a child, the provider designee both "completes OL's new provider training" and "has current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications." If your business model is that you can leave the house, you need two certified adults on day one, not one. Note also what preservice does and does not do: R430-50-7(11)(g) lists "pediatric first aid and CPR" among the topics the 2-1/2 hour preservice course must cover, but covering a topic in a health-and-safety overview is not a certification, and no licensor will accept the preservice completion certificate in place of a card. Practical timing: an in-person blended pediatric CPR/first aid class runs three to five hours and costs $50–$90 per person in Utah; classes fill, so book two to three weeks out. RUNS FULLY IN PARALLEL with screening, fire, health and local permitting — this is one of the few steps you can complete entirely before you ever file.
13. STEP THIRTEEN — WRITE THE EMERGENCY PLAN, SIGN THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND ASSEMBLE THE PARENT-FACING PAPER, BECAUSE UTAH REQUIRES FAR FEWER WRITTEN POLICIES THAN YOU EXPECT AND FAILS YOU ON THE FEW IT DOES. The Division's application step 9 is unambiguous about the one plan that gates issuance: "All child care programs are required to have a written emergency plan BEFORE BEING LICENSED." The rule behind it is R430-50-14(1), which requires you to "develop and follow a written emergency preparedness, response, and recovery plan that: (a) includes a procedure for: (i) accommodating a child with a disability; (ii) accommodating a child with a chronic medical condition; (iii) accommodating any infant and toddler; (iv) communication with and reunification of families; (v) continuity of operations; (vi) evacuation; (vii) lockdown; (viii) relocation; and (ix) shelter in place; (b) includes instructions to follow if there is an allergy, serious reaction to food, or any other trigger that may affect a child's health; and (c) is followed if an emergency happens, unless otherwise instructed by emergency personnel." R430-90-14(1) is the same nine procedures. THE SECOND MANDATORY PIECE OF PAPER IS THE CODE OF CONDUCT, AND IT IS THE ONE PEOPLE FORGET. R380-600-8(1)(c) makes the Provider Code of Conduct of Rule R380-80 binding on you and every staff member, and R380-80(12) sets the mechanic: "Each provider shall sign and ensure each staff signs off on reading, understanding, and agreeing to follow this rule, Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights BEFORE WORKING WITH CLIENTS." The Division's forms page lists what is compulsory — "Required forms: Affidavit of lawful presence in the United States; Client rights poster (English); Client rights poster (Spanish); Code of conduct and client rights; License exempt notice" — then labels everything else, from the admission agreement to the drill log and the medication permission form, with "Using these forms is not mandatory. They are provided as examples and templates." R430-50-6(9)–(11): a parent must complete "an admission and health assessment form" before admission, carrying thirteen enumerated items including authorised pickup persons, an out-of-area emergency contact, permission for emergency transportation and treatment, known allergies, chronic conditions and current medications — and it must be "reviewed, updated, and signed or initialed by the parent at least annually" and "kept on-site for review by OL." R430-50-6(12)–(14): before admitting ANY child, including your own or an employee's, obtain immunization records, a schedule to receive them, a legal exemption, or a 90-day exemption for a foster child or a child experiencing homelessness, keep them on-site, and "submit the annual immunization report to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System by the date specified by the department." AND HERE IS A GENUINE HOLE IN THE STATE'S OWN PAPER: R430-50-6(6) and R430-90-6(6) both require you to "post a current copy of OL's Parent Guide at the facility for parent review during business hours or give a current copy to each parent" — yet the Division's child care forms page publishes no document by that name, and a site search for "parent guide" returns nothing. Ask your licensor for the current file in writing; do not substitute the DWS "Child care provider guide", a different document for a different audience. A weekend of drafting, and it runs fully in parallel with everything else.
14. STEP FOURTEEN — DECIDE THE LIABILITY INSURANCE QUESTION, WHICH IN UTAH IS NOT A REQUIREMENT BUT A DISCLOSURE, AND GET THE DISCLOSURE IN WRITING BEFORE THE FIRST CHILD ENROLS. R430-50-6(8) is two lines long and is the whole of Utah's position for a residential certificate: "The provider shall: (a) have liability insurance; or (b) inform parents in writing that the provider does not have liability insurance." R430-90-6(8) is identical for licensed family child care. There is no minimum coverage amount anywhere in either rule, no required policy form, no certificate of insurance to file with the Office of Licensing, and no naming of the department as an interested party. The state does not care whether you are insured; it cares that parents were told. That makes the notice-in-lieu the operative document, and it makes its FORM the thing that fails on inspection. "In writing" means a signed, dated statement in each child's file, given at or before admission, not a line buried in a contract nobody countersigned and not a verbal explanation at the door. A licensor asking about R430-50-6(8) at your first inspection will ask to see either a current policy or the signed notices, and a file with neither is a citation regardless of how well insured you believe you are. A SECOND, SEPARATE DISCLOSURE APPLIES THE MOMENT YOU PUT A CHILD IN A VEHICLE. R430-50-20 requires that the provider shall "(a) have transport liability insurance; or (b) inform parents in writing that the provider does not have transport liability insurance," and R430-90-20 carries the same pair. These are two distinct obligations with two distinct disclosures: a general liability notice does not cover transport, and a provider who signs one notice and drives children to school has an unpapered second exposure. If you transport at all — school runs, field trips, a single pickup — resolve this before the pre-inspection, because the transportation sections also impose vehicle, restraint, ratio and first-aid-kit requirements that the licensor will check against the vehicle in your driveway. THE COMMERCIAL REALITY BEHIND THE RULE MATTERS MORE THAN THE RULE. A standard Utah homeowner's or renter's policy typically excludes business activity conducted on the premises, so operating a certified or licensed home programme on an unendorsed homeowner's policy can leave you with neither the child care liability the notice is about nor the property coverage you thought you had. The two normal answers are a home day care endorsement added to the homeowner's policy or a standalone child care liability policy; in Utah both are readily available and the standalone route is what most licensed family homes carry, because the licence track's larger group sizes and mandatory outdoor area raise the exposure. If you accept Department of Workforce Services subsidy payments, check the current DWS provider agreement separately — subsidy contracting is a distinct relationship from licensing and can carry its own insurance expectations that the Office of Licensing rules do not impose. There is no divergence between the two tracks on this point: the certificate and the licence are written in the same words, and both let you operate uninsured provided you say so in writing. This step costs an afternoon and one phone call to an agent, and it runs fully in parallel with screening, fire, health and local permitting. Do it before the pre-inspection, because the notices belong in files that will be opened that day.
15. STEP FIFTEEN — PAY THE FEES AND SUBMIT THE W-9, AND KNOW THAT UNDER THE RULE THE MONEY COMES BEFORE ANYONE FROM THE STATE LOOKS AT ANYTHING. R380-600-5(1): "Except for a foster home, division of the department, or certified home for the Division of Services for People with Disabilities, THE APPLICANT MUST PAY ANY REQUIRED APPLICATION FEE BEFORE OL PERFORMS ANY ON-SITE VISIT OR DOCUMENT REVIEW." An unpaid balance does not slow your file; it stops it, silently. The current numbers come from the Child Care Licensing Fee Schedule effective 1 July 2026 through 30 June 2027, issued "Pursuant to Utah State Legislature FY 2026 Appropriation Act". Base licence or certificate: $62.00 each, and the schedule states it "Applies to all new applications, annual renewals, and change of ownership." Per-child capacity rate: $1.75 per child, "Based on the total requested or approved capacity." Background screening: $20.00 each. Fingerprint processing: $42.00 each. Fingerprint record replication: $10.00 each, "Applied when copying existing fingerprints previously submitted to a partner agency." Late renewal penalty: $31.00 home and centre, for renewals "received 1-30 days past the expiration date." Licence changes: $44.34 each, "Charged starting with the third change made to a license/certificate within a single year." Additional inspections: $160.00 each — and read that description, because it applies before you ever hold a certificate: "For new applicants: This fee is for each additional inspection conducted for license or certificate approval." Conditional monitoring inspections: $245.00 for a home, per inspection. Plus $2.00 on every transaction, added automatically: "The total shown will include the $2.00 processing fee. This fee does not need to be entered manually." DO THE ARITHMETIC FOR YOUR OWN HOUSE RATHER THAN QUOTING THE HEADLINE $62. A residential certificate at capacity 8 is $62.00 + (8 × $1.75) = $76.00, plus $2.00 = $78.00, before a single person is screened. A licensed family home at capacity 16 is $62.00 + $28.00 + $2.00 = $92.00. Then add screening: a household of two adults and one thirteen-year-old is $20.00 × 3 = $60.00 for the checks plus $42.00 × 2 = $84.00 for the two adults' fingerprints — the twelve-to-seventeen-year-old submits none — before the livescan agency's own charge, which the Division warns "is separate from any fees owed to DLBC, which must be paid in full regardless." A realistic all-in state cost for a small household is $220–$300, and one failed pre-inspection adds $160.00. MECHANICS THAT TRIP PEOPLE UP. Use the Division's payment system from the make-a-payment page, find your facility by name or facility ID, then enter a QUANTITY beside each fee item rather than a dollar amount — "Do not type in the dollar amount. The dollar amount will be calculated based on the number you enter in the quantity field" — write each screened person's name into the Details field, press Total, and submit. There is a hard timeout: "Once you go to this page you will have 10 minutes to complete your transaction." Separately, application step 8 requires you to "Submit a W-9 form with accurate information to DLBC through the provider portal," which cannot be done until the portal exists for you, so that piece is gated behind the four-business-day wait. The payment itself takes ten minutes; everything else here runs in parallel.
16. STEP SIXTEEN — PASS THE ON-SITE PRE-LICENCE INSPECTION, THE SCHEDULED, ANNOUNCED VISIT AT WHICH EVERY EARLIER STEP IS SCORED AT ONCE. The Division's step 10 is the plainest sentence in the whole walkthrough, and it is worth reading twice: "After completing all prior steps, a licensor from DLBC will contact you to schedule a pre-license inspection. This inspection will take place on-site at your facility. During this inspection, your licensor will assess for compliance with the rules and requirements that apply to your program. Your program must be found in compliance with ALL rules and requirements during this inspection in order to complete the licensing process." The inspection manual, revised June 2026, confirms the notice: "Pre-license inspections will be scheduled with the provider or program administrator ahead of time. Most programs will not be able to receive a license (and therefore begin or continue operations) until after a pre-license inspection has been completed." WHAT THE LICENSOR MAY DO IN YOUR HOME IS BROADER THAN APPLICANTS EXPECT, AND THE ACCESS DUTY IS ABSOLUTE. R380-600-3(3) requires you to permit "immediate, unrestricted access to: (a) any unaltered on and off-site program or facility and client records; (b) each client who independently consents to speak to OL staff; (c) each site subject to licensing or certification; and (d) each staff member." The residential checklist adds the rule of the day: "All areas that are inaccessible to children in care must remain inaccessible for this inspection. During the inspection, the licensor will ask to have locked areas unlocked. All accessible areas must be compliant with all applicable rules during the inspection." BRING PROOF OF WHO YOU ARE. Application step 11: "You may be required to sign an affidavit of lawful presence in the United States. If you have been informed that you will need to sign this form, you will need to show proof of citizenship to your licensor during your pre-license inspection" — passport, birth certificate, or a government-issued photo ID card; qualified aliens may show a permanent resident card or employment authorisation card. THE CERTIFICATE TRACK HAS ITS OWN STATUTORY INSPECTION CLOCK THE LICENCE TRACK DOES NOT. Section 26B-2-404(2)(b) makes a minimum qualification for the certificate "an initial and annual inspection of the provider's home WITHIN 90 DAYS OF SENDING AN INTENT TO INSPECT NOTICE to: (i) check the immunization record... of each qualifying child who receives child care in the provider's home; (ii) identify serious sanitation, fire, and health hazards to qualifying children; and (iii) make appropriate recommendations." And Subsection (3): if a serious hazard is found, the department "shall require corrective action for the serious hazards found and MAKE AN UNANNOUNCED FOLLOW UP INSPECTION to determine compliance." One serious hazard buys a surprise return visit as a matter of statute. Failure costs twice: R380-600-7(9) requires you to "come into compliance within the required correction time frames as stated in the respective inspection report" and to "pay any applicable penalty and inspection fee," and the fee schedule prices a new applicant's repeat visit at $160.00. Until the visit passes and the document issues, R380-600-3(1) forbids you to "accept any fee", "enter into any agreement to provide a client service", or "provide any client service." Nothing runs in parallel with it; it is the convergence point.
17. STEP SEVENTEEN — TAKE ISSUANCE, POST IT, AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE UTAH TERM IS ONE YEAR MEASURED TO THE END OF A MONTH, NOT TO AN ANNIVERSARY DATE. The Division's step 13 is one sentence — "The final step is to wait to receive your license, certificate, or approval letter before opening for child care" — and R380-600-3(18) is its enforceable form: "a provider must submit an application, any required fee, and obtain a new or a renewed license or certificate before providing any service that requires a license or certificate." Post it at once. R380-600-3(25): "The provider shall post their current license or certificate, except in a foster home, on the premises in a place readily visible and accessible to the public," reinforced by R430-50-6(5) for the certificate — which adds "during business hours" — and R430-90-6(5) for the licence, both of which require the document to be UNALTERED. THE TERM IS THE PROVISION PROVIDERS MISREAD MOST. R380-600-3(19): "A license or certificate expires at midnight on the last day of the same month the license or certificate was issued, ONE YEAR AFTER ITS EFFECTIVE DATE," subject only to revocation, extension, relinquishment, a shorter term you requested, a two-year licence, or a three-year foster licence. So a certificate effective 14 March 2027 dies at midnight on 31 March 2028, not on 13 March. That same certificate or licence date is the anniversary your training year runs from: R430-50-6(1)(d) counts ten hours "based on the facility's residential certificate date" and R430-90-6(1)(d) counts twenty "based on the facility's license date," so two providers in the same town have different training deadlines and neither runs on the calendar year. A TWO-YEAR OPTION EXISTS AND MAY NOT BE YOURS. R380-600-3(17) lets a provider apply for a two-year licence where the programme "is in good standing with OL for the two consecutive license periods issued by OL immediately before the date of application," where "OL reasonably determines that the provider is likely to maintain good standing for a two-year period," and where the provider "submits twice the annual fee required for each category of license sought" — with (17)(c)(ii) making clear that "required inspections will be conducted in the same manner as for annual licenses of the same license type," so you buy paperwork relief, not inspection relief. But read the opening words of (17)(a) before you plan on it: "A provider may apply for a two-year license IF THE PROVIDER IS NOT A RESIDENTIAL OR FOSTER CARE PROGRAM OR FACILITY." The Division has published no guidance saying whether "residential" there means residential treatment or reaches residential child care. Ask your licensor in writing rather than paying double and hoping. Two more provisions to absorb on the day the document arrives. R380-600-3(24): "Each license or certificate is not transferable" — you cannot sell your certificate with your house, and a change transferring 50% or more of ownership requires a complete new application and fees at least 30 days ahead under R380-600-4(3)(d). And R380-600-3(15) warns that your document may carry "any individualized parameter... to promote the health, safety, and welfare of any client," including "adequate square footage to determine capacity", "an admission or placement restriction" or "an age restriction". Read the face of your own certificate: the capacity printed there, not the capacity in the rule, is the number R430-50-9(4) and R430-90-9(4) hold you to.
18. STEP EIGHTEEN — RENEW INSIDE A THIRTY-DAY WINDOW, AND PLAN FOR AN INSPECTION CADENCE THAT NEVER STOPS. R380-600-3(8) is a three-stage cliff: submit "a renewal request and applicable fees AT LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE the expiration of their license or certificate"; or "a renewal request and applicable LATE FEES within 30 days after the expiration"; or, if you let it lapse and thirty days pass, "a new application for a new license or certificate and applicable fees." Past day thirty-one you are a new applicant again — new file, new pre-licence inspection, a fresh six-month completion clock under R380-600-3(10), and R380-600-3(1) closing your doors in the meantime. If you need breathing room, R380-600-3(21) allows a written request for an extension of up to 90 days where fees are paid and noncompliance is resolved, with the sting in (21)(d): "an extended license will reduce the dates for the subsequent renewal license to start on the date compliance is achieved and end on the original license renewal date." You borrow time now and give it back next year. THE RENEWAL IS INSPECTION-LED, NOT PAPERWORK-LED. The Division's renewal step 1: "30 to 90 days before your license, certificate, or approval expires, your assigned licensor will contact you to schedule an announced inspection. This inspection is required before your program can be approved for renewal. During this inspection you must demonstrate compliance with all rules or requirements that apply to your program." Renewal step 3 repeats the fire document every single year — "a copy of your program's current fire clearance, or a written statement from your local fire authority stating that a fire inspection is not required... will need to be submitted before your program is approved for renewal." On top of the renewal visit, R380-600-7(1) lets the Office of Licensing "schedule announced and unannounced inspections to follow statute, contract, and federal requirements according to each category," and the residential inspection checklist carries separate fields for "Last Announced Inspection" and "Last Unannounced Inspection" — plan on being visited more than once a year. On the certificate track the annual visit is statutory rather than discretionary: Section 26B-2-404(2)(b) requires "an initial and ANNUAL inspection of the provider's home within 90 days of sending an intent to inspect notice." UNDERSTAND WHAT A BAD YEAR COSTS BEFORE YOU HAVE ONE. R380-600-7(11) requires the Office of Licensing to "post each citation from each inspection and each substantiated noncompliance from a complaint investigation on the division website for no less than 36 months," and R380-600-8(4) repeats it for penalties — your record is public and it is searchable by the parents you are recruiting. R380-600-8(6) escalates money brutally: where a noncompliance drew a civil money penalty and the same rule is breached again within 36 months, "the provider shall pay double the amount of the original CMP and, for each subsequent noncompliance of the same rule issued, double the amount of the previous CMP not to exceed $10,000." A conditional status adds a $245.00 monitoring-inspection fee per visit for a home, and R380-600-8(10) lets the Office "conduct increased monitoring inspections for a facility on a conditional status until the facility demonstrates substantial compliance." Renewal itself is an hour of portal work; the announced inspection before it is the real cost, and your licensor schedules that, not you.

What you must post on your walls

• THE CERTIFICATE OR LICENCE ITSELF — "UNALTERED," AND THE THREE WORDS THAT DIFFER BETWEEN THE TWO TRACKS. This is the only posting Utah imposes twice, once in the general licensing rule and once in each home rule, and the wording is not identical across the tracks. On the residential certificate track, R430-50-6(5), effective 5 June 2026: "The provider shall post their UNALTERED child care residential certificate on the facility premises IN A PLACE READILY VISIBLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC DURING BUSINESS HOURS." On the licensed family track, R430-90-6(5): "The provider shall post their UNALTERED child care license on the facility premises IN A PLACE READILY VISIBLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC." The licensed family rule omits "during business hours." Read literally, the certificate holder's duty is qualified by opening times and the licensee's is not; in practice both are discharged by leaving the document on the wall permanently, and no Utah provider should try to exploit the difference. Above both sits R380-600-3(25), the Office of Licensing's general rule effective 8 May 2025: "The provider shall post their CURRENT license or certificate, EXCEPT IN A FOSTER HOME, on the premises in a place readily visible and accessible to the public." That subsection adds the word "current," which the home rules do not, and it is the word an inspector uses when last year's certificate is still framed in the hallway after a renewal. The statutory hook is Utah Code Section 26B-2-402(1)(b)(v), which authorises rules on "license expiration and renewal, contents, and POSTING REQUIREMENTS." What "unaltered" forbids: writing on it, cropping it, laminating over a condition, retyping it, or displaying a photocopy that omits the parameters. R380-600-8(3)(g) lists among the aggravating factors OL weighs over 36 months "actions to intentionally alter any document provided to or issued by the department," and R380-600-3(15) makes the printed parameters part of the licence you must obey: "The provider shall adhere to any individualized parameter on a program or facility license or certificate to promote the health, safety, and welfare of any client. Parameters may include: (a) adequate square footage to determine capacity; (b) an admission or placement restriction; or (c) an age restriction." Those parameters are the reason there is no separate capacity or age-range sign in Utah — the numbers live on the posted document, and R430-90-9(4) enforces them directly: "The provider shall ensure that the number of children in care at any given time does not exceed the CAPACITY IDENTIFIED ON THE LICENSE, except when providing after school child care for up to three additional school-age children." What the inspector checks: that the document on display is the current one, that it is the original, that the address on it matches the house, and that it is where a parent standing in the entry can read it — "accessible to the public" means a family member need not be invited past the front door. Where it must not be: inside a binder, in an office, or in a room parents do not enter.
• OL'S PARENT GUIDE — A POSTING THE RULE COMMANDS AND THE AGENCY NO LONGER PUBLISHES. Both home rules carry the same subsection, amended 5 June 2026. R430-50-6(6) and R430-90-6(6): "The provider shall POST A CURRENT COPY OF OL'S PARENT GUIDE at the facility for parent review during business hours OR GIVE A CURRENT COPY TO EACH PARENT." Note the structure before anything else: this is a posting-or-distribution duty in the alternative, and the alternative is real. Handing every enrolling parent a copy discharges it as completely as pinning one to the wall, and for a small home the distribution route is usually easier to prove — a signed line in the admission packet beats an argument about whether the noticeboard was "for parent review." The word "current" is doing the work here, and it is where the trap opens. As of 26 August 2026 the Division of Licensing and Background Checks does not serve a Parent Guide. The document's long-standing address, dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Parent-Guide.pdf — indexed as "Department's Parent Guide - August 2022" — returns HTTP 404, as does the same filename on the retired childcarelicensing.utah.gov host. The Office of Licensing's own child care forms page at dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/forms/, which lists twenty-six documents under "Required Forms," "Sample Forms" and "DWS Forms," does not include a Parent Guide; nor does the "Child care information" page for families. What survives on the site is a different, narrower instrument — the "Child care provider guide" published by the Department of Workforce Services at jobs.utah.gov/occ/provider/ccproviderguide.pdf, in English and Spanish, which is a subsidy-programme document and not OL's Parent Guide. So the current state of the law is: a mandatory posting whose object the agency has withdrawn from publication. What to do about it, concretely. Do not print the August 2022 file from a cached copy and call it current — the rule says CURRENT, and a four-year-old guide describing the pre-merger Department of Health is not. Ask your licensor, in writing, for the current copy of OL's Parent Guide, and keep the reply. An email from the Office of Licensing stating that no current Parent Guide exists is the only defence to a citation under R430-50-6(6) or R430-90-6(6), and it costs one message to obtain. The complaint channel and contact block that a Parent Guide would carry is separately published on the Client Rights poster — "Call: 801-890-2007; Email: licensingcomplaint@utah.gov; Mail: 195 N. 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84116" — and posting that satisfies a different rule, R380-80-5(15), not this one. What the inspector checks: whether something identifiable as OL's Parent Guide is displayed where parents read notices, or whether your enrolment file shows each parent received a copy. Either answer is compliant; "we used to have one" is not.
• STREET ADDRESS AND EMERGENCY NUMBERS — "NEAR EACH TELEPHONE," AND THE REASON THE ADDRESS IS ON THE SIGN. This is the one posting in the Utah home rules whose required location is spelled out with real specificity, and the two tracks differ by a single noun. R430-50-14(2): "The provider shall post THE HOME'S STREET ADDRESS and any emergency numbers, including at least FIRE, POLICE, AND POISON CONTROL, NEAR EACH TELEPHONE OR IN AN AREA CLEARLY VISIBLE TO ANYONE NEEDING THE INFORMATION." R430-90-14(2): "The provider shall post THE FACILITY'S STREET ADDRESS and any emergency numbers, including at least fire, police, and poison control, near each telephone or in an area clearly visible to anyone needing the information." Same duty, one word apart — the residential certificate rule calls the place a home, the licensed family rule calls it a facility — and both were amended on 5 June 2026. Four things to get right. The address is mandatory content, not decoration: the sign exists so that a panicking substitute, a teenage helper or a visiting therapist can read your street address aloud to a dispatcher. Utah does not accept "we all know where we live." Second, "near EACH telephone" is plural and it means each landline handset location; if you have no landline, the disjunct applies and the sign goes "in an area clearly visible to anyone needing the information" — the kitchen wall by the door is the conventional answer, not a drawer and not the inside of a cupboard. Third, "at least" fire, police and poison control is a floor: three numbers minimum, and Poison Control is the one providers omit because they assume 911 covers it. Fourth, the standard is "clearly visible to ANYONE needing the information," which is a lower bar than the licence's "accessible to the public" but a different one — it is aimed at the adult in the house during an emergency, not at a parent at the door. Two adjacent duties are commonly conflated with this posting and are not postings at all. R430-50-14(3) and R430-90-14(3) require that "the provider shall KEEP first aid supplies in the facility, including at least antiseptic, bandages, and tweezers" — a stocking duty. And R430-50-6(7) and R430-90-6(7) require that "the provider shall INFORM each parent AND OL of any changes to the program's telephone number and other contact information WITHIN 48 HOURS of the change" — a notification duty with a 48-hour clock, discharged by telling people, not by amending a sign, though an inspector who finds a disconnected number on your emergency board will ask whether OL was told. What the inspector checks: physical presence of the sign at each phone location or in a commonly visible spot, that the street address on it matches the licensed address, and that all three minimum numbers appear. This is a two-minute correction and one of the most frequently cited items in the entire rule, because it is the only posting that has nothing to do with paperwork you already generated.
• THE CURRENT WEEK'S MENU — POSTED, BUT ONLY IF YOU SUPPLY THE FOOD. R430-50-16(2)(d) and R430-90-16(2)(d) are identical and both conditional: the whole of Subsection (2) opens "IF THE PROVIDER SUPPLIES FOOD for children's meals or snacks, the provider shall ensure that ... (d) THE CURRENT WEEK'S MENU IS POSTED FOR REVIEW BY PARENTS AND OL." If every child arrives with a lunchbox from home, Subsection (2) does not engage and there is no menu to post — a genuine exemption, and one worth knowing before you build a board you do not need. If you do supply food, three features of this posting matter. It is the CURRENT WEEK'S menu: a monthly cycle chart is acceptable only if this week's rows are the ones on display and they are the ones actually being served. Substitutions happen; the rule does not forbid them, but a posted menu contradicted by the refrigerator is worse than none, because R380-600-8(3)(f) counts "false or misleading information submitted to OL" against you for 36 months. Second, the audience is stated in the rule and it is double — "FOR REVIEW BY PARENTS AND OL" — so the location has to work for a parent at the door and for a licensor walking through, which in practice means the kitchen or the entry, not a family calendar in a bedroom. Third, the menu's CONTENT is separately regulated and the posting is how compliance is checked. R430-50-16(2)(b) and R430-90-16(2)(b) require that "the foods that are served meet the nutritional requirements of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) WHETHER OR NOT the provider participates in the CACFP," and Subsection (2)(c) requires that the menu itself come from one of three sanctioned sources: "the CACFP meal pattern requirements, the standard OL-APPROVED MENUS, or menus approved by a REGISTERED DIETITIAN, and that dietitian approval is NOTED AND DATED on the menus, and current within the past five years." An inspector reading your posted menu is reading it against that list. The safe route is OL's own file, "Approved menus," at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Approved-menus.pdf, because it removes the dietitian's dated signature from the equation entirely. Do not confuse the posted menu with the retained food log. R430-50-16(2)(e) and R430-90-16(2)(e) require, "if not participating or in good standing with the CACFP, keep a SIX-WEEK RECORD of foods served at each meal and snack" — that record is KEPT, not posted, and posting last week's menus in a stack does not satisfy it. Conversely, keeping a perfect six-week log while posting nothing fails Subsection (2)(d). Two documents, two duties, one subject. What the inspector checks: that a menu for this week is visible; that it names actual meals and snacks rather than "lunch"; that its source is CACFP, OL or a dietitian whose approval is written on the page with a date inside five years; and that what is on the plate matches.
• THE DAILY SCHEDULE — POSTED ON THE LICENSED FAMILY TRACK, NOT REQUIRED AT ALL ON THE RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE. This is the sharpest posting fork in Utah's home-care rules and the one most likely to appear wrongly in a generic checklist. R430-90-18(4), in the licensed family rule as amended 5 June 2026, reads: "FOR EACH CHILD TWO YEARS OLD AND OLDER, the provider shall POST A DAILY SCHEDULE that includes: (a) activities that support children's healthy development; and (b) THE TIMES ACTIVITIES OCCUR including at least MEAL, SNACK, NAP OR REST, AND OUTDOOR PLAY TIMES." R430-50-18, "Activities," in the residential certificate rule contains no such subsection and no posting duty of any kind; its numbered provisions run from daily activities that support development, through the physical-activity minimum, to swimming, offsite activities and the emergency-information packet, and stop. Search the whole of R430-50 for the word "post" and it appears exactly four times: the certificate itself, the Parent Guide, the emergency numbers and the weekly menu. The daily schedule is not among them. Do not infer that the residential certificate holder has no scheduling duty — R430-50-18(1) still requires daily activities "that support each child's healthy physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and language development," and R430-50-18(2) still requires "light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity for a daily total of at least 15 minutes for every two hours that children spend in the program" — but the certificate holder discharges those by doing them, not by displaying a timetable, and a licensor who writes a daily-schedule citation against a residential certificate is citing a rule that does not apply to that track. On the licensed family track, four details decide compliance. The population is "each child TWO YEARS OLD AND OLDER," so an infant-and-toddler-only programme owes nothing and a mixed-age home posts a schedule that covers the twos and above; R430-90-24(9) says the opposite for the youngest, "The provider shall allow each infant and toddler to EAT AND SLEEP ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULE," which is why the posting rule carves them out. The contents are enumerated and all four time-blocks must appear: meal, snack, nap or rest, and outdoor play. The schedule must be a POSTED document, visible in the space, not a plan in a binder. And it interacts with the outdoor rule at R430-90-18(2), "daily activities include OUTDOOR PLAY as weather and air quality allow" — the posted outdoor block is what the inspector measures the day against. OL publishes a template, "Daily schedule," at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Daily-schedule-Template.pdf. What the inspector checks on a licensed family home: that a schedule is on the wall, that it names times rather than a sequence, that the four required blocks are present, and that the day observed resembles the day posted.
• THE CLIENT RIGHTS POSTER — REQUIRED BY R380-80, INVISIBLE TO ANYONE WHO READS ONLY R430. Search R430-50 and R430-90 for "client rights" and you find nothing, which is why this posting is missed by nearly every Utah home-provider guide. The chain runs the other way. R380-600-8(1)(c), Office of Licensing general provisions effective 8 May 2025, obliges the provider to "comply with and ensure each staff member complies with the department Provider Code of Conduct as established in RULE R380-80." Rule R380-80, "Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights," effective 22 January 2024, then applies by its own terms: R380-80-2(11)(a) defines "Provider" as "a LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE HOLDER," which is both Utah home tracks, and R380-80-3(1) confirms the reach — the provider must comply "with each applicable federal, state, and local law, and each policy and administrative rule required by the department." The posting itself, R380-80-5(15): "EACH PROVIDER SHALL PROMINENTLY DISPLAY A POSTER IN EACH FACILITY THAT NOTIFIES CLIENTS OF THEIR RIGHTS." Two words carry the requirement — "prominently" and "in each facility." Prominence is a higher standard than the licence's "readily visible and accessible to the public": a poster behind a coat rack is displayed but not prominent. "In each facility" bites the licensed family provider who runs two homes, which R430-90-3(4) expressly permits — "A licensed family child care provider may not be licensed for more than two facilities at the same time" — because each of the two needs its own poster. OL publishes the compliant document in both languages: "Client rights poster (English)" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Client-Rights-Poster-_-August-2026.pdf and the Spanish equivalent at Client-Rights-Poster-Spanish-_-August-2026.pdf, both listed under REQUIRED FORMS on OL's child care forms page. The English poster is headed "You have rights" and enumerates the right to "Be treated with dignity," "Be free from potential harm or acts of violence," "Be free from discrimination," "Be free from abuse, neglect, mistreatment, exploitation and fraud," to communicate and visit with family, attorney, clergy, physician, counselor or case manager, "Privacy of currency and closed records," and to "Be informed of agency policies and procedures that affect client or guardian's ability to make informed decisions." It closes with the complaint block that is otherwise nowhere on your wall: "If you feel your rights have been violated: Call: 801-890-2007; Email: licensingcomplaint@utah.gov; Mail: 195 N. 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84116 (please include program name in the letter or email)." Post the current dated version — the file in force on 26 August 2026 is the August 2026 one — and post the Spanish sheet too if any enrolled family reads Spanish. Two companion duties in the same rule are FILINGS, not postings, and are covered in required_forms: the staff sign-off under R380-80-5(12) and the signed client-rights copy in each child's record under R380-80-5(14). What the inspector checks: a current poster, prominently placed, in each licensed home.
• THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY PLAN — WRITTEN AND FOLLOWED, NOT POSTED. UTAH DOES NOT REQUIRE AN EVACUATION PLAN ON THE WALL. This is the classic error in every state's checklist and Utah is a clean case: the plan is a document you write, keep and obey, and the rules attach no display duty to it whatsoever. R430-50-14(1) and R430-90-14(1) are word-for-word identical: "The provider shall DEVELOP AND FOLLOW A WRITTEN emergency preparedness, response, and recovery plan that: (a) includes a procedure for: (i) accommodating a child with a disability; (ii) accommodating a child with a chronic medical condition; (iii) accommodating any infant and toddler; (iv) communication with and reunification of families; (v) continuity of operations; (vi) EVACUATION; (vii) LOCKDOWN; (viii) RELOCATION; and (ix) SHELTER IN PLACE; (b) includes instructions to follow if there is an allergy, serious reaction to food, or any other trigger that may affect a child's health; and (c) is followed if an emergency happens, unless otherwise instructed by emergency personnel." Nine required procedures, and evacuation is one of nine — there is no separate evacuation-map requirement, no floor plan with arrows, no exit diagram by the door. The verbs are "develop," "follow" and, in Subsection (2), "post" only in relation to the address and emergency numbers, which is a different item. OL publishes a compliant template, "Emergency plan" in English and Spanish, at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Emergency-Preparedness-Plan.pdf; the applications page lists "Create emergency plan" as step nine of the licensing process, so OL sees the plan before the certificate or licence issues, and R380-600-3(5)(d) is the general hook — the applicant submits "any policy and procedure, or updates if already submitted, as required by OL." The drills are where the tracks separate, and here too the output is a KEPT record rather than a posting. On the residential certificate: R430-50-14(4), "a fire evacuation drill EVERY SIX MONTHS," each including "a complete exit of each child, staff member, and volunteer from the building"; R430-50-14(5), "a drill for disasters, other than fires, at least once EVERY 12 MONTHS"; R430-50-14(6), vary the days and times. R430-50 requires NO drill documentation and sets NO retention. On the licensed family track the frequency doubles and the paperwork appears: R430-90-14(4), "a fire evacuation drill AT LEAST QUARTERLY"; R430-90-14(6), a non-fire disaster drill "at least once every SIX MONTHS"; R430-90-14(5) and (7) require each drill to be documented with "any problems encountered and remediation," "the date and time of the drill," "the name of the individual supervising the drill," "the number of children participating," and — for fire — "the total time to complete the evacuation," or, for disasters, "the type of disaster, including earthquake, flood, prolonged power or water outage, or tornado." R430-90-14(9): "The provider shall KEEP DOCUMENTATION OF THE PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS of fire and disaster drills ON-SITE FOR REVIEW BY OL." On-site for review is not the same as posted, and an inspector asks to see the log, not the wall. OL's template is "Disaster/fire drill log."
• THE INSPECTION REPORT AND COMPLIANCE HISTORY — UTAH PUTS THEM ON THE STATE'S WEBSITE, NOT ON YOUR WALL. If you have read another state's rules you expect to display your most recent inspection report and to show parents your compliance history on request. Utah does neither. Search R430-50 and R430-90 for "inspection report" and the phrase does not occur; search for "compliance history" and it does not occur; there is no provision in either home rule requiring a provider to display, furnish or even mention an inspection outcome to a parent. The duty exists — it just belongs to the Office of Licensing. R380-600-7(8): "OL shall SERVE A WRITTEN INSPECTION REPORT to the provider once the inspection process is complete and approved by OL management." R380-600-7(11): "Once an inspection is completed and the inspection report is produced by OL, OL SHALL POST each citation from each inspection and each substantiated noncompliance from a complaint investigation ON THE DIVISION WEBSITE for NO LESS THAN 36 MONTHS." R380-600-8(4) says it again from the penalties side: "Any official OL action on any provider, except for a foster home, is considered PUBLIC RECORD, and OL shall make it available to the public including posting citations, substantiated complaint allegations, and other penalties on the division website for at least 36 months." The Division's own public reports page states the same period in plain words — "Notices of agency action issued by OL remain available on this website for a period of 3 years," with older notices obtainable by a GRAMA request — and publishes, for child care specifically, a list of regulated programmes, provider sanctions for the past three years, serious injuries and deaths, and a register of registered residential providers. The searchable file lives at provider.dlbc.utah.gov. What this means for you as an applicant or licensee, practically. You may not be cited for failing to post an inspection report, because no rule requires it. But your history is public whether you display it or not, and it is retrievable by any parent in about thirty seconds, so the marketing argument for volunteering your clean record is stronger in Utah than the compliance argument. What you DO owe after an inspection is action, not display: R380-600-7(9) requires you to "come into compliance within the required correction time frames as stated in the respective inspection report," to "pay any applicable penalty and inspection fee," and to "maintain compliance"; R380-600-7(12) requires you to "follow OL's directions when OL requires a plan of correction"; and R380-600-5(10) charges you for the consequences — "The provider shall pay OL an additional follow-up inspection fee EACH TIME OL has to conduct an additional follow-up inspection for lack of compliance with THE SAME RULE." Repeat noncompliance also doubles the money under R380-600-8(6): a repeat of the same rule within 36 months means "double the amount of the original CMP," doubling again on each subsequent repeat, "not to exceed $10,000." The 36-month window in R380-600-8(3) is the same window OL weighs when deciding whether to renew you at all.
• THE ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTING NUMBER — A DUTY TO REPORT, NEVER A DUTY TO POST. Utah imposes an unqualified reporting obligation on everyone in the house and attaches no signage to it. R430-50-12(6): "Any individual who witnesses or suspects that a child has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall IMMEDIATELY notify Child Protective Services or law enforcement AS REQUIRED IN SECTION 80-2-602." R430-90-12(6) is the same sentence with a looser tail: "... as required in state law." That difference — a pinpoint citation on the certificate track, a generic reference on the licensed track, both in texts amended on the same day, 5 June 2026 — is a drafting inconsistency, not a difference in duty. R380-80-4(2) states the same obligation a third time for every DHHS provider: "Each individual who witnesses or suspects that a child has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall immediately notify Child Protective Services intake in the Division of Child and Family Services OR LAW ENFORCEMENT." Nowhere in R430-50, R430-90, R380-600 or R380-80 is there a requirement to display a hotline number, a mandated-reporter notice, or a Division of Child and Family Services poster. If a Utah checklist tells you to post the abuse hotline, it is importing a rule from another state. Three things the rules DO require, none of which is a poster. First, training: the "prevention, signs, and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse, and LEGAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS" is a mandatory topic in the 2-1/2 hour preservice course under R430-50-7(11)(m) and R430-90-7(11)(m), and a mandatory annual training topic under R430-50-7(12) and R430-90-7(12)(l). Second, notification of OL within one business day, because an "allegation or confirmation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation" is a critical incident under R380-600-2(14)(d) and therefore triggers R380-600-7(16)(a), and (b) adds a separate 24-hour clock: report "to the Division of Child and Family Services for a minor client ... AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHIN 24 HOURS." Third, the parent call, R380-600-7(16)(c): "notify the parent or legal guardian of each involved client WITHIN A 24-HOUR PERIOD from the time of the incident." What IS on your wall, if you have posted the Client Rights poster required by R380-80-5(15), is the licensing complaint channel: "If you feel your rights have been violated: Call: 801-890-2007; Email: licensingcomplaint@utah.gov." That is the Office of Licensing complaint line, not a child-abuse hotline, and it should not be relabelled as one. Note also the limits Utah puts on that channel, which are unusual and worth knowing: R380-600-7(14) forbids OL from investigating "(a) an anonymous complaint against a provider within child care licensing" or "(b) a complaint against a provider within child care licensing that alleges an issue that happened SIX OR MORE MONTHS before the complaint is received." Child care is singled out for both protections. What the inspector checks: not a sign — your staff's knowledge and your training log.
• THE DISCIPLINE POLICY — YOU MUST INFORM, WHICH IS NOT THE SAME AS POST. R430-50-12(2) and R430-90-12(2) are identical and the verb is the whole point: "The provider shall INFORM each child, each parent, and ANYONE WHO INTERACTS WITH ANY CHILD IN CARE of the facility's BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS AND HOW ANY MISBEHAVIOR WILL BE HANDLED." Informing is an act directed at named people; posting is leaving a document where anyone might read it. A framed discipline policy on the wall does not, on its own, prove that you informed a particular parent, a particular child or the therapist who visits on Tuesdays — and the rule's third category, "anyone who interacts with any child in care," is the one that catches providers, because it reaches beyond staff and parents to volunteers, guests and visiting professionals. The compliant discharge is a signed acknowledgement in each child's file plus a briefing recorded for each adult, and OL's own instruments are built that way: the "Admission agreement | August, 2025" carries a signature block headed "Behavioral expectations and client rights" opening "I have been informed of the program's behavioral expectations and how misbehavior will be handled," and OL separately publishes "Behavior expectations" in English and Spanish at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Behavior-Expectations.pdf. Posting that sheet is permitted and sensible; it is not what the rule commands. The substance you are informing people about is fixed by rule and cannot be softened by your own policy. R430-50-12(3) and R430-90-12(3) require guidance "by using positive reinforcement, redirection, and by setting clear limits that promote the child's ability to become self-disciplined." Subsection (4) permits "gentle, passive restraint with a child ONLY when it is needed to protect a child from injuring themselves or others, or to stop a child from destroying property." Subsection (5) is the prohibition list, and any posted policy that contradicts it is evidence against you: no "action that produces physical pain or discomfort, including hitting, spanking, shaking, biting, or pinching"; no "form of corporal punishment"; no "form of emotional mistreatment"; no "confining a child in a closet, locked room, or other enclosure including a box, cupboard, or cage"; no "forcing or withholding food, rest, or toileting"; no "restraining a child's movement by binding, tying, or any other form of restraint that exceeds gentle, passive restraint"; and no "SHOUTING AT CHILDREN." That last prohibition is express rule text in both R430-50-12(5)(g) and R430-90-12(5)(g), and it is the one providers assume is a matter of style rather than law. One more trap: R380-600-3(7) provides that "A provider may not implement a policy that requires OL approval WITHOUT that OL approval." If your written discipline policy goes beyond the rule, do not put it into effect on the strength of having posted it. What the inspector checks: signed acknowledgements in child files and staff files, and whether the practice observed matches what you told people.
• SAFE SLEEP — A PRACTICE RULE ENFORCED BY OBSERVATION, WITH NO SIGN AND NO CRIB CARD. Many states require a safe-sleep poster over each crib. Utah requires none, on either home track. R430-50-24 and R430-90-24, "Infant and Toddler Care," as amended 5 June 2026, impose the substance and nothing else. R430-50-24(15) and R430-90-24(15): "The provider shall ensure that each infant SLEEPS IN EQUIPMENT DESIGNED FOR SLEEP including a crib, bassinet, porta-crib or playpen, and that an infant is NOT placed to sleep on a mat, cot, pillow, bouncer, swing, CAR SEAT, or other similar piece of equipment." R430-50-24(16) and R430-90-24(16): "The provider shall PLACE AN INFANT ON THEIR BACK for sleeping UNLESS THERE IS DOCUMENTATION FROM A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER requiring a different sleep position." R430-90-24(17) adds, in the licensed family rule, "The provider may not place any soft toy, loose blanket, or other object in sleep equipment while in use by a sleeping infant." Two things follow. First, the only paper in the safe-sleep regime is that clinician's documentation authorising a non-supine position, and it is a KEPT record in the child's file, not a card on the crib — an inspector who sees an infant sleeping on her side asks for the document, and its absence is the citation. Second, the monitoring duty is behavioural and it is measured in minutes: R430-50-11(7) and R430-90-11(7) require a caregiver to monitor each sleeping infant "by (a) personally observing each sleeping infant AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 15 MINUTES; or (b) placing each infant to sleep WITHIN THE SIGHT AND HEARING of a caregiver." No log of those checks is required by either rule — Utah does not impose a sleep-check sheet — and a provider who keeps one is exceeding the rule, usefully but voluntarily. The crib itself is a documented object, and this is the one place a piece of paper attaches to the equipment: R430-50-22(2)(d) and R430-90-22(2)(d) require each crib to have "DOCUMENTATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER OR RETAILER stating that the crib was BUILT AFTER JUNE 28, 2011, or that the crib is certified if the crib was manufactured before that date," alongside the physical standards — no entanglement hazards, a tight-fitting mattress, "at least 20 inches from the top of the mattress to the top of the crib rail, or at least 12 inches ... if the child using the crib cannot sit up without assistance," and slats "no more than 2-3/8 inches apart." Keep that documentation with the crib or in your facility file; nothing requires it to be displayed. Also KEPT rather than posted: R430-50-22(4) and R430-90-22(4) require sleeping equipment and bedding to be "clearly ASSIGNED TO ONE CHILD" and laundered "at least once a week, and before use by another child" — labelling a mat with a child's name is an assignment mechanism, not a posting, and it is the single most efficient way to demonstrate compliance during a walkthrough. What the inspector checks: the position and the surface of every sleeping infant, the crib paperwork on request, and the assignment labels.
• PARENTS' RIGHT OF ACCESS — A GUARANTEE OF ENTRY, NOT A NOTICE ON THE DOOR. R430-50-11(9) and R430-90-11(9) are identical: "The provider shall ensure that PARENTS HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR CHILD AND THE AREAS USED TO CARE FOR THEIR CHILD when their child is in care." That is the whole of it. There is no requirement anywhere in R430-50, R430-90, R380-600 or R380-80 to post a notice telling parents they may enter unannounced, and no Utah rule uses the phrase "unannounced access." The right is enforced by whether you let the parent in, not by whether you advertise it. Read the sentence closely, because two limits are built into it. The access runs to "their child" and to "the areas used to care for their child" — not to other children's records, not to the whole house, and not to areas your family uses privately. And it runs "WHEN THEIR CHILD IS IN CARE," so it is a right of entry during the care day rather than a general right to inspect the premises. The nearest thing to a posted access notice in Utah is the Client Rights poster required by R380-80-5(15), which lists among the enumerated rights the right to "communicate and visit with family, attorney, clergy, physician, counselor, or case manager, unless therapeutically contraindicated or court-restricted" — drafted for human services clients and applied to child care by R380-600-8(1)(c). Posting it is mandatory for a different reason and it happens to advertise the access principle; it does not create it. A far broader access right sits alongside, and it is the state's, not the parents'. R380-600-3(3) requires the provider to "permit OL to have IMMEDIATE, UNRESTRICTED ACCESS to: (a) any unaltered on and off-site program or facility and client records; (b) each client who independently consents to speak to OL staff; (c) each site subject to licensing or certification; and (d) each staff member." R380-600-7(1) confirms that "OL may schedule ANNOUNCED AND UNANNOUNCED inspections," and R380-600-7(6) forbids you from compromising the process "by withholding or manipulating information or influencing any specific response of staff or clients." Section 26B-2-404(3) adds, for the residential certificate specifically, that where a serious sanitation, fire or health hazard has been found, "the department shall require corrective action for the serious hazards found and make an UNANNOUNCED FOLLOW UP INSPECTION to determine compliance." Two related access rules that are also not postings: R430-50-7(9)-(10) and R430-90-7(9)-(10) require that a therapist delivering IEP or IFSP services "provides identification before having access to the facility or to a child," with the parent's permission on file, and that "any individual from law enforcement, Child Protective Services, the department, and any similar entity PROVIDES IDENTIFICATION before having access to the facility or to a child." You are entitled to see a badge — from a licensor too. What the inspector checks: whether a parent who arrives mid-morning is admitted to the care areas without a scheduled appointment.
• KEPT AVAILABLE, NOT POSTED — THE ON-SITE FILE, AND WHY CONFUSING IT WITH THE WALL COSTS BOTH WAYS. Utah's home rules use a consistent formula for documents that must exist and be producible but must not be displayed: "ON-SITE FOR REVIEW BY OL." Every occurrence is a filing duty, and every one of them is a place where a provider who has pinned the document to a noticeboard has still not complied, because the rule wants a retrievable record, not an exhibit. The full list as the rules stood on 26 August 2026. Common to both tracks: the admission and health assessment form, "kept on-site for review by OL" (R430-50-6(11)(b), R430-90-6(11)(b)); each child's current immunisation records (R430-50-6(13), R430-90-6(13)); current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records (R430-50-7(16), R430-90-7(17)(b)); a six-week record of medication permission and administration forms (R430-50-17(12), R430-90-17(12)); the transportation permission form, "on-site for review by OL" (R430-50-20(1)(b), R430-90-20(1)(b)); and current animal vaccination records (R430-50-21(9), R430-90-21(9)). Licensed family only, with no counterpart in the residential certificate rule: documentation of each individual's annual training with its five fields including whether it was interactive (R430-90-7(14)); caregiver and volunteer records including "a six-week record of the times worked each day" (R430-90-7(17)); "documentation of the previous 12 months of fire and disaster drills" (R430-90-14(9)); "a six-week record of each incident, accident, and injury report" (R430-90-14(14)); and "a six-week record of each child's daily attendance, including sign-in and sign-out records" (R430-90-11(12)). Common again, conditionally: the six-week record of foods served, owed only if you are not in the CACFP or not in good standing (R430-50-16(2)(e), R430-90-16(2)(e)). The access rules that make "on-site" meaningful are in R380-600-7: (3) full access to "any program or facility record" whenever children are being served; (4) "immediately responding to each request for information necessary to demonstrate rule compliance"; (5) permitting reproduction of records "by, or on behalf of, the department"; and (7) access to records "at an administrative or certified location that is not located at the licensed site." Two consequences. Storing your files in a cloud account you cannot open on the licensor's timetable fails Subsection (4) even though the records exist. And the confidentiality rule cuts the other way against over-display: R430-50-6(15) and R430-90-6(15) require that "each child's information is CONFIDENTIAL and NOT RELEASED without written parental permission EXCEPT TO OL," so a child's allergy list, medication schedule or emergency contacts pinned up where other families can read them is a breach, not a diligence. The complete set of things Utah wants VISIBLE is short: the licence or certificate; the Parent Guide, or a copy given to each parent; the street address with fire, police and poison control numbers; the current week's menu if you supply food; the Client Rights poster; and — on the licensed family track alone — the daily schedule. Six items. Everything else belongs in the file.
• THE LICENCE-EXEMPT NOTICE — A CONSPICUOUS POSTING UTAH REQUIRES OF EXEMPT PROVIDERS AND EXPRESSLY DOES NOT REQUIRE OF YOU. Include this in your reading precisely so that you can rule it out, because it is the only Utah child care posting that specifies a location as exactly as "near the entrance," and providers who encounter the form assume it is theirs. R430-8, "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing," current rules effective 8 May 2025 (action: Repeal and Reenact), governs providers who are neither certified nor licensed. R430-8-4(2): "A provider listed in this subsection shall submit to OL, EACH YEAR the program is open for business, AN APPLICATION FOR VERIFICATION OF LICENSE EXEMPT STATUS on the form provided by OL." R430-8-4(3) is the posting: "A provider listed in this subsection shall POST, IN A CONSPICUOUS LOCATION NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE PROVIDER'S FACILITY, A NOTICE PREPARED BY OL that: (a) [states the facility is not state licensed]; and (b) PROVIDES OL'S CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SUBMITTING A COMPLAINT." R430-8-4(4) adds that "Substantiated complaint allegations against providers listed in this subsection will be available to the public and posted by OL on the Division of Licensing and Background Checks website." OL publishes the notice in English and Spanish as "License exempt notice" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/License-exempt-notice.pdf, revised May 2026. Its text is worth reading even though you will not post it, because it explains the distinction Utah parents most often get wrong: "Licensing through DLBC is not the same thing as having a business license. A child care program may have a business license, but still not be a state licensed child care facility ... By law, this facility is not required to be state licensed, and is not state licensed. State law requires ALL child care facilities, INCLUDING THOSE NOT REQUIRED TO BE STATE LICENSED, to submit information to DLBC in order to conduct criminal and child abuse/neglect background screenings of all staff in the facility ... To submit a concern, call (801) 890-2007 or email licensingcomplaint@utah.gov." If you hold a residential certificate or a licensed family child care licence, neither R430-8-4(2) nor R430-8-4(3) applies to you: you post the certificate or licence itself under R430-50-6(5) or R430-90-6(5), and posting an exempt notice alongside it would be an affirmative misstatement to parents. Where it does bite a home provider is at the margin below certification. R430-50-3(3)(b) requires a person who provides the listed services but is not required to be certified to "(i) care for NO MORE THAN TWO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF THREE; and (ii) REGISTER WITH OL to facilitate a background check in accordance with Sections R430-50-8 and 26B-2-405," and R430-8-4(1) confirms the parallel duty. That registrant owes background checks and, if within R430-8-4's list, the annual exempt-status verification and the entrance notice — but never the licence posting. Know which of the three regimes you are in before you print anything.

Enrollment forms for each child

• THE APPLICATION ITSELF — TWO DIFFERENT ONLINE FORMS, AND YOU PICK THE WRONG ONE BY GUESSING YOUR HEADCOUNT. Utah has no paper application. The Office of Licensing (OL) serves six separate application forms through its provider portal, and exactly two of them belong to a home. The RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE APPLICATION lives at provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/residential-certificate-application; the LICENSED FAMILY APPLICATION lives at provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/licensed-family-application. The statutory authority for the first is Utah Code Section 26B-2-404(1)-(2): "a person may request a Residential Child Care Certificate from the department if the person provides residential child care for eight or fewer qualifying children," and the minimum qualification is "the submission of: (i) an application in the form prescribed by the department; (ii) a certification and criminal background fee established in accordance with Section 26B-1-209." The authority for the second is Section 26B-2-403(1)(b): "a person shall obtain a license from the department if ... the person provides residential child care for nine or more qualifying children." The rules restate the same line in the two directions: R430-50-3(2), effective 5 June 2026, says "An individual shall become licensed by OL as a child care provider in accordance with Rule R430-90 when the number of unrelated children in care is nine or more," and R430-90-3(1)(d) says a licence is required for "nine or more unrelated children." Note the asymmetry in the drafting that costs applicants a rejected file: the certificate track is expressed in QUALIFYING children (R430-50-3(1)(c): "eight or fewer qualifying children or up to ten children including the provider's own children in accordance with Subsection 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i)"), the licence track in UNRELATED children. There is also a hard ceiling that overrides both: R430-90-3(5), "An individual shall be licensed by OL as a child care provider if they provide child care in the person's home for more than ten children in total under the age of 13, or under the age of 18 if a child has a disability, REGARDLESS of whether a child is related to the person providing child care." What the applicant signs and files: the application is submitted electronically by the applicant under their own UtahID, and R380-600-3(6) makes the applicant, not OL, responsible for the follow-up — "An applicant shall notify OL in writing of any changes to the application, including withdrawal of the application." Two deadlines sit inside the form and both are fatal to the fee: R380-600-3(10), "A new applicant shall submit a new initial application and applicable fees if they have not successfully completed the application process six months from the date of the initial application," and R380-600-5(2), which requires a fresh application fee at twelve months. The application is not transferable and never becomes one: R380-600-3(24), "Each license or certificate is not transferable," echoing Section 26B-2-403(4). Retention: OL keeps the application in the facility file; there is no rule requiring the applicant to retain a copy, but R380-600-7(5) obliges you to "make available and permit reproduction of program or facility records" on demand, so keep it.
• AFFIDAVIT OF LAWFUL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES — SIGNED UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, AND YOU MUST APPEAR WITH ORIGINALS. This is a genuine, separately titled OL form, currently published as "Affidavit of Lawful Presence — February 2026" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Affidavit-of-Lawful-Presence-February-2026.pdf, and it is owed identically on both Utah home tracks: the form's own subtitle reads "Affidavit of lawful presence in the United States by a person applying for a child care license, certificate, or approval." Nothing in R430-50 or R430-90 mentions it — it flows from OL's application packet, where it is listed as step eleven ("Prepare affidavit of lawful presence") on the child care applications page, and from R380-600-3(5)(a), which requires "a complete application as provided by OL." The applicant, personally, checks one of three boxes: "I am a United States citizen," "I am a qualified alien under the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act," or "I am lawfully present in the United States and I am eligible to work in the United States," with a field for "My Alien or Admission Number." The attestation clause is the part providers underestimate: "I state under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of Utah that the above information is true and correct, and that I have read and understand this form and have executed it in my own hand. I also understand that providing false information subjects me to penalties for perjury." Name, birthdate, address, signature and date follow. The affidavit alone is not enough; the form's own "Required Documentation" block obliges the applicant to SHOW ORIGINALS to OL staff. For citizens: "Option 1: a current United States Passport; Option 2: a United States birth certificate and a federal, state, or local government-issued photo ID card, such as a driver's license; Option 3: a United States Certificate of Naturalization." For qualified aliens: "a Permanent Resident Alien Card (Green Card) or Alien Registration Receipt Card" or "a currently valid United States Employment Authorization" card, and OL keeps front-and-back copies in the OL file. Who signs: only the applicant — the individual whose name will appear on the certificate or licence, not a spouse, not a co-provider. Where filed: with OL, in the applicant's licensing file; the original documents are inspected, not surrendered. Retention: OL retains the affidavit and the card copies; the provider is not given a retention period by rule, but because a change of ownership requires a new application under R380-600-4(3)(d), a new affidavit is owed each time the named provider changes. Two traps. First, a false statement here is not merely a perjury exposure: R380-600-3(11)(c) lets OL deny the application outright where "the applicant or provider gives false or misleading information to OL," and R380-600-8(3)(f) makes it an aggravating factor for three years. Second, the file is dated in its own name — the version in force on 26 August 2026 is the February 2026 one, and an older downloaded copy is a different document.
• THE THREE WRITTEN EXEMPTION STATEMENTS — FIRE, KITCHEN, BUSINESS LICENCE — AND THE ONE THAT IS NOT OWED AT RENEWAL ON THE CERTIFICATE TRACK. OL's application page lists, among "supplementary documents" due within 180 days, a "Current business license or written exemption statement," a "Current fire inspection or written exemption statement" and a "Current kitchen inspection or written exemption statement." The rule text behind those words is R430-50-4 and R430-90-4, and the two versions are not the same document set. R430-50-4(1) opens: "If the local fire authority states in writing that an applicant for a new residential certificate OR A RENEWAL does not require a fire inspection, OL shall verify the applicant's compliance with the following," then lists the six items the licensor checks in the fire authority's place — readable address numbers from the street, no storage in boiler, mechanical and electrical panel rooms, exit doors that "operate properly and are well maintained," no obstructions in "exits, aisles, corridors, and stairways," working smoke detectors "properly installed on each level of the building," and "at least one unobstructed fire extinguisher that is currently charged, serviced, and mounted not more than five feet above the floor." R430-90-4(1)(f) is stricter on the same point for the licensed track: "at least one unobstructed fire extinguisher ON EACH LEVEL of the building." Now the fork that catches renewing certificate holders. R430-50-4(2) reads: "If an applicant for A NEW RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE serves food and the local health department states in writing that a kitchen inspection is not required, OL shall verify the applicant's compliance by ensuring ..." — new applicants only. R430-90-4(2) reads: "If an applicant for A NEW LICENSE OR A RENEWAL serves food and the local health department states in writing that a kitchen inspection is not required ..." So on the text as amended 5 June 2026, the kitchen exemption letter is a renewal document for a licensed family child care home and an initial-application-only document for a residential certificate. The seven items the licensor then verifies in the health department's place are identical in both rules: chemicals stored away from food and food service items; reusable food holders, utensils and food preparation surfaces "washed, rinsed, and sanitized before each use"; food "properly stored, kept to the proper temperature, and in good condition"; a refrigerator "clean, in good repair, and working at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit"; "a working handwashing sink in the kitchen"; "a working stem thermometer available to check cooking and hot hold temperatures"; and "a working thermometer in the refrigerator." Who signs: not you. Each of these is a writing FROM an authority — the local fire authority, the local health department, the municipality — addressed to OL. Your job is to request it, and to file it. Where filed: uploaded to the provider portal as a supplementary document; R380-600-3(5)(f) states the underlying duty as "documentation that verifies the applicant's compliance with, or exemption from, fire and business license requirement." Retention: keep the letters on-site — R380-600-7(3) gives OL "full access to ... any program or facility record" at any time the home is serving children.
• THE BACKGROUND CHECK APPLICATION AND FINGERPRINT CARD — FILED WITH OBP, NOT WITH THE LICENSORS, AND AUTHORISED BY YOU THROUGH THE PORTAL. Utah does not call this a "Direct Access Clearance." The clearing office is the OFFICE OF BACKGROUND PROCESSING (OBP), a sibling of the Office of Licensing inside the Division of Licensing and Background Checks, and the instrument is an "online background check form" (R430-50-8(2)) or "online background check application" (R430-90-8(2)) plus fingerprints. The statutory duty sits in Utah Code Section 26B-2-406(1)(a): "each person requesting a residential certificate or to be licensed or to renew a license under this part shall submit to the department the name and other identifying information, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE FINGERPRINTS, of existing, new, and proposed: (i) owners; (ii) directors; (iii) members of the governing body; (iv) employees; (v) providers of care; (vi) volunteers, except parents of children enrolled in the programs; and (vii) all adults residing in a residence where child care is provided." Section 26B-2-406(1)(b) routes the print: DCI processes it and "shall submit fingerprints required under Subsection (1)(a) to the FBI for a national criminal history record check," and (1)(b)(iii) puts the cost on you. The rule adds the workflow that trips new providers. R430-50-8(1) and R430-90-8(1) are identical: BEFORE a new covered individual becomes involved with child care, "the provider shall use the licensing provider portal search to verify that the individual is eligible and (a) associate that individual with the provider's facility." Only if the person does not appear in that search does a new form get filed, and even then the provider must "(a) authorize the individual's background check through the licensing provider portal; (b) pay any required fee; and (c) only allow the individual to be involved with child care if they have an eligible OBP background check determination." Fingerprints are required for everyone sixteen and older "except for any individual 12-17 years old who is only listed as a household member." Three re-filing triggers, identical on both tracks (R430-50-8(3), R430-90-8(3)): the person has "not been associated with an active, CCL approved child care facility within the past 180 days"; has "resided outside of Utah since their last background check was completed"; or has "turned 18 years old and has not previously submitted fingerprints." The prints themselves must be "prepared by a local law enforcement agency or an agency approved by local law enforcement," and for live scan the provider must confirm the agency "follows OBP's fingerprinting requirements." Two duties with a clock. R430-50-8(13) and R430-90-8(13): "The provider AND the covered individual shall notify OBP within 48 hours of becoming aware of a covered individual's arrest warrant, felony or misdemeanor arrest, charge, conviction, or LIS supported finding. Failure to notify OBP within 48 hours may result in disciplinary action, including license revocation." And on the way out, R430-50-8(15)(b): "the provider shall separate that employee in the program's roster in the online system within five days of the employee's separation from the program." Retention: OBP holds the record; Section 26B-2-406(6) allows the department to keep it "for up to one year after the day on which the covered individual is no longer associated with a Utah child care provider."
• BACKGROUND FORMS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT STAFF — HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS, LONG-STAYING GUESTS, AND YOUR OWN CHILD ON HER TWELFTH BIRTHDAY. This is the single most-missed filing on both Utah home tracks, because the people it covers are not employees and never think of themselves as regulated. The rule text is identical in R430-50-7(7)-(8) and R430-90-7(7)-(8). Guests first: "The provider shall submit a background check as required in Section R430-50-8 [R430-90-8] for each guest who is 12 years old and older and stays in the home for more than two weeks." A grandmother visiting for a month, an adult child moving back in between leases, a foreign exchange student — each triggers a filing. Household members next, and the two age bands take different instruments: "The provider shall ensure that each household member who is: (a) 12 to 17 years old is considered eligible by an OBP background check; and (b) 18 years old or older is considered eligible by an OBP background check THAT INCLUDES FINGERPRINTS." The statute is the source of the split — Utah Code Section 26B-2-406(2)(a)(i) requires "the name and other identifying information of any person age 12 through 17 who resides in the residence where the child care is provided," and (2)(a)(ii) states flatly: "The identifying information required for a person age 12 through 17 does not include fingerprints." Section 26B-2-404(2)(a)(iii) makes the same submission a MINIMUM QUALIFICATION for the residential certificate itself: identifying information for "each adult person and each juvenile age 12 through 17 years old who resides in the provider's home," submitted "(A) for processing by the Department of Public Safety to determine whether any such person has been convicted of a crime; (B) to screen for a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect by a juvenile court; and (C) to discover whether the person is listed in the Licensing Information System described in Section 80-2-1002." Then the birthday rule, which is a calendar duty rather than an event duty and is therefore forgotten: R430-50-8(4) and R430-90-8(4), "Within TEN WORKING DAYS from when a child who resides in the facility turns 12 years old, the provider shall ensure that an online background check application is submitted, and (a) authorize the child's background check through the licensing portal; and (b) pay any required fee." Your own twelve-year-old, in your own home, on your own roster. Who signs: the individual (or the parent, for a minor household member) completes the online application; the provider authorises and pays. Where filed: OBP, through the licensing provider portal. Retention: OBP's, not yours. The consequence of a gap is not a citation but a shutdown of the individual: R430-50-8(11) and R430-90-8(11) require the provider to "prohibit that individual from being EMPLOYED by the child care program OR RESIDING AT THE FACILITY until the reason for the background check finding is resolved" — meaning an ineligible adult in your household ends your programme in your house, and R430-50-8(10) adds that if the PROVIDER is not eligible "OL may suspend or deny their license until the reason for the background check finding is resolved."
• THE ADMISSION AND HEALTH ASSESSMENT FORM — ONE DOCUMENT, THIRTEEN MANDATORY FIELDS, RE-SIGNED EVERY YEAR. Utah does not use the phrase "enrolment record." Both home rules use the same term of art and the same list, word for word: R430-50-6(9) and R430-90-6(9), "The provider shall ensure that a PARENT COMPLETES an admission and health assessment form for their child BEFORE the child is admitted into the child care program." Subsection (10) fixes the contents and there is no discretion in them: "(a) the child's name; (b) the child's date of birth; (c) each parent's name, address, and phone number, including a daytime phone number; (d) the names of individuals authorized by the parent to sign the child out from the facility; (e) the name, address, and phone number of an individual to be contacted if an emergency happens and the provider cannot contact the parent; (f) if available, the name, address, and phone number of an out-of-area emergency contact individual for the child; (g) the parent's permission for emergency transportation and emergency medical treatment; (h) any known allergy of the child; (i) any known food sensitivity of the child; (j) any chronic medical condition that the child may have; (k) any instructions for special or nonroutine daily health care of the child; (l) any current ongoing medication that the child may be taking; and (m) any other special health instructions for the caregiver." Note what is absent: Utah does NOT require a physician's examination, a signed health statement from a doctor, a TB test or a developmental screening for the child. The "health assessment" is a parent's declaration, not a clinician's. Subsection (11) sets the two ongoing duties: the form must be "(a) reviewed, updated, and signed or initialed by the parent AT LEAST ANNUALLY; and (b) kept on-site for review by OL." That annual re-signature is the citation an inspector writes without a second thought, because the child's file looks complete and the initials are simply a year old. OL publishes two sample instruments that together satisfy the rule and are the safest thing to copy: "Admission agreement | August, 2025" and "Health assessment | August, 2025," both at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/. The admission agreement carries the sign-out authorisation table, the out-of-area contact, a signed "Emergency transportation and medical treatment permission," a separate optional non-emergency "Transportation permission," and a "Behavioral expectations and client rights" acknowledgement. Who signs: the parent, and only the parent — the rule says the parent COMPLETES it; a provider filling it in from memory at inspection is falsifying a record within the meaning of R380-600-8(3)(g). Where filed: on-site, in the child's file, available immediately under R380-600-7(3)-(4). Retention: no expiry is stated; the form is live for as long as the child is enrolled, and R430-50-6(15) and R430-90-6(15) close it — "each child's information is confidential and not released without written parental permission except to OL." The requirement is identical on the residential certificate and the licensed family track; there is no lighter version for the smaller programme.
• IMMUNISATION RECORDS — THE OFFICIAL USIR FORM, THE FOUR ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES AT ADMISSION, AND THE ANNUAL REPORT TO USIIS. Two rule families meet here and you owe both. From child care licensing, R430-50-6(12) and R430-90-6(12) are identical: "Before admitting any child into the program, INCLUDING THE PROVIDER'S OR AN EMPLOYEE'S OWN CHILD, the provider shall obtain the following documentation from the child's parent: (a) a record of current immunizations; (b) a medical schedule to receive required immunizations; (c) a legal exemption to current immunization requirements; or (d) a 90-day exemption for any foster child or child who is experiencing homelessness." It is a disjunction — one of the four, not all four — and the words "including the provider's or an employee's own child" are the ones that get missed: a provider's own four-year-old is a qualifying child and her file must exist. Subsection (13) then requires the record to be kept: "For each child in the program, including the provider's or employee's own child, the provider shall keep the child's CURRENT immunization records ON-SITE for review by OL." From public health, Rule R396-100, "Immunization Rule for Students," effective 25 February 2024, supplies the form. R396-100-4(1): "Schools and early childhood programs shall use the official UTAH SCHOOL IMMUNIZATION RECORD (USIR) form as the record of each student's immunizations. The department shall provide copies or electronic copies of the USIR to schools, early childhood programs, physicians, and local health departments upon each of their requests." R396-100-1 puts a family child care home squarely inside "early childhood program": the rule "establishes minimum immunization requirements for attendance at a public, private, elementary, or secondary school through grade 12, nursery school or kindergarten, licensed day care center, child care facility, FAMILY HOME CARE, or Head Start program in this state." R396-100-4(3) obliges you to transcribe: "The school or early childhood program shall transfer the following information from each certificate of immunization to the USIR." R396-100-4(3)(a) fixes the file contents — the USIR, "an exemption form for each student claiming an exemption," and any immunity documents — and (b) states the operational reason: records must be current "such that it can quickly exclude all non-immunized students if an outbreak occurs." When the child leaves, R396-100-4(3)(c) requires you to return the USIR and any exemption form to the legally responsible individual or transfer them with the child's record on request. R396-100-4(5) offers the escape hatch most providers should take: "Schools and early childhood programs may meet the record keeping requirements of this section by keeping its official school immunization records in the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS)." Finally, the annual filing, identical on both tracks and easy to forget because nothing prompts it: R430-50-6(14) and R430-90-6(14), "The provider shall submit the ANNUAL IMMUNIZATION REPORT to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System by the date specified by the department." R396-100-6(1) is the parallel duty — each early childhood programme "shall report the following to the department in the form or format prescribed by the department." Who signs: the parent supplies the certificate; you transcribe and hold the USIR. Retention: for the duration of enrolment, then returned or transferred.
• THE VACCINATION EXEMPTION FORM — YOU CANNOT ACCEPT A PARENT'S LETTER, AND THE FORM IS ONLY HALF THE FILE. Utah allows medical, religious and personal exemptions, but it channels all three through one state-issued instrument and refuses every substitute. R396-100-5(1): "A legally responsible individual of a student claiming an exemption to immunization for medical, religious, or personal reasons, as allowed by Section 53G-9-303, shall provide to the student's school or early childhood program THE EXEMPTION FORM AS SET FORTH AND REQUIRED IN SECTION 53G-9-304." A note from a parent, a note from a pastor, a note from a paediatrician on letterhead: none of these is the form, and accepting one leaves the child's file non-compliant on the residential certificate track and the licensed family track alike. Utah Code Section 53G-9-304(1)(a), effective 3 May 2023 and unamended since — the Legislature's own index served on 26 August 2026 lists exactly one version, C53G-9-S304_2023050320230503, marked "Current Version" — requires the department to "develop a vaccination exemption form that includes ONLY the following information: (i) identifying information regarding: (A) the student to whom an exemption applies; and (B) the legally responsible individual who claims the exemption for the student AND SIGNS the vaccination exemption form; (ii) an indication regarding the vaccines to which the exemption relates; (iii) a statement that the claimed exemption is for: (A) a medical reason; or (B) a personal or religious belief; and (iv) an explanation of the requirements, in the event of an outbreak of a disease for which a required vaccine exists, for a student who: (A) has not received the required vaccine; and (B) is not otherwise immune from the disease." The word "only" matters: the form does not ask the parent to justify the belief, and you may not ask either. How the parent gets it, Section 53G-9-304(3)(a): "To receive a vaccination exemption form described in Subsection (1), a legally responsible individual shall complete the ONLINE EDUCATION MODULE described in Section 26B-7-118, permitting an individual to: (i) complete any requirements online; and (ii) download and print the vaccine exemption form immediately upon completion of the requirements." The alternative under (3)(b) is an in-person consultation with a local health department health official, for which "a local health department may establish a fee of up to $25"; Subsection (4)(a) forbids anyone from charging for the online route. Now the second half of the file, and the piece providers almost always lack. R396-100-5(2): "ALSO, to qualify for the exemption, the school or early childhood program shall ATTACH THE SECTION 26B-7-118 HEALTH EDUCATION FORM to the student's USIR indicating the parent received the required health education by online module or from an authorized local health authority." An exemption form on its own, with no health education attachment stapled to the Utah School Immunization Record, is an incomplete exemption. Who signs: the legally responsible individual, on the state form. Where filed: in the child's on-site file, attached to the USIR, per R396-100-4(3)(a)(ii). Retention: for the enrolment, then returned or transferred with the USIR under R396-100-4(3)(c). And the exemption does not buy attendance in an outbreak — R396-100-8(1) lets a state or local health officer exclude an exempt child under Section 53G-9-302.
• EMERGENCY CONTACT, SIGN-OUT AUTHORISATION AND RELEASE RECORDS — INCLUDING THE PACKET THAT MUST PHYSICALLY LEAVE THE HOUSE. Utah splits this into three writings and only one of them is the enrolment form. First, the contacts themselves live in the admission and health assessment form under R430-50-6(10)(d)-(g) and R430-90-6(10)(d)-(g): the individuals "authorized by the parent to sign the child out from the facility," the emergency contact "if an emergency happens and the provider cannot contact the parent," the out-of-area emergency contact "if available," and "the parent's permission for emergency transportation and emergency medical treatment." Second, the sign-out control, R430-50-11(10) and R430-90-11(10), which are word-for-word identical: "(a) any individual signing a child in and out uses an identifier, including a signature, initials, or electronic code; (b) each child is signed in and out in accordance with this section; (c) ONLY a child's parent or an individual with WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION from the parent may sign-out a child; (d) photo identification is required if the individual signing the child out is unknown to the provider; (e) the sign-in and sign-out records include the date and time each child arrives and leaves; and (f) there is WRITTEN PERMISSION from the child's parent if children sign themselves in or out." That last clause is a separate signed permission, distinct from the admission form, and it is the one school-age programmes forget. Utah does allow one verbal override, and only one: R430-90-11(11), "In an emergency, the provider shall accept the parent's VERBAL authorization to release a child if the provider can confirm the identity of: (a) the person giving verbal authorization; and (b) the person picking up the child." Read the fork carefully — that emergency verbal-release provision appears in the licensed family rule and has NO counterpart in R430-50; the residential certificate rule stops at Subsection (10). Third, the travelling packet. R430-50-18(7) and R430-90-18(9) require that "a caregiver with the children TAKES the emergency information and releases for each child in the group on each offsite activity," and specify the minimum contents: "(a) the child's name; (b) the parent's name and phone number; (c) the name and phone number of a person to notify if there is an emergency and the parent cannot be contacted; (d) the name of any person authorized by the parent to pick up the child; and (e) CURRENT emergency medical treatment and emergency medical transportation RELEASES." This is a physical copy that leaves the home in the caregiver's hand — an inspector who watches you walk to the park with nothing in your bag has the citation. The same packet is owed on foot or on a bus: R430-50-20(5)(c) and R430-90-20(5)(c) require the caregiver to carry "emergency contact information ... and a release for each child being transported." OL publishes a matching template, "Emergency contact information" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Emergency-contact-information-Template.pdf. Who signs: the parent. Where filed: the master in the child's on-site file; a current copy in the offsite bag. Retention: current at all times; R430-50-6(11)(a) and R430-90-6(11)(a) force the annual re-signature that keeps "current" true.
• MEDICATION PERMISSION FORM AND ADMINISTRATION RECORD — FOUR MANDATORY FIELDS, FOUR MANDATORY INSTRUCTIONS, AND A SIX-WEEK RETENTION. Identical text on both Utah home tracks, at R430-50-17 and R430-90-17. The permission first: "(4) The provider shall obtain a WRITTEN medication permission form completed and signed by the parent BEFORE administering any medication supplied by the parent for their child." The minimum contents, Subsection (5): "(a) a parent signature and the date signed; (b) any written instructions for administration; (c) the name of the child; and (d) the name of the medication." The instructions themselves are separately itemised in Subsection (6) and are the part most home-made forms omit: "(a) how the medication will be given; (b) the disease or condition being treated; (c) the dosage; and (d) the times and dates to administer the medication." A standing "may have Tylenol as needed" line fails (b) and (d) on its face. Note the drafting slip that survived the 5 June 2026 amendment: R430-50-17(6) lists (a) through (d) cleanly, while R430-90-17(6) reads "(a) how the medication will be given; (b) the disease or condition being treated; AND (c) the dosage; and (d) the times and dates" — a stray conjunction, not a substantive difference. A second, different instrument covers medication YOU supply. Subsection (7) in both rules: "If the provider supplies an over-the-counter medication for a child's use, the provider shall ensure that no staff administer the medication to any child without previous parental consent FOR EACH INSTANCE it is given," and that consent must be "(a) written; or (b) VERBAL, if the date and time of the consent is documented and signed by the parent upon picking up their child." That is the only place in either rule where a verbal consent is cured by a later signature, and the definition of over-the-counter medication is wide — R430-50-2(28), "medication that an individual can purchase without a written prescription, INCLUDING ANY HERBAL REMEDY, VITAMIN, AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENT." A gummy vitamin at snack time is a medication event. Then the administration record, Subsection (9): "immediately after administering a medication, the staff giving the medication RECORDS: (a) any error in administering the medication or adverse reactions; (b) the date, time, and dosage of the medication given; and (c) their signature or initials." Not at pickup, not at the end of the day — immediately. Subsection (10) requires the parent to be told of any adverse reaction or administration error "immediately upon recognizing the reaction or error, or after notifying emergency personnel if the reaction is life-threatening," and Subsection (11) requires notice BEFORE the scheduled dose if you decide not to give it. Retention is explicit and short, Subsection (12): "The provider shall keep a SIX-WEEK record of medication permission and administration forms ON-SITE for review by OL." Six weeks is a floor, not a ceiling, and it is a rolling window: an inspector arriving in August wants late June onward. Who signs: the parent on the permission; the administering adult on each entry. OL publishes a compliant template, "Medication permission form," at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Medication-Permission-Form.pdf.
• TRANSPORTATION PERMISSION FORM, AND THE TRAMPOLINE PERMISSION THAT EXISTS ON ONLY ONE TRACK. The transport form is a single line in both rules and it is absolute. R430-50-20(1) and R430-90-20(1): "For each child that the provider transports, the provider shall obtain a transportation permission form that is: (a) SIGNED BY A PARENT; and (b) ON-SITE for review by OL." No exception for a five-minute school run; the emergency transport consent is a separate item captured in the admission form under R430-50-6(10)(g). Walking counts as transporting. R430-50-20(5) and R430-90-20(5): "If the provider WALKS or uses PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION to transport a child to or from a facility, the provider shall ensure that: (a) each child being transported has a completed transportation permission form signed by their parent; (b) a caregiver goes with and actively supervises each child; (c) a caregiver transporting a child has emergency contact information ... and a release for each child being transported; and (d) the caregiver-to-child ratio is maintained." Here is a live drafting defect you should know about before you cite the rule to a licensor. R430-50-20(4)(c) requires the driver to carry "the emergency contact information outlined in SUBSECTION R381-50-18(7)," and R430-50-20(5)(c) repeats the same cross-reference — but R381-50 does not exist. The home rules moved from Title R381 to Title R430 and the internal pointer in the residential certificate rule was never repaired; the provision actually meant is R430-50-18(7). The licensed family rule was half-repaired: R430-90-20(5)(c) correctly reads "outlined in Subsection R430-90-18(9)," but R430-90-20(4) has no paragraph (c) at all — the driver's duty list runs (a), (b), then (d) — so on the licensed track the vehicle-borne emergency packet is commanded only for walking and public transit, not for driving. Both texts are the versions effective 5 June 2026. The duty is unaffected — carry the packet — but do not let a checklist tell you it is void because the citation is dead. A second written permission, owed identically on both tracks and routinely skipped: the trampoline. R430-50-19(10) and R430-90-19(10) use the same imperative — "The provider MUST obtain written permission from a child's parent or legal guardian before that child uses the trampoline" — and the surrounding subsections make the permission meaningful rather than formal, because R430-50-19(11)(e) and R430-90-19(11)(e) allow "only school-age children in care" on a trampoline at all, one at a time, with a caregiver at the trampoline supervising and no somersaults or flips. If your trampoline is inaccessible within the meaning of Subsection (4) — locked fence or net at least three feet high, "no jumping mat," or "placed upside down" — no permission is owed. Do not treat the residential certificate as the lighter regime here: the play-equipment section is word-for-word the same in the two rules as amended 5 June 2026. Two more written permissions in the same family, owed on both tracks: R430-50-18(6)(c) and R430-90-18(8)(c) require that "the child's parent gives WRITTEN CONSENT BEFORE EACH ACTIVITY" for offsite activities — per activity, not a blanket annual consent — and R430-90-18(7)(f) requires that "the parent gives permission before their child uses the pool." Who signs: the parent. Where filed: on-site, with a working copy in the vehicle or bag. Retention: no period stated; keep them for the enrolment.
• INCIDENT, ACCIDENT AND INJURY REPORTS TO THE PARENT — SAME DAY, THREE SIGNATURES, AND ONLY ONE TRACK MUST KEEP THEM. The parent-facing report is identical on both tracks. R430-50-14(7) and R430-90-14(10): the provider shall "(a) give each parent a WRITTEN REPORT ON THE DAY OF OCCURRENCE of each incident, accident, or injury involving their child; (b) ensure the report has the SIGNATURES of the caregivers involved, the provider, and the individual picking up the child; and (c) if a school-age child signs themselves out of the facility, send a copy of the report to the parent on the day following the occurrence." Three signatures on one page, and the trap is (b): a parent who collects in a hurry and leaves unsigned turns a compliant report into a citation. The escalation ladder is also common text. If an injury "appears serious but not life-threatening," contact the parent immediately (R430-50-14(8), R430-90-14(11)). For a life-threatening injury, or one that "poses a threat of the loss of vision, hearing, or a limb," call emergency personnel first and the parent second, and if the parent cannot be reached "try to contact the child's emergency contact individual" (R430-50-14(9), R430-90-14(12)). Now the fork, and it is sharp. On the RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE track, R430-50-14(10) reads: "If a child is injured while in care and receives medical attention, or for a child fatality, the provider shall submit a CRITICAL INCIDENT REPORT to OL within the next business day of the incident." One instrument, one deadline, no alternative. On the LICENSED FAMILY track, R430-90-14(13) offers a two-step option the certificate holder does not have: "the provider shall (a) submit a completed ACCIDENT REPORT FORM to OL within the next business day of the incident; OR (b) contact OL within the next business day and submit a completed accident report form within five business days of the incident." And retention forks the same way: R430-90-14(14) requires that "the provider shall keep a SIX-WEEK record of each incident, accident, and injury report on-site for review by OL," while R430-50 contains no retention clause for these reports at all. Both rules then bolt on the general Office of Licensing duty by reference — R430-50-14(14) and R430-90-14(18), "The provider shall ensure compliance with incident reporting in accordance with Subsection R380-600-7(16)." That subsection requires the provider to "(a) submit a report of the critical incident to OL in a format required by OL WITHIN ONE BUSINESS DAY"; "(b) additionally ensure any allegation of an incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a client is reported to the Division of Child and Family Services ... AND LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHIN 24 HOURS"; "(c) notify the parent or legal guardian of each involved client within a 24-hour period"; and "(e) collect, maintain, and submit ORIGINAL WITNESS STATEMENTS and supporting documentation, INCLUDING VIDEO FOOTAGE if available." "Critical incident" is defined at R380-600-2(14) far more broadly than injury: it includes "a missing client," "an allegation or confirmation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation," "any death of a minor," "any medical emergency requiring treatment beyond basic first aid," and "a medication error resulting in a telephone call to or a consultation with a poison control center." OL's template is "Incident report form" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Incident-Report-Form.pdf.
• ATTENDANCE AND SIGN-IN/SIGN-OUT RECORDS — A RETAINED, INSPECTABLE RECORD ON ONE TRACK AND NOT THE OTHER. This is the cleanest asymmetry in the whole Utah home-care rulebook, and it is the one that most published summaries get wrong by treating the two tracks as a single regime. The BEHAVIOUR is identical in both rules. R430-50-11(10) and R430-90-11(10) each require that "any individual signing a child in and out uses an identifier, including a signature, initials, or electronic code," that "each child is signed in and out," that "only a child's parent or an individual with written authorization from the parent may sign-out a child," that "photo identification is required if the individual signing the child out is unknown to the provider," and — the record clause — that "the sign-in and sign-out records include the DATE AND TIME each child arrives and leaves." The RETENTION is not identical. R430-90-11(12), in the licensed family rule only, adds: "The provider shall ensure that a SIX-WEEK record of each child's daily attendance, including sign-in and sign-out records, is ON-SITE FOR REVIEW BY OL." R430-50-11 has no subsection (12) and no counterpart anywhere in R430-50; the residential certificate rule as amended 5 June 2026 imposes no retention period and no inspection-availability clause for attendance. Do not read that as permission to keep nothing. Three provisions bite the certificate holder who discards the sheets. R380-600-7(3) gives OL "full access to ... any program or facility record" whenever children are being served; R380-600-7(5) requires you to "make available and permit reproduction of program or facility records"; and R380-600-8(3)(i) lets OL weigh, over a rolling 36 months, a "failure to submit or make available to the department any documentation or report required to ensure compliance with any rule." A ratio or capacity allegation is proved or disproved by the attendance sheet, and R430-90-9(4) makes capacity a licence term — "the number of children in care at any given time does not exceed the capacity identified on the license, except when providing after school child care for up to three additional school-age children." If you cannot show who was in the house at 3 p.m., you cannot rebut. There is a second, unrelated six-week record on the licensed track that has no certificate equivalent, and it belongs in the same drawer: R430-90-7(17) requires that "the following records for each caregiver and volunteer are on-site for review by OL: (a) the date of initial employment or association with the program; (b) a current pediatric first aid and CPR certification, if required in this rule; and (c) a SIX-WEEK RECORD OF THE TIMES WORKED EACH DAY." R430-50-7(16) requires only that "current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records for each covered individual required by this rule to have them are on-site for review by OL" — no employment dates, no hours worked. Who signs: the parent or authorised adult, at each arrival and departure, with the identifier of their choice. Where filed: on-site. Retention: six weeks rolling on the licensed family track; unstated but practically indispensable on the residential certificate track. OL publishes an "Attendance record" template at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Attendance-record-Template.pdf.
• THE EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTE'S SIGNED BACKGROUND STATEMENT — A FORM YOU FILE AFTER THE FACT, WITH OBP, WITHIN FIVE WORKING DAYS. Utah's home rules contain one narrow escape from the background-check regime, and it comes with paperwork that almost nobody files. R430-50-14(11) and R430-90-14(15) are identical: "If the provider must leave the children due to an emergency and a background checked covered individual who is at least 18 years old or older is not available to stay with the children, the provider MAY leave the children in the care of an EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTE who: (a) is at least 18 years old; (b) substitutes the caregiver for the minimum time possible and for LESS THAN ONE BUSINESS DAY; and (c) SIGNS A WRITTEN BACKGROUND STATEMENT before being left alone with the children." The statement's four attestations are fixed by R430-50-14(12) and R430-90-14(16), and the substitute signs to all four before you go: "(a) has not been convicted of a felony; (b) has not been convicted of a crime against a person; (c) is not listed on the state or national sex offender registry; and (d) is not being investigated for abuse or neglect by any federal, state, or local government agency." Then the filing that turns a private form into a state one, R430-50-14(13) and R430-90-14(17): "WITHIN FIVE WORKING DAYS after the occurrence, the provider shall submit emergency substitute's written background statements to OBP for review." Note the addressee — the Office of Background Processing, not the Office of Licensing, not your licensor. And note the plural in the rule's own wording, "statements": OBP expects the paper, and OBP may act on it. Three practical consequences. First, the statement must be signed BEFORE the substitute is left alone, which means a blank copy has to live in the house, printed, today — there is no way to comply retrospectively, and a signature dated the following morning is a false record within R380-600-8(3)(g), "actions to intentionally alter any document provided to or issued by the department." OL publishes the form as "Emergency substitute statement" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Emergency-substitute-statement-Template.pdf. Second, the escape is time-boxed at "less than one business day" and to a genuine emergency; using it to cover a dentist appointment or a scheduled holiday is unlicensed care by an unscreened adult, and Section 26B-2-707(1)(a) makes operating outside the regime a class A misdemeanour. Third, the two tracks have different baselines for who may normally cover you, which changes how often you will reach for the substitute at all. On the residential certificate, R430-50-7(1)-(2) requires that "the provider shall remain present at the home at least 50% of the time each week the program is open for business," and when absent "at least one covered individual who is 18 years old or older" must be present. On the licensed family track, R430-90-7(1) is stricter — "The provider OR THE PROVIDER DESIGNEE shall be present at the home when a child is in care" — and R430-90-7(2) sets qualifications for that designee that a covered individual alone does not satisfy: before being left alone with a child the designee must have completed "OL's new provider training" and hold "current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications." Retention: submit to OBP; keep your copy on-site.
• STAFF, VOLUNTEER AND TRAINING RECORDS — FIVE FIELDS PER TRAINING ENTRY ON THE LICENSED TRACK, AND ALMOST NOTHING ON THE CERTIFICATE TRACK. Both rules load the provider with training duties, but only one of them tells you to prove them on paper. R430-90-7(14) is explicit and enumerated: "The provider shall ensure that DOCUMENTATION of each individual's annual child care training is ON-SITE for review by OL and includes the: (a) date of the training; (b) name of the individual or organization that presented the training; (c) total hours or minutes of the training; (d) training topic; and (e) WHETHER THE TRAINING WAS INTERACTIVE OR NOT." That last field exists because R430-90-7(13) requires that "at least half of the required annual training is interactive"; a log without the interactive column cannot demonstrate compliance and is therefore itself the citation. The volume being logged is 20 hours a year for the provider (R430-90-6(1)(d)) and 20 hours for each caregiver, or "at least 1-1/2 hours of child care training each month they work if hired partway through the facility's licensing year" (R430-90-7(4)(a)), counted "based on the facility's license date" rather than the calendar year. R430-50 imposes the parallel duties — 10 hours a year for the provider under R430-50-6(1)(d), 10 hours for each caregiver or "at least 45 minutes of child care training each month" under R430-50-7(4)(a), also anchored to the certificate date, with the same interactive-half rule at R430-50-7(13) — but it contains NO documentation subsection. The only staff record the residential certificate rule requires is R430-50-7(16): "current pediatric first aid and CPR certification records for each covered individual required by this rule to have them are on-site for review by OL." Statute nonetheless reaches the certificate holder from above: Section 26B-2-404(2)(c) makes a minimum qualification for the certificate "annual training consisting of 10 hours of department-approved training as specified by the department by administrative rule, including a current department-approved CPR and first aid course." The personnel file forks the same way. R430-90-7(17) requires on-site records "for each caregiver and volunteer" showing "(a) the date of initial employment or association with the program; (b) a current pediatric first aid and CPR certification, if required in this rule; and (c) a six-week record of the times worked each day." No such subsection exists in R430-50. The CPR certificate itself is a document with a testing requirement attached: R430-50-7(14)-(15) and R430-90-7(15)-(16) require "current Red Cross, American Heart Association, or equivalent pediatric first aid and CPR certification" present whenever a child is in care "at each offsite activity," "at the facility," and "in each vehicle transporting a child," and both add that "CPR certification includes HANDS-ON TESTING" — an online-only card is not a compliant record. Preservice training is a separate proof, owed by every caregiver, driver, cook, clerk and volunteer before contact with children: the "2-1/2 hour preservice training offered by OL," R430-50-7(4)(b) and (5)(a), R430-90-7(4)(b) and (5)(a). Watch the cross-reference defect: R430-90-7(11)(b) lists the preservice topic as "applicable laws and requirements under RULE R381-70" — the out-of-school-time centre rule — where R430-50-7(11)(b) correctly says "Rule R430-50." OL's template is "Annual training record | May 2025."
• MENUS, THE SIX-WEEK FOOD RECORD, AND THE FOOD-SAFETY FORM UTAH ABOLISHED IN MAY 2026. If you serve the food, R430-50-16(2) and R430-90-16(2) make three documents out of one meal. First, the menu instrument itself, Subsection (2)(c): the provider "uses the CACFP meal pattern requirements, THE STANDARD OL-APPROVED MENUS, or menus approved by a REGISTERED DIETITIAN, and that dietitian approval is NOTED AND DATED on the menus, AND CURRENT WITHIN THE PAST FIVE YEARS." A dietitian-approved menu with no date on it, or dated six years back, fails the rule even though the food is fine — the note and the date are the compliance, and the five-year clock runs from the approval, not from the printing. OL removes the problem entirely if you use its own "Approved menus" file at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Approved-menus.pdf. Second, the posted copy, Subsection (2)(d): "the current week's menu is POSTED for review by parents and OL" — that one is a posting duty, treated separately in required_postings. Third, the retained record, Subsection (2)(e): "if NOT participating or in good standing with the CACFP, keep a SIX-WEEK RECORD OF FOODS SERVED at each meal and snack." Read the condition carefully: participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program discharges the record, and "in good standing" means a lapsed CACFP provider owes the six-week log again. Subsection (2)(b) sets the substantive standard whether or not you are in CACFP: "the foods that are served meet the nutritional requirements of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) WHETHER OR NOT the provider participates in the CACFP." Now the item Utah deleted, which matters because guides written before May 2026 still list it. Utah Code Section 26B-7-410 requires that "each food service establishment in the state shall be managed by at least one full-time CERTIFIED FOOD SAFETY MANAGER." Section 26B-7-411 lists what is not subject to that section, and the version effective 6 MAY 2026 — "Amended by Chapter 68, 2026 General Session," the enactment of H.B. 379, "Child Care Provider Food Preparation Amendments" — added two new exemptions: "(g) RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE PROVIDERS" and "(h) CHILD CARE PROVIDERS AND PROGRAMS LICENSED UNDER CHAPTER 2, PART 4, CHILD CARE LICENSING." Both Utah home tracks are therefore outside the certified-food-safety-manager requirement as of 6 May 2026, and no food manager certificate belongs in your licensing file. Section 26B-7-411(3) preserves the rest: "Nothing in this section may be construed as exempting a food service establishment described in Subsection (1) or (2) from any other applicable food safety laws of this state" — so the local health department's kitchen inspection under R430-50-4(2) and R430-90-4(2), the 41-degree refrigerator, the stem thermometer and the local food service rules referenced at R430-50-16(2)(a) all survive untouched. Who signs: the dietitian, if you use that route; nobody, if you use the OL menus. Where filed: menu posted, food log on-site. Retention: six weeks rolling for the food log; five years for the dietitian's dated approval.
• THE PROVIDER CODE OF CONDUCT SIGN-OFF AND THE SIGNED CLIENT-RIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT — TWO FORMS THAT LIVE OUTSIDE R430 AND ARE THEREFORE INVISIBLE TO MOST CHILD-CARE CHECKLISTS. Neither R430-50 nor R430-90 mentions them, which is exactly why they are missed. The bridge is R380-600-8(1)(c), which obliges every provider to "comply with and ensure each staff member complies with the DEPARTMENT PROVIDER CODE OF CONDUCT as established in RULE R380-80." Rule R380-80, "Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights," effective 22 January 2024, applies to you by its own definition at R380-80-2(11)(a): "'Provider' means (a) a LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE HOLDER" — both Utah home tracks, with no child-care carve-out anywhere in the rule. Two documents follow. The first is a signed acknowledgement by every adult in the programme. R380-80-5(12): "Each provider shall SIGN AND ENSURE EACH STAFF SIGNS OFF on reading, understanding, and agreeing to follow this rule, Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights, BEFORE WORKING WITH CLIENTS." "Staff" is defined at R380-80-2(14) very widely — "provider employees, managers, directors, supervisors, administrators, agents, VOLUNTEERS, owners, and contractors" — so the teenage volunteer and the part-time cook each sign, and each signs before their first shift, not at the next inspection. OL publishes the text to be signed as "Code of conduct and client rights" at dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/DHHS-code-of-conduct.pdf. The second is a signed copy per child. R380-80-5(13)-(14): "Each provider shall INFORM CLIENTS of each right listed in Section R380-80-6," and "Each provider shall maintain a copy of the CLIENT'S RIGHTS, SIGNED BY EACH CLIENT OR CLIENT'S GUARDIAN, IN EACH CLIENT RECORD." In a family child care home the client is the child and the signatory is the parent, and the signed sheet belongs in the child's file alongside the admission and health assessment form. OL's "Admission agreement | August, 2025" already carries the acknowledgement block, headed "Behavioral expectations and client rights," which begins "I have been informed of the program's behavioral expectations and how misbehavior will be handled. I have also been informed of mine and my child's rights, which are: To be informed of our rights; To be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness; To be free from potential harm or acts of violence; To be free from discrimination ..." — using that admission agreement is the cheapest way to discharge R380-80-5(14) and R430-50-12(2)/R430-90-12(2) in one signature. The rights themselves are enumerated at R380-80-6 and include being "free from abuse, neglect, mistreatment, exploitation and fraud" and "privacy of currency and closed records." Note the third obligation in the same subsection, R380-80-5(15), which is a POSTING and not a filing — "Each provider shall prominently display a poster in each facility that notifies clients of their rights" — and is treated in required_postings. Who signs: every adult with access to children, on the code of conduct; the parent, on the rights acknowledgement. Where filed: personnel file and child file respectively, on-site. Retention: no period stated; keep for the association and the enrolment.
• WHAT IS OWED ONLY AT RENEWAL — AND THE THREE DATES THAT DECIDE WHETHER YOU RENEW OR REAPPLY FROM SCRATCH. Utah renewal is governed by R380-600-3, not by R430-50 or R430-90, and the whole of it turns on a calendar. R380-600-3(19): "A license or certificate EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT ON THE LAST DAY OF THE SAME MONTH the license or certificate was issued, ONE YEAR after its effective date," subject to revocation, extension, relinquishment, a shortened term, a two-year licence or a three-year foster licence. Then the three dates, R380-600-3(8). "(a) a renewal request and applicable fees AT LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE the expiration"; "(b) a renewal request and applicable LATE FEES within 30 days AFTER the expiration"; and "(c) A NEW APPLICATION for a new license or certificate and applicable fees if the provider lets their license or certificate expire and 30 days have passed since their license or certificate expired." Miss the second window and you are not renewing late — you are a new applicant, with a new initial fee, the full inspection cycle, and R380-600-3(1)'s prohibition biting immediately: "Until a license or certificate is approved by OL, an applicant or provider may not: (a) accept any fee; (b) enter into any agreement to provide a client service; or (c) provide any client service." Your programme closes. What actually gets refiled at renewal. Background checks: Section 26B-2-406(1)(a) puts "each person requesting a residential certificate or to be licensed OR TO RENEW A LICENSE under this part" under the same submission duty, and the practical refiling triggers are R430-50-8(3) and R430-90-8(3) — a 180-day gap in association, residence outside Utah since the last check, or an eighteenth birthday. Fire: R430-50-4(1) and R430-90-4(1) both extend the fire authority's written statement to "an applicant for a new [certificate/license] OR A RENEWAL." Kitchen: here the tracks split, and the split is easy to get backwards. R430-90-4(2) covers "an applicant for a NEW LICENSE OR A RENEWAL" who serves food; R430-50-4(2) covers only "an applicant for A NEW RESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATE." On the text in force, a renewing residential certificate holder is not asked for a fresh kitchen exemption letter and a renewing licensed family provider is. Fees: R380-600-5(5) and (7) — "The provider shall pay a renewal license or certificate fee for each license or certificate that is renewed at each program or facility site," and "The provider MUST PAY ANY FINES AND FEES OWED to OL BEFORE OL issues a new or renewal license or certificate." R380-600-3(16) says the same in compliance terms: you "must resolve any outstanding balance, condition, or noncompliance status" first. Two optional renewal-time filings. A 90-day extension request, R380-600-3(21), which must be "a WRITTEN REQUEST for an extension to OL," with fees paid and noncompliance resolved, and which shortens the following term rather than extending it. And a variance, R380-600-6(3): "A provider seeking a variance shall submit a written request to OL on an OL-APPROVED VARIANCE REQUEST FORM," at least 30 days ahead under (4), signed by the provider under (5), and re-requested 30 days before it expires under (6). Nothing may be deviated from before "receiving written approval signed by the OL director or the director's designee." Retention: keep the issued certificate or licence — it is also the posted document.

What's specific about getting licensed in Utah

Utah is unusual in running two distinct home-care tracks: a lighter Residential Certificate (8 or fewer qualifying children, or up to 10 counting your own) and a full Licensed Family Child Care license (9-16 children in care). The trap most providers miss is the counting rules that decide which tier — and whether they are even legal. The jump to the license is triggered by '9 or more UNRELATED children' (or more than 10 total under 13), but your own children still consume capacity and ratio slots: own kids age 4+ count in group size (and in ratio when you're not the working parent), and own kids under 4 count toward 'children in care.' A second trap is citation drift — effective June 2026 the home rules were renumbered into DHHS Title R430 (R430-50 and R430-90); the old R381 numbers now cover CENTERS, so any provider checklist quoting R381 for a home is out of date.

How long it takes and what it costs in Utah

Timeline: Plan on roughly 2-4 months. The gating items are OBP fingerprint background-check turnaround for you and every covered individual/household member, completing New Provider Training + the 2-1/2 hour preservice training + pediatric CPR/first aid, and passing both the fire/health inspection and the on-site licensing inspection. Providers whose background checks and inspections clear quickly are often certified in about 6-10 weeks.

Cost: Varies — confirm with DLBC. Utah does not publish a single flat home-care license fee in rule; expect out-of-pocket for: the state application/licensing fee and OBP background-check + fingerprint (live-scan) fees per covered individual, a pediatric CPR/first-aid course (~$60-$120), the fire-marshal/health inspection, and any local city/county business license. Get current amounts from the DLBC 'make a payment' page or your assigned licensor.

Source: PRIMARY SOURCES ACTUALLY OPENED DURING RESEARCH, FIELD BY FIELD (not summarised from memory). [background_check] https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R430/Current%20Rules — Utah Office of Administrative Rules INDEX OF RULES IN EFFECT, queried live 2026-08-26 (not a pinned URL). Establishes that only three R430 rules are live under program "Residential Child Care Licensing": R430-8 (eff. 5/8/2025, filing type "Repeal and Reenact"), R430-50 "Residential Certificate Child Care" (eff. 6/5/2026) and R430-90 "Licensed Family Child Care" (eff. 6/5/2026), all effectiveEndDate 6/17/2030. Confirms R430 is the correct series post-merger; R381 (R381-40/60/70/100) is the centre series. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R380/Current%20Rules and .../R497/Current%20Rules — same index. Establishes the four separate DHHS background rules and which is which: R380-300 "Employee Background Checks" (11/20/2023, departmental staff), R432-35 "Background Check-Health Care Facility Licensing" (1/20/2026), R501-14 "Human Service Program Background Screening" (7/2/2025, human services only), R380-600 "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement" (5/8/2025), R497-100 "Adjudicative Proceedings" (9/19/2025). There is NO child-care-specific screening rule; screening lives inside R430-50-8 / R430-90-8 / R430-8-5. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html — full current text of R430-90 (Licensed Family Child Care).

Source of every R430-90 quotation: -2(22) guest, -2(27) "involved with child care", -2(30) LIS supported finding, -2(46) unsupervised contact, -6(1), -7(4)-(8), -8(1)-(18), -11(2)-(3), -25, and the footer "Date of Last Change: June 5, 2026 / Notice of Continuation: June 17, 2025 / Authorizing… Law: 26B-2-402." https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html — full current text of R430-50 (Residential Certificate Child Care). Diffed line-by-line against R430-90-8: the two background sections are identical apart from three wording variants ("form"/"application" at (2); "no-contest"/"no contest" at (8); "can demonstrate"/"demonstrates" at (17)(b)).

Also source of R430-50-3(1)(b) (sub-threshold registration) and R430-50-7(2). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2Febe025e2-4c3f-406a-a4b6-49720696194b.html — R380-600. Source of the "covered individual" definition at -3(13) including limb (f) "an individual age 12 years or older who resides in the facility"; "unsupervised access" at -3(45); "eligible" at -3(17); -4(5)(c) background check at initial AND renewal; -4(8)(a) 30-day renewal; -4(11)(e) denial ground; -4(17)(a) two-year licence barred for residential; -8(2),(4),(6),(15); -9 NEAA. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F5e89366d-b81e-4d99-857b-53f522dded10.html — R430-8. Source of R430-8-5(2)(b),(3),(6)-(21), the sub-threshold/FFN screening regime. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F6f9f1ea2-d169-452a-9dda-4a32208417e6.html — R497-100. Establishes that R430-90-8(18)/R430-50-8(18) MISCITE: R497-100-5 is "Commencement"; the 15-calendar-day right to request a hearing is R497-100-6(1), and the hardship escape is -6(3). Also -2(1)(j), -2(3) "aggrieved person", -2(9) Office of Administrative Hearings. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S406.html + C26B-2-S406_2024050120240501.pdf — Utah Code 26B-2-406, "Disqualified individuals -- Criminal history checks -- Payment of costs." versionArr shows ONE entry ("Current Version"), effective 5/1/2024, Amended by Chapter 235, 2024 GS — no pending or future text.

Source of (1)(a)(vii) "all adults residing in a residence where child care is provided", (1)(b) DPS/FBI, (1)(b)(iii) who pays, (2)(a) age 12-17 no fingerprints, (2)(b) juvenile under-28 rule, (3) the any-felony-or-misdemeanor bar, (4)(a)-(b) exemptions, (5) 10-year nonviolent drug, (6) one-year retention. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S120.html + C26B-2-S120_2026050620260506.pdf and C26B-2-S120_2026050620270101.pdf — Utah Code 26B-2-120. Establishes that this is a PART 1 (human services) section, not child care: "Applicant" is defined by association with a licensee "under this part." Current text eff. 5/6/2026 (Amended by Chapter 358, 2026 GS), marked "Superseded 1/1/2027" by a text Amended by Chapter 445, 2026 GS; diffing the two shows (5)(a)(i)(F) losing the "other than Section 76-5b-206" carve-out and (5)(a)(i)(T) losing the 76-5-417/418/419 carve-out on 1/1/2027. Also the source for the express rap-back/monitoring provisions at (2)(c)(ii), (3)(c), (4)(c)-(f) that Section 26B-2-406 does NOT contain. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S402.html, -S405, -S401, -S403, -S404, -S407 (with their current PDFs) — Part 4 sweep. 26B-2-402 (eff. 5/1/2024) is the rulemaking authority named in the R430-50/R430-90 footers and sets fees by 26B-1-209. 26B-2-405(1)(a)(viii) and (1)(c) create the sub-threshold screening duty.

None of 401-407 has a 2025 or 2026 amendment; all sit at 2023 or 2024 effective dates. https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0472.pdf — HB 472, Chapter 153, Laws of Utah 2026 (eff. 6 May 2026). "Utah Code Sections Affected" block read in full: AMENDS 26B-1-202, 26B-2-101, 26B-2-117, 58-17b-309.7, 80-2-1001, 80-2-1002, 81-14-307, 81-14-308; RENUMBERS AND AMENDS 26b-2-901 (from 26B-2-103) and 26b-2-902 (from 26B-2-104). Establishes that the 2026 renumbering does NOT touch Part 4 or the child care screening statute. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53/Chapter10/53-10-S108.html + C53-10-S108_2025090120250507.pdf — Utah Code 53-10-108 (eff. 9/1/2025, Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 GS).

Subsections (13)(a), (14) authorise FBI Rap Back / WIN registration and retention; (17)-(19) authorise fingerprint subscription CLONING for positions responsible for "the care… of children", with (18)(b) subordinating cloning to CCDBG. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S703.html / -S707.html (current PDFs) — 26B-2-703(4) CMP "not to exceed $10,000 per violation"; 26B-2-707(1)(a) class A misdemeanour for operating in violation of the chapter. https://dlbc.utah.gov/office-of-background-processing/child-care/ — OBP's child care background page, retrieved 2026-08-26. Source of the "9 different sources" list verbatim, the fingerprint age rules, the "Approval will be denied…" disqualification statement, the 15-day appeal / 2-year lock-out, the BCUID portability answer, the four-business-day wait, the record-correction-via-BCI instruction, and the form link provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/background-screening-form. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Resource-Manual-Child-Care-Background-Clearance-Process.pdf — OBP "Resource Manual: Child Care Background Clearance", dated June 2026. THE decisive source for the system name: "UCLAPP — Utah Certification and Licensing Application-This system houses all licensing information as well as operates at [as] the background clearance system for Child Care Applicants."

Also the Rap Back glossary entry ("enrolled in Nationwide FBI rap back… OBP is notified nightly"), the fingerprint requirement chart, the cloning workflow and $30 total, the 1-to-14-day BCI turnaround, the "Background E-Card" portability, the 180-Day Rule, and the applicant-initiates rule. https://dlbc.utah.gov/office-of-background-processing/ — establishes that DACS is described by the department as the "Health and human services background management system", i.e. NOT the child care system. https://dlbc.utah.gov/out-of-state-registries/ — establishes that OBP requires an applicant-supplied out-of-state child abuse registry check only where the agency "is providing YOUTH RESIDENTIAL SERVICES" and the applicant lived out of state in the past five years — narrower than the "Interstate child abuse and neglect databases" claim on the child care page. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026-2027-Child-Care-Fees.pdf — Child Care Licensing Fee Schedule effective 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027. $20.00 background screening (FFN exempt), $42.00 fingerprint processing, $10.00 fingerprint record replication.

https://dlbc.utah.gov/make-a-payment/ — the "$2.00 processing fee" per transaction and the link to the current fee schedules. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/applications/ — the 13-step application sequence (UtahID/provider portal at step 6, background checks at step 7, pre-licence inspection at step 10, licence at step 13) and the 5-step renewal sequence with the announced inspection 30-90 days before expiry. https://dlbc.utah.gov/news/ — establishes that R501-14 is currently mid-amendment (Utah State Bulletin Vol. 2026 No. 15, comment open to 31 August 2026) and that R430-50/R430-90/R381-70 became effective 5 June 2026. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title42/html/USCODE-2023-title42-chap105-subchapII-B-sec9858f.htm — 42 U.S.C. 9858f(b) (registries in each state of residence in the preceding 5 years), (d)(3)(B) (recheck "not less than once during each 5-year period") and (d)(4) (the 180-consecutive-day portability carve-out Utah's rule mirrors).

CORRECTIONS TO THE BRIEF, stated explicitly as METHOD requires: 1. The brief said the two regimes' background requirements "differ and that difference is the point." Verified FALSE. R430-50-8 and R430-90-8 are the same eighteen subsections with three copy-editing variants and no substantive difference. That is now the lead of the entry. 2. The brief said the system is the "Utah Background Screening / Direct Access Clearance System (CCL/DACS)." Verified WRONG for child care. DACS is the human services and health facility system; the child care background clearance system is UCLAPP, and the rule calls it "the licensing provider portal." 3. The brief pointed at "Utah Administrative Code R430, with renumbering after the 2022 DOH+DHS merger." R430 is correct and was verified against the live index, but the renumbering that actually matters in 2026 is statutory (HB 472 / Chapter 153) and does not touch Part 4. The child care screening statute 26B-2-406 has not moved since 1 May 2024. 4. The brief framed the tiered disqualification list and comprehensive review as governing the child care applicant.

The tiered list at 26B-2-120(5)-(7) governs PART 1 human services applicants. The child care tiers are R430-90-8(7)/(8)/(9) plus the statutory bar at 26B-2-406(3); the child care "comprehensive review" is the five-factor test at R430-90-8(14). 5. The brief asked for the deadline "within how many days of a new household member arriving." No such deadline exists in Utah. Eligibility must precede residence, because "involved with child care" at R430-90-2(27) includes "reside." The only day-counts are 10 working days (resident child turning 12), 48 hours (arrest/charge/finding notification), 5 days (roster separation) and 1 business day (cross-facility tolerance). UNVERIFIED: whether the OBP "Background E-Card" carries a printed expiry date, and if so its length — the manual refers to a card that has "expired" but neither the manual, the OBP page nor R430-50/R430-90 states an expiry period; the only voiding events found in rule are the three triggers at R430-90-8(3). UNVERIFIED: the identity (bill numbers) of Chapter 358 and Chapter 445 of the 2026 General Session, which amended 26B-2-120; only the chapter numbers printed in the codifier's note were read.

Neither reaches Part 4, so nothing in the entry turns on it. UNVERIFIED: whether OBP in practice runs an interstate child abuse registry check for family child care applicants who lived out of state within five years. The child care page lists "Interstate child abuse and neglect databases" among nine sources; the out-of-state registries page limits the applicant-supplied check to youth residential services. The entry reports both texts and does not resolve them. UNVERIFIED: R430-8-2(7) was cited in R430-8-5(4) as defining "covered individual" for exempt providers, but the published R430-8-2(7) is "Child care program"; the definition is at R430-8-2(8) ("means the same as defined in Rule R380-600"). This internal miscitation was noted but is not asserted in the entry. [cpr_first_aid_required] Utah child care licensing training rule, pre-service subject grid, subparagraph (g) "pediatric first aid and CPR" among the mandatory topics. This rule text, read during the preservice_training research, is what establishes the value `true`. [prelicensing_steps] RESEARCH DATE: 26 August 2026. Every URL below was opened during this task; nothing here is written from memory or from a pinned/dated file re-fetched to "confirm itself".

RULE TEXT — RETRIEVED FROM THE INDEX OF RULES IN EFFECT, NOT FROM A PINNED URL https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R430/Current%20Rules — the Office of Administrative Rules index of CURRENT rules, queried live for R430. Established that R430-50 "Residential Certificate Child Care" and R430-90 "Licensed Family Child Care" are both ruleType "Current Rules", filing type "Amendment", effectiveDate 6/5/2026, effectiveEndDate 6/17/2030, comment period 4/16/2026–5/15/2026; that R430-8 "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing" is effective 5/8/2025 (Repeal and Reenact); and that R380-600 "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement" is effective 5/8/2025. The index also returned each rule's opaque current-file identifier, which is how the four rule texts below were fetched — the identifiers change when the agency files a new version, so this route cannot serve a stale document the way a dated PDF URL can. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getfile/uac-html%2F8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html/R430-50.html — full current text of R430-50 (residential certificate).

Source for R430-50-3 (who may be certified, the 8/10 figures, the two-under-three cap on the unregulated), -4 (fire and kitchen substitute checks, ONE extinguisher), -6 (provider qualifications, posting, Parent Guide, liability insurance or written notice, admission and health assessment form, immunizations, USIIS report), -7 (50% presence, preservice content, ten hours, pediatric CPR/first aid with hands-on testing), -8 (background checks, portal association, fingerprint triggers, disqualifiers), -9 (35 sq ft, capacity on the face of the certificate, +2 after-school, pre-1978 lead paint, conditional outdoor area), -14 (nine-procedure written emergency plan, drills, emergency substitute). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getfile/uac-html%2F59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html/R430-90.html — full current text of R430-90 (licensed family). Source for R430-90-3 (licence required at nine or more unrelated children; more than ten total; two-facility cap), -4 (fire substitute check requiring an extinguisher ON EACH LEVEL), -6 (twenty hours, posting, insurance-or-notice), -7 (provider or designee present whenever a child is in care; designee must hold new provider training and current pediatric CPR/first aid), -9 (MANDATORY outdoor area, 40 sq ft per child, four-foot fence trigger, +3 after-school), -14. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getfile/uac-html%2Febe025e2-4c3f-406a-a4b6-49720696194b.html/R380-600.html — full current text of R380-600, the procedural spine.

Source for -3(1) no fee/agreement/service before approval; -3(2) compliance with local zoning, fire, safety, sanitation, building and licensing law; -3(3) unrestricted access; -3(5) what an application must contain; -3(6) written notice of changes; -3(8) the 30-days-before / 30-days-after / new-application renewal cliff; -3(10) SIX-MONTH completion clock; -3(11) grounds for denial; -3(14) three-month reapplication bar; -3(15) individualized parameters on the document; -3(17) two-year licence and its "not a residential or foster care program" precondition; -3(19) expiry at midnight on the last day of the issuing month one year on; -3(21) 90-day extension and its clawback; -3(24) non-transferability; -3(25) posting; -4 change-of-programme rules; -5 fees, including -5(1) fee before ANY on-site visit or document review and -5(2) the TWELVE-MONTH fee clause that contradicts -3(10); -7 inspection and investigation process, 36-month citation posting, complaint limits; -8 penalties and the doubling CMP capped at $10,000. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getfile/uac-html%2F5e89366d-b81e-4d99-857b-53f522dded10.html/R430-8.html — full current text of R430-8. Source for R430-8-3 (who needs nothing), -4 (exempt application and posted public notice), -5 (which unlicensed residential providers must still register with OL and be screened, and the two-under-three cap). https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/rules/ — Division's rules page;

established that "R380-80 and R380-600 apply to all child care programs" and links R430-50/R430-90 to the adminrules index rather than to a pinned copy. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/R430-50-checklist.pdf and .../R430-90-checklist.pdf — the licensor's actual scoring tools, both marked "Revised 06/2026". Source for "This inspection checklist is the tool OL licensors use to ensure consistency for every inspection", the locked-areas rule, the documentation-only cure, and the separate "Last Announced Inspection"/"Last Unannounced Inspection" fields that show more than one visit a year.

STATUTE — VERSIONS TAKEN FROM THE LEGISLATURE'S OWN VERSION INDEX (versionArr/versionDefault on each section page), NOT FROM A GUESSED FILENAME https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S403.html → C26B-2-S403_2023050320230503 — licence required for residential child care for nine or more; licences up to 24 months; not assignable. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S404.html → C26B-2-S404_2024050120240501 — Residential Child Care Certificate: eight or fewer; the fee-and-fingerprints application; "an initial and annual inspection of the provider's home within 90 days of sending an intent to inspect notice"; the mandatory unannounced follow-up after a serious hazard; ten hours of annual training "including a current department-approved CPR and first aid course"; "the department may only make and enforce rules necessary to implement this section."

NOTE: the index serves this as the ONLY current version, i.e. the certificate statute was NOT touched in 2026. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S405.html → C26B-2-S405_2024050120240501 — exclusions, including residential child care for eight or fewer; the ten-children-in-total cap; the two-children-under-three cap; the four-hour/sporadic exclusion and its "business licensed in this state" proviso; exempt-provider reporting and posted notice. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S406.html → C26B-2-S406_2024050120240501 — who must be fingerprinted, including "all adults residing in a residence where child care is provided"; 12–17-year-olds screened without fingerprints; the ten-year nonviolent drug offence carve-out; costs borne by the person screened. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S402.html → C26B-2-S402_2024050120240501 — the department's rulemaking powers and the direction to set fees under Section 26B-1-209. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S407.html → C26B-2-S407_2023050320230503 — "Drinking water quality in child care centers": "A child care center, as defined in Section 19-4-115, may comply with Section 19-4-115." Permissive, and confined to CENTERS.

This is the citation that disproves the "Utah requires a well test for home providers" claim. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S707.html → C26B-2-S707_2024050120240501 — operating in violation of the chapter is a class A misdemeanour. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S120.html → TWO versions served: C26B-2-S120_2026050620260506 ("Current Version", Amended by Chapter 358, 2026 General Session) and C26B-2-S120_2026050620270101 ("Effective 1/1/2027", Amended by Chapter 445, 2026 General Session). Diffed both: the 2027 text deletes the "other than Section 76-5b-206" carve-out from the Sexual Exploitation Act ground and the "other than Section 76-5-417, 76-5-418, or 76-5-419" carve-out from the Sexual Offenses ground — i.e. the disqualification net widens on 1 January 2027. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S901.html → C26B-2-S901_2026050620260506, "Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 153, 2026 General Session" — confirms the Division of Licensing and Background Checks statute moved from 26B-2-103 to 26B-2-901 effective 6 May 2026. https://le.utah.gov/asp/passedbills/passedbills.asp?year=2026 — swept the 2026 General Session bills-passed list act by act.

Child-care-relevant hits: H.B. 190 "Child Care Business Tax Credit" (Ch. 455); H.B. 379S02 "Child Care Provider Food Preparation Amendments" (Miller; Ch. 195; signed 03/19/2026; effective 05/06/2026); H.B. 472S01 "Division of Licensing and Background Checks Amendments" (Loubet; Ch. 153; effective 05/06/2026). No 2026 act amends 26B-2-403, -404, -405 or -406. https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/hbillenr/HB0379.pdf — enrolled H.B. 379. Establishes that new Section 26B-7-417 defines "child care food preparation kitchen" as a kitchen "in the center based child care facility of a licensed provider," so the commercial-kitchen relief does NOT reach residential certificate or licensed family homes. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title10/Chapter9a/10-9a-S101.html — returns NO current version: the Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act is no longer in Chapter 9a. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title10/Chapter20/C10-20-S506_2025110620251206.html — the recodified conditional-use section, "Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 15, 2025 Special Session 1", effective 11/6/2025. Source for the conditional-use approval standard and its limits. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title10/Chapter20/C10-20_2025110620251206.pdf — the ENTIRE recodified chapter, downloaded and searched.

Established the negative finding used in element 09: the words "child care", "day care", "childcare" and "home-based business" appear nowhere in it; the only home-occupation protection the Legislature wrote is for home-based microschools and micro-education entities, including from a business-licence requirement. AGENCY MATERIAL https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/applications/ — the thirteen numbered application steps and five renewal steps, verbatim: the six licence types and their DWS subsidy bands (updated 17 June 2025); the surname-first facility-naming rule; the 180-day supplementary-documents deadline and "failure to do so will result in the closure of your application"; UtahID and "Allow up to 4 business days"; W-9; the written emergency plan "before being licensed"; the pre-licence inspection; the affidavit of lawful presence; the renewal announced inspection "30 to 90 days before"; the annual fire clearance at renewal; the CCRRP registration route for eight or fewer. https://dlbc.utah.gov/office-of-background-processing/child-care/ — the background-check sequence, the provider-authorisation step and its consequence, the four fingerprint triggers, the disqualification summary, the Background Check Card, and the expungement route. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/make-a-payment/ — payment mechanics: quantity-not-dollars, the Details field, the $2.00 per-transaction fee, the 10-minute timeout, 1-877-988-3468; and the link to the CURRENT fee schedule. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026-2027-Child-Care-Fees.pdf — Child Care Licensing Fee Schedule, "Effective July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027", "Pursuant to Utah State Legislature FY 2026 Appropriation Act".

Every fee figure quoted in element 15 comes from this document.

NOTE: the older https://childcarelicensing.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/CCL-Fee-Schedule.pdf now 301-redirects to a dead dlbc path — a live illustration of why fee figures must be pulled from the payment page's current link. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/OL-inspection-process.pdf — "Revised: June, 2026". Source for the pre-licence inspection being scheduled in advance, what a licensor physically does, and the announced/unannounced/follow-up taxonomy. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/training/ — preservice "Updated March 2026"; the resource-manual list; the quarterly two-session interactive courses; and the notice that the Division's rule-review videos "have been removed because they no longer contain the most up-to-date information." https://sites.google.com/utah.gov/child-care-licensing-courses — "This course takes approximately 2 ½ hours to complete";

administrator training "Coming soon". https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEqckvSoh1NgF507DGcXnEOg-TmYsV7LBkAY5QCtND9RPCTQ/viewform — the New Provider Training course itself: twelve pages, "New providers are required to complete this training before being issued a license, certificate, or approval from DLBC", quiz pass mark 8/10, unlimited retakes, and the nine-item outline. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/forms/ — the short "Required forms" list (affidavit of lawful presence, client rights posters, code of conduct and client rights, license exempt notice) against the much longer "Sample forms" list carrying "Using these forms is not mandatory." https://dlbc.utah.gov/?s=parent+guide — returned no publication called a Parent Guide, which is the basis for the gap flagged in element 13. https://dlbc.utah.gov/news/ — current rulemaking notices, including the R501-14 background-check rule out for comment until 31 August 2026 (Utah State Bulletin Vol. 2026, No. 15) and the item confirming the effective dates for R381-70, R430-50 and R430-90. https://provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/residential-certificate-application and .../licensed-family-application — confirmed the two home applications exist at these paths and that the portal is a JavaScript application requiring a signed-in UtahID.

CONTRADICTIONS WITH THE BRIEF, STATED EXPLICITLY AS THE METHOD REQUIRES 1. The brief's "thresholds 8/16" is half right. Eight is the certificate ceiling (26B-2-404(1)) and the licence trigger is NINE OR MORE unrelated children (26B-2-403(1)(b), R430-90-3(1)(d)). Sixteen is not a threshold in either statute or rule; it is a capacity ceiling that appears in the licensed-family group-size machinery, and the certificate's companion number is the TEN-children-including-your-own figure in 26B-2-405(1)(b)(i). This field states the trigger, not the ceiling. 2. The brief's "Utah Administrative Code R430" is right only for the two home rules and the exemption rule. The procedure — application, fees, inspection, expiry, renewal, penalties — is in R380-600 and the conduct rule is R380-80, neither of which is in the R430 series. A walkthrough built only on R430 misses every deadline in this field. 3. "Utah DHHS Office of Licensing / Child Care Licensing" is right as far as it goes, but licensing and background screening are two different offices (OL and OBP) inside one division (DLBC), and the split is operationally decisive: OL cannot clear a person and OBP cannot issue a certificate. 4. The brief's assumed "water testing if on a private well or septic" DOES NOT EXIST in Utah for home providers.

Neither R430-50 nor R430-90 contains any water-testing provision, and the only drinking-water section in the child care part of the statute, 26B-2-407, is permissive and confined to child care CENTERS. Element 11 says so on the record. 5. The brief's assumed "HOA or municipal conditional-use step and whose burden it is" has a harder answer than expected: Utah's recodified land use chapter gives home child care NO state protection at all, so the burden is entirely the applicant's, and the commonly cited authority (10-9a-305 / 10-9a-505.5) has been repealed into Title 10 Chapter 20 since 6 November 2025. 6. The "renumbering after the 2022 DOH+DHS merger" is not the live renumbering risk. The live ones are (a) 26B-2-103 → 26B-2-901 on 6 May 2026 (H.B. 472, Ch. 153) and (b) the whole of the municipal land use act out of 10-9a and into 10-20 on 6 November 2025. 7. The Division's own paper contradicts itself on the application clock: the website says 180 days to file supplementary documents on pain of closure, R380-600-3(10) says a new application and fees if the process is not "successfully completed" within SIX MONTHS, and R380-600-5(2) says a new fee if not completed within TWELVE MONTHS.

Element 05 publishes all three and tells the reader to plan to the shortest. UNVERIFIED: Whether the two-year licence in R380-600-3(17) is available to a residential certificate or a licensed family child care home. The provision opens "if the provider is not a residential or foster care program or facility," and the Division publishes no guidance saying whether "residential" there means residential treatment (the human-services sense used elsewhere in the same rule) or reaches residential child care. Element 17 flags the ambiguity and tells the reader to obtain a written answer rather than paying twice the fee. UNVERIFIED: Whether Utah's Community Association Act (Title 57, Chapter 8a) contains any carve-out protecting a licensed or certified home child care from a restrictive covenant. Section 57-8a-209 (current version effective 5/6/2026) was read in full and concerns rental restrictions only; the chapter could not be swept end to end because the legislature's site serves no consolidated chapter file for 57-8a and Justia returned HTTP 403. Element 09 therefore says only that the Office of Licensing will not resolve a CC&R dispute — which is certain — and does not assert that no carve-out exists.

UNVERIFIED: The current published processing time for a completed child care application. An obsolete county-hosted copy of a paper Utah application states "60 days to process a completed application, or 120 days if FBI fingerprint clearances are required," but that form is superseded by the online application and the figure appears nowhere on the Division's current pages; it is therefore NOT used anywhere in this field. The durations given in the elements are stated as practical estimates and labelled as such, except where a number comes from a rule, a statute or the Division's own text. UNVERIFIED: The exact content and current publication location of "OL's Parent Guide" required by R430-50-6(6) and R430-90-6(6). No such document is published on the Division's child care forms page and a site search returns nothing. [required_forms] METHOD NOTE — HOW THE RULE TEXT WAS OBTAINED. adminrules.utah.gov is a JavaScript single-page app; its rule URLs return HTTP 404 to a plain fetch. The index of rules in effect is reachable through the app's own public API, which is what was used, so that what is served TODAY (26 August 2026) is what was read, rather than a pinned dated PDF.

Entry point: https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/<REF>/Current%20Rules — returns the live machine record for the rule (ruleType, effectiveDate, effectiveEndDate, ruleFilingType, and the htmlDownload GUID). The text is then fetched at https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/<url-encoded htmlDownload>. Utah Code was read the same way: the section landing page at le.utah.gov carries a JavaScript variable `versionArr` / `versionDefault` listing every version in effect today; the default version file was fetched and read. No dated URL was reused from the brief or from memory. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R430-50/Current%20Rules — machine record for R430-50 "Residential Certificate Child Care": ruleType "Current Rules", effectiveDate 6/5/2026, effectiveEndDate 6/17/2030, ruleFilingType "Amendment", htmlDownload uac-html/8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html. Confirms the brief's R430 numbering and confirms the text was amended 5 June 2026. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html — full text of R430-50 (25 sections, ~75,000 characters).

Source for: R430-50-3 (certificate thresholds), -4 (fire/kitchen exemption statements; note (2) is NEW APPLICANTS ONLY), -6 (admission and health assessment form, 13 fields, annual re-signature, immunisation documentation, annual USIIS report), -7 (training, preservice, guests, household members, first aid/CPR records), -8 (background check application, fingerprints, portal authorisation, 180-day/out-of-state/18th-birthday re-filing, 48-hour arrest notice, 5-day separation), -11(10) (sign-in/out written authorisations), -12 (behavioural expectations, prohibitions, 80-2-602 reporting), -14 (emergency plan, incident reports, critical incident report next business day, emergency substitute statement, 5 working days to OBP), -16 (menus, six-week food record), -17 (medication permission and administration, six-week retention), -18(6)-(7) (offsite written consent per activity, emergency packet), -19(10) (trampoline permission), -20 (transportation permission form;

dead cross-reference to R381-50-18(7)), -21(9), -22(2)(d), -24(15)-(16). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R430-90/Current%20Rules — machine record for R430-90 "Licensed Family Child Care": Current Rules, effective 6/5/2026, end 6/17/2030, Amendment, htmlDownload uac-html/59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html — full text of R430-90. Source for every licensed-family fork: -3 (nine or more unrelated; ten-child absolute ceiling; two facilities max), -4(2) (kitchen exemption extends to RENEWAL, unlike R430-50), -6 (20 training hours), -7(2) (provider designee: new provider training + first aid/CPR), -7(11)(b) (dead cross-reference to Rule R381-70), -7(14) (five-field training documentation incl. interactive flag), -7(17) (personnel records incl. six-week times worked), -11(11) (emergency verbal release — no R430-50 counterpart), -11(12) (six-week attendance record — no R430-50 counterpart), -14(5),(7),(9) (drill documentation and 12-month retention — no R430-50 counterpart), -14(13) (accident report form, one business day or five with notice), -14(14) (six-week incident retention), -18(4) (posted daily schedule), -19(10) (trampoline permission — identical to R430-50), -20(4) (driver duty list has NO paragraph (c)).

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/... (R380-600, htmlDownload uac-html/ebe025e2-4c3f-406a-a4b6-49720696194b.html, "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement", effective 5/8/2025) — source for the application packet R380-600-3(5), the pre-licence prohibition (1), the written-change duty (6), the renewal windows (8)(a)-(c), the six-month and twelve-month application death clocks (10) and R380-600-5(2), non-transferability (24), licence posting (25), parameters (15), programme-change applications R380-600-4, fees R380-600-5, variance request form R380-600-6, inspection and record access R380-600-7(3)-(8), critical incident reporting R380-600-7(16), penalties and 36-month history R380-600-8, and the Provider Code of Conduct bridge R380-600-8(1)(c). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/... (R380-80 "Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights", effective 1/22/2024, uac-html/a1fb7c4b-b922-4f6b-b946-120b7859d430.html) — R380-80-2(11)(a) defines "Provider" as a licence OR CERTIFICATE holder, so the rule reaches both Utah home tracks;

R380-80-5(12) staff sign-off before working with clients; (14) signed client-rights copy in each client record; (15) the display duty (treated in required_postings). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/... (R430-8 "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing", effective 5/8/2025, Repeal and Reenact, uac-html/5e89366d-b81e-4d99-857b-53f522dded10.html) — R430-8-4(2) annual application for verification of license exempt status; R430-8-5 background checks for unlicensed registrants. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/... (R396-100 "Immunization Rule for Students", effective 2/25/2024, uac-html/d2de61e4-af57-4582-b817-62a04af1d071.html) — R396-100-1 brings "family home care" inside the rule; -4(1) the official Utah School Immunization Record (USIR) form; -4(3) transcription duty and file contents; -4(3)(c) return/transfer on departure; -4(5) USIIS alternative; -5(1) the Section 53G-9-304 exemption form is the only acceptable instrument; -5(2) the Section 26B-7-118 health education form must be ATTACHED to the USIR; -6(1) reporting; -7 conditional enrolment; -8 exclusion in an outbreak. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S404.html (versionDefault C26B-2-S404_2024050120240501, "Current Version", effective 5/1/2024) — Residential Child Care Certificate: application "in the form prescribed by the department", fee, identifying information for adults and juveniles 12-17, annual inspection within 90 days of an intent-to-inspect notice, 10 hours annual training including CPR and first aid, unannounced follow-up inspection after a serious hazard. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S403.html (C26B-2-S403_2023050320230503) — nine-or-more threshold for a residential licence;

licences up to 24 months; not assignable or transferable. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S406.html (C26B-2-S406_2024050120240501) — the background-check statute: who must be submitted, fingerprints required, DCI and FBI processing, applicant pays, no fingerprints for 12-17, juvenile court access, disqualifications, one-year retention of background data. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S402.html (C26B-2-S402_2024050120240501) — rulemaking authority including "license expiration and renewal, contents, and posting requirements". https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S707.html (effective 5/1/2024) — operating in violation of the chapter is a class A misdemeanour;

criminal conviction does not preclude administrative action. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter9/53G-9-S304.html (versionDefault C53G-9-S304_2023050320230503, sole version listed, "Amended by Chapter 328, 2023 General Session") — the vaccination exemption form: contents limited by statute, parent signs, online education module under Section 26B-7-118 produces it, $25 cap on the in-person alternative, no fee for the online route. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter7/26B-7-S411.html (versionDefault C26B-7-S411_2026050620260506, "Amended by Chapter 68, 2026 General Session", effective 5/6/2026) — CONTRADICTS what a pre-May-2026 guide would say: new Subsections (1)(g) "residential child care providers" and (1)(h) "child care providers and programs licensed under Chapter 2, Part 4, Child Care Licensing" exempt both Utah home tracks from Section 26B-7-410. This is the enactment of H.B. 379, "Child Care Provider Food Preparation Amendments," 2026 General Session. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter7/26B-7-S410.html (effective 5/3/2023) — establishes what was exempted: the certified food safety manager requirement for food service establishments. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/forms/ — OL's live child care forms index, 26 documents.

Established the exact published titles used in the text: "Affidavit of lawful presence in the United States", "Client rights poster (English)/(Spanish)", "Code of conduct and client rights", "License exempt notice (English)/(Spanish)", "Admission agreement", "Health Assessment", "Annual training record", "Approved menus", "Attendance record", "Behavior expectations", "Daily schedule", "Disaster/fire drill log", "Emergency contact information", "Emergency plan", "Emergency substitute statement", "Incident report form", "Infant/toddler record", "Medication permission form", plus DWS's "Child care provider guide".

NOTE: no Parent Guide is listed. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Affidavit-of-Lawful-Presence-February-2026.pdf — read in full; source for the three check-boxes, the perjury clause verbatim, and the original-document options for citizens and qualified aliens. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Admission-agreement-_-August-2025.pdf — read in full; carries the sign-out authorisation table, out-of-area contact, emergency transportation/medical treatment permission, an optional separate non-emergency transportation permission, and the "Behavioral expectations and client rights" signature block that discharges R380-80-5(14). https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Client-Rights-Poster-_-August-2026.pdf — read in full; enumerated rights and the complaint block (801-890-2007, licensingcomplaint@utah.gov, 195 N. 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84116). https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/License-exempt-notice.pdf (revised May 2026) — read in full; the licence-versus-business-licence distinction and the universal background-screening statement. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Health-assessment-_-August-2025.pdf, Medication-Permission-Form.pdf, Incident-Report-Form.pdf, Emergency-substitute-statement-Template.pdf, Attendance-record-Template.pdf, Disaster-drill-log-Template.pdf — all fetched successfully (HTTP 200);

used to confirm the templates exist and match the rule fields. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/applications/ — the six live application URLs, including provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/residential-certificate-application and provider.dlbc.utah.gov/ccl/licensed-family-application; the thirteen application steps including "Prepare affidavit of lawful presence" and "Submit W-9"; and the supplementary documents due within 180 days (business licence, fire inspection, kitchen inspection, each with a written exemption alternative).

CORRECTIONS TO THE BRIEF, STATED EXPLICITLY. 1. The brief's phrase "Direct Access Clearance forms" is not Utah terminology and appears nowhere in R430-50, R430-90, R430-8, R380-600 or Utah Code Title 26B Chapter 2 Part 4. Utah's instrument is an "online background check form" (R430-50-8(2)) or "online background check application" (R430-90-8(2)) submitted to the OFFICE OF BACKGROUND PROCESSING (OBP) through the licensing provider portal. The text was written to Utah's own words. 2. The brief's "fire and health inspection certificates" is only half right. Under R430-50-4 and R430-90-4 the document that most home providers file is not a certificate but a WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM THE AUTHORITY THAT NO INSPECTION IS REQUIRED, after which the LICENSOR verifies the listed items in the authority's place. Both possibilities are covered in element 03. 3. The brief lists "immunization records and the exemption form" as one item; Utah splits them across two rule families (R430-50-6(12)-(14)/R430-90-6(12)-(14) and R396-100), and the exemption is TWO documents — the Section 53G-9-304 form plus the Section 26B-7-118 health education attachment.

Elements 07 and 08 keep them apart. 4. The renumbering the brief flags is real but runs in an unexpected direction and was verified independently: the Office of Administrative Rules programme list for agency 18 shows programme 381 as "Child Care Center Licensing" and programme 430 as "Residential Child Care Licensing". R381-50 and R381-90 are dead numbers; R430-50-20(4)(c) still cites the dead "R381-50-18(7)" and R430-90-7(11)(b) still cites "Rule R381-70". Both defects are in the text effective 5 June 2026 and both are named in the elements. UNVERIFIED: the exact dollar amounts of the initial, renewal, late, capacity, monitoring and follow-up inspection fees. R380-600-5 and Utah Code Section 26B-1-209 set the mechanism; the fee schedule itself lives on dlbc.utah.gov/home/make-a-payment/, which was not opened, and no figure is asserted anywhere in the elements. UNVERIFIED: whether OL currently accepts an electronic signature on the emergency substitute's written background statement, and the exact submission channel to OBP for it. R430-50-14(13) and R430-90-14(17) say only "submit ... to OBP for review" within five working days.

UNVERIFIED: whether a residential certificate holder may obtain a two-year term. R380-600-3(17)(a) excludes "a residential or foster care program or facility" from the two-year option, but "residential" in R380-600 is used chiefly of residential treatment; Utah Code Section 26B-2-403(3) permits licences "for a period not exceeding 24 months". The conflict is not resolved in the text and no claim about it is made in the elements. UNVERIFIED: the current contents of OL's Parent Guide — the document is not published (see required_postings.txt). [required_postings] METHOD NOTE. Same access route as required_forms.txt: the Office of Administrative Rules index of rules in effect was queried through the app's own public API on 26 August 2026 (https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/<REF>/Current%20Rules, then /api/public/getHTML/<htmlDownload>), so the text read is the text served today, not a pinned dated PDF. For the postings field the decisive work was NEGATIVE: an exhaustive string sweep of both home rules for "post", "posted", "posting", "display", "readily visible" and "conspicuous".

That sweep is what licenses the "Utah does not require" statements below, and it is reproduced here so it can be re-run. SWEEP RESULT — R430-50 (Residential Certificate Child Care, effective 6/5/2026). The word "post" occurs FOUR times in the entire rule: R430-50-6(5) the unaltered residential certificate; R430-50-6(6) OL's Parent Guide; R430-50-14(2) the home's street address and emergency numbers; R430-50-16(2)(d) the current week's menu. Nothing else in the rule commands a display. SWEEP RESULT — R430-90 (Licensed Family Child Care, effective 6/5/2026). The word "post" occurs FIVE times: R430-90-6(5) the unaltered child care licence; R430-90-6(6) OL's Parent Guide; R430-90-14(2) the facility's street address and emergency numbers; R430-90-16(2)(d) the current week's menu; and R430-90-18(4) THE DAILY SCHEDULE, which has no counterpart in R430-50. That fifth occurrence is the single posting fork between the two Utah home tracks. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html — R430-50 full text.

Established the exact wording quoted in element 01 ("readily visible and accessible to the public DURING BUSINESS HOURS"), element 02 (post OR give the Parent Guide), element 03 ("THE HOME'S street address ... near each telephone or in an area clearly visible to anyone needing the information"), element 04 (menu conditional on the provider supplying food), element 07 (the nine-procedure written emergency plan with no display clause; drills every six months and every twelve months, with NO documentation or retention requirement), element 09 (R430-50-12(6) cites Section 80-2-602 and requires no posted number), element 10 (R430-50-12(2) "inform", and the shouting prohibition at (5)(g)), element 11 (safe sleep as practice; the crib manufacturer documentation at -22(2)(d)), element 12 (R430-50-11(9) parent access), element 13 (every "on-site for review by OL" occurrence). https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html — R430-90 full text.

Established element 01's variant wording ("readily visible and accessible to the public", WITHOUT "during business hours"), element 03's "THE FACILITY'S street address", element 05 in full (R430-90-18(4) daily schedule for children two and older, four required time blocks; and R430-90-24(9) allowing infants and toddlers to eat and sleep on their own schedule, which is why the twos-and-up carve-out exists), element 07's quarterly fire drills, six-monthly disaster drills, five-field drill documentation and the 12-month retention at R430-90-14(9), element 09 (R430-90-12(6) says only "as required in state law" where R430-50-12(6) pinpoints Section 80-2-602), element 11's extra prohibition at -24(17), element 13's licensed-family-only on-site records. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2Febe025e2-4c3f-406a-a4b6-49720696194b.html — R380-600 "Licensing General Provisions - Enforcement", effective 5/8/2025. R380-600-3(25) the general "current license or certificate" posting; R380-600-3(15) the individualized parameters printed on the licence, which is why Utah has no separate capacity or age-range sign;

R380-600-3(3) and -7(1),(3),(5),(6),(7) OL's own immediate and unrestricted access, announced and unannounced; R380-600-7(8) OL serves the written inspection report ON THE PROVIDER; R380-600-7(11) and -8(4) OL — NOT the provider — posts citations and substantiated complaints on the DIVISION WEBSITE for no less than 36 months; R380-600-7(14) OL may not investigate anonymous child care complaints or child care complaints about events six or more months old; R380-600-8(1)(c) the bridge to R380-80; R380-600-8(3) the 36-month history; R380-600-8(6) the doubling CMP capped at $10,000; R380-600-5(10) the repeat follow-up inspection fee; R380-600-2(14) the definition of "critical incident"; R380-600-3(7) no implementing a policy that requires OL approval without it. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2Fa1fb7c4b-b922-4f6b-b946-120b7859d430.html — R380-80 "Provider Code of Conduct and Client Rights", effective 1/22/2024. R380-80-5(15) is the authority for element 06: "Each provider shall PROMINENTLY DISPLAY A POSTER IN EACH FACILITY that notifies clients of their rights." R380-80-2(11)(a) defines "Provider" as "a license or certificate holder", which is how a rule that never says "child care" binds both Utah home tracks. R380-80-6 supplies the enumerated rights;

R380-80-4(2) the abuse-reporting duty with no signage attached. https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F5e89366d-b81e-4d99-857b-53f522dded10.html — R430-8 "Exemptions From Child Care Licensing", effective 5/8/2025 (Repeal and Reenact). R430-8-4(3) is Utah's ONLY location-specific child care posting — "in a conspicuous location NEAR THE ENTRANCE of the provider's facility, a notice prepared by OL" — and it applies to exempt providers, not to certificate or licence holders. R430-8-4(2) annual exempt-status verification; R430-8-4(4) OL posts substantiated allegations against exempt providers on the DLBC website. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Client-Rights-Poster-_-August-2026.pdf — read in full.

Source for the verbatim rights list and the complaint block quoted in elements 06 and 09: "Call: 801-890-2007; Email: licensingcomplaint@utah.gov; Mail: 195 N. 1950 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84116 (please include program name in the letter or email)." https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/License-exempt-notice.pdf (revised May 2026) — read in full; the verbatim text quoted in element 14. https://dlbc.utah.gov/home/office-of-licensing/child-care/forms/ — OL's live forms index. Lists "Client rights poster (English)" and "(Spanish)" under REQUIRED FORMS, plus the templates named in elements 04, 05 and 07 ("Approved menus", "Daily schedule", "Emergency plan", "Disaster/fire drill log"). Establishes by omission that OL publishes no Parent Guide. https://dlbc.utah.gov/information-for-the-public/reports/ — the Division's public reports page. Confirms element 08's retention period in the agency's own words: "Notices of agency action issued by OL remain available on this website for a period of 3 years," older notices by GRAMA request; and lists the child care reports (regulated programmes, provider sanctions for the past three years, serious injuries and deaths, registered residential providers).

Facility search: https://provider.dlbc.utah.gov/. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S402.html (C26B-2-S402_2024050120240501) — Section 26B-2-402(1)(b)(v) is the statutory hook for posting: rules may cover "license expiration and renewal, contents, and posting requirements". No statute in Title 26B Chapter 2 Part 4 commands any posting directly; every Utah child care posting duty is rule-made. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S404.html (C26B-2-S404_2024050120240501) — Section 26B-2-404(3) unannounced follow-up inspection after a serious hazard, cited in element 12. NEGATIVE FINDINGS — WHAT UTAH DOES NOT REQUIRE, AND THE TEXT THAT SHOWS IT. 1. NO posted inspection report and NO posted compliance history. Neither phrase occurs in R430-50 or R430-90. The publication duty is OL's, on the division website, for not less than 36 months (R380-600-7(11), R380-600-8(4)); the Division's own page says three years. 2. NO posted emergency or evacuation plan, and no exit diagram. R430-50-14(1) and R430-90-14(1) say "DEVELOP AND FOLLOW A WRITTEN" plan; the verb "post" appears in Subsection (2) only, and only for the address and emergency numbers. 3. NO posted abuse or neglect reporting number. R430-50-12(6) and R430-90-12(6) impose an immediate reporting duty and no signage.

Nothing in R430-50, R430-90, R380-600 or R380-80 requires a hotline poster. 4. NO posted discipline policy. R430-50-12(2) and R430-90-12(2) require the provider to INFORM each child, each parent and anyone who interacts with a child — a communication duty, discharged by acknowledgement, not by display. 5. NO safe-sleep poster and NO crib card. R430-50-24 and R430-90-24 impose practice only; the only related document is a health care provider's authorisation for a non-supine position, kept in the child's file. 6. NO separate capacity or age-range sign. Capacity and any age restriction are individualized parameters printed on the licence or certificate you already post (R380-600-3(15)), and R430-90-9(4) enforces "the capacity identified on the license". 7. NO posted notice of parents' right of access. R430-50-11(9) and R430-90-11(9) create the right; no rule requires it to be advertised. Utah's rules never use the phrase "unannounced access" of parents; unannounced inspection is OL's power under R380-600-7(1). 8. NO sleep-check log, and NO daily schedule at all on the residential certificate track. 9. NO licence-exempt entrance notice for a certified or licensed home — that posting belongs to R430-8 providers only, and displaying it would misstate your status to parents.

CORRECTION TO THE BRIEF, STATED EXPLICITLY. The brief asks for "the most recent inspection report and any compliance history that must be shown to parents". On the text in force on 26 August 2026 there is no such Utah requirement, on either home track; the obligation is the State's and it is discharged on the division website. Element 08 says so plainly rather than inventing a display duty. The brief's "menus and daily schedule" is likewise only half a posting: the menu is conditional on the provider supplying food and is owed on both tracks; the daily schedule is owed on the LICENSED FAMILY track only, for children two and older. UNVERIFIED: OL'S PARENT GUIDE. R430-50-6(6) and R430-90-6(6) require posting "a CURRENT copy of OL's Parent Guide" or giving a current copy to each parent. As of 26 August 2026 no Parent Guide is published. https://dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Parent-Guide.pdf returns HTTP 404 (verified twice, by direct fetch and by an independent fetcher on a different egress); the same filename on the retired host https://childcarelicensing.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Parent-Guide.pdf also returns 404; the document is absent from OL's 26-item child care forms index and from the "Child care information" page for families.

The only guide still served is the Department of Workforce Services' subsidy-programme "Child care provider guide" (jobs.utah.gov/occ/provider/ccproviderguide.pdf), which is a different document. Element 02 states the requirement, states that the object is unpublished, and tells the reader to obtain a written answer from their licensor. The CONTENTS of any current Parent Guide are unverified because no current Parent Guide could be read. UNVERIFIED: whether OL currently publishes a residential-certificate or licensed-family inspection checklist. The two indexed URLs — dlbc.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Copy-Residential-Certificate-Inspection-Checklist-11_2025-MASTER.pdf and .../LICENSED-FAMILY-Inspection-Checklist-MASTER-1.pdf — both return HTTP 404 (verified by direct fetch and by an independent fetcher). Any statement in the elements about "what the inspector checks" is therefore derived from the rule text itself, not from a published checklist, and is written that way. UNVERIFIED: whether a Spanish-language Client Rights poster is compulsory where families read Spanish. R380-80-5(15) says only "a poster"; OL publishes both languages. The element recommends the Spanish sheet without asserting a legal duty.

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