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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 Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC), Office of Licensing. Here is exactly what that takes in 2026 — your capacity limit and ratios, the training and background checks, the application steps, and the postings and enrollment forms you need — sourced to the state’s own rules and dated.

Who needs a license — home types in 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.

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

How many children you can care for in 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."

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

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."

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

Training you must complete before licensure

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."

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

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.

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

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.

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

The application, step by step

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

1. STEP ONE — 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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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)…
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."…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…

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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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 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…

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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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,…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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…
• 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;…
• 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…
• 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.…
• 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…
• 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…

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: Sources officielles consultées pour Utah :

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R430/Current%20Rules

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/searchRuleDataTotal/R380/Current%20Rules

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F59a92c29-b046-4940-a147-871baebc359d.html

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F8f383175-2345-42b0-ba33-a9c40c7ad252.html

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2Febe025e2-4c3f-406a-a4b6-49720696194b.html

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F5e89366d-b81e-4d99-857b-53f522dded10.html

https://adminrules.utah.gov/api/public/getHTML/uac-html%2F6f9f1ea2-d169-452a-9dda-4a32208417e6.html

https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter2/26B-2-S406.html

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