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Home Daycare License Requirements in Washington (2026)

Opening a home daycare in Washington means getting a family child care home license from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. 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 Washington

Washington does not license anything called a "family child care home." The label does not exist in Washington law, and if you search for it you will find only other states' rules and stale directory pages. The two operative labels are statutory and administrative, and they do not match each other word for word. RCW 43.216.010(1)(c), as it reads today after amendment by 2025 c 181 s 1 and 2026 c 54 s 1, provides: "'Family day care provider' and 'family home provider' mean a child care provider who regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider's home in the family living quarters except as provided in RCW 43.216.692 and subsection (2)(n) of this section." That is the statute. The rule that actually governs your license uses a third name for the same thing: WAC 110-300-0005 defines "'Family home early learning program'" as "an early learning program licensed by the department where a family home licensee provides child care or education services for 12 or fewer children in the family living quarters where the licensee resides as provided in RCW 43.216.010 (1)(c) (family day care provider)."

When you apply, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will call your license a family home early learning program license. When the statute penalizes you, the legislature will call you a family day care home. They are the same license. The number that matters is twelve, and it is a ceiling on the whole license, not on one age group. Washington has no two-tier "small home / large home" structure of the kind Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, or Wisconsin use. There is no six-child license that grows into a twelve-child license as a separate legal category. There is one family home license, issued under WAC 110-300-0355 for a number between one and twelve that DCYF writes on the face of the license, and a single narrow waiver route above twelve. The trap here costs money in both directions. Applicants who assume Washington caps family homes at six under-build their space, under-request their capacity, and then discover that raising capacity later requires a licensing modification and, in most age configurations, a second qualified adult they have not hired. Applicants who assume twelve is automatic build for twelve and are issued a license for six, because WAC 110-300-0355(7) allows a licensee "with less than one year of experience" to request only "a capacity of up to six children, birth through 12 years of age."

Twelve is the statutory maximum. Your first license is a function of your experience, your square footage, and your staffing, and for a first-time applicant with no prior licensed child care experience it is six. The requirement that you live there is not a formality and it is not negotiable by agreement with your landlord or your licensor. RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) locates the care "in the provider's home in the family living quarters." WAC 110-300-0005 restates it as care "in the family living quarters where the licensee resides." The same rule defines "'Family home early learning program licensee' or 'family home licensee'" as "an individual licensee authorized by the department to operate a family home early learning program within the licensee's family living quarters," and it defines "'Family living quarters'" as "a family home licensee or applicant's residence and other spaces or building on the premises." Two consequences follow that applicants routinely learn the expensive way. First, you cannot buy or rent a second house, put a hired provider in it, and hold the family home license yourself: the licensee is the person who resides in the family living quarters, and WAC 110-300-0005 makes the family home licensee "an individual licensee," in deliberate contrast to the general definition of "'Licensee'" in the same section, which means "an individual or legal entity listed on a license issued by the department."

An LLC can hold a center license in Washington. An LLC cannot hold a family home license. If your business plan runs the home through a corporate entity for liability reasons, the entity is not the licensee; you are, personally, and your background clearance, your education timeline, and your enforcement history are personal. Second, the license does not travel with you. RCW 43.216.305(1) states that "The license issued under this chapter applies only to the licensee and the location stated in the application," and grants a single grace period: "For licensed family day care homes having an acceptable history of child care, the license may remain in effect for two weeks after a move." Two weeks. If you move house, you have fourteen days of licensed operation at the new address and then you must have completed the relicensing of the new location or stop taking children. The line between a family home and a child care center in Washington is drawn by where the children are, not by how many there are. RCW 43.216.010(1)(a) provides that "'Child day care center' and 'child care center' mean an agency that regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for a group of children for periods of less than 24 hours," and WAC 110-300-0005 defines "'Center early learning program'" as "a facility providing regularly scheduled care for a group of children birth through 12 years of age for periods of less than 24 hours a day."

Notice what is missing from both: any number. A center is not a big family home. The decisive rule is WAC 110-300-0010(4): "The department may license a center located in a private family residence when the portion of the residence accessible to children is: (a) Used exclusively for children during the center's operating hours or when children are in care; or (b) Separate from the family living quarters." That is the fork. If children use your family living quarters, you are a family home and you are capped at twelve. If you can wall off a portion of the residence and dedicate it to children, or place it in a separate structure, you may be licensed as a center in your own house and the family home ceiling does not apply to you at all. This is the single most valuable thing an ambitious Washington applicant can know, and it is the one DCYF's public "Who Needs a License" page does not spell out. It is also why "I want to serve twenty children out of my home" is not automatically a waiver question. It may be a center question. Both the family home and the center chapters are one chapter, WAC 110-300, titled "Foundational quality standards for early learning programs," and that consolidation is itself the answer to a question applicants ask.

Under chapter 7, Laws of 2015 3rd sp. sess. (the Early Start Act), and as WAC 110-300-0001(2) records, "the state legislature directed the department to create a single set of licensing standards for center and family home providers." The old separate family home chapter is gone. If a consultant, a book, or an old training packet cites WAC 170-296A to you, that chapter was decodified to WAC 110-300B effective 1 July 2018 and then repealed outright by WSR 19-14-076, filed 1 July 2019, effective 1 August 2019, the day chapter 110-300 took effect. It was not renumbered into 110-300; it was repealed and replaced. Nothing in 170-296A is law, including its capacity table, which is where most of the surviving "Washington caps family homes at twelve with a maximum of six under two" folklore comes from. A third and a fourth license type exist, and confusing them with a family home is how applicants lose an application fee. School-age programs are licensed under chapter 110-301 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for school-age programs," and WAC 110-301-0010(1) requires that "An individual or entity that operates a school-age program must be licensed by the department as a school-age program, pursuant to RCW 43.216.295, unless exempt."

That is a separate chapter with separate rules and, as you will see below, a very different group size. Outdoor nature-based child care is licensed under chapter 110-302 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for outdoor nature-based child care," created by DCYF under RCW 43.216.742 and filed as WSR 23-10-059, effective 1 June 2023. Note the numbering carefully, because getting it wrong sends you to the wrong rules: 110-301 is school-age, 110-302 is outdoor nature-based. RCW 43.216.010(1)(e) defines the outdoor program: "'Outdoor nature-based child care' means an agency or an agency-offered program that: (i) Enrolls preschool or school-age children; (ii) Provides early learning services to the enrolled children in an outdoor natural space approved by the department for not less than four hours per day or fifty percent of the daily program hours, whichever is less; and (iii) Teaches a nature-based curriculum to enrolled children." WAC 110-302-0010(1) restricts the licensable age band to "a group of children who are 30 months through 12 years of age" — an outdoor nature-based program cannot enroll infants or toddlers under thirty months at all, which is the difference that matters most against a family home licensed birth through twelve.

WAC 110-302-0356(2) then requires "a minimum of 4,000 square feet of natural space per child in attendance," against the thirty-five square feet of indoor space per child that WAC 110-300-0354(1) requires of you. An outdoor nature-based license is not a cheap way around a family home license; it is a land-access license, and WAC 110-302-0356(4)(a) makes your capacity turn on "the area and maximum occupancy described in the ONB program's use agreement with the landowner or public park." If you intend to run indoor instruction, WAC 110-302-0356(4)(g) closes the door: an indoor space used "for scheduled educational activity when the focus of the ONB program is not on meeting the biological needs of children" must be licensed under chapter 110-300 or 110-301 WAC instead. The licensing threshold in Washington is one child, and applicants disbelieve this until it is enforced against them. WAC 110-300-0010(3) states: "A license is required when an individual provides child care and early learning services in their family home: (a) Outside the child's home on a regular and ongoing basis for one or more children not related to the licensee; or (b) For preschool age children for more than four hours a day.

As used in this chapter, 'not related' means not any of the relatives listed in RCW 43.216.010 (2)(a)." There is no free tier of three children, no four-child threshold as in Wisconsin, no six-child threshold as in most of the Midwest. One unrelated child, cared for regularly and on an ongoing basis in your home, and you need a license. The compensation question does not save you either: RCW 43.216.010(1) makes the definition of "agency" apply "irrespective of whether there is compensation to the agency." Unpaid regular care of one unrelated child is licensable child care in Washington. The exemptions are the whole of RCW 43.216.010(2), and they are exclusive: if your arrangement is not on this list, it is licensable. Subsection (2)(a) exempts "Persons related to the child in the following ways," and the list is generous and worth memorizing because it defines "not related" for the licensing threshold above: "(i) Any blood relative, including those of half-blood, and including first cousins, nephews or nieces, and persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand, great, or great-great; (ii) Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister; (iii) A person who legally adopts a child or the child's parent as well as the natural and other legally adopted children of such persons, and other relatives of the adoptive parents in accordance with state law; or (iv) Spouses of any persons named in (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection, even after the marriage is terminated."

First cousins are in. A former spouse of an aunt is in. A close family friend is not, no matter how the family describes the relationship. Subsection (2)(b) exempts "Persons who are legal guardians of the child." Subsection (2)(c) is the neighbor-and-friend exemption and it is the one that gets people fined, so read the qualifiers rather than the headline: it exempts "Persons who care for a neighbor's or friend's child or children, with or without compensation, where the person providing care for periods of less than 24 hours does not conduct such activity on an ongoing, regularly scheduled basis for the purpose of engaging in business, which includes, but is not limited to, advertising such care." The exemption fails on three independent conditions. Care that is "ongoing" fails it. Care that is "regularly scheduled" fails it. Care conducted "for the purpose of engaging in business" fails it, and the statute names advertising as conclusive of business purpose. A Facebook post offering weekday spots, a flyer at the community center, a listing on a parents' group, a business card: any one of those is the statutory example of engaging in business, and DCYF investigators find them.

Occasional babysitting is exempt. A Monday-through-Friday arrangement with two neighbor children, advertised once, is not, and there is no dollar threshold that changes that. Subsection (2)(d) exempts "Parents on a mutually cooperative basis exchange care of one another's children," which is the parent-cooperative exemption. It is narrower than the word "cooperative" suggests: the exchange must be mutual and between parents. A co-op that hires a paid teacher, or in which one parent does most of the caring while others pay in cash rather than in hours, is not a mutual exchange of care and falls out of the exemption. Subsection (2)(e) exempts "Nursery schools that are engaged primarily in early childhood education with preschool children and in which no child is enrolled on a regular basis for more than four hours per day," which is why WAC 110-300-0010(3)(b) makes four hours a day of preschool-age care a licensing trigger in a home: the four-hour line is the same line, viewed from the other side. Subsection (2)(f) exempts "Schools, including boarding schools, that are engaged primarily in education, operate on a definite school year schedule, follow a stated academic curriculum, and accept only school age children" — all four conditions, conjunctively; a preschool that accepts four-year-olds is not a school under this subsection.

Subsection (2)(g) exempts seasonal camps, defined in the statute as a program that "(i) Operates for three months or less within a period of twelve consecutive months; (ii) Is engaged primarily in recreational or educational activities conducted on a closely supervised basis; and (iii) Is owned by any person, organization, association, or corporation, or is operated by a federal, state, county, or municipal government." Three months is a hard ceiling measured across any rolling twelve months, so a summer camp that adds a winter-break week loses the exemption for both. Subsection (2)(h) exempts facilities providing care under 24 hours "when a parent or legal guardian of the child remains on the premises of the facility for the purpose of participating in: (i) Activities other than employment; or (ii) Employment of up to two hours per day when the facility is operated by a nonprofit entity that also operates a licensed child care program at the same facility in another location or at another facility." This is the gym-and-church-nursery exemption and it depends on the parent remaining on the premises.

Subsection (2)(i) exempts "Any entity that provides recreational or educational programming for school age children only" that meets four conditions: "(i) The entity utilizes a drop-in model for programming, where children are able to attend during any or all program hours without a formal reservation; (ii) The entity does not assume responsibility in lieu of the parent, unless for coordinated transportation; (iii) The entity is a local affiliate of a national nonprofit; and (iv) The entity is in compliance with all safety and quality standards set by the associated national agency." That is written for Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA-style affiliates and it is not available to an independent local program, however well run: the national-affiliate condition is a condition. Subsection (2)(j) is new and dated, and it is the reason to check the RCW rather than a printout. It exempts "A school-day early childhood education and assistance program or head start program that is located in a public school building or community or technical college building, or on the premises of a public school or community or technical college."

That exemption was inserted by Engrossed House Bill 2317, Chapter 54, Laws of 2026, passed the House 96-0 on 11 February 2026 and the Senate 48-0 on 4 March 2026, approved 14 March 2026, effective 11 June 2026. Its insertion pushed every following exemption down one letter, which is why the cross-reference inside the family home definition in RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) now reads "subsection (2)(n)" where it read "(2)(m)" a year ago. DCYF's own guidance narrows the exemption further than its text: a school day means six or more hours per day; before-school, after-school, extended-day, summer, and wraparound care are outside it; mixed-model sites with both ECEAP and regular child care slots must stay licensed; and any program taking child care subsidy must stay licensed regardless. DCYF puts the population at about 44 of 6,729 licensed programs. If you are a home-based applicant, this exemption is not for you, but you must know it exists because the renumbering it caused makes older citations to RCW 43.216.010(2) wrong by one letter throughout.

The remaining exemptions are (2)(k), "A program operated by any unit of local, state, or federal government"; (2)(l), "A program located within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation, licensed by the Indian tribe"; (2)(m), "A program located on a federal military reservation, except where the military authorities request that such agency be subject to the licensing requirements of this chapter"; (2)(n), "A family home provider located in the surrounding metropolitan area of a federal military reservation and is overseen and currently certified by a federal military service"; and (2)(o), "A program that offers early learning and support services, such as parent education, and does not provide child care services on a regular basis." Subsection (2)(n) is the only exemption in the statute written specifically for family home providers, and it is recent: it was added by Substitute Senate Bill 5545, Chapter 181, Laws of 2025, captioned "FAMILY HOME PROVIDERS—EXEMPTION FOR OVERSIGHT BY FEDERAL MILITARY SERVICE," effective 27 July 2025. If you live off-base near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Naval Base Kitsap, or Fairchild and you are certified by the military service as a family child care provider, you are outside DCYF licensing entirely.

That exemption did not exist before 27 July 2025 and any guide written earlier does not contain it. Care in the child's own home is outside the whole scheme, and the exclusion sits at the top of the definition rather than in the exemption list, which is why people miss it. RCW 43.216.010(1) opens: "'Agency' means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or facility that provides child care and early learning services outside a child's own home." A nanny working in the family's residence is not an agency, is not licensable, and does not appear anywhere in chapter 110-300 WAC. WAC 110-300-0010(3)(a) mirrors it by conditioning the family home licensing trigger on care provided "Outside the child's home." Two children from two families, cared for in one of those families' homes by a hired nanny, is unlicensed nanny share and is not a family home program. Move the same two children into the nanny's own home on a regular basis and it becomes a licensable family home the moment either child is unrelated to her. Your own children count, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in Washington family home licensing.

WAC 110-300-0355(4) is unambiguous: "Any child birth through 12 years old on the premises, signed in to the child care, on an off-site trip from the early learning program, or being transported counts in capacity. This includes a family home licensee's own children, children of staff, or visiting children not accompanied or supervised by an adult." There is no exemption for the provider's own children in Washington, none for children over some age below thirteen, and none for children who are merely "upstairs." The test is presence on the premises, and WAC 110-300-0005 defines "'Premises'" as "the licensed and unlicensed space at the licensed address including, but not limited to, buildings, land, and residences" — your unlicensed bedrooms and your yard are premises. If you have a four-year-old and a nine-year-old of your own and DCYF issues you a capacity of eight, you may enroll six. The one relief the rule allows is age: a child of yours who has turned thirteen is outside the birth-through-twelve count, and children not on the premises during operating hours, at school or elsewhere, are not counted while they are away — which is why Washington providers structure enrollment around the school-day window and why the after-school hour is the hour a licensor will find you over capacity.

Note also the last clause of WAC 110-300-0355(4): "visiting children not accompanied or supervised by an adult" count too. Your daughter's friend who walks over after school and stays counts against your license. Two categories of children are counted differently and both require written department approval. Under WAC 110-300-0355(3)(a), "A family home licensee must receive department approval to care for a child with special needs, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0300, if the child is older than the maximum age identified on the license. A child with documented special needs may be in care up to age 19 and must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio." Under WAC 110-300-0355(3)(b), "A child with special needs who requires individualized supervision pursuant to WAC 110-300-0300 counts towards capacity but does not count in the staff-to-child ratio." That asymmetry is deliberate and useful: an individually supervised child occupies a licensed slot but does not consume your ratio. And under WAC 110-300-0355(3)(c), a child who turns thirteen while enrolled and is permitted to remain under chapter 110-15 WAC, the subsidy chapter, "must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio."

Operating without a license in Washington is a crime and a per-day civil penalty, and the penalty is written into statute at a rate specific to homes. RCW 43.216.360 requires DCYF, on suspecting unlicensed care, to send notice within ten days telling the provider "That the agency must immediately stop providing child care until the agency becomes licensed" and "That the department can issue a penalty of one hundred fifty dollars per day for each day a family day care home provided care without being licensed and two hundred fifty dollars for each day a child day care center or outdoor nature-based child care provider provided care without being licensed." One hundred fifty dollars a day compounds fast; a single school year of unlicensed operation is a five-figure exposure. RCW 43.216.365 adds that "Any agency operating without a license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor," and RCW 43.216.355 authorizes the attorney general to seek an injunction. WAC 110-300-0020(4) supplies the reputational sanction: if you do not submit a written agreement to obtain a license within thirty calendar days of DCYF's notice, "the department will post information on its website that the individual is providing child care without a license."

The escape hatch is in WAC 110-300-0020(2): within thirty calendar days you may submit a department-form written agreement to "(a) Attend and participate in the next available department licensing orientation; and (b) Submit a licensing application after completing orientation," and WAC 110-300-0020(3)(d) requires the notice to explain "How a fine, if issued, may be suspended or withdrawn if the individual applies for a license." Applying is, concretely, the way the fine goes away. Ignoring the letter is the way it does not. If you are exempt but want a state seal, certification is the route, and it is a real thing with real consequences. WAC 110-300-0025(1) provides that "The department must not license a child care program that is legally exempt from licensing per RCW 43.216.010(2). However, if a child care program requests to become certified by the department, the department shall apply all licensing rules to the otherwise exempt program. In such a case, the department shall apply licensing rules equally to licensed and certified child care programs." Certification is not a lighter licence; it is the same rulebook voluntarily assumed.

WAC 110-300-0025(4) restricts certification for subsidy purposes to programs "located on the premises over which the tribe, federal Department of Defense, or OSPI has jurisdiction," and WAC 110-300-0025(3) requires any RCW 43.216.010(2)-exempt program to "use the department's form to submit their exempt status" — meaning your exemption is something you assert on a DCYF form, not something you simply assume in silence. Two further pieces of context shape what your family home license is worth. Quality rating participation is governed by RCW 43.216.085, which applies the Early Achievers program to "licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, outdoor nature-based child care, and early learning programs such as working connections child care and early childhood education and assistance programs," and RCW 43.216.085(3)(c) makes participation "voluntary for: (i) Licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, and outdoor nature-based child care, not receiving state subsidy payments." Take a single subsidy dollar and it stops being voluntary: RCW 43.216.135(2) requires a new provider serving nonschool-age children and receiving state subsidy to "(a) Enroll in the early achievers program within 30 days of receiving the initial state subsidy payment; (b) Complete level 2 activities in the early achievers program within 12 months of enrollment; and (c) Rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher in the early achievers program within 30 months of enrollment," with a remedial period and then, under RCW 43.216.135(3), loss of subsidy eligibility.

Thirty days, twelve months, thirty months: those are the clocks, and they start at your first subsidy payment, not at licensure. Second, your license does not expire on a schedule but on your paperwork. RCW 43.216.305(2) makes a full license nonexpiring only so long as you annually "(a) Submit the annual licensing fee; (b) Submit a declaration to the department indicating the licensee's intent to continue operating a licensed child care program, or the intent to cease operation on a date certain; (c) Submit a declaration of compliance with all licensing rules; and (d) For all current employees of the agency and as defined by department rule, submit background check applications into the department's electronic workforce registry on the schedule established by the department." RCW 43.216.305(3) is blunt about the failure mode: "If a licensee fails to meet the requirements in subsection (2) of this section for continuation of a full license the license expires and the licensee must submit a new application for licensure under this chapter." A missed annual declaration does not produce a warning; it produces a lapsed license and a new application.

Finally, ignore RCW 43.216.695. It authorizes counties "with a population of three thousand or less" to regulate family day-care providers locally "as a twelve-month pilot project," it dates to 2005 c 509, and it still contains a reviser's note pointing at a definition deleted from RCW 74.15.020 in 2006. The population threshold it sets is below that of any Washington county, and the section is a dead letter on its own terms: it authorises a transfer of jurisdiction "limited to a period of twelve months from the effective date of the regulations." Your regulator is DCYF, statewide, under chapter 43.216 RCW and chapter 110-300 WAC, and your building and fire officials are local under RCW 43.216.340, which requires DCYF to consult the city or county enforcement official and obtain "written verification from the city or county enforcement official that the alteration is required" before making you alter your home for building code reasons.

How many children you can care for in Washington

The number you can be licensed for in a Washington family home is capped twice: once by statute, once by your own experience. The statutory ceiling is in RCW 43.216.010(1)(c), which defines "Family day care provider" and "family home provider" to mean "a child care provider who regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider's home in the family living quarters except as provided in RCW 43.216.692 and subsection (2)(n) of this section." Twelve is the number the legislature wrote, and RCW 43.216.010 as the code index served it on 26 August 2026 carries "2026 c 54 s 1" at the head of its history line — the section was amended this year by Engrossed House Bill 2317, chapter 54, Laws of 2026, approved 14 March 2026 and effective 11 June 2026. If you are worried that the twelve moved, it did not: EHB 2317 was titled "CHILD CARE LICENSING—EXEMPTION—EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND HEAD START PROGRAMS," and the only change to (1)(c) in the enrolled bill text is the renumbering of the cross-reference from subsection (2)(m) to (2)(n) to make room for a new licensing exemption for a school-day ECEAP or Head Start program located in a public school or community or technical college building.

The twelve-child cap survived the 2026 session untouched. The regulatory ladder is in WAC 110-300-0355, "Family home capacity, ratio, and group size," in chapter 110-300 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for early learning programs," which the Washington State Legislature's code index showed with a last update of 7/1/26 on 26 August 2026. Subsection (1) states the ceiling and the discretion together: "The department issues initial or nonexpiring family home licenses for up to 12 children. The department will not issue a family license to care for more children than permitted by the rules in this chapter but may issue a license to care for fewer than the maximum allowable enrolled children." Two words in that sentence cost applicants money. "Up to" means twelve is the maximum available, not the default. "May issue a license to care for fewer" means the Department of Children, Youth, and Families can and routinely does license you below the rule's ceiling. The license itself, per 0355(1)(a) and (b), must state "The maximum number of children that may be in care at any one time (total capacity)" and "The age range of children allowed in care," and 0355(3) makes that number binding: "A family home licensee must not exceed the total capacity or age range stated on the child care license at any time except as provided in this section and WAC 110-300-0358." What a provider working alone can actually get.

If you have less than one year of documented licensed child care experience — which describes almost every first-time applicant — WAC 110-300-0355(7) allows you to request "a capacity of up to six children, birth through 12 years of age," with "A maximum of three children may be under two years of age" and, "If there are three children under two years of age, one of these children must be able to walk independently." Six is the realistic opening number in Washington. Every business plan built on twelve children in year one is a business plan built on a number the applicant will not be issued. With at least one year but less than two years of experience, WAC 110-300-0355(8)(a) allows a licensee "Working alone" to request "a capacity of up to eight children ages two through 12 years of age, with a maximum of four children under three years of age." Note what the extra child costs you: the age floor rises to two years. Eight solo is an infant-free license. With at least two years of experience, WAC 110-300-0355(9)(a) allows a licensee "Working alone" to request "a capacity of up to 10 children ages three years through 12 years of age," and 0355(9)(b) allows a licensee "Working alone" to request "a capacity of up to 12 children for school age children only."

That second option is the only route to twelve without a second adult, and it is narrow: WAC 110-300-0005 defines "School-age children" as "a child who is five years of age through 12 years of age and is attending a public or private school or is receiving home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW." A five-year-old at home until September is not school age. A four-year-old sibling on a snow day is not school age. One non-school-age child in the room on a twelve-child school-age-only license puts you over the age range stated on your license, which 0355(3) forbids "at any time." And if your program serves school-age children only, check whether you belong in chapter 110-300 WAC at all: chapter 110-301 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for school-age programs," is a separate license type with its own capacity rule at WAC 110-301-0354 and its own group size of thirty at 1:15 in WAC 110-301-0356(5). Both chapters showed a 7/1/26 last-update date on the index. What an approved assistant adds. The honest answer is one child at the middle tier and two at the top, plus access to infants.

WAC 110-300-0355(8)(b): a licensee with at least one year but less than two years of experience "Working with a qualified assistant may request a capacity of up to nine children birth through 12 years of age with a maximum of four children under two years of age." WAC 110-300-0355(9)(c): a licensee with at least two years' experience "Working with a qualified assistant, may request a capacity of up to 12 children birth through 12 years of age with a maximum of six children under two years of age with two children being able to walk independently." That is the full twelve, the full birth-through-twelve age range, and a six-infant sub-limit conditioned on two of the six walking. Applicants who ask "does hiring someone double my license" are asking the wrong question. Hiring someone restores the infant age range that the solo licenses strip out, and infants are the slots Washington families cannot find. There is a fourth configuration most Washington applicants have never read. WAC 110-300-0355(10) lets a licensee with two years of experience "request a license for birth to 24 months of age with a maximum group size of eight" provided "(a) There are two staff present with the group consisting of one staff who meets the qualification of the licensee and another who meets the qualifications to be counted in ratio; (b) The staff-to-child ratio is 1:4; (c) Fifteen additional square feet are provided for each infant or toddler; and (d) A second staff member is present whenever: (i) More than two children in care do not walk independently; or (ii) When there are more than four children in care."

Eight children, all under two, in a family home. It is the highest-revenue-per-slot license available to a Washington family home provider and it is buried in the middle of a subsection about ratios. The infant and toddler sub-limits, gathered in one place, because they are what actually caps a Washington home. Under one year of experience: six total, three under two, third must walk. One to two years solo: eight total, none under two at all, four under three. One to two years with an assistant: nine total, four under two. Two years solo: ten total, none under three. Two years, school-age only: twelve total, none under five and all in school. Two years with an assistant: twelve total, six under two, two of the six must walk. Infant-toddler license: eight total, all birth to twenty-four months, 1:4, two staff. Underneath all of it sit the mandatory-second-adult triggers of WAC 110-300-0355(11): "Two early learning program staff are required anytime: (a) More than six children are in care and any child in care is under two years of age; (b) More than eight children are in care and any child in care is under three years of age; or (c) More than 10 children are in care and any child is under school age."

Those triggers read on the children physically present, not on the license, so a licensed capacity you cannot staff is a capacity you cannot fill. Square footage is the second gate, and it is the one that quietly decides your number before any conversation about experience. WAC 110-300-0354(1) requires that "licensed indoor early learning program space must have a minimum of thirty-five square feet per child in attendance." Subsection (2) excludes from the capacity calculation: "Unlicensed space"; "Hallway space that is used for emergency evacuation or is not approved to be used for program activities"; "Bathrooms and diaper changing areas (including twenty-four inches surrounding diaper changing areas and handwashing sink, unless the diaper changing area has a two foot high barrier)"; "Laundry areas"; "Closets"; "Stairways"; and "Floor space occupied by shelves, built-in cabinets, file cabinets, desks, or other office equipment not intended to be accessible to children." Floor space under tables, desks and chairs used for children's activities does count, per 0354(1)(b), and napping areas count under 0354(1)(d) "if mats and cots are removed when not in use and children have free access to the area." A large indoor gross-motor space that substitutes for outdoor space under WAC 110-300-0145 does not count toward capacity at all unless it provides seventy-five square feet per child.

The arithmetic is unforgiving: a nominal 500-square-foot playroom, once you subtract the bathroom, the diapering buffer, the closet and the office corner, is not twelve children's worth of licensed space, and the licensor measures. Now the question this site is asked more than any other: do the provider's own children count toward capacity in Washington? Yes, unambiguously, and the rule says so twice. WAC 110-300-0355(3): "All children on the premises, signed in to child care, on an off-site trip from the early learning program, or being transported by the early learning program staff are counted in capacity including the children of staff." And WAC 110-300-0355(4), which is the sentence to read to anyone who tells you otherwise: "Any child birth through 12 years old on the premises, signed in to the child care, on an off-site trip from the early learning program, or being transported counts in capacity. This includes a family home licensee's own children, children of staff, or visiting children not accompanied or supervised by an adult." Parse the four limits in that rule, because each of them is where people go wrong.

First, the age band is birth through 12. Your thirteen-year-old does not count; your twelve-year-old does, every school holiday, every sick day, every summer. Second, the test is presence on the premises, and WAC 110-300-0005 defines "Premises" as "the licensed and unlicensed space at the licensed address including, but not limited to, buildings, land, and residences." Your own child playing in the unlicensed part of the house, or in the yard, is on the premises. There is no carve-out that lets you park your own children in the family living room and call the count clean. Third, it includes the children of any staff you employ, so an assistant who brings her own toddler to work has not added one adult to your ratio, she has added one adult and one child to your capacity. Fourth, it captures "visiting children not accompanied or supervised by an adult" — the neighbour's child who wanders in after school occupies a licensed slot until an adult responsible for that child is present. The practical consequence, which is where the money is lost: a first-time applicant with two children of her own aged four and seven is licensed for six under WAC 110-300-0355(7), and on any day both of her children are home, she has four paying slots, not six.

Build the revenue model on the paying slots. Washington does not offer a family-of-the-provider exclusion, does not exclude the provider's children during school hours only in some conditional way, and does not distinguish enrolled from unenrolled own children. The only relief in the chapter is age: a child of yours who is thirteen or older is outside the birth-through-12 band of 0355(4) entirely. Two categories move between capacity and ratio and it is worth being precise. WAC 110-300-0355(3)(a) requires department approval, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0300, to care for a child with special needs older than the maximum age on your license, and provides that "A child with documented special needs may be in care up to age 19 and must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio." WAC 110-300-0355(3)(b) then carves out the one-on-one case: "A child with special needs who requires individualized supervision pursuant to WAC 110-300-0300 counts towards capacity but does not count in the staff-to-child ratio." A one-on-one child always occupies a licensed slot. WAC 110-300-0355(3)(c), printed in the code as a sentence fragment, covers the child who ages out mid-enrolment: "A child who turns 13 years old permitted by chapter 110-15 WAC and who must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio."

Above twelve: the waiver, and the two dates that matter. RCW 43.216.692, "Family home providers—Capacity flexibility," enacted by 2021 c 199 s 313, provides that "The department may waive the limit, as established in RCW 43.216.010(1)(c), that restricts family home providers from serving not more than 12 children. The department must establish conditions for such waivers by rule and must assess, at a minimum, the provider's available square footage and staffing capabilities prior to issuing any waiver of the limit of 12 children." The implementing rule is WAC 110-300-0358, "Capacity waiver for family home providers," last amended by WSR 25-01-087, filed 13 December 2024 and effective 13 January 2025. Its scope is fixed in 0358(2): "Providers must apply to the department in writing to request waivers to serve more than 12 but not more than 16 children." Sixteen is the absolute ceiling for a Washington family home. Anything larger is a center license under a different set of rules. The waiver conditions are substantial and each one is a cost. Experience under 0358(3)(a): "A provider must have at least three years' of experience to be eligible for a waiver under this section," served as "Center director, program supervisor, family home licensee, or other similar role in a child care setting."

Licensing status under 0358(3)(b): "The licensee must be operating under a full, nonexpiring family home license to be approved for a waiver under this section" — an initial license does not qualify. Space under 0358(3)(c): "at least 35 square feet of licensed, accessible indoor space for each child included in the total capacity," "an additional 15 square feet of licensed, accessible indoor space for each child under the age of 24 months," and "at least 75 square feet of licensed, accessible outdoor space for each child included in the total capacity," with a rotation plan or a department-approved off-site play area as the alternative. Credentials under 0358(3)(d): the licensee must have "an ECE short certificate or equivalent, as approved and verified in the electronic workforce registry by the department," must designate an equally qualified on-site manager when absent, and "at least one staff person or volunteer working on-site must have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent." Ratios and infant sub-limits under 0358(3)(e): 1:8 for children two and above, 1:6 for children under two, with "Five children under two years of age may attend at any one time if at least one of those children can walk independently" and "Six children under two years of age may attend at any one time if at least two of those children can walk independently."

Plumbing under 0358(3)(h): "at least one working flush toilet and one handwashing sink for every 15 household members, staff, and requested capacity of children," with a child in diapers not counted "until the child begins toilet training," and, on a private septic system, written verification from the local health jurisdiction that the system can accommodate the total. Emergency provisions under 0358(3)(g): emergency lighting on interior stairs that turns on automatically when power fails, a fire extinguisher or extinguisher aerosol and a heat detector in any connected kitchen, and an annual demonstration to licensing staff of "the ability to evacuate all early learning staff and children from inside the home to a safe location outside the home in two minutes or less." Three procedural traps in the waiver. First, 0358(3)(f): "A waiver granted under this section does not allow a licensee to provide overnight care for more than 12 children." Overnight care is separately gated anyway by WAC 110-300-0270(1), which requires department approval "to provide overnight care between nine o'clock at night and five o'clock in the morning when any enrolled child sleeps for three or more hours at the program."

Second, 0358(5): before you may care for thirteen to sixteen children, the waiver "must be approved in writing by the department secretary or the secretary's designee" — the secretary, not your licensor — and you must produce documentation from the city or county, or a third party they approve, "that states the early learning program space and structures meet local building codes and the requirements of the department's Family Home Child Capacity Waiver inspection checklist." That local building code clause is where the real cost hides. DCYF's own capacity-waiver page states flatly that "A permitted sprinkler system is required (most cities/counties will require this)." No sprinkler requirement appears anywhere in WAC 110-300-0358; it arrives through the local building code hook in 0358(5)(b), and it can be a five-figure retrofit on a single-family house. Price the sprinkler before you price the four extra tuitions. Third, 0358(6): "A denial of a waiver request is not an enforcement action as described in RCW 43.216.010 and is not subject to an appeal by a provider." There is no hearing if the department says no, and under 0358(7) the department may rescind a granted waiver at any time, including when it issues an enforcement action against you, when you enter a facility licensing compliance agreement, or when the license is transferred under RCW 43.216.305 and WAC 110-300-0011 and the conditions can no longer be met.

Under 0358(8) you must tell parents about the waiver before operating with thirteen to sixteen children for the first time and again at every new enrolment. Two waiver dates you may still be living with. DCYF's capacity-waiver page states that new requests to care for more than twelve children could be submitted "Starting April 1, 2025," that a waiver "issued before January 2024, for up to 16 children" may be kept with no action needed, and that a provider holding a waiver for more than sixteen children had to "Reduce to 16 or fewer by June 30, 2026" or convert to a licensed child care center. That deadline has passed. If you are buying a family home program with a legacy waiver above sixteen, treat that waiver as expired and verify the current authorized number against the license, not against the seller's paperwork. Changing your number after you are licensed. WAC 110-300-0425(8) is one sentence and it is absolute: "Prior to increasing capacity of an early learning program, early learning providers must make a request to the department for a capacity increase. The department or tribal authority may approve or deny the early learning provider's capacity increase."

You do not grow into your ceiling by gaining experience; you apply. Under WAC 110-300-0402(1)(b), altering "a planned use of space including, but not limited to, the ages of children served in a room or previously unlicensed areas" requires prior notification to the department, and under 0402(2) a new proposed floor plan must be submitted before the change. Moving the program is a fresh application under WAC 110-300-0400 filed "as soon as the provider plans to move and has an identified address, but not more than ninety calendar days before moving," and a family home may not operate at the new address "for more than two weeks following the move before having the department inspect the new location." The fee under WAC 110-300-0401(4) is "thirty dollars, or as otherwise set by the legislature" for a family home annually, against one hundred twenty-five dollars for the first twelve children plus twelve dollars per additional child for a center under 0401(5) — a signal of how differently the state treats the two license types once you pass twelve. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(a) requires the child care license itself, carrying your capacity and age range, to be posted and "clearly visible to parents, guardians, and early learning program staff."

Finally, the general waiver and variance provisions will not buy you children. WAC 110-300-0435(1) and WAC 110-300-0436(1) both begin the same way: "The department cannot waive a requirement of state law (RCW)" and "The department cannot provide variance from a requirement in state (RCW) or federal law." The twelve-child limit is in RCW 43.216.010(1)(c), a statute, and the only lawful route past it is the specific statutory authority of RCW 43.216.692 implemented through WAC 110-300-0358 with its sixteen-child ceiling. No licensor, no local office, and no variance form can authorise a thirteenth child outside that process, and operating one child over your stated total capacity is a violation of WAC 110-300-0355(3) that a licensor can document from your own attendance record, which WAC 110-300-0455(2) requires you to keep for every child in the program "including the children of staff."

Adult-to-child ratios

Washington does not publish one staff-to-child ratio for family child care. It publishes a ladder, and the rung you land on is decided by how many years of licensed child care experience you can document on the day you apply. WAC 110-300-0355, "Family home capacity, ratio, and group size," as the Washington State Legislature's code index served it on 26 August 2026 (chapter 110-300 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for early learning programs," last update shown as 7/1/26), sets out four request bands and a set of hard triggers that force a second adult into the home. Read the bands as what you may REQUEST at application, not as what you automatically get: subsection (1) says "The department issues initial or nonexpiring family home licenses for up to 12 children. The department will not issue a family license to care for more children than permitted by the rules in this chapter but may issue a license to care for fewer than the maximum allowable enrolled children." Your license, not the rule book, is the number you may operate at, and subsection (1)(a) and (b) require the license to state "The maximum number of children that may be in care at any one time (total capacity)" and "The age range of children allowed in care."

Band one, under one year of experience. WAC 110-300-0355(7): "When applying for an initial or nonexpiring family home license, a family home licensee with less than one year of experience may request from the department a capacity of up to six children, birth through 12 years of age. (a) A maximum of three children may be under two years of age. (b) If there are three children under two years of age, one of these children must be able to walk independently." This is the rung nearly every first-time Washington applicant is actually on, and it is the rung the marketing materials never show. Six children total. Three under two, and the third of those three must walk. If all three of your infants are non-ambulatory, you are licensed for six but you may only have two of them under two years old in the room. The walking condition is a condition on the composition of the group in real time, not a condition on the paperwork. Band two, at least one year but less than two years of experience, working alone. WAC 110-300-0355(8)(a): you "may request a capacity of up to eight children ages two through 12 years of age, with a maximum of four children under three years of age."

Read the age floor. It says ages TWO through 12. The eight-child solo license does not admit infants at all. Applicants routinely tell parents they can take eight children "including babies" because they saw the number eight in a summary; the rule as written puts a two-year floor on the entire group at that tier. Within those eight, no more than four may be under three years old. Band two with help. WAC 110-300-0355(8)(b): a licensee with at least one year but less than two years "Working with a qualified assistant may request a capacity of up to nine children birth through 12 years of age with a maximum of four children under two years of age." The assistant buys you exactly one extra child and, far more valuable, it re-opens the birth-through-12 age range that the solo eight-child license closed. That is the real economics of hiring in a Washington family home: the assistant does not double you, it unlocks infants. Band three, at least two years of experience. WAC 110-300-0355(9): "(a) Working alone may request a capacity of up to 10 children ages three years through 12 years of age; (b) Working alone may request a capacity of up to 12 children for school age children only; and (c) Working with a qualified assistant, may request a capacity of up to 12 children birth through 12 years of age with a maximum of six children under two years of age with two children being able to walk independently."

Three separate licenses live in that subsection. Ten alone, but only for children three and older. Twelve alone, but only if every single child is school age, which WAC 110-300-0005 defines as "a child who is five years of age through 12 years of age and is attending a public or private school or is receiving home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW" — a five-year-old who has not yet started kindergarten is not school age and breaks that license. Twelve with a qualified assistant across the full birth-through-12 range, with six under two, of whom two must walk independently. Band four, the infant-and-toddler-only home. WAC 110-300-0355(10) is the least-known provision in the chapter and the one that pays best in a market starved of infant slots: "A family home licensee, with two years of experience, may request a license for birth to 24 months of age with a maximum group size of eight when: (a) There are two staff present with the group consisting of one staff who meets the qualification of the licensee and another who meets the qualifications to be counted in ratio; (b) The staff-to-child ratio is 1:4; (c) Fifteen additional square feet are provided for each infant or toddler; and (d) A second staff member is present whenever: (i) More than two children in care do not walk independently; or (ii) When there are more than four children in care."

Eight babies, 1:4, two qualified adults, and fifteen square feet per child on top of the baseline thirty-five. Note the internal tension in (d): the section opens by requiring two staff for the eight-child group, then (d) describes when the second staff member must be present. Operate to the stricter reading — two adults whenever more than four children are present or more than two do not walk. Now the triggers that override every band. WAC 110-300-0355(11): "The staff-to-child ratio is determined by the ages and number of children in care. Two early learning program staff are required anytime: (a) More than six children are in care and any child in care is under two years of age; (b) More than eight children are in care and any child in care is under three years of age; or (c) More than 10 children are in care and any child is under school age." This is the subsection that generates the most Washington licensing violations, and it does so because providers think in terms of their license number rather than in terms of the room in front of them. A licensee approved for ten children ages three and up who accepts one twenty-two-month-old sibling as a favour has just crossed 0355(11)(a): more than six children in care with a child under two present.

Two staff, immediately, or the seventh child goes home. The trigger reads on the children actually in care at that moment, not on the ages listed on the license, and licensors count heads on the day they arrive. Who counts in the ratio, and who does not. WAC 110-300-0355(3) is categorical: "All children on the premises, signed in to child care, on an off-site trip from the early learning program, or being transported by the early learning program staff are counted in capacity including the children of staff." Subsection (4) extends the count to your household: "Any child birth through 12 years old on the premises, signed in to the child care, on an off-site trip from the early learning program, or being transported counts in capacity. This includes a family home licensee's own children, children of staff, or visiting children not accompanied or supervised by an adult." Your own children under thirteen are bodies in the room for capacity purposes; see the capacity field for the full treatment, but understand here that they also drag the 0355(11) triggers with them. Your own eighteen-month-old plus six enrolled children is seven children with a child under two present, and that is two staff.

Children with special needs split between the two counts, and the split is not intuitive. WAC 110-300-0355(3)(a): "A child with documented special needs may be in care up to age 19 and must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio." But 0355(3)(b): "A child with special needs who requires individualized supervision pursuant to WAC 110-300-0300 counts towards capacity but does not count in the staff-to-child ratio." A one-on-one child occupies a licensed slot and does not consume a ratio slot, because the dedicated adult assigned to that child is not available to the rest of the group either. WAC 110-300-0300 requires an individual care plan signed by the parent or guardian, supporting documentation from the child's physician, mental health professional, education professional, qualifying social worker, or registered nurse, department notification when the child is enrolled or identified, and annual updates. No plan, no exclusion from ratio. Subsection (3)(c) of 0355 handles the child who ages out mid-year and is printed in the code as a sentence fragment: "A child who turns 13 years old permitted by chapter 110-15 WAC and who must be counted in both capacity and staff-to-child ratio."

Read through the broken grammar: a thirteen-year-old continuing under the Working Connections subsidy rules of chapter 110-15 WAC counts in both. Who may be the second adult. There is no defined term "qualified assistant" in WAC 110-300-0005; the ratio-eligible roles come from WAC 110-300-0100, which the department amended by WSR 26-14-116, filed 1 July 2026 and effective 1 August 2026, under the authority of RCW 43.216.755 and 2025 c 281 — the most recently amended section in the whole chapter and the reason the index shows a 7/1/26 date. Assistant teachers under 0100(7) must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, hold an ECE initial certificate or equivalent "by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being hired or promoted into this position, whichever occurs later," and complete the WAC 110-300-0105 preservice requirements. Aides under 0100(8) must be at least 14 and "may be counted in the staff-to-child ratio if they are working under the continuous oversight of a lead teacher, program supervisor, center director, assistant director, assistant teacher, or family home licensee."

Aides working "19 or fewer hours per month" can count in ratio with preservice requirements only; aides over 19 hours per month with twelve cumulative months of employment must add the in-service training of WAC 110-300-0107(1)(a). Volunteers under 0100(10)(c) may count in ratio only if regular and ongoing and only after a chapter 110-06 WAC background check, a TB test, the WAC 110-300-0106 training, and program-based training under 110-300-0110; 0100(10)(d) shuts the door on the rest: "Occasional volunteers must comply with (a) and (b) of this subsection and cannot count in staff-to-child ratio. Occasional volunteers may include, but are not limited to, a parent or guardian helping on a field trip." The field-trip parent is not your second adult. WAC 110-300-0111(2) caps how loosely you may hold the aide: when you are the only supervisor, "the aide or volunteer may be out of the supervisor's visual and auditory range only when the aide, volunteer or supervisor is attending to personal needs." Ratio is not a daytime-only obligation. WAC 110-300-0345(2) requires that "An early learning provider must meet capacity, group size, mixed age grouping, and staff-to-child ratios while children are in care," and then enumerates indoor and outdoor play, off-site activities, transportation, meal times, rest periods, "Evening or overnight care," and "When children are on different floor levels of the early learning program."

That last clause is the one that catches basement playrooms and second-floor nap rooms: splitting your group across floors splits your supervision, and a solo provider cannot be in ratio on two levels at once. WAC 110-300-0345(4) allows a staff member to clean up or set up "for a temporary time period" only while remaining "in visual or auditory range, and be available and able to respond if needed," and 0345(5)(a) forbids substituting technology for a person: you must "Not use devices such as a baby monitors, video monitors, or mirrors in place of supervision, unless used pursuant to WAC 110-300-0270(5)," the overnight-care exception. Water multiplies staff. WAC 110-300-0350(2) requires a provider to "Ensure a one-to-one (1:1) staff-to-child ratio for infants," to "Hold or have continuous touch of infants, nonambulatory toddlers, and children with special needs as required," and to "Keep toddlers within arm's length." Where water is more than twenty-four inches deep, 0350(4) requires that "A certified lifeguard is present and on duty" and "At least one additional staff member than would otherwise be required is present to help actively supervise if the children are preschool age or older."

Even without a water activity, 0350(6) requires one more staff person than the ratio demands and at least one attending staff person able to swim whenever you take children off-site to an area with accessible water more than four inches deep. A wading pool in the backyard on a hot August afternoon is a ratio event, not a treat. If you operate a center instead of a family home, the ratios sit in WAC 110-300-0356(5) and they are group-size-paired, not free-floating: infants birth through eleven months, "Maximum group size of eight with a ratio of one staff to four children (1:4)" or "Maximum group size of nine with a ratio of 1:3"; toddlers twelve through twenty-nine months, group of fourteen at 1:7 or group of fifteen at 1:5; preschoolers thirty months through six years not in kindergarten or elementary school, group of twenty at 1:10; school-age five through twelve enrolled in or attending kindergarten or elementary school, group of thirty at 1:15. The counted heads again include family: 0356(5) applies "including children related to staff or the licensee." WAC 110-300-0356(10) permits one staff alone with the only group on site "for up to an hour at the beginning or end of the day" only if that person is "free of all other duties while providing care to children" and "A second individual with a cleared background check is on-site and readily available to respond if needed, or the department approves an alternate plan."

Here is the trap that the code index itself will hand you if you read only the WAC. WAC 110-300-0356(6) still reads, on the index today, "A center licensee may combine children of different age groups for periods of no more than the first two hours of the day or the last two hours of the day, not to exceed two hours in any given day, provided the staff-to-child ratio and group size designated for the youngest child in the mixed group are maintained." That two-hour limit has been overtaken by statute. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2219, chapter 82, Laws of 2026, passed the House 9 March 2026 and the Senate 3 March 2026, approved by Governor Bob Ferguson on 17 March 2026, effective 11 June 2026, amended RCW 43.216.255(2) to command that "In establishing the maximum group sizes and staff-to-child ratios for child care centers, the licensing standards established and implemented by the department must allow for the following periods of mixed-ratio time in which children of different age groups may be combined, provided the staff-to-child ratio and group size designated for the youngest child in the mixed group are maintained: (a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, up to 2.5 hours per day, to be used on a schedule established by the center; and (b) Up to four hours per day, to be used on a schedule established by the center, if at least 90 minutes of that time is reserved for allowing meal and rest breaks for center staff."

The RCW page for 43.216.255 carries the amendment in its history line as "2026 c 82 s 1." The statute is now more generous than the rule, it is not restricted to the opening and closing of the day, and it is deliberately built around staff breaks. Do not surrender your 2.5 or 4 hours because an inspector or a printed guidebook quotes the unamended WAC; cite the session law and the codified RCW. Expect the WAC text to be rewritten to match and check the index again before you rely on the old two-hour language for anything. Center mixed-age grouping has its own staffing arithmetic in WAC 110-300-0357: birth to thirty-six months at a group of eight requires "at least two staff present with the group, consisting of one lead teacher and one other staff member qualified under this chapter" at 1:4; the same range at a group of nine requires three staff at 1:3; twelve to thirty-six months requires two staff at 1:7 for a group of fourteen or three staff at 1:5 for fifteen; thirty-six months through kindergarten requires two staff at 1:10 for twenty or three staff at 1:10 for twenty-six; four and one-half to nine years mirrors those last two.

The governing clause is 0357(1)(a): "Meet the square footage and staff-to-child ratio requirements for the youngest child present in the group." One infant in a preschool room converts the whole room to an infant room. Two adjacent chapters carry different ratios and are a live source of confusion for Washington applicants. A program serving school-age children only is licensed under chapter 110-301 WAC, "Foundational quality standards for school-age programs," not under 110-300, and WAC 110-301-0356(5) sets "the maximum group size of thirty children and ratio of 1:15 staff members to children, including children related to staff or the licensee," with group size permitted to exceed thirty "only for special events such as assemblies or performances." Outdoor nature-based child care is licensed under chapter 110-302 WAC, and WAC 110-302-0356(8) sets preschool-age thirty months to six years at a maximum group of sixteen with 1:6, school-age five to thirteen at a maximum group of twenty with 1:8, and school-age nine to thirteen at a maximum group of twenty with 1:10, with the standing requirement in 0356(8)(d) that "Each group must be staffed by at least two qualified staff members who are not aides or volunteers.

Every third staff member counted in the ratio may be an aide or volunteer. Children related to the staff person or licensee must be included in the staff-to-child ratio calculation." Both chapters showed a 7/1/26 last-update date on the index on 26 August 2026. If you are operating a family home under a capacity waiver for thirteen to sixteen children, your ratios come from WAC 110-300-0358(3)(e) and they are stricter than anything in 0355. When operating with thirteen to sixteen children, a provider licensed for children "Two years old and above must not exceed a maximum staff-to-child ratio of 1:8," and a provider licensed for children "Under two years of age must not exceed a maximum staff-to-child ratio of 1:6," with a hard sub-limit: "Five children under two years of age may attend at any one time if at least one of those children can walk independently" and "Six children under two years of age may attend at any one time if at least two of those children can walk independently." The waiver also imposes staffing credentials under 0358(3)(d): the licensee "must have an ECE short certificate or equivalent, as approved and verified in the electronic workforce registry by the department," must designate an equally qualified on-site person when absent, and "at least one staff person or volunteer working on-site must have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent."

The last ratio obligation is a paper one and it is where enforcement usually starts. WAC 110-300-0455(3) requires daily staff attendance records for each family home program documenting the name of each staff member and volunteer, "The number of children in each classroom or family home program," "The staff-to-child ratio," the date, and start and end times. A licensor who cannot reconstruct your ratio from your own records will write the finding regardless of whether you were actually in ratio. Keep the child sign-in and sign-out record required by 0455(2), including for the children of staff, and record your own children's presence — because under 0355(4) they were in the count all along. And if you plan to be away while the home stays open, WAC 110-300-0015(1) requires a written plan, and where the absence exceeds ten consecutive operating days, written notice to the department and to every parent at least two business days ahead containing "A staffing plan that meets child-to-staff ratios" and "Identification of a lead teacher to be present and in charge."

Training you must complete before licensure

Washington runs your training clock off two different starting guns, and the one that decides whether you get a license at all is not the one the Department of Children, Youth, and Families advertises on its website. The chapter that governs you is chapter 110-300 WAC, "FOUNDATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS," administered by DCYF; there is no separate family-home chapter anymore, because the entire Title 170 WAC of the old Department of Early Learning is dead — the code reviser's index for Title 170 today returns "No active sections in this title," and the family home rules formerly at chapter 170-296A and the center rules formerly at chapter 170-295 were folded into one chapter, recodified as chapter 110-300 WAC by WSR 18-15-001, filed 7/5/18, effective 7/5/18. If a consultant, a training vendor, or an older checklist sends you to 170-296A, that person is quoting a chapter that has not existed for eight years. Your license number, your ratio, your training and your inspection all come out of 110-300. School-age-only programs sit in chapter 110-301 WAC and outdoor nature-based programs in chapter 110-302 WAC; a family home serving birth-through-12 stays in 110-300. Start with the gate that has no grace period.

WAC 110-300-0106(3) reads: "License applicants, center directors, assistant directors, program supervisors, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and aides must complete the child care basics training as approved or offered by the department: (a) Prior to being granted a license; or (b) Prior to working unsupervised with children." Read the placement of that subsection. WAC 110-300-0106(1) — the famous three-month window — says only this: "Early learning providers licensed, working, or volunteering in an early learning program must complete the applicable training requirements of subsections (4) through (11) of this section within three months of the date of hire and prior to working in an unsupervised capacity with children unless otherwise indicated." Subsections (4) through (11). Child Care Basics is subsection (3). It is deliberately outside the three-month allowance. As a license applicant you do not get three months to finish Child Care Basics after you open; you finish it before DCYF grants the license, full stop. This is the single most expensive misreading in Washington, because DCYF's own public training page compresses the whole scheme into one line — "These federally required trainings must be finished within 90 days of hire or before you can care for children unsupervised (WAC 110-300-0106)" — and applicants who read that sentence sign a lease, hire staff and then discover the license is held while they sit through a thirty-hour course.

Note also that the agency's web page says "90 days" and the rule says "three months." Three months from a March 31 hire is June 30; ninety days is June 29. The rule is the rule. Count in months. Child Care Basics is still called Child Care Basics. Verify this yourself before you buy anything, because the name has been stable while almost everything around it moved: chapter 110-300 WAC defines it in WAC 110-300-0005 as "'Child care basics (CCB)' means curriculum designed to meet the initial basic training requirement for early learning program staff working in licensed or certified programs in Washington state. It serves as a broad introduction for professionals who are pursuing a career in the early care and education field." DCYF's current publication on the subject, EPS_0035 "Completing Child Care Basics," carries the revision stamp (03-2026) — it is three months older than this writing — and it still uses CCB throughout. What did change is the ecosystem of names around it. The old STARS branding (State Training and Registry System) is retired as a program name and survives only as slang: DCYF's own timeline publication EPS_0050 says flatly that "'STARS hours' or 'state-approved training' are other words commonly used when referring to 'in-service.'" Vendors still sell you a "STARS 30 Hour Child Care Basics" course.

That is a marketing name, not a state credential. What DCYF records is CCB, and what makes it count is that a state-approved trainer or DCYF training site enters it into MERIT. MERIT is the registry, and registering in it is itself a preservice act with a hard deadline. WAC 110-300-0106(2): "License applicants and early learning providers must register with the electronic workforce registry prior to being granted an initial license or working with children in an unsupervised capacity." WAC 110-300-0005 defines "electronic workforce registry" as "DCYF's current database of professional records of individual early learning providers" — the rule never names the product, deliberately, so DCYF can swap it. Today that product is MERIT, the Managed Education and Registry Information Tool, described by DCYF as "DCYF's online workforce registry and recording system for early learning professionals and Early Achievers participants." As of August 2026 there is no announced replacement and no migration date; anyone telling you MERIT is being retired is speculating. Every household member, every staff member and every ongoing volunteer you intend to count in ratio needs a MERIT record, and WAC 110-300-0115(1)(b) requires staff records to be "Entered and maintained in the electronic workforce registry, if applicable" — with the useful corollary in the same subsection that "Paper records may be discarded once entered into the electronic workforce registry and confirmed by the department."

Until it is in MERIT and confirmed, it did not happen, whatever certificate is in your filing cabinet. DCYF's CCB guidance sets the expectation that a state-approved trainer posts your completion within thirty days, and instructs you to email MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov with a copy of the certificate if it has not appeared; it also warns that "If your training does not appear in your MERIT record after 30 business days, email MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov." There is a mercy clause worth knowing: "If your certificate was not entered into MERIT, DCYF accepts certificates up to seven years after the training date." Seven years, not forever. A CCB certificate from 2016 that never made it into the registry is now worthless. The separate preservice section, WAC 110-300-0105, is short and is where the paperwork actually stalls. Subsection (1): "All applicants, coapplicants, family home licensees, center directors, assistant directors, and program supervisors must complete a department provided orientation for the applicable early learning program. Prior to being in charge of the early learning program fifty percent of the time or more, those newly promoted or assuming a role of one of the roles listed here must complete or be registered in orientation training."

Note the deliberately softer standard for the newly promoted — "complete or be registered in" — which does not extend to you, the applicant. Subsection (2) sends you to chapter 110-06 WAC for the background check, which reaches you, your coapplicant, every provider and every household member. Subsection (3) is the one that costs weeks: early learning providers, volunteers and household members in a family home aged fourteen and over "must provide documentation signed within the last twelve months by a licensed health care professional of tuberculosis (TB) testing or treatment consisting of: (a) A negative TB symptom screen and negative TB risk assessment; (b) A previous positive FDA-approved TB test and a current negative chest radiograph and documentation of clearance to safely work or reside in an early learning program; or (c) A positive symptom screening or a positive risk assessment with documentation of a: (i) Current negative FDA-approved TB test; (ii) Previous or current positive FDA-approved TB test; and (iii) Current negative chest radiograph and documentation of clearance to safely work or reside in an early learning program."

Two traps hide in that text. First, "signed within the last twelve months" — a TB clearance you obtained fourteen months ago for a different job is not usable, and if your application drags past the anniversary you will be asked to redo it. Second, since the 2021 amendment (WSR 21-15-023, filed 7/12/21, effective 8/12/21) Washington accepts a negative symptom screen plus a negative risk assessment; you do not automatically need a skin test or a blood test. Providers routinely pay a clinic for an IGRA blood test they were never required to buy. Subsection (4) adds that "Upon notification of TB exposure, early learning providers may be required to be retested for TB as directed by the local health jurisdiction," so this is not a permanently closed item. Note the age split that catches family homes: TB documentation begins at fourteen, but DCYF's timeline publication puts the background-check obligation on household members "ages 13 and older." Your thirteen-year-old needs a background check and does not need a TB screen; your fourteen-year-old needs both. The rest of WAC 110-300-0106 is a list of specific courses, and you must know which ones Child Care Basics swallows and which ones it does not, because buying the wrong bundle is a straight cash loss.

Subsection (4) requires "the recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse, neglect, and exploitation training as approved or offered by the department," and the rule specifies its contents: "Training must include the prevention of child abuse and neglect as defined in RCW 26.44.020 and mandatory reporting requirements under RCW 26.44.030." Subsection (5) requires emergency preparedness training. Subsection (6) requires, for anyone "licensed to care for infants," the "prevention and identifying shaken baby syndrome/abuse head trauma training." Subsection (7) requires "the serving children experiencing homelessness training." Subsection (9) requires that "Family home licensees, center directors, assistant directors, program supervisors, and lead teachers must complete the medication management and administration training as approved or offered by the department prior to giving medication to an enrolled child." Those five — mandated reporter, disaster and emergency preparedness, abusive head trauma, families experiencing homelessness, and medication management — are the federal health and safety modules, and CCB contains all five.

DCYF states it plainly in EPS_0035: "If you complete CCB and it is recorded in MERIT, you also meet the requirements for the individual Health and Safety Modules." Do not pay a vendor separately for modules you already covered. Now the exclusions, in DCYF's own words from the same publication: "Important: CPR, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Safe Sleep are not included in CCB. These must be completed to meet WAC 110-300-0106." Take each one. Safe sleep, WAC 110-300-0106(8): "License applicants and early learning providers licensed to care for infants must complete the safe sleep training as approved or offered by the department. This training must be completed annually and: (a) Prior to being licensed; or (b) Prior to caring for infants." Annually, and before licensure — it is simultaneously a preservice item and a recurring one, which is why it is the item most often found expired at a monitoring visit. Blood and body fluids, WAC 110-300-0106(10): "Early learning providers who directly care for children must complete the prevention of exposure to blood and body fluids training that meets Washington state department of labor and industries' requirements prior to being granted a license or working with children.

This training must be repeated pursuant to Washington state department of labor and industries regulations." Chase that cross-reference, because DCYF never states the frequency and applicants assume it is one-and-done: L&I's bloodborne pathogens rule at WAC 296-823-12005(2) requires training "(a) Before assigning tasks where occupational exposure might occur; (b) At least annually and within one year of the previous training," and WAC 296-823-12005(1) requires it be "Provided at no cost to them" and "Conducted during compensated working hours." Bloodborne pathogens training in a Washington child care home is an annual, employer-paid, on-the-clock obligation, not a certificate you frame. First aid and CPR is where Washington is unusually specific, and where the cheapest option on the internet is the one that fails inspection.

WAC 110-300-0106(11) requires that "Family home licensees, center directors, assistant directors, program supervisors, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and any other early learning providers counted in staff-to-child ratio, or who could potentially be counted in ratio, must be trained in adult and pediatric first aid, adult and pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and infant CPR, if applicable and: (a) At least one early learning provider counted in staff-to-child ratio for each group of children must have current adult and pediatric first aid, adult and pediatric CPR, and infant CPR certificates, if applicable; (b) Proof of training can be shown with a certification card, certificate, or instructor letter; and (c) The trainings for adult and pediatric first aid, adult and pediatric CPR, and infant CPR, if applicable, must include a live, hands-on component demonstrated in front of an instructor either in-person or remotely who is certified by the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Health and Safety Institute, or other nationally recognized certification program."

Four things are load-bearing there. The obligation reaches anyone who "could potentially be counted in ratio," so your part-time floater needs it. Adult and pediatric, plus infant CPR where you take infants — a pediatric-only card is incomplete. The proof may be a card, a certificate, or an instructor letter, so a lost card is not fatal. And the live, hands-on component demonstrated in front of a certified instructor, in person or remotely, is a hard requirement: a fully self-paced online CPR "certification" with no skills demonstration does not satisfy WAC 110-300-0106(11)(c), and it is bought and rejected in Washington constantly. WAC 110-300-0230(1) restates the same duty from the health-and-safety side, and WAC 110-300-0230(3) then dictates the first-aid kit contents down to "(k) A CPR barrier with a one-way valve or both an adult and pediatric CPR mask with a one-way valve" and "(l) A current first-aid manual." Buy the kit against that list, in the licensed space, in every vehicle used to transport children and on every off-site trip, per WAC 110-300-0230(2). Food handling is the last of the course-level preservice items.

WAC 110-300-0106(12): "Early learning providers who prepare or serve food to children at an early learning program must obtain a current food worker card prior to preparing or serving food. Food worker cards must: (a) Be obtained through the local health jurisdiction, in person or online; and (b) Be renewed prior to expiring." The card comes from your county health jurisdiction, not from DCYF and not from MERIT, and in a family home where you cook, "prior to preparing or serving food" means before opening day. There are five approved ways to satisfy Child Care Basics, and applicants who already hold early childhood education routinely pay for a course they did not need. DCYF's EPS_0035 (03-2026) lists them. Option 1 is the CCB training itself, taken online at dcyftraining.com or with a DCYF-approved trainer found through MERIT's "Find Training" search. Option 2 is the college course ECED&107 Health, Safety and Nutrition, "a DCYF-approved alternative to CCB," with the warning that "If you completed this course before fall 2019, you must also review the Child Health & Safety Supplement Guide."

Option 3 is the college course ECED&100 Child Care Basics. Option 4 is qualifying education plus DCYF's five online federal Health & Safety modules, where the qualifying education is "12 ECE or ECE/School-Age quarter credits," "13 Military Modules Certificates of Completion," a "Current Child Development Associate (CDA)," or a "Montessori Credential/Endorsement (MACTE)" — and DCYF flags, in the same box, "Note: These modules do not count toward in-service hours." Option 5 recognizes Head Start, ECEAP and school district program training, where "The site manager is responsible for creating, attesting the training plan to DCYF, and notifying the date of completion." And the answer to the question every applicant asks is no: "Can I get an exemption from CCB? No, DCYF does not grant exemptions from required health and safety training. However, you may use one of the approved alternatives listed above to meet the requirement." CCB as delivered runs about thirty hours across ten modules — Professional Practice; Valuing Each Child and Community; Child Growth and Development; Celebrating Child Growth; Curriculum and Learning Environment; Family and Community Partnerships; Healthy Practices Part 1; Healthy Practices Part 2; Interactions and Guidance; Supporting Children for Life Success — and third-party state-approved trainers price it in the region of one hundred fifty dollars, though DCYF's own online delivery through dcyftraining.com is the no-cost route and DCYF reimburses state-approved training costs up to a stated annual ceiling per fiscal year while funds last.

Neither the WAC nor EPS_0035 (03-2026) states an hour count for CCB; the thirty-hour figure comes from the delivered curriculum and from DCYF's own descriptions elsewhere, so treat it as the practical length, not as a rule requirement. Above the health-and-safety layer sits the education layer, and this is where Washington changed the law under everyone's feet in the last two months. WAC 110-300-0100 sets general staff qualifications. As a family home licensee you must, "upon application," be at least 18, "Have a high school diploma or equivalent," and "Complete the applicable preservice requirements pursuant to WAC 110-300-0105." That is the entry bar and it is low. The certificate ladder is a post-licensure obligation, not a precondition: WAC 110-300-0100(1)(b) requires a family home licensee to "Have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being licensed by the department, whichever occurs later," then "Have an ECE short certificate or equivalent within two years of receiving an ECE initial certificate," and "Beginning August 1, 2030, a family home licensee must: (A) Have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent within five years of being licensed by the department; and (B) Have an ECE short certificate or equivalent within two years of receiving an ECE initial certificate."

Every one of those year-figures was different eight weeks ago. DCYF filed WSR 26-14-116 on July 1, 2026, effective August 1, 2026, and stated its purpose in one sentence: "The licensing division is revising these WAC based on E2SHB 1648, relating to child care provider qualifications. The current requirement for providers to have an early childhood education initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2026, is being changed to August 1, 2030." The amendatory text strikes "2026" and inserts "2030" throughout WAC 110-300-0100, 110-301-0100 and 110-302-0100, and it also strikes the short-certificate absolute deadline entirely — the old text read "Have an ECE short certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2028, or within two years of receiving an ECE initial certificate," and the "by August 1, 2028" clause is gone. If you are reading anything published before July 2026 — a training vendor's site, a county resource-and-referral handout, an older version of this kind of guide — it will tell you that your ECE initial certificate was due August 1, 2026. That is now false, and it is false by four years.

The underlying authority is worth reading directly, because it also gives you two pathways that did not exist for most of the life of chapter 110-300. RCW 43.216.755, as amended by 2025 c 281 s 2, directs that "The department shall allow licensed child care providers until at least August 1, 2030, to: (a) Comply with child care licensing rules that require a provider to hold an early childhood education initial certificate or an early childhood education short certificate; or (b) Complete the community-based training pathway," and adds at subsection (4) that "Nothing prohibits the department from adopting rules that provide timelines beyond August 1, 2030, to allow providers additional time to meet staff qualification requirements based on their date of licensure, hire, or promotion, which can be no more than five years." The same statute caps what the community pathway may cost you: it "must … Be made available at low cost to providers and at prices comparable to the cost of similar community-based trainings, not to exceed $250 per person." In practice DCYF delivers that pathway as PACE, Provider Access to a Community Equivalent, described by DCYF as "a community-based training option that meets the licensing education requirement for the Initial and Short Certificates," available to "family home licensees, lead teachers (center and family home), and assistant teachers," built on CCB and EQEL as prerequisites and adding PACE Part 1 (twenty training hours plus eight on-the-job learning hours) and PACE Part 2 (twenty training hours plus twelve on-the-job learning hours).

DCYF offers PACE at no cost to eligible providers. The second pathway is newer still: RCW 43.216.757, enacted by 2025 c 281 s 3, requires that "the department shall allow licensed child care providers until August 1, 2030, to demonstrate experience-based competency as an alternative means to comply with child care licensing rules that require a provider to hold an early childhood education initial, short, or state certificate, when the provider has all of the following documented in the department's electronic workforce registry: (a) Active employment in a position that requires an early childhood education initial, short, or state certificate; (b) Employment in a licensed or certified child care center or licensed family home provider without a break in service since August 1, 2021, as of July 27, 2025, or a cumulative five years of employment in a licensed or certified child care center or licensed family home provider; and (c) Completion of and maintained compliance with all health and safety and child care or school-age care basics training required by the department." Read (b) slowly.

It is not "five years of experience"; it is either unbroken service since August 1, 2021 measured as of July 27, 2025, or a cumulative five years. A brand-new applicant in 2026 qualifies for neither and must plan on credits or PACE. The credentials themselves are defined with quarter-credit counts in WAC 110-300-0005. "'Early childhood education (ECE) initial certificate' (12 quarter credits) is Washington's initial certificate in early childhood education and serves as the point of entry for a career in early learning." "'Early childhood education (ECE) short certificate,' an initial certificate plus eight quarter credits, is Washington state's short certificate in early childhood education and offers areas of specialization." "'Early childhood education (ECE) state certificate,' a short certificate plus 27 quarter credits, is Washington state's certificate in early childhood education and is the benchmark for Level 2 core competencies." Twelve, twenty, forty-seven. "'Equivalency' when referring to staff qualifications means an individual is allowed to meet the requirements of this chapter through a department recognized alternative credential, or demonstration of competency, that indicates similar knowledge as the named credential."

DCYF's equivalency table, publication EPS_0037 (04-2026), is the operative crosswalk and it is generous: the ECE initial certificate is met by "13 Military Modules," by "A current CDA (Child Development Associate Credential) (earned at college or in a community-based training)," by "12 aligned college credits," by experience-based competency where you are eligible, or by PACE; the short certificate is met by "20 aligned college credits," by "A current CDA + eight aligned college credits," by experience-based competency, or by PACE; the state certificate is met by "45 aligned college credits," by "A current CDA (Child Development Associate Credential) + 35 aligned college credits," by a one-year ECE certificate of at least forty-five aligned credits, by several named Montessori credentials (MACTE, Association Montessori Internationale, American Montessori Society), or by experience-based competency, but not by PACE. Even the high school diploma has an equivalency line: "GED" or "One college credit (100 level or above)." A footnote governs all of it: "College credits must align with the 8 WA State ECE Core Competencies and be verified in the workforce registry (MERIT)."

Credits nobody verified are credits you do not have. Verification runs through an education application in MERIT with transcripts sent to edverification@uw.edu, and DCYF warns that "Education verification can take time." If your certificate deadline is near, start the verification months early, not weeks. Two closing traps specific to family homes. First, aides and volunteers are cheaper than you think but not free of preservice duty: WAC 110-300-0100(8) allows an aide to be as young as fourteen and to be "currently enrolled in high school or an equivalent education program," but still requires that they "Complete the applicable preservice requirements, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0105," and WAC 110-300-0100(10)(c) lets a regular, ongoing volunteer count in staff-to-child ratio only if they complete the background check, the TB test, "the training requirements, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0106," and the program-based training under WAC 110-300-0110. DCYF's timeline publication confirms that volunteers are not required to take CCB and may instead take the standalone federal health and safety modules free online.

Occasional volunteers — the parent on the field trip, the guest presenter — must clear only the age and oversight conditions and "cannot count in staff-to-child ratio." Second, there is a whole training obligation people forget because it is not a course you buy: WAC 110-300-0110(1) requires written staff policies that "must be reviewed and approved by the department prior to issuing a provider's initial license," and WAC 110-300-0110(4) requires that you "develop, deliver, and document the delivery of early learning staff training specific to the early learning program and premises," with topics that "must include: (i) Staff policies listed in subsections (2) and (3) of this section; (ii) Chapter 43.216 RCW; and (iii) Chapters 110-300 and 110-06 WAC." That section was itself amended recently — WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26 — so pull the current text rather than an inherited template. You write this training, you deliver it, and you document it; no vendor sells it to you, and a licensor who finds no documentation of it has found a violation on your first monitoring visit.

One last verification habit that will save you money in Washington specifically. DCYF's own summary sheet, EPS_0050 "Training Requirements and Completion Timeline," is stamped (09-2024) and is the document every trainer hands you — and it is now out of alignment with the rule it summarizes. Its footnote reads: "Child Care Basics covers trainings listed in WAC 110-300-0106 sections 4-7 and 10. This includes the following: Recognizing and Reporting Abuse (0106 section 4), Emergency Preparedness (0106 section 5), Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome (0106 section 6), Serving Children Experiencing Homelessness (0106 section 7), Medication Management (0106 section 10)." Medication management is no longer subsection (10). After the 2025 amendments to WAC 110-300-0106 (WSR 25-01-087, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25, and WSR 25-10-051, filed 5/1/25, effective 6/1/25) the subsections renumbered: medication management is now (9) and subsection (10) is the blood and body fluids training — the exact training DCYF elsewhere insists is NOT included in CCB. Follow EPS_0050's footnote literally and you will conclude your bloodborne pathogens requirement is covered by Child Care Basics. It is not, it is an annual L&I obligation, and it is a finding. Read WAC 110-300-0106 on the code reviser's site before you rely on any agency handout, including this one's sources.

Ongoing (annual) training

Ten hours a year, and the year is the calendar year — not your licensing year, not your license anniversary, not the twelve months following whatever date DCYF printed on your certificate. Washington states the hour count in the rule and states the year in the agency's implementation, and the mismatch between those two documents is where providers lose a license renewal over four missing hours. Read the rule first. WAC 110-300-0107(1): "An early learning provider must complete ten hours of annual in-service training after twelve months of cumulative employment." That sentence sets a trigger and a quantity, and it does two things people misread. "Cumulative employment" means the twelve months need not be continuous and need not be at your current program; time in a previous licensed program counts toward reaching the trigger. And the trigger is not the accounting period. Once you have crossed twelve months of cumulative employment, the ten-hour duty attaches; the window in which those ten hours are counted comes from elsewhere. That elsewhere is unambiguous, and it appears in two places.

WAC 110-300-0107(3) says: "Only five in-service training hours that exceed the requirements of subsection (1) of this section may be carried over from one calendar year to the next calendar year." The rule itself, in the only clause where it names a period, names the calendar year. DCYF's summary publication EPS_0050, "Training Requirements and Completion Timeline," states it flatly: "The annual training requirement is based on the DCYF calendar year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31)." Its sibling publication EPS_0035 repeats it as a boxed reminder: "Reminder: Training hours are reviewed by calendar year (January 1–December 31)." And the DCYF training page for licensed providers repeats it a third time: "In-service hours are tracked by the calendar year (January – December)." So the answer to the question that costs applicants the most money is: your ten in-service hours are per calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and they reset on January 1 regardless of when your license was issued, when your license expires, or when your monitoring visit falls. If your license was issued on September 3, you do not get until September 2 of the following year.

You get until December 31, and the clock is already four months gone. Providers licensed in the autumn routinely enter their first January having completed nothing, and then discover the hours cannot be back-dated. Nothing carries backward and almost nothing carries forward. The carryover allowance is five hours, one direction only, one year only, and it applies exclusively to hours "that exceed the requirements of subsection (1)." Twenty hours in 2026 does not buy you a free 2027; it buys you five hours of credit toward 2027 and the other five are simply gone. And here is the operational trap that no rule warns you about but DCYF's own training page does, in a single sentence that most providers scroll past: "MERIT does not track these carry-over hours, so you need to contact your licensor to use this option." The registry that is otherwise the sole system of record for your training will not carry your surplus hours forward on its own. If you intend to use carryover, you must contact your assigned licensor and get it recognized; if you assume MERIT did it for you and you complete only five hours the following year, MERIT will show you five hours short and the licensor will have no record of the arrangement.

Do it in writing, and do it before December 31 of the surplus year. What counts as an in-service hour is defined narrowly. WAC 110-300-0005 defines "In-service training" as "professional development requirements for continuing education delivered or approved by the department to maintain staff standards and qualifications while employed as an early learning provider." Delivered or approved by the department — that phrase is the whole gate. In practice there are four accepted routes and DCYF names each. First, state-approved training: you find it with the "Find Trainings" feature in MERIT, and DCYF's guidance is that "Trainings are recorded in MERIT by the state-approved trainer. If your training does not appear in your MERIT record after 30 business days, email MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov." You do not enter these yourself; the approved trainer does, and if the trainer never posts it, the hours legally did not happen. Second, non-state-approved training, which is salvageable but only through a formal request: "If you complete learning through a non-state-approved source such as an out-of-state conference, you can submit a Continuing Education Proposal (CEP) application in MERIT to request annual in-service training hours." A CEP is an application, not a formality — file it, do not assume a conference badge is proof.

Third, college coursework, which is the highest-yield route by a wide margin and which WAC 110-300-0107(2) authorizes directly: "In-service training requirements of this chapter may be met by completing college courses that align with the Washington state core competencies. These courses must be delivered by a postsecondary institution and approved by the department." DCYF sets the conversion and the limits: "You can earn in-service training hours for college classes related to the WA State Core Competencies for Early Care and Education or School-Age Professionals. To receive credit, complete the 'Coursework' section of an Education Application in MERIT and submit copies of unofficial transcripts to edverification@uw.edu. You can submit up to three courses per calendar year. Each course must have been completed within the past three years. One college quarter credit is equal to 10 in-service training hours." One quarter credit equals ten hours. A single five-credit ECE course discharges five years of in-service obligation in one term — and simultaneously moves you along the ECE certificate ladder you are required to climb anyway.

Any provider planning to earn the ECE initial certificate should be routing their in-service hours through college credit rather than buying standalone workshops. Note the two limits: three courses per calendar year maximum, and the course must have been completed within the past three years, so a transcript from 2019 will not be converted in 2026. Fourth, Child Care Basics and qualifying ECE education themselves count, but only in the year you finish them: DCYF answers the question directly — "Does CCB meet my annual training hours? Yes: If you completed CCB or ECE education during the current calendar year, you have met your annual training requirement. No: If you completed it in a previous year, you still need additional in-service hours this year." One category explicitly does not count, and it is the category people most often assume does. DCYF's Child Care Basics guidance, publication EPS_0035 (03-2026), lists the five federal health and safety modules — Mandated Reporter, Disaster & Emergency Preparedness, Medication Management, Families Experiencing Homelessness, Abusive Head Trauma — and appends: "Note: These modules do not count toward in-service hours."

Sitting through the federal modules in December will not rescue a year in which you completed no in-service training. Neither, on the plain text of WAC 110-300-0107, do the recurring health and safety renewals: the annual safe sleep training required by WAC 110-300-0106(8), the bloodborne pathogens retraining required "At least annually and within one year of the previous training" by L&I's WAC 296-823-12005(2), the first aid and CPR recertification required by WAC 110-300-0106(11), and the food worker card renewal required by WAC 110-300-0106(12) are all separate, independently expiring obligations sitting on top of your ten in-service hours, not inside them. Budget for a compliance year that contains ten in-service hours plus safe sleep plus bloodborne plus whatever first aid or CPR or food card lapses that year. Counting the renewals as your in-service hours is the second most common way Washington providers arrive at a monitoring visit short. Layered on the flat ten hours is a structured curriculum that runs on a thirty-six-month cycle, and it applies to you if you took your role on or after August 1, 2019 — which now means essentially every provider licensed in the last seven years.

WAC 110-300-0107(1)(a): "A family home licensee, center director, assistant director, program supervisor, lead teacher or assistant teacher who has not completed the department's enhancing quality of early learning (EQEL) in-service training and was licensed, hired, or promoted on or after August 1, 2019, must complete the training within thirty-six months of assuming the role, unless the provider has completed a department approved alternative training. EQEL hours may count towards the ten hours of annual in-service training." EQEL is not extra: the rule expressly lets its hours count toward your ten. DCYF describes the shape of it: "Enhancing Quality of Early Learning (EQEL) is a 20-hour training series completed over two years. You take 10 hours per year, and these count toward your in-service requirements for that year," with "Year 1 has two modules that are five hours each" and "Year 2 has two modules that are five hours each," and content covering Family Engagement, Cultural Responsiveness, Environments and Interactions. DCYF offers Year 1 online at no cost through dcyftraining.com.

EPS_0050 states the equivalents that discharge EQEL: "WA State ECE Short Certificate or higher" or a "DCYF-recognized education or credential equivalent to ECE Short Certificate." So if you complete the short certificate, EQEL is satisfied. Take the arithmetic seriously: EQEL is twenty hours over two years and your annual duty is ten hours, which means a provider who does EQEL Year 1 and Year 2 in consecutive years has fully covered two annual obligations with a single free DCYF course. Providers who buy twenty hours of workshops and then take EQEL on top have paid twice. After EQEL, the cycle changes shape and only some roles carry it. WAC 110-300-0107(1)(b): "Every thirty-six months, following the completion of EQEL or a department approved alternative training, a family home licensee, center director, assistant director or program supervisor, must complete a minimum of ten hours of in-service training 'child development' and a minimum of ten hours of in-service training on 'leadership practices.'" Read the role list. Lead teachers and assistant teachers are named in subsection (1)(a) for EQEL but are absent from subsection (1)(b); the child-development-plus-leadership rotation binds the family home licensee and the center's administrative roles.

As a family home licensee you are always in that list, because you are the licensee. The rule then defines both content areas by reference to the state core competencies. "Child development training includes the following Washington state core competencies: Child growth and development, curriculum and learning environment, ongoing measurements of child progress, family and community partnerships, health, safety, nutrition, and interactions." "Leadership practices training includes the following Washington state core competencies: Program planning and development, professional development, and leadership." Twenty hours of specified content across thirty-six months against a baseline of thirty hours of in-service in the same period — so roughly two-thirds of a three-year in-service load is pre-assigned for a family home licensee, and only about ten hours are genuinely your choice. Plan the three years, not the year. Two more annual duties sit in chapter 110-300 WAC that are not hours but are checked at the same time and are routinely undocumented. WAC 110-300-0100 requires, in the qualification list for every role — family home licensee at (1)(d), center director at (3)(a)(vi), assistant director at (3)(b)(v), program supervisor at (4)(a)(v), lead teacher at (6)(d), assistant teacher at (7)(a)(vi), aide at (8)(d) and ongoing volunteer at (10)(c)(v) — that the person "have their professional development progress documented annually."

Annually, for everyone, including your aides and your ratio-counting volunteers. And WAC 110-300-0115(3)(d) requires the licensee to maintain for each provider and staff member "Annual observation, evaluation, and feedback information." Neither is a course you buy; both are records a licensor asks for, and a family home with one employee and no written annual evaluation is out of compliance on 0115(3)(d) no matter how many training hours are in MERIT. Aides get a genuine exemption and it is worth knowing precisely, because it is the one place Washington lets you staff without the in-service burden. WAC 110-300-0100(8)(e)(i): "Aides working 19 or fewer hours per month can be counted towards staff-to-child ratio with applicable preservice requirements pursuant to WAC 110-300-0105 but without in-service training requirements pursuant to WAC 110-300-0107 (1)(a)." And (8)(e)(ii): "Aides who work more than 19 hours per month and who have a cumulative 12 months of employment must complete applicable preservice requirements detailed in WAC 110-300-0105 and the in-service training detailed in WAC 110-300-0107 (1)(a)."

Nineteen hours a month is the line — roughly four and a half hours a week. Cross it and your part-time aide inherits the full in-service and EQEL obligation once they hit twelve cumulative months. Schedule against that number deliberately if you use occasional help. Everything above is licensing. Early Achievers is a separate system with its own clock, and whether it binds you depends entirely on one fact: whether you take state subsidy. RCW 43.216.085(3)(a) provides that "Licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, and outdoor nature-based child care, serving nonschool-age children and receiving state subsidy payments, must participate in the early achievers program by the required deadlines established in RCW 43.216.135," while RCW 43.216.085(3)(c) is equally explicit the other way: "Participation in the early achievers program is voluntary for: (i) Licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, and outdoor nature-based child care, not receiving state subsidy payments; and (ii) Early learning programs not receiving state funds." Subsection (3)(d) exempts school-age-only providers outright.

So if you will not bill Working Connections Child Care and will not run ECEAP, Early Achievers is optional and remains optional in August 2026; nobody can condition your license on it. The moment you accept your first subsidy payment, a thirty-day clock starts and a thirty-month clock starts behind it. Be careful which text you read for those deadlines, because the codified statute is the stale layer here. RCW 43.216.135(1) still recites dead dates for "existing" providers — "Enroll in the early achievers program by August 1, 2016," "Complete level 2 activities in the early achievers program by August 1, 2017," and "Rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher in the early achievers program by December 31, 2019," with a remedial backstop of December 30, 2020. Those subsections have been overtaken by time and describe nobody licensed today; the statute has simply never been cleaned up. The provision that governs you is RCW 43.216.135(2): "A new child care provider serving nonschool-age children and receiving state subsidy payments must complete the following activities to be eligible to receive a state subsidy under this section: (a) Enroll in the early achievers program within 30 days of receiving the initial state subsidy payment; (b) Complete level 2 activities in the early achievers program within 12 months of enrollment; and (c) Rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher in the early achievers program within 30 months of enrollment."

Miss it and RCW 43.216.135(3) removes your subsidy eligibility after the remedial period: "If a child care provider does not rate or request to be rated at a level 3 or higher following the remedial period, the provider is no longer eligible to receive state subsidy under this section." DCYF's operating document restates those milestones in the vocabulary the agency actually uses today, and the vocabulary has changed even though the statute's caption has not. RCW 43.216.085 is still captioned "Early achievers program—Quality rating and improvement system," but DCYF now brands the same program "Washington's Quality Recognition and Improvement System," awards "recognition points" through a "Quality Recognition Cycle," and has retired the classroom observation instruments the system was built on — the Environment Rating Scales and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System are no longer used for data collection, replaced by a Program Profile and short "Video Highlights" submitted by the program itself. The Early Achievers Participant Operating Guidelines, original date September 2025, revised April 2026, set the current subsidy timeline as: "Enroll in Early Achievers — Within 30 days of receiving an initial subsidy payment"; "Submit Request for Quality Recognition application to begin a Quality Recognition Cycle — Within 12 months of enrolling in Early Achievers or receiving an initial subsidy payment, whichever is later"; "Finalize Quality Level 3 or higher (Initial Cycle) — Within 30 months of enrolling in early achievers or receiving an initial subsidy payment, whichever is later"; and "Renew Quality Level 3 or higher (Renewal Cycle) — Within 3 years from finalizing the current Quality Level."

ECEAP programs run a harder version: enroll within thirty days of starting ECEAP services and "Finalize Quality Level 4 or higher (Initial Cycle) — Within 24 months of starting ECEAP services," per RCW 43.216.515. The Guidelines state the compliance line in one sentence: "Programs accepting state subsidies must achieve at least a Quality Level 3 (RCW 43.216.135). Programs offering ECEAP services must achieve at least a Quality Level 4 (RCW 43.216.515)." Two mechanical traps in Early Achievers cost real money. First, MERIT finalizes for you whether you are ready or not: "If a program required to participate in Early Achievers does not finalize their Quality Level by the due date, MERIT will automatically finalize it on their behalf," and worse, "If a program has not completed any components to earn recognition points by the Quality Level due date, MERIT will automatically withdraw the program from Early Achievers." An automatic finalization at Level 2 is a failure to meet the Level 3 requirement, and it starts a three-year renewal cycle from a level you did not want. Second, the point structure is published and gameable in your favour: Level 1 is zero points and automatic if you are licensed, Level 2 is 20 to 29 points, Level 3 is 30 to 49, Level 3+ is 50 to 69, Level 4 is 70 to 90 and Level 5 is 91 to 115. The Program Profile alone is worth 20 points, Video Highlights are worth 5 points per video cycle up to 30, and "PD points are not applied towards a Quality Level until the Program Profile and at least two Video Highlights are completed." A family home that completes the Program Profile and two Video Highlights is at 30 points — Level 3 — before any other component is counted.

That is the whole subsidy requirement, and it is achievable inside the thirty-month window without heroics if you start the cycle instead of waiting for the deadline. The Professional Development standard is where your in-service and education choices come back and bite, and this is the most consequential thing in Washington that no one tells a new family home provider. Early Achievers awards up to 10 Professional Development points to a licensed family home owner based on verified education in MERIT: "2 points: Initial state certificate or equivalent; 3 points: Short state certificate or equivalent; 4 points: State certificate or equivalent; 6 points: AA in ECE or equivalent; 8 points: BA in ECE or equivalent; 10 points: MA or higher in ECE or equivalent." Then the Guidelines add the exclusion in plain type: "The Experience-based Competency equivalent and the community-based training equivalent (PACE) are not eligible to receive PD recognition points." Read that against your licensing options. RCW 43.216.757 lets you satisfy the ECE certificate requirement by demonstrating experience-based competency, and RCW 43.216.755 with DCYF's PACE program lets you satisfy it through free community-based training.

Both are perfectly valid for your license. Both are worth zero in Early Achievers, and zero in ECEAP. If you take subsidy and you are trying to reach Level 3, the free pathway that keeps your license also gives you nothing toward the quality level; twelve aligned college quarter credits give you 2 points and a hundred and twenty in-service hours. The Guidelines also warn that "MERIT will always apply the combination of education levels that earns the highest possible number of PD recognition points," that points are tied to your assigned role and are "not duplicated across multiple roles," and that "Education verification can take time. Staff may need to gather documents, submit an education application and wait for processing." Start verification early in the cycle, not at month twenty-nine. The money attached to all of this is real and is the reason to treat the hours as an investment rather than a tax. Providers enrolled in Early Achievers and serving Working Connections Child Care children "will receive a 2% increase to the subsidy base rate, beginning with the first full month of subsidy service," and to keep it "providers who accept subsidy payments must submit an Early Achievers Request for Quality Recognition or advance to a Quality Level 3 or higher within 30 months of enrolling in Early Achievers or submitting their first subsidy invoice, whichever comes later."

Tiered reimbursement for family home child care then runs 12 percent above base at Quality Level 3, 15 percent at Level 3+, 17 percent at Level 4 and 20 percent at Level 5 — rates the Guidelines note are "negotiated by SEIU 925 through Collective Bargaining" — against a center's 8 percent at Levels 3 and 3+, 15 percent at Level 4 and 20 percent at Level 5. Family homes are paid substantially more per quality level than centers are. Quality Improvement Awards are available to programs at Level 3 or higher, and uniquely "Family home child care providers who are a Quality Level 2 or higher may qualify for QI Awards," provided at least 5 percent of enrollment is non-school-age children on subsidy, the license is open and non-expiring, and a Quality Improvement Plan is developed with a coach within six months of the Quality Level Request. Award documentation and receipts must be retained seven years, and "Programs without a QIP within six months of receiving a quality level may be required to repay the QI Award." Finally, the education deadlines that used to make the in-service conversation urgent have moved four years to the right, and every source published before July 2026 is wrong about them.

WAC 110-300-0100(1)(b) now requires a family home licensee to "Have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being licensed by the department, whichever occurs later," and "Have an ECE short certificate or equivalent within two years of receiving an ECE initial certificate." DCYF filed that amendment as WSR 26-14-116 on July 1, 2026, effective August 1, 2026, stating: "The current requirement for providers to have an early childhood education initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2026, is being changed to August 1, 2030." The same order struck the old absolute short-certificate deadline of August 1, 2028 out of the rule entirely, leaving only the relative two-year clock. The statutory driver is E2SHB 1648, codified as 2025 c 281, whose findings say the legislature "intends to delay the requirement for child care providers to meet certification and training qualification conditions and honor the experience of child care providers by extending the timeline," and which added at RCW 43.216.755(4) that DCYF may adopt "timelines beyond August 1, 2030 … based on their date of licensure, hire, or promotion, which can be no more than five years."

Do not let the reprieve change your in-service plan, though. The credits still convert at ten in-service hours per quarter credit, the certificate still earns Early Achievers points that PACE and experience-based competency do not, and a family home licensed in 2026 with a five-year runway has exactly the number of calendar years it needs to earn twelve credits by routing the annual ten hours through a community college instead of through workshops. The four extra years are a gift to providers who use them and a trap for providers who treat August 2030 as a date to think about in 2029.

Background checks

THE RULE THAT GOVERNS YOU IS CHAPTER 110-06 WAC, AND IT IS NOT THE CHAPTER YOU WILL BE POINTED AT. Washington licenses family home child care through the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), and the licensing standards live in chapter 110-300 WAC, Foundational Quality Standards for Early Learning Programs. The background check is not there. WAC 110-300-0105(2) contains one sentence and hands you off: "Early learning providers and household members in a family home early learning program must complete and pass a department background check, pursuant to chapter 110-06 WAC." Everything that decides whether you get a licence — who is checked, what is checked, what disqualifies you, what you pay, how you appeal — sits in a separate chapter headed BACKGROUND CHECKS — EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS, formerly chapter 170-06 WAC, whose index on app.leg.wa.gov carries the line "Last update: 4/25/22". Verified 26 August 2026 against the code reviser's index of rules in effect and DCYF's semi-annual rule-making agenda for July 1 to December 31, 2026: chapter 110-06 WAC has not been amended since WSR 22-10-022, filed 25 April 2022, effective 26 May 2022, and DCYF has no open rule-making file on it.

That four-year freeze is the most expensive fact on this page — the gaps between the frozen text and live practice are where applicants lose money. WHAT YOU ARE APPLYING FOR IS A PORTABLE BACKGROUND CHECK, AND THE PORTABILITY IS THE POINT. WAC 110-06-0010(8) states the design intent in the rule itself: this chapter "is intended to allow for the increased and continued portability of background check clearances for subject individuals who are authorized to care for or may have unsupervised access to children receiving early learning services." RCW 43.216.271 requires that "The department shall maintain an individual-based or portable background check clearance registry". The clearance belongs to the person, not the facility, and RCW 43.216.270(2)(f) says so: "A valid card or certificate must be accepted by a potential employer as proof that the applicant has successfully completed a background check as required under this chapter." An assistant who already holds a cleared PBC from another licensed programme does not start over, and you must not pay to re-run her; your own clearance follows you when you move the home or later work at a centre.

DCYF's provider page states flatly, "DCYF provides portable background checks that are valid for five years". THE SYSTEM IS MERIT AND YOU CANNOT APPLY WITHOUT A STARS ID. Applications go through the Managed Education and Registry Information Tool at merit.dcyf.wa.gov, the same electronic workforce registry WAC 110-300-0106(2) makes you join: "License applicants and early learning providers must register with the electronic workforce registry prior to being granted an initial license or working with children in an unsupervised capacity." Each applicant needs their own STARS ID. A paper route exists — form DCYF 09-165, six pages, revision 03/2024 as served today — but the form restricts it: "Only use this paper application if you do not have access to the internet." Your certificate prints from MERIT under "My Record". WAC 110-300-0115(1)(b) lets you bin the paper once DCYF confirms the registry entry, but RCW 43.216.270(2)(h) still requires that "The applicant and agency shall maintain on-site for inspection a copy of the background check clearance card or certificate." Print it and keep it on site.

THE THREE-YEAR SENTENCE IN THE RULE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS SENTENCE IN WASHINGTON EARLY LEARNING LAW. WAC 110-06-0040(1) reads: "Subject individuals must complete the DCYF background check application process on or before the dates described in WAC 110-06-0041, 110-06-0045, and at least once every three years thereafter." That is the text served today. Nobody administers it. RCW 43.216.270(2)(f) provides that "The background check clearance card or certificate is valid for five years from the date of issuance", with renewal "on a date to be determined by the department". DCYF form 15-949, the "Family Home Child Care Resident and Staff Background Checklist" footered "(REV. 05/2026)" and filed with your annual declaration, instructs: "Anyone who lives on the premises age 13 years and older, all staff and volunteers must have a cleared DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC). A DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC) application every 5 years." DCYF's Early Learning Background Check FAQ, revised May 2026, says checks "Must be completed at least every five years". The statute controls, the department administers five, the rule still says three.

Diary the expiry date printed on your certificate in MERIT, not a rule of thumb, and file before it lands, because DCYF's own protocol states the consequence of lapse: "If a PBC expires, the individual must complete the fingerprint check process again". WHO GETS CHECKED IS DECIDED BY AGE AND ROLE TOGETHER, AND IN YOUR HOUSE THE AGE IS NOT SIXTEEN. WAC 110-06-0020 defines "Subject individual" first as someone "16 years of age or older" seeking authorisation to have unsupervised access to children, to care for children, to work at a child care agency, to reside at the premises, or to renew. It then adds "(b) A person who is 13 through 15 years of age who is seeking or has obtained a background check authorization under WAC 110-06-0045." WAC 110-06-0045(1) requires the authorisation for minors "Fourteen through 15 years of age, before the date they begin working for a licensed or certified child care" and for minors "Thirteen through 15 years of age on or before the date they begin or continue to reside in a licensed or certified family home child care." If a thirteen-year-old moves in after you are licensed the clock is seven days; those applications "must be signed by them and their parent or guardian", and subsection (2) bars those minors from unsupervised access.

Anyone quoting the statute at you will say sixteen, because RCW 43.43.832(4)(a) speaks only of "persons living on the premises who are sixteen years of age or older" — but it is the rule and the forms a licensor enforces, and DCYF's live page lists among those who must register in MERIT "Anyone age 13 or older who lives in a licensed family child care home". Form 15-949 makes you list every household member "regardless of age", entering "N/A" under PBC Expiration Date only for the under-thirteens. THE LIST OF PEOPLE THE RULE CATCHES IS LONGER THAN THE LIST IN YOUR HEAD. WAC 110-06-0020's examples of subject individuals include the licence applicant; a licensee seeking "A continuation of a nonexpiring license"; anyone "employed by an early learning provider, including assistants and other persons who are temporarily employed"; "A person who is a volunteer or intern that provides early learning services"; "A person who contracts with an early learning provider"; anyone sixteen or older who "Resides at, or will be moving onto, the premises"; and "All owners, operators, lessees, or directors of the agency or facility, or their designees".

Chapter 110-300 WAC closes the rest. WAC 110-300-0100(9) makes "Other personnel who do not directly care for children" — the bookkeeper, the cleaner, the handyman — "Complete and pass a background check, pursuant to chapter 110-06 WAC". WAC 110-300-0100(10) sets volunteers at "at least 14 years old" and requires a regular ongoing volunteer who is to count in staff-to-child ratio to complete and pass the check; the occasional volunteer under (10)(d) — a parent helping on a field trip, a guest presenter — is not checked but cannot be counted in ratio and must stay under continuous oversight. DCYF's May 2026 FAQ answers the question family home operators get wrong most often: "Do overnight houseguests need a cleared Portable Background Check (PBC)? Yes, if they will have unsupervised access to children in early learning care." And the operative definition of unsupervised access, quoted in that FAQ from WAC 110-06-0020, is broader than people assume: it includes "access to children receiving early learning services who are not within constant visual or auditory range" of an authorised person. A cleared adult in the next room with the door shut is not supervision.

FINGERPRINTS ARE MANDATORY AND THE RULE UNDERSTATES HOW OFTEN. WAC 110-06-0040(1) lists the process as submitting the application to the DCYF background check unit, "Completing the required fingerprint process", completing "the required interstate background check process for each state the subject individual has lived outside of Washington state in the five years preceding the background check application", and paying the fees under WAC 110-06-0044. For renewals, WAC 110-06-0040(2)(c) requires fingerprints only "if the subject individual lives or has lived outside of Washington state since the previous background check was completed, or has not previously completed the fingerprint process" — which reads as if a lifelong Washington resident who printed once never prints again. That is not the regime. DCYF's Background Check Fingerprint Process page states: "Everyone now must complete fingerprints and reprint no less than every five years as required by the CCDBG Act." The May 2026 FAQ repeats it: "At renewal time, the person must complete new fingerprints, even if they did fingerprints before."

Washington took on the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant requirements in full from 1 October 2021 and the 2022 rule text was never conformed. Budget for a reprint at every renewal. THE FBI CHECK IS THE NATIONAL LEG; THE NAME-AND-DATE-OF-BIRTH CHECK IS ONLY A FALLBACK. RCW 43.216.270(2) requires that new applicants, new licensees, new employees and others newly having unsupervised access "shall be fingerprinted", and that the prints "shall be forwarded to the Washington state patrol and federal bureau of investigation for a criminal history record check." DCYF's FAQ itemises a completed adult check: nationally, a "National FBI Fingerprint Criminal History Check" and an "NCIC National Sex Offender Registry Check"; for the current state of residence, an in-state fingerprint criminal history check, sex offender registry check and child abuse and neglect registry check; and the same three, as interstate checks, for every state lived in during the previous five years. A name-and-date-of-birth check without fingerprints exists in exactly two situations, neither of them yours to choose.

First, minors: form DCYF 09-165 states, "If I am age 13, 14, or 15 an in-state background check will be completed per WAC" — the thirteen-to-fifteen-year-old in your household gets a Washington-only, non-fingerprint check, which is why WAC 110-06-0045(2) bars that minor from unsupervised access. Second, print failure: "If the FBI rejects the prints, the person will need to be printed one more time. If the FBI rejects them a second time, they will complete a National Name Date of Birth check and the fingerprint process will be completed." Two FBI rejections, and only then, convert the national leg to a name-and-DOB search. After two rejections you may be printed at the Washington State Patrol office in Olympia or on an ink hard card at a local police department, at a small fee you pay. THE MONEY: THE RULE SAYS YOU PAY FOR PRINTS AND DCYF SAYS IT DOES. WAC 110-06-0044(1) provides that "Subject individuals must pay for the cost of the background check process", listing "Fingerprint process fees as defined by WSP, FBI, DSHS, and the DCYF fingerprint contractor" and "The DCYF administrative fee of $12.00". Subsection (3) is the enforcement — no payment, no authorisation — and (4) adds a $25 charge for any payment returned for insufficient funds.

But DCYF's published portable background check protocol states of the contracted vendor, "There is no cost for applicants to process fingerprinting." The twelve dollars is real and collected in MERIT; the printing is currently carried by the department. Do not pay a walk-in shop: DCYF contracts with IdentoGO by IDEMIA and the protocol is categorical — "This is the only acceptable fingerprinting option for a PBC." You do not book it yourself either — after you submit in MERIT, "the applicant will receive an email with instructions on how to get fingerprinted". Money spent at an unapproved vendor is burnt and the reprint still has to happen. FIVE YEARS OF ADDRESSES, AND THE OUT-OF-STATE CHECKS ARE WHERE THE CALENDAR DIES. Form 09-165 Section 3 demands current and previous physical addresses for five consecutive years — "Use physical addresses, do not enter PO Boxes" — with city, state, ZIP, county, country and month-year ranges. DCYF adds the warning: "If you have lived outside of Washington state in the past five years, this requires additional interstate background checks and out-of-state Child Abuse and Neglect checks.

Some states require your permission to complete these checks." That clause is the delay: some states will not answer without a notarised release signed by you. If you moved to Washington in the last five years, start the PBC before the fire inspection, before the floor plan, before anything else in WAC 110-300-0400. WAC 110-06-0070(6) gives a service standard that expressly does not absorb the delay: "DCYF issues decisions within 45 days of completed background application submission dates, notwithstanding delays incurred by applicants or other entities required to provide background information." Forty-five days runs from a complete application; a missing out-of-state answer means the clock is not running. NOBODY STARTS WORK ON A PENDING CHECK, AND THE GENERAL STATUTE THAT SAYS OTHERWISE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU. WAC 110-06-0041(2) requires the provider to make a subject individual apply "Prior to the date of hire", "By the date a subject individual age sixteen or older moves onto the premises", or "By the date a subject individual who lives on the premises turns sixteen years old", and (3) closes it: "Beginning October 1, 2020, a subject individual must receive from DCYF a background check clearance authorization prior to the first date of employment."

DCYF tightened it again administratively: "Effective Jan. 1, 2024, all child care and early learning providers, including those not working directly with children or youth, who were previously allowed to work supervised after submitting their background application, must complete fingerprints and have a 'Cleared' status in the Managed Education and Registry Tool (MERIT) to continue work at the child care facility." Somebody will tell you Washington allows conditional hiring. They are reading RCW 43.43.832(5), which does say that where an FBI check is required "a person may be employed or engaged as a volunteer or independent contractor on a conditional basis pending completion of the national check." That is the general Washington State Patrol statute; DCYF's rule and policy have overridden it for child care. Put an uncleared assistant on the floor on the strength of that sentence and you are out of compliance from the first hour. The narrow tolerance in the FAQ: an uncleared person may be in the building only if "They are not in licensed child care area", "They are not counted in staff-to-child ratio", and "They are not interacting with children or alone with children" — interviews, training, observing a classroom during an interview. A GAP IN SERVICE RESETS EVERYTHING.

DCYF's May 2026 FAQ states two rules that appear nowhere in chapter 110-06 WAC and that cost people jobs: "A person who leaves a child care job must complete a new background check before returning, no matter how long they are gone", and "A staff member who is away from a child care job for 180 days in a row must also complete a new background check before working again." YOU AND YOUR STAFF HAVE A TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR REPORTING DUTY THAT SURVIVES CLEARANCE. WAC 110-06-0043(1) makes providers report to DCYF "within 24 hours of learning that a subject individual associated with their services who is authorized to have unsupervised access to children, has a background that includes any conviction information, pending criminal charge, or negative action." Subsection (2) puts the same duty on the individual, and (3) provides that authorisations "may be disqualified if they intentionally or knowingly fail to report". Form 09-165 tells you where to phone it: "An arrest or pending charge against me. Allegations of child abuse or neglect. Report this information to 1.866.ENDHARM (1.866.363.4276)." The under-reported half is that a charge counts, not just a conviction: WAC 110-06-0050(5)(a) provides that "A pending criminal charge that has been filed in the appropriate court, a deferred prosecution, or a deferred sentence must be given the same weight as a conviction."

THE SECRETARY'S LIST IS THE DISQUALIFYING-OFFENCE LIST AND IT HAS THREE TIERS PLUS TWO FEDERAL BARS. WAC 110-06-0020 defines it as "the conduct and crimes described in WAC 110-06-0120 and the federal disqualifying crimes and conduct described in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9858f and C.F.R. Sec. 98.43." Tier one, WAC 110-06-0120(2): "the department must permanently disqualify subject individuals who have a pending criminal charge or conviction for any of the crimes listed in this subsection." It is a citation-by-citation table: aggravated murder, murder, homicide by abuse, manslaughter where the victim is a child, assault in the first and second degree and assault in the third degree "(if causes bodily harm)", assault of a child, arson, kidnapping, rape and rape of a child in all three degrees, child molestation in all three degrees, indecent liberties, sexual exploitation of a minor, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, the child-pornography offences of chapter 9.68A RCW, child buying or selling, luring, incest, criminal mistreatment, endangerment with a controlled substance, custodial interference, robbery, extortion and vehicular homicide — most qualified by "(if the victim is a child)".

Tier two, WAC 110-06-0120(3): "the department may disqualify subject individuals who have a pending criminal charge or conviction for a crime listed in this subsection", and this is where real cases live — assault in the fourth degree, harassment, stalking, coercion, reckless endangerment, animal cruelty, residential burglary, trafficking, failure to register as a sex offender, voyeurism, "Leaving children unattended in standing vehicle with motor running" (RCW 46.61.685), "Leaving children unattended in parked automobile" (RCW 9.91.060), vehicular assault, felony hit and run, felony violation of a protection or no-contact order under RCW 26.50.110, and "any violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act" under chapter 69.50 RCW Article IV other than controlled substance homicide with a child victim. Two tier-two entries are time-limited and catch ordinary people: driving under the influence under RCW 46.61.502 counts "if the conviction was for a felony or the conviction occurred within three years of the date of the subject individual's request for authorization", and negligent driving in the first degree counts on the same three-year test.

Tier three, WAC 110-06-0120(4), covers negative actions based on "The abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of a vulnerable adult, child, or juvenile", the suspension, revocation, denial or restriction of any licence or certification, and "The relinquishment of a license, certification, or contract in lieu of an agency negative action." On top sit two federal bars with no discretion: anyone who knowingly makes "a materially false statement in connection with the criminal background check application" must be disqualified (WAC 110-06-0070(5), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9858f(c)(1)(B)), and anyone "registered, or... required to be registered, on a state sex offender registry" must be disqualified (WAC 110-06-0070(4), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9858f(c)(1)(C)). Lying on form 09-165 about a twenty-year-old shoplifting conviction is worse than the conviction: the conviction might be assessed, the lie is a mandatory permanent bar, and the form is signed "under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington". DO NOT LET THE AGENCY'S OWN PDF STAND IN FOR THE RULE. DCYF's fingerprint page links a document titled "Secretary's List of Crimes and Negative Actions For Employees and Providers", footered September 2022. It is a cross-programme aid covering Child Welfare, DCYF Employee and Early Learning at once, and it carries a middle column headed "5-Year Disqualifying and Character, Suitability, and Competence Required" that has no counterpart anywhere in WAC 110-06-0120 — in the drug entries that column is marked Child Welfare, not Early Learning.

The FAQ that links it was revised in May 2026; the list is four years older. Read WAC 110-06-0120 for your own answer, and if a background check specialist quotes the PDF at you, ask which subsection of the rule they rely on. A CRIME ON THE LIST IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY THE END: THE CHARACTER, SUITABILITY, AND COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT IS A REAL PROCEEDING. WAC 110-06-0010(5) states the standard: "State law requires the evaluation of background information to determine the character, suitability, and competence of persons who will work at an agency, or care for or have unsupervised access to children receiving early learning services." WAC 110-06-0050(3) permits an assessment where a tier-two crime is in play; (4) requires one in the circumstances of WAC 110-06-0070(6). WAC 110-06-0070(3) lists the factors DCYF "must consider": the presence of tier-one, tier-two or negative-action material; "Whether they have obtained a CROP or CPI"; "The amount of time that has passed"; "The seriousness of the crime and/or their actions"; "The number, types, and age of other pending criminal charges, convictions, or negative actions"; "Their age at the time"; "The length and consistency of employment history before and after"; "The employment or character references and any other information regarding their fitness to be authorized"; "The completion of services or other evidence of rehabilitation"; and "The subject individuals' role or purpose in delivering early learning services."

That list is your brief. Do not file bare and hope: assemble the rehabilitation evidence, references and employment history first, because WAC 110-06-0050(6) warns that "Subject individuals who do not provide the requested information may be disqualified." Out-of-state convictions are translated, not ignored under WAC 110-06-0050(5)(e); attempt, conspiracy and solicitation carry the same weight as the completed crime; and juvenile dispositions can count. TWO CERTIFICATES CAN REOPEN A CLOSED DOOR. A certificate of parental improvement (CPI) under chapter 74.13 RCW and a certificate of restoration of opportunity (CROP) under chapter 9.97 RCW are defined in WAC 110-06-0020 and are worth real money. RCW 43.216.270(1)(b) forbids DCYF to "deny or delay a license... solely because of a founded finding of physical abuse or negligent treatment or maltreatment... when that founded finding or court finding is accompanied by a certificate of parental improvement." WAC 110-06-0115(4) goes further for someone already disqualified: "If a CROP or CPI has been issued for a crime or negative action described in the secretary's list in WAC 110-06-0120(3) or (4) that was the sole basis for a disqualification, the department must vacate the disqualification."

Must. Two limits: WAC 110-06-0050(5)(h) provides that "A CROP does not apply to founded findings of child abuse or neglect. A child abuse or neglect finding must be considered by the department"; and expungements, pardons, annulments and vacaturs based on rehabilitation or innocence take a crime out of the count altogether under WAC 110-06-0050(5)(f). A CPS INVESTIGATION SUSPENDS YOU BEFORE ANYTHING IS PROVED. WAC 110-06-0050(5)(j) allows DCYF to suspend an authorisation while the holder is "the subject of a child protective services investigation", running until an unfounded determination under RCW 26.44.020 or until a negative action determination becomes final, whichever is longer, and (5)(k) permits a full disqualification out of that suspension. DCYF's FAQ translates it: a suspended person cannot work in child care, volunteer, live in a child care home or facility, or be alone with children, because "A suspension means the background clearance is not valid right now, even if the person was cleared in the past." If the suspended person is your spouse and the home is your workplace, your business stops.

DISQUALIFICATION BITES IMMEDIATELY, AND SO DOES THE APPEAL DEADLINE. WAC 110-06-0080 provides that DCYF sends written notice, that a disqualified person may not care for or have unsupervised access to children or "Be present on the early learning service's premises during the hours when child care is provided", and that the decision is "effective immediately upon receipt of written notice". WAC 110-06-0090 gives the right of hearing "before an administrative law judge employed by the office of administrative hearings, pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW, and chapter 110-03 WAC". WAC 110-06-0100(1) sets the fuse: "Subject individuals must request a hearing within 28 days of receipt of the written disqualification decision." Twenty-eight days, from receipt, in writing, on DCYF form 09-160. Three warnings. First, WAC 110-06-0090(2): "The early learning services provider cannot contest the department's decision on behalf of any other person, including a prospective employee." You cannot appeal for your assistant. Second, WAC 110-06-0100(3): the disqualification "will remain in effect pending the outcome of the administrative hearing or review".

There is no stay. Third, and this is where most appeals die, WAC 110-06-0110 forbids relitigating the underlying facts: the hearing "may not be used to adjudicate the basis for disqualification", including pending charges and convictions, findings of child abuse or neglect under chapter 26.44 RCW where the person failed to request a hearing on the finding or lost one, dependency orders under chapter 13.34 RCW, and negative actions already reviewed. The moment to fight a founded CPS finding is when it is issued, not years later when it costs you a licence. The separate route is WAC 110-06-0115, a request to vacate on a change in circumstances — the rule counts as such that "Two years have passed since the issuance of a disqualification", a valid CROP or CPI covering the sole basis, or the dismissal, vacatur, pardon or annulment of it. Redetermination runs the other way too: WAC 110-06-0042 lets DCYF reinvestigate on a complaint and then "(a) Invalidate their background check authorization; or (b) Suspend, modify, or revoke any child care license issued by DCYF". THE LICENSING PACKET WANTS THE CHECK NAMED, NOT DONE LAST.

WAC 110-300-0400(1)(d)(i) requires your packet to include a "List of applicant and household members, and if applicable and known, staff persons and volunteers required to complete the background check process as outlined in chapter 110-06 WAC", and (3) requires the whole packet at least ninety calendar days before your planned opening, the ninety days beginning only "when the department receives a complete application packet". Sequence it: MERIT account and STARS ID first, PBC applications next, fingerprints the moment the IdentoGO email lands, then the packet. Once licensed the check returns every year: RCW 43.216.305(2) makes a nonexpiring full licence conditional on annually submitting the fee, a declaration of intent to keep operating, a declaration of compliance, and "For all current employees of the agency and as defined by department rule, submit background check applications into the department's electronic workforce registry on the schedule established by the department." Form 15-949 is the instrument. Miss those annual items and RCW 43.216.305(3) gives no warning: "If a licensee fails to meet the requirements in subsection (2) of this section for continuation of a full license the license expires."

Your nonexpiring licence expires by arithmetic, and the cure is a fresh application. THE LAST TRAP IS ABOUT WHERE YOU READ THE LAW. Chapter 110-06 WAC as served today still says, at WAC 110-06-0010(7), that it implements "DCYF responsibilities in RCW 43.216.260, 43.216.270 through 43.216.273, and 43.43.830 through 43.43.832." RCW 43.216.272 and RCW 43.216.273 do not exist. The code reviser's disposition table shows both — the fee for the individual-based/portable background check clearance registry, and the account that held it — as "Repealed by 2023 c 437 s 4." The live rule cites two dead statutes three years after they died, which tells you how much weight to put on the vintage of the rest of the chapter. The same lesson applies one chapter over: WAC 110-300-0105, the section that sends you to chapter 110-06 in the first place, is served at app.leg.wa.gov with a history ending at WSR 21-15-023, filed 12 July 2021, while DCYF adopted an emergency amendment of that very section under WSR 26-13-050, filed and effective 11 June 2026 at 3:10 p.m., to implement ESHB 2219 and the new orientation-waiver statute at RCW 43.216.263 (2026 c 82 s 2). The codified page and the operative rule are not the same document.

Before relying on any subsection, check the Washington State Register for filings by DCYF's licensing division and DCYF's own rule filings page, which lists the WSR numbers by rule-making file. And check that the website answering your question belongs to an agency that still exists: the Department of Early Learning, whose del.wa.gov pages on background check payment and fingerprinting are still indexed by search engines, was folded into DCYF in 2018 and its domain no longer answers. Ask the Background Check Unit at 1-800-998-3898, option 4, or dcyf.backgroundcheck@dcyf.wa.gov, and get the answer in writing.

The application, step by step

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

1. STEP ZERO, CONFIRM YOU ACTUALLY NEED THE LICENSE. WAC 110-300-0010(1) requires a license of any individual or entity that provides child care and early learning services for a group of children, birth through 12 years of age, "unless exempt under RCW 43.216.010(2) and WAC 110-300-0025," and subsection (3) makes the family home trigger unusually low: a license is required when an individual provides care in their family home "outside the child's home on a regular and ongoing basis for one or more children not related to the licensee," or "for preschool age children for more than four hours a day." One unrelated child on a regular schedule is a licensable program in Washington. There is no free "three or fewer" tier the way there is in most states, and the rule defines "not related" by cross-reference to the relative list in RCW 43.216.010(2)(a), which reaches blood relatives including first cousins, nephews and nieces, step-relations, adoptive relations and the spouses of any of them even after the marriage ends. The other statutory non-agency categories are narrow and each has a catch: RCW 43.216.010(2)(c) exempts care for a neighbour's or friend's child only "where the person providing care for periods of less than 24 hours does not conduct such activity on an ongoing, regularly scheduled basis for the purpose of engaging in business, which includes, but is not limited to, advertising such care" — the moment you post a listing, you have argued yourself into licensure. RCW 43.216.010(2)(e) exempts nursery schools "in which no child is enrolled on a regular basis for more than four hours per day." As of 11 June 2026 a new exemption sits in RCW 43.216.010(2)(j), added by 2026 c 54 s 1 (Engrossed House Bill 2317), covering "a school-day early childhood education and assistance program or head start program that is located in a public school building or community or technical college building, or on the premises of a public school or community or technical college"; DCYF's own legislative-updates page confirms it applies only to school-day programmes of six hours or more, that programmes taking child care subsidy must stay licensed, and that it touches roughly 44 of 6,729 licensed programmes. The trap is the cost of guessing wrong. Operating without a license is a misdemeanour under RCW 43.216.365 and enjoinable under RCW 43.216.355, and RCW 43.216.325(3)(c) authorises civil monetary penalties of up to $150 per violation per day for a family day care home and $250 per day for a centre, "each day upon which the same or substantially similar action occurs" being a separate violation. RCW 43.216.325(3)(b) is the escape hatch worth knowing before you need it: penalties levied on an unlicensed agency "that submit an application for licensure within thirty days of notification and subsequently become licensed will be forgiven."
2. ORIENTATION COMES FIRST, AND IT HAS A TWELVE-MONTH SHELF LIFE. WAC 110-300-0400(1) opens with the sequencing in plain words: "After completing a department orientation an applicant must submit a complete license application packet, pursuant to chapter 43.216 RCW." You do not apply and then attend; you attend and then apply. WAC 110-300-0105(1) extends the duty beyond the applicant to "all applicants, coapplicants, family home licensees, center directors, assistant directors, and program supervisors," and adds that anyone newly promoted into one of those roles must "complete or be registered in orientation training" before being in charge of the programme fifty percent of the time or more. The certificate is a filed document, not a memory: WAC 110-300-0400(1)(a)(ii) requires "a copy of the applicant's orientation certificate (orientation must be taken within 12 months of license application)." That parenthesis is the trap. An orientation certificate more than twelve months old at the date you file is worthless and the packet is incomplete, which under WAC 110-300-0400(3)(b) means it is returned rather than processed, and the ninety-day clock never starts. DCYF delivers the orientation online through its training site, in English, Spanish and Somali, in versions specific to facility type — Licensing Orientation for Family Home Providers, for Center Providers, for School Age Providers and for Outdoor Nature-Based Providers — and the department's Licensing Process page sets out the sequence: get a STARS ID in MERIT first, register on the DCYF training site as a new user, complete the orientation and save the certificate, then email the Welcome Team at dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov to apply. The training site writes the completion into your MERIT Professional Record automatically, but DCYF warns that you still submit the certificate with the application, and that if the completion does not appear in MERIT you must chase MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov. There is a relief valve that the codified rule does not yet show. RCW 43.216.263, enacted as 2026 c 82 s 2 and effective 11 June 2026, provides that "the department must waive the early learning program preservice requirement to complete a department-provided orientation" where the individual previously completed the applicable orientation, less than five years have passed, "the orientation content and licensing process have not substantially changed since the date of completion," and there has been no break in service as a licensed provider or as an employee of a licensed facility. WAC 110-300-0105 has not been amended to carry that waiver, so the rule text on the code reviser's site reads as an absolute requirement while the statute says it must be waived. If you are returning to the field within five years, cite the statute to the licensor rather than repeating a paid day of training; DCYF notes MERIT is still building the tracking for it.
3. THE MERIT ACCOUNT AND STARS ID ARE PREREQUISITES TO EVERYTHING ELSE. MERIT — the Managed Education and Registry Information Tool at merit.dcyf.wa.gov — is not a convenience portal, it is the legal system of record. WAC 110-300-0106(2) is categorical: "License applicants and early learning providers must register with the electronic workforce registry prior to being granted an initial license or working with children in an unsupervised capacity." WAC 110-300-0115(1)(b) requires staff records to be "entered and maintained in the electronic workforce registry," and expressly permits paper records to be discarded "once entered into the electronic workforce registry and confirmed by the department," which tells you where a licensor will look first. WAC 110-300-0100(1)(c) requires family home licensees to "have all ECE certificates or equivalent qualifications approved and verified in the department's electronic workforce registry," so an education credential that exists only as a transcript in a drawer does not exist for licensing purposes. The registration order matters and costs weeks when reversed. DCYF's MERIT page states that you must hold a STARS ID number before you can apply for a Portable Background Check, and the STARS ID itself is obtained inside MERIT by signing in, opening the "My Applications" tab and completing the "STARS ID Number" application. The account is activated by an emailed link that routinely lands in spam. Two identity traps follow. First, DCYF requires that your first name, last name, date of birth and gender in MERIT match your current government photo identification exactly before a Portable Background Check will process; a mismatch is fixed only by emailing a scanned copy of the ID to merit@dcyf.wa.gov with your STARS ID number, and the accepted documents are a Washington or out-of-state driver's licence, a Washington or out-of-state ID card, a passport, a government-issued ID or a US uniformed services ID. Second, the DCYF training site is a separate login from MERIT and will only push completions into your MERIT Professional Record if the name on both matches; DCYF's training page says to email MERIT@dcyf.wa.gov when a completed training does not appear. Employment records in MERIT move through three states — Self-Entered, Confirmed by the employer or licensee, and Verified by a DCYF licensor or MERIT administrator — and DCYF states that for licensing compliance all individuals must have their current employment recorded in MERIT under WAC 110-300-0115, with the employer or licensee responsible for confirming accuracy. While a licensing application is pending, the correct entry under Job Title is "I am currently applying." Applicants who skip this and rely on paper arrive at the licensing visit with an unverifiable workforce file.
4. THE PORTABLE BACKGROUND CHECK COVERS EVERY HOUSEHOLD MEMBER SIXTEEN AND OVER. Chapter 110-06 WAC governs, and WAC 110-06-0020 defines a "subject individual" as, among others, an individual who is 16 years of age or older seeking authorisation to have unsupervised access to children, to work at a child care agency, or "to reside at the premises of a child care agency or certified facility," and expressly includes "a person who is 16 years of age or older who resides at, or will be moving onto, the premises where early learning services will or are provided." For a family home programme run out of your own house, that is your spouse, your adult children, your parents, your lodger — everyone. WAC 110-300-0105(2) states the duty from the licensing side: "Early learning providers and household members in a family home early learning program must complete and pass a department background check, pursuant to chapter 110-06 WAC." WAC 110-06-0041(2) fixes the timing: the application must be complete before the date of hire, "by the date a subject individual age sixteen or older moves onto the premises," or "by the date a subject individual who lives on the premises turns sixteen years old." A teenager's birthday is a compliance deadline. WAC 110-06-0040(1) describes what "the process" actually contains, and it is more than a form: a completed application filed with the DCYF background check unit, "completing the required fingerprint process," and "completing the required interstate background check process for each state the subject individual has lived outside of Washington state in the five years preceding the background check application." That interstate step is the single largest source of unpredictable delay, because the clock runs at the speed of another state's registry, not Washington's. RCW 43.216.270(2) requires fingerprints of all first-time licence applicants, new employees and other persons not previously qualified, forwarded to the Washington State Patrol and the FBI. Fees are the applicant's under WAC 110-06-0044(1): the fingerprint fees set by WSP, the FBI, DSHS and the DCYF fingerprint contractor, plus a DCYF administrative fee of $12.00, with a $25 charge for any payment returned for insufficient funds; WAC 110-06-0044(3) says DCYF simply will not issue the authorisation until the fees are paid. Two dates conflict in the sources and you should diary the shorter one. RCW 43.216.270(2)(f) says the background check clearance card or certificate "is valid for five years from the date of issuance," while WAC 110-06-0040(1) requires subject individuals to complete the process "at least once every three years thereafter." WAC 110-06-0010(6) resolves it in favour of the rule where the two conflict. Treat three years as your renewal cycle. WAC 110-06-0040(4) and (5) close the loop: no unsupervised access without authorisation, and a disqualified individual "must not be present on the premises when early learning services are provided to children" — which, in a family home, can mean a household member has to move out.
5. THE TUBERCULOSIS TEST IS SEPARATE FROM THE BACKGROUND CHECK AND CATCHES FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLDS. Applicants routinely assume the background check is the only clearance a household member needs, and lose a fortnight discovering otherwise. WAC 110-300-0105(3) requires that "early learning providers, including volunteers and household members, in a family home early learning program ages fourteen and over, must provide documentation signed within the last twelve months by a licensed health care professional of tuberculosis (TB) testing or treatment." Note the age: fourteen, not sixteen. A household has a two-year band — fourteen and fifteen — in which a resident needs TB documentation but is not yet a "subject individual" for the ordinary background check under WAC 110-06-0020, and DCYF's own qualifications chart lists "Family Home Other Staff or Household Members 14 and older" as requiring a background check and a TB test. The acceptable evidence is specified and is not simply a skin test result. WAC 110-300-0105(3)(a) accepts "a negative TB symptom screen and negative TB risk assessment." Subsection (b) accepts a previous positive FDA-approved TB test together with a current negative chest radiograph and documentation of clearance to safely work or reside in an early learning programme. Subsection (c) covers the applicant who screens positive on symptoms or risk: they need a current negative FDA-approved TB test, the previous or current positive test, and a current negative chest radiograph with clearance documentation. The signature must be that of a licensed health care professional and must be dated within the preceding twelve months, so a form signed early in a long application process can go stale before the licensor arrives. WAC 110-300-0105(4) adds an ongoing exposure duty: "upon notification of TB exposure, early learning providers may be required to be retested for TB as directed by the local health jurisdiction." The practical trap is scheduling. The symptom screen and risk assessment are quick, but if the risk assessment comes back positive you are suddenly in a chest-radiograph pathway that involves an imaging appointment and a second clinical sign-off, and you will not have budgeted either the money or the calendar for it. Get every resident aged fourteen and over screened at the very start of the process, at the same visit if your clinic will do it, rather than at the end when the licensor asks for the file. DCYF's role-by-role qualifications chart also applies the TB requirement to centre and family home aides and volunteers from age fourteen, so a programme that plans to use a teenage helper has the same paperwork to gather for that person.
6. CHILD CARE BASICS IS THE COURSE NAME, AND IT IS A CONDITION OF ISSUE, NOT A DEADLINE AFTER OPENING. WAC 110-300-0106(3), as amended by WSR 25-10-051, filed 1 May 2025 and effective 1 June 2025, provides that "license applicants, center directors, assistant directors, program supervisors, lead teachers, assistant teachers, and aides must complete the child care basics training as approved or offered by the department: (a) Prior to being granted a license; or (b) Prior to working unsupervised with children." The current name is Child Care Basics, abbreviated CCB by DCYF; if a checklist you were handed says STARS Basics or Child Care Basics 30-hour, it is describing an earlier regime. DCYF's Training Requirements page confirms CCB is "the first training you need to complete to meet part of the health and safety requirements for working in licensed or certified early learning programs," and that the federally required modules on abusive head trauma, disaster and emergency preparedness, families experiencing homelessness, mandated reporting, and medication management are folded into CCB, so completing CCB satisfies those federal topics. What is NOT inside CCB is the expensive part, and DCYF says so explicitly. Separately required under WAC 110-300-0106 are: the prevention of exposure to blood and body fluids training meeting Department of Labor and Industries requirements, which subsection (10) requires "prior to being granted a license or working with children"; safe sleep training under subsection (8), which for a programme licensed to care for infants must be completed "prior to being licensed" and then "annually"; adult and paediatric first aid, adult and paediatric CPR and infant CPR under subsection (11); medication management and administration under subsection (9) before giving any medication; and, under subsection (12), a current food worker card obtained through the local health jurisdiction before preparing or serving food. The trap inside the CPR requirement costs money and a Saturday. WAC 110-300-0106(11)(c) requires that the first aid and CPR trainings "must include a live, hands-on component demonstrated in front of an instructor either in-person or remotely who is certified by the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Health and Safety Institute, or other nationally recognized certification program." A cheap fully online certificate with no skills demonstration will be rejected. WAC 110-300-0106(11)(a) additionally requires that at least one provider counted in ratio for each group of children hold current certificates, and WAC 110-300-0230(1) repeats the obligation. WAC 110-300-0106(1) gives a three-month window from date of hire for the general run of trainings, but that window does not rescue an applicant: the licence-gated items in subsections (3), (8) and (10) are due before issue. Budget the first aid and CPR class, the food worker card and the blood-borne pathogens course as pre-licence costs, not first-year costs.
7. THE ECE CERTIFICATE DEADLINE IS 2030, NOT 2026 — VERIFY THIS AGAINST ANY CHECKLIST YOU HAVE. WAC 110-300-0100(1)(a) sets what you must hold on the day you apply, and it is modest: a family home licensee must "be at least 18 years old," "have a high school diploma or equivalent," and "complete the applicable preservice requirements pursuant to WAC 110-300-0105." No college credit is required to be licensed. The staged education requirement lives in WAC 110-300-0100(1)(b), and its current wording is: "Have an ECE initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being licensed by the department, whichever occurs later," and "have an ECE short certificate or equivalent within two years of receiving an ECE initial certificate." Subsection (1)(b)(iii) then states that beginning 1 August 2030 the standing rule is an ECE initial certificate within five years of being licensed and a short certificate within two years of that. Anyone still circulating an August 2026 deadline is quoting a superseded version; the whichever-occurs-later clause means a provider licensed in, say, 2028 has until 2033 for the initial certificate. The credentials themselves are Washington ECE stackable certificates and DCYF publishes their weight: per its Child Care Providers qualifications page, the WA ECE Initial Certificate is 12 credits, the Short Certificate is 20 credits, and the State Certificate is 47 credits. Centre directors and assistant directors face the heavier requirement under WAC 110-300-0100(3)(a)(ii) and (3)(b)(ii) — an ECE state certificate or equivalent by 1 August 2030, or within five years of hire or promotion for anyone hired or promoted after the chapter took effect — coupled with a hiring-day credit floor that DCYF states as 10 ECE credits for 12 or fewer children, 25 credits for 13 to 24 children, and 45 credits for 25 or more. Two administrative traps decide whether the credential counts. First, WAC 110-300-0100(1)(c) requires that certificates or equivalent qualifications be "approved and verified in the department's electronic workforce registry" — MERIT — so the degree is not the compliance event, the verification is, and DCYF routes coursework verification through an Education Application in MERIT with unofficial transcripts sent to edverification@uw.edu. Second, WAC 110-300-0100(1)(d) requires that "family home licensees must have their professional development progress documented annually," which is the hook a licensor uses at an annual visit long before any certificate is due. Note also that the education timetable is not the in-service timetable: WAC 110-300-0107(1)(a) separately requires the Enhancing Quality of Early Learning training within thirty-six months of assuming the role for anyone licensed, hired or promoted on or after 1 August 2019, and WAC 110-300-0107(1)(b) then imposes, every thirty-six months, ten hours of child development and ten hours of leadership practices in-service training.
8. THE APPLICATION PACKET IS ALL-OR-NOTHING AND THE NINETY DAYS RUN FROM COMPLETENESS. WAC 110-300-0400(1) lists the packet, and every line is a document someone has to produce. Under (1)(a), professional and background information: the department application form for the type of licence sought; the orientation certificate taken within the last twelve months; "a Washington state business license or a tribal, county, or city business or occupation license, if applicable"; liability insurance if applicable; a certificate of incorporation, partnership agreement or similar business organisation document if applicable; the licence fee; a copy of current government-issued photo identification; a copy of a Social Security card or a sworn declaration that the applicant does not have one; an employer identification number "if applicant plans to hire staff"; and employment and education verification such as a diploma, transcripts or a sworn declaration that the requirement cannot be verified. Under (1)(b), facility information: a floor plan "including use of proposed licensed and unlicensed space, with identified emergency exits and emergency exit pathways"; a certificate of occupancy if applicable; septic documentation no more than three years old; E. coli and nitrate results for well water no more than twelve months old; a lead or arsenic evaluation agreement for sites in the Tacoma smelter plume; and lead and copper test results for drinking water. Under (1)(c), programme days and hours including closures and holidays. Under (1)(d), the list of applicant and household members and, where known, staff and volunteers who must complete the background check process under chapter 110-06 WAC, plus resumes for the applicant and for the centre director, assistant director, programme supervisor or family home lead teacher as applicable. WAC 110-300-0400(2) adds four policy documents that DCYF reviews and returns: parent and programme policies, staff policies, an emergency preparedness plan, and health policies. The timing rule is where applicants lose months. WAC 110-300-0400(3) requires the completed packet "at least 90 calendar days prior to the planned opening," and then: "(a) The 90 calendar days begins when the department receives a complete application packet. (b) Incomplete application packets will be returned to the applicant for completion." A packet missing one water test is not a slow packet, it is a returned packet with a clock at zero. Subsection (3)(c) offers a partial cure — an applicant unable to finish within ninety days may withdraw and reapply, and "if the applicant has completed the steps of the application process within 90 days but an external barrier out of the applicant's control exists, the reapplication fee will be waived one time" — while (3)(d) warns that an applicant who neither meets the requirements nor withdraws "will be denied a license, pursuant to RCW 43.216.325." A denial on your record is worse than a withdrawal. RCW 43.216.305(1) mirrors the ninety days on the department's side.
9. THE FEE IS SMALL, NONREFUNDABLE, AND DUE WITH THE PACKET. WAC 110-300-0401 is one of the few genuinely cheap parts of Washington licensing, and the amounts have not been restated in dollars-per-year language that hides them. Subsection (4): "The annual fee for family home early learning programs is thirty dollars, or as otherwise set by the legislature." Subsection (5): "The annual fee for center early learning programs is one hundred twenty-five dollars for the first twelve children plus twelve dollars for each additional child, or as otherwise set by the legislature." Subsection (2) fixes when it is owed — "with the early learning applicant's initial license application packet" and "annually thereafter, thirty calendar days prior to the anniversary date of the license" — and subsection (1) grounds the schedule in RCW 43.216.300, under which the secretary sets fees by rule, may waive them where charging would not serve public health and safety or would disadvantage the state financially, and must base them on but not exceed the department's cost of licensure "and may include costs of necessary inspection." Payment must be by check, credit or debit card, or money order under WAC 110-300-0401(3). The word that costs money is "nonrefundable," in subsection (2). A withdrawn application does not return the fee, and a returned incomplete packet under WAC 110-300-0400(3)(b) does not either — which is precisely why WAC 110-300-0400(3)(c) had to create a one-time waiver of the reapplication fee for applicants blocked by an external barrier outside their control after completing the process steps within ninety days. If you are in that position, ask for the waiver in writing and name the rule; it is not applied automatically. The annual anniversary payment is the mechanism by which most Washington licences quietly die. WAC 110-300-0425(3) requires the licensee to submit, at least thirty calendar days before the anniversary date — defined as "the date their first initial license was issued" — the annual nonrefundable licence fee, a declaration on the department's form covering intent to continue or cease operating, any change in operational hours or dates, and intent to comply with all licensing rules, plus documentation of completed background checks for required individuals, either by verifying current checks or requiring individuals to file applications at least thirty calendar days before the anniversary. WAC 110-300-0425(4) then states the consequence without softening: "If licensees fail to meet the requirements for continuing a nonexpiring license by their anniversary date, their current license will expire and the licensee will be required to submit a new application for licensure." Subsection (6) removes the appeal: "Providers cannot appeal the department's decision and have no rights to a hearing." A thirty-dollar cheque missed by a week puts a working programme back at the start of a ninety-day application. Diary the anniversary date the day you receive the initial licence, not the day the licence converts.
10. ZONING AND THE BUSINESS LICENCE ARE YOUR JOB, NOT THE LICENSOR'S. WAC 110-300-0415(3) puts the burden squarely on the applicant: "Prior to licensing, an applicant must contact state, city, and local agencies that regulate the early learning program. An early learning provider must obtain regulations and comply with the direction given by such agencies. These agencies may include, but are not limited to, the Washington state department of labor and industries, the Washington state fire marshal, the Washington state department of health, and local health jurisdictions." DCYF will not run these enquiries for you and will not treat local silence as approval. Washington law does, however, give the home-based applicant a strong shield that many providers never invoke. RCW 35A.63.215(1) provides that, with narrow exceptions, "no city may enact, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation, or official control, policy, or administrative practice that prohibits the use of a residential dwelling, located in an area zoned for residential or commercial use, as a family day-care provider's home facility," and RCW 36.70.757(1) imposes the same prohibition on counties for facilities "serving twelve or fewer children." Both statutes define "family day-care provider" by reference to RCW 43.216.010. A blanket municipal ban on family child care in a residential zone is unlawful; if a permit counter tells you otherwise, quote the section. What a city or county may still require is enumerated and worth reading before you argue: under RCW 35A.63.215(2) and RCW 36.70.757(2), compliance with all building, fire, safety, health code and business licensing requirements; conformity to lot size, building size, setback and lot coverage standards for the zone unless the structure is legally nonconforming; certification "by the department of children, youth, and families licensor as providing a safe passenger loading area"; conforming signage; and limits on hours of operation to facilitate neighbourhood compatibility while still accommodating parents on nonstandard shifts. Subsection (3) of each statute also permits the jurisdiction to require, before state licensing, "proof of written notification by the provider that the immediately adjoining property owners have been informed of the intent to locate and maintain such a facility," and provides that where a neighbour dispute arises over licensing requirements "the licensor may provide a forum to resolve the dispute." The neighbour-notification step is the one that ambushes applicants, because it must happen before state licensing and depends on people you do not control. On the business side, WAC 110-300-0400(1)(a)(iii) requires a Washington State business licence or a tribal, county or city business or occupation licence with the packet where applicable, and (1)(a)(ix) requires an EIN if you plan to hire staff. Washington's consolidated business licence application under RCW 19.02.070 routes city endorsements through the state Business Licensing Service, but RCW 19.02.070(3) preserves each regulatory agency's own approval authority, so the state licence does not substitute for the DCYF licence or for a local land-use approval.
11. THE BUILDING CODE APPLIES AT THE STANDARD IN FORCE WHEN YOU ARE LICENSED. WAC 110-300-0415(1) adopts and incorporates by reference the Washington State Building Code, chapter 19.27 RCW, "as now and hereafter amended," and subsection (2) requires that "early learning program space must comply with the Washington state building code or local building code as enacted at the time of licensure." Later modifications are then governed by WAC 110-300-0402. For centres the pre-licensing gate is explicit in WAC 110-300-0415(4): a centre applicant must "have a certificate of occupancy issued by the local building, planning, or zoning department, or a local equivalent if locality does not have the certificate of occupancy," and must "be inspected and approved by the state fire marshal." WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(ii) then requires that certificate of occupancy in the application packet where applicable. This is the step that turns a three-month plan into a nine-month plan, because a change of occupancy classification to an E or I-4 use can force sprinklers, additional exits, accessible restrooms or a fire alarm upgrade before a certificate issues. A 2025 statute cut one recurring cost and you should check whether your building official has applied it. RCW 19.27.600, enacted as 2025 c 150 s 2, provides that "when a child care center is operated in a dedicated space within an existing building that has more than one use, the building official must calculate the occupancy load of the child care center based only on the areas in the building where the child care services are provided," and states that this "applies when administering and enforcing any of the building codes adopted in accordance with and pursuant to the authority in this chapter." The same session law added the mirror duty for the State Patrol at RCW 43.216.265(6), amended by 2025 c 150 s 3. The legislature's own findings, printed as a note to RCW 19.27.600, say the intent was that "building owners, and especially churches, are more likely to offer existing spaces for child care services." If you are leasing a classroom in a church, a community hall or an office building, the occupancy load is computed on your rooms, not on the whole building. Washington also protects you from a licensor freelancing on the building code. RCW 43.216.340(1) requires that before requiring any alteration to a child care facility due to inconsistencies with chapter 19.27 RCW, the department "shall consult with the city or county enforcement official" and "receive written verification from the city or county enforcement official that the alteration is required," with subsection (2) limiting that consultation to licensed child care space and subsection (4) defining "child care facility" to include a family day care home. Subsection (3) adds that, absent imminent danger to children or staff, the department may not modify, suspend or revoke a licence or business activities while it waits for that consultation or verification. If a licensor demands construction, ask for the written verification the statute requires.
12. THE FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION IS ANNUAL, AND FOR A FAMILY HOME IT IS YOURS TO ARRANGE. WAC 110-300-0170(2) states it plainly: "An early learning provider must arrange for a fire safety inspection annually. A provider must arrange a fire safety inspection with a local government agency. If a local government agency is not available to conduct a fire safety inspection, a provider must inspect for fire safety using the state fire marshal form." That fallback is the sentence most applicants miss — where no local fire authority will come, the self-inspection on the State Fire Marshal's form is the compliant route, and refusing to do it because "the fire department never called back" is a citation, not an excuse. For centres the route is different and stricter: WAC 110-300-0415(4)(b) requires a centre applicant to "be inspected and approved by the state fire marshal" before licensing, and RCW 43.216.265(5) makes the chief of the Washington State Patrol, through the director of fire protection, responsible for issuing "to applicants for licenses under this chapter who comply with the requirements, a certificate of compliance, a copy of which shall be presented to the department before a license shall be issued," except that an initial licence may issue under RCW 43.216.315. The physical checklist in WAC 110-300-0170(3) is where money leaks. Combustible materials — the rule names lint, gasoline, natural gas, diesel, fuel, propane, rags soaked in combustible materials, oils, chemicals and solvents — must be discarded, removed from the premises, or stored in closed metal containers that are not kept in licensed space or anywhere accessible to children. Paper, rubbish and other combustibles must be at least three feet from furnaces, fireplaces or other heating devices, and any appliance or heating device with a surface "capable of burning a child or reaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit" must be inaccessible unless a supervised programme activity involves it. Portable heaters and fuel-powered generators must not be used inside licensed space during operating hours; open flame devices other than a gas kitchen range are prohibited during operating hours and candles are barred outright. Chimneys, fireplaces, gas-burning fireplaces and wood stoves "must be inspected annually by a state or locally certified inspector, unless the provider submits to the department a written statement that the chimney, fireplace, wood stove or similar wood-burning device will not be used at any time" — the written declaration is free, the annual chimney inspection is not. Smoke detectors are required at a minimum of one per licensed sleeping area and one per floor, with centres held to WAC 51-50-0907 and family homes to WAC 51-51-0314, and carbon monoxide detectors under WAC 51-50-0915 and WAC 51-51-0315 respectively. A backup method to sound an alarm is required in addition to working smoke detectors. Extinguishers must be rated at least 2A:10 BC, located per chapter 51-54A WAC, on each level used by children and mounted within seventy-five feet of an exit next to the exit path, with signage if mounted in a closet. Monthly staff-involved inspections are required by subsection (3)(j).
13. WATER, WELL AND SOIL TESTING ARE PRE-LICENSING LAB WORK WITH REAL LEAD TIMES. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b) requires four environmental documents in the packet where applicable, and each one has an outside laboratory in the critical path. Lead and copper results for drinking water are required outright by (1)(b)(vi). WAC 110-300-0235(2) sets the method: "An early learning provider must use a Washington state certified water laboratory accredited by the department of ecology to test the program water supply for lead and copper," and "all fixtures used to obtain water for preparing food or infant formula, drinking, or cooking must be tested prior to licensing approval and at least once every six years," to current EPA standards, with a copy of the results kept on the licensed premises or in the programme's administrative office. Testing every relevant fixture, not one tap, is the part that surprises people. If results come back at or above the current EPA lead action level, WAC 110-300-0235(3) requires, within twenty-four hours, consultation with the Department of Health, closing the programme or supplying bottled or packaged water, notification of all parents and guardians, notification of DCYF with the steps taken, and a further notification once levels drop below the action level. Well water adds a second track. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(iv) requires E. coli and nitrate results "no more than 12 months old," and WAC 110-300-0235(4) requires the well to comply with chapter 173-160 WAC and to be tested at least once every twelve months by a state-certified, Ecology-accredited laboratory, with desirable results meaning no E. coli present and nitrates below ten parts per million; between five and ten ppm the water must be retested within six months. A positive E. coli result or nitrates above ten ppm requires stopping use of the well water within twenty-four hours, informing the local health jurisdiction, the Department of Health and DCYF, and, if directed, discontinuing operations until repairs and clean tests. Septic is a third: WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(iii) requires documentation "no more than three years old" from a licensed inspector, septic designer or engineer that the system and drain field are maintained and in working order, and WAC 110-300-0250(1)(a) requires inspection by a maintenance service provider approved by the local health jurisdiction, with the most recent pumping and inspection records kept on the premises. The geographically specific trap is soil. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(v) requires "a lead or arsenic evaluation agreement for sites located in the Tacoma smelter plume (counties of King, Pierce, and Thurston)," and WAC 110-300-0410(6) requires an applicant planning to open in the designated plume to "contact the state department of ecology (DOE) and complete and sign an access agreement with DOE to evaluate the applicant's property for possible arsenic and lead soil contamination." If your address is in King, Pierce or Thurston County, start that agreement first — it involves a state agency scheduling a site evaluation and it will not compress. WAC 110-300-0410(4) separately obliges you to prevent exposure to lead-based paint, plumbing and fixtures containing lead or lead solders, asbestos, arsenic, lead or copper in soil or drinking water, and toxic mould.
14. THE FOUR WRITTEN PLANS ARE SUBMITTED, REVIEWED AND RETURNED — WRITE THEM BEFORE YOU APPLY. WAC 110-300-0400(2) requires the applicant to include with the application "the following policy documents, which will be reviewed by the department and returned to the applicant": parent and programme policies, staff policies, an emergency preparedness plan, and health policies. They are not attachments to be promised later. The emergency preparedness plan is the longest. WAC 110-300-0470(1) requires that it be written, followed, "reviewed and approved by the department prior to when changes are made," specific to the programme, implementable during hours of operation, and that it address what the provider would do if the provider has an emergency and children may be left unsupervised, and what the programme must do "if parents are not able to get to their children for up to three days." Subsection (2) itemises the contents: an evacuation floor plan identifying room numbers or names, emergency exit pathways, exit doors and exit windows for family-home programmes as described in WAC 51-51-0326; methods for sounding an alarm and calling 911; actions by a person discovering an emergency; how children who cannot walk independently will be evacuated; the alternate evacuation location; what to take, naming first-aid kits, copies of emergency contact information, child medication records and individual medications; how ratio will be maintained and all children accounted for; how parents can contact the programme; and how children will be reunited. Earthquake procedures and public-safety lockdown or shelter-in-place steps are separately required by (2)(b) and (2)(c). Subsection (3) requires "a three day supply of food, water, and life-sustaining medication for the licensed capacity of children and current staff," a real purchase before the licensing visit. Subsection (4) requires fire and evacuation drills monthly and earthquake, lockdown or shelter-in-place drills quarterly, at varied times including evenings and overnight where applicable, recorded on a department form with date, time, numbers of children and staff, length and notes. The health policy under WAC 110-300-0500(2) must cover a blood and body fluids exposure plan, meals and food services including food allergy and food-from-home guidelines, handwashing and hand sanitiser use, daily observation for signs of illness, exclusion and return of ill persons, contagious disease notification, medical emergencies and injury reporting, immunisation tracking, medication management and documentation, pets and animals, cleaning and sanitising of food contact surfaces, kitchen equipment, toys, toileting equipment and laundry, pest control, care for children with special or health needs including allergies, and dental hygiene practices. The parent or guardian handbook under WAC 110-300-0450 was amended by WSR 26-09-080, filed 14 April 2026 and effective 15 May 2026, and now runs to some two dozen mandatory topics including a nondiscrimination statement, photography permissions, an expulsion policy, a child guidance plan forbidding corporal punishment, and a description of where parents may review the health policy, staff policies, consistent care policy, menus, liability insurance and inspection reports.
15. INFANT SAFE SLEEP IS EQUIPMENT, TRAINING AND A POSTING RULE AT ONCE. If you intend to enrol infants, three separate obligations attach before the licence issues. First, training: WAC 110-300-0106(8) requires licence applicants and providers licensed to care for infants to complete department-approved safe sleep training "annually" and "prior to being licensed" or "prior to caring for infants." It is on the pre-licence list, not the first-year list, and it repeats every year. Second, equipment: WAC 110-300-0290(1) requires a single-level crib, playpen or other developmentally appropriate sleep equipment for each infant and prohibits sofas, couches and adult-sized or toddler beds for infant sleeping. Subsection (3) requires the equipment to be approved by the CPSC or to ASTM International safety standards; cribs must carry "a certificate of compliance, sticker, or documentation from the manufacturer or importer stating the crib meets 16 C.F.R. 1219 and 1220"; the mattress must be clean, firm and snug-fitting and designed for that specific equipment, moisture resistant and easily cleaned, free of tears or holes and "not repaired with tape"; sheets must be tight-fitted, designed for the equipment, and laundered at least weekly or between different children or when soiled. Cribs and playpens arranged side by side must be at least thirty inches apart, and those placed end to end closer than thirty inches require a moisture-resistant, easily cleanable solid barrier. The tape clause and the crib compliance sticker are what a licensor actually looks for — a second-hand crib without documentation is not licensable equipment. Third, practice: WAC 110-300-0291(1) requires providers to follow the current American Academy of Pediatrics standard, including "actively supervising infants by visibly checking every 15 minutes and being within sight and hearing range, including when an infant goes to sleep, is sleeping, or is waking up"; placing infants on their back and returning them to their back if they turn until they can roll independently both ways; no sleep positioning device unless directed in writing by the infant's health care provider with the directive kept in the child's file; sufficient lighting to observe skin colour; monitoring breathing patterns; and no blankets, stuffed toys, pillows or crib bumpers inside occupied sleep equipment, no covering draped over occupied equipment, and nothing covering an infant's head or face. WAC 110-300-0290(4) requires the provider to "immediately remove sleeping children from car seats, swings, or similar equipment not designed for sleep." The enforcement tail is public and specific. WAC 110-300-0291(2) requires a provider who receives notice of a safe sleep violation to post the notice in the licensed space "for two weeks or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer," and within five business days to give every parent and guardian a letter describing the violation plus written information on safe sleep practices. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(j) repeats the posting duty. A single safe sleep finding therefore becomes a notice on your wall that every enrolled family reads.
16. OUTDOOR SPACE IS MEASURED, FENCED AND SURFACED TO NUMBERS, AND IT IS THE MOST COMMON PRE-LICENSING SPEND. WAC 110-300-0145(2) sets the area: "Outdoor play space must contain a minimum of seventy-five square feet of licensed usable space per child accessing the play space at any given time," with an alternate plan permitted — rotating groups or an off-site play area — where the programme cannot accommodate all enrolled children at once, and departmental approval required for off-site spaces. Subsection (3) requires shaded areas provided by trees, buildings or shade structures. The fence specification in subsections (6) through (9) is where quotes get expensive: licensed outdoor play areas must be enclosed by a fence or barrier "intended to prevent children from exiting and discourages climbing," a non-fence barrier being a wall of brick, stone or similar material; the enclosure must also deter unauthorised entry; and fences, barriers and gates must be in good condition, "have no gap through which a sphere with a diameter of three and one-half inches can pass, and have a minimum height of forty-eight inches or conform in height to applicable local codes," with the same three-and-a-half-inch rule applied to the opening between a fence post and a gate or building. Subsection (11) requires that, prior to licensing, exiting mechanisms on gates from licensed outdoor space to unlicensed space be "equipped with a self-closing and self-latching mechanism," and subsection (12) requires two exits from the outdoor play area, not partially or entirely blocked, "at least one of the two exits must not lead back into licensed indoor space." An existing four-foot residential fence with a hand-latched gate fails on the latch alone. Surfacing is specified by depth in WAC 110-300-0146(1): climbing equipment must not be placed on or above concrete, asphalt, packed soil, lumber or similar hard surfaces, and the ground under swings and play equipment must be covered by shock-absorbing material — "grass alone is not an acceptable" — being pea gravel at least nine inches deep, playground wood chips at least nine inches deep, shredded recycled rubber at least six inches deep, or any material certified to ASTM F1292. Subsection (2) prohibits permanently anchored equipment over septic tank areas or drain fields, a prohibition repeated at WAC 110-300-0250(2), so a rural applicant can be forced to move a play structure already installed. Subsection (4) requires trampolines, rebounders and inflatable equipment to be "inaccessible and locked." WAC 110-300-0145(10) bars installing any wooden fence, playground structure or furniture containing chromated copper arsenate, creosote or pentachlorophenol, and requires suspected CCA wood to be tested and then removed or sealed annually with an oil-based outdoor sealant. Daily visual inspection of outdoor space and equipment is required by subsection (1). Indoors, WAC 110-300-0354(1) requires "a minimum of thirty-five square feet per child in attendance," excluding unlicensed space, evacuation hallways, bathrooms and diaper areas, laundry areas, closets, stairways and floor space occupied by office equipment.
17. LIABILITY INSURANCE: A FAMILY HOME MAY OPT OUT, BUT ONLY IN WRITING AND ONLY ON THE DEPARTMENT'S FORM. This is the requirement most often misdescribed to Washington applicants. RCW 43.216.700(1) imposes a hard duty on centres and outdoor nature-based providers: every licensed child day care centre and outdoor nature-based provider "shall, at the time of licensure or renewal and at any inspection, provide to the department proof that the licensee has day care insurance as defined in RCW 48.88.020, or is self-insured pursuant to chapter 48.90 RCW," with liability limits as set in RCW 48.88.050, a duty to notify the department when coverage is terminated, a duty to post notice of a lapse at the centre "in a manner likely to be observed by patrons," and a duty to give parents written notice of a lapse within thirty days. Subsection (1)(d) applies that to full licences, initial licences and probationary licences alike, and (1)(c) permits the department to take action under RCW 43.216.325 if coverage is not maintained. Family day care providers are treated differently. RCW 43.216.700(2)(a) gives them a choice at licensure or renewal: either "provide to the department proof that the licensee has day care insurance as defined in RCW 48.88.020, or other applicable insurance," or "provide written notice of their insurance status on a standard form developed by the department to parents with a child enrolled in family day care and keep a copy of the notice to each parent on file." The statute then says expressly that family day care providers "may choose to opt out of the requirement to have day care or other applicable insurance but must provide written notice of their insurance status to parents with a child enrolled," and that a provider who opts out is not subject to the notification, posting and limits requirements of subsections (2)(b) and (2)(c). The trap is that opting out is not passive. It requires the department's standard form, delivered to every enrolled family, with a copy of each notice retained in your files; a provider who simply has no policy and no notices has not opted out, they have failed subsection (2)(a), and RCW 43.216.700(2)(d) permits departmental action under RCW 43.216.325. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(a)(iv) requires liability insurance in the application packet "if applicable," and WAC 110-300-0450(2)(v)(v) requires the parent handbook to tell families where they may find and review the programme's liability insurance. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(m) requires posting of "insurance coverage, or a lapse or termination of such coverage if applicable, pursuant to RCW 43.216.700." Separately, RCW 43.216.700(3) provides that "noncompliance or compliance with the provisions of this section shall not constitute evidence of liability or nonliability in any injury litigation," which is a reason to buy the cover on its merits rather than because the state forces you to. Homeowner policies commonly exclude business activity in the dwelling; confirm in writing before relying on one.
18. THE ON-SITE VISIT, THE INITIAL LICENCE, AND THE ROAD TO A NONEXPIRING LICENCE. WAC 110-300-0400(3) states what the licensor does after a complete packet arrives: "The department will inspect the early learning program space and approve all application submissions required in this chapter prior to issuing a license." The visit is a document review and a walk-through at once, and the documents most often missing are the ones this chapter scatters: the floor plan with emergency exits under WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(i), which WAC 110-300-0505(2)(b) then requires you to post in each child care area; the annual signed declaration a family home licensee must provide under WAC 110-300-0130(4) covering furnace-area safety, detectors, gun storage, medication storage, refrigerators and freezers, chemical storage and swimming pools in UNLICENSED space; water and septic results; drill records on the department form; and the workforce records that WAC 110-300-0115 requires to be entered in MERIT. What issues at the end is normally not a full licence. WAC 110-300-0425(1) permits the department to issue an initial licence under RCW 43.216.315 "when they demonstrate their early learning program will be able to comply with the health and safety requirements described in this chapter. They do not have to demonstrate full compliance with all requirements that are not related to health and safety for initial license eligibility." The initial licence is valid for six months, may be extended at the department's discretion for up to three additional six-month periods to a maximum of two years, and during that period "the department must evaluate the early learning provider's ability to follow requirements contained in this chapter." Only then may a nonexpiring licence issue under WAC 110-300-0425(2) and RCW 43.216.305(2). RCW 43.216.305(1) obliges the department to grant or deny within ninety days, and RCW 43.216.305(4)(b) defines "good standing" for monitoring purposes as the absence of valid complaints, a history of noncompliance related to them, or other information that would support a finding of noncompliance. Two protections are worth knowing before the first inspection report lands. WAC 110-300-0440 provides for facility licensing compliance agreements, nonreferral status, probationary licences and provider rights, and RCW 43.216.395 creates an internal review process, staffed by three department employees and three child care providers selected from names submitted by the oversight board, that can "overturn, change, or uphold a department licensing decision by majority vote" on inspection reports that do not involve a violation of health and safety standards. The deadline is short and unforgiving: "A licensee must request a review under the internal review process within ten days of the development of an inspection report," and the process must finish within sixty days of the request, with a further review available from the oversight board within ten days of the written decision. Adverse licensing decisions and civil fines are outside that process and are appealed under chapter 34.05 RCW instead.

What you must post on your walls

• THE CHILD CARE LICENSE ITSELF. Washington's posting duty is set twice, once by statute and once by rule, and the licence is the only item that appears on both lists. RCW 43.216.687(1)(a) commands that "every child day care center, outdoor nature-based child care provider, and family day care provider shall prominently post the following items, clearly visible to parents and staff: (a) The license issued under this chapter." WAC 110-300-0505(2)(a) repeats it and pins it to WAC 110-300-0010, the section that says who needs a licence at all: a licence is required when an individual provides child care in their family home "outside the child's home on a regular and ongoing basis for one or more children not related to the licensee," or "for preschool age children for more than four hours a day." One child who is not a relative listed in RCW 43.216.010(2)(a), on a regular basis, is the trigger; Washington has no two-child or three-child grace band the way many states do, and applicants who assume one exists are already operating unlawfully by the time they read the posting rule. The governing standard for how the licence must appear is WAC 110-300-0505(1): postings "must be clearly visible to parents, guardians, and early learning program staff." That is a visibility test, not a filing test. A licence in a binder in the office, a licence in a locked cabinet, a licence photographed and kept on a phone, or a licence in an unlicensed part of the residence is a citation even though the document exists and is current. Post the paper the department issued, in the licensed space, where an adult standing at drop-off can read it without asking. Two details catch family home licensees specifically. First, RCW 43.216.685(3) requires the department to print its toll-free number "on the face of new licenses issued to child day care centers, outdoor nature-based child care providers, and family day care providers" — so posting the licence unaltered is also how you satisfy part of the emergency-number posting, and covering, trimming or laminating over that portion of the licence defeats it. Second, if you are placed on a probationary licence, WAC 110-300-0440(9)(d) requires you to return the nonexpiring licence to the department and (9)(e) requires you to post the approved written probationary licence instead. You do not post both, and you do not keep the old one up; the licence on the wall must be the licence you actually hold that day.
• THE FLOOR PLAN SHOWING EMERGENCY ROUTES AND EXITS, IN EVERY CHILD CARE AREA. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(b) requires posting a "floor plan with emergency routes and exits identified in each child care area, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(i) and 110-300-0470(2)(a)(i)." Read the phrase "in each child care area" literally, because licensors do: one diagram by the front door does not cover a program that uses a living room, a converted dining room and a basement playroom. Each licensed area gets its own posted plan showing the routes out of that area. The two cross-referenced sections tell you what the diagram must contain. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(i) makes "a floor plan, including use of proposed licensed and unlicensed space, with identified emergency exits and emergency exit pathways" part of the licence application packet, so the posted diagram is normally the same drawing the department already approved — if you remodel, move a wall, or convert unlicensed space to licensed space, the posted copy goes stale at the same moment the approved copy does, and WAC 110-300-0402 requires department or state fire marshal approval of the change first. WAC 110-300-0470(2)(a)(i) is the more demanding of the two: the written emergency preparedness plan must contain "an evacuation floor plan that identifies room numbers or names of rooms, emergency exit pathways, emergency exit doors, and emergency exit windows for family-home based programs as described in WAC 51-51-0326." Named rooms and marked exit windows are the elements home providers most often omit, and windows matter because WAC 110-300-0166(4)(b) requires every licensed room except bathrooms to have two emergency exits, which for bedrooms and basements is usually one door and one window. An emergency exit window under WAC 110-300-0166(4)(c) must open from inside without keys or tools, give at least 5.7 square feet of clear opening (5 square feet on the ground floor), measure at least 20 inches wide and 24 inches tall when fully open, sit no more than 44 inches above the interior floor, and land no more than 48 inches below the exterior sill. If a window on your posted diagram does not meet those numbers it is not an exit, and the diagram is wrong. Note what the rule does not say: it does not require you to post the emergency preparedness plan itself. The plan is a written document reviewed and approved by the department, reviewed with staff annually with documented signatures and reviewed with parents at enrolment and at each update under WAC 110-300-0470(1)(f) and (1)(g). Only the evacuation diagram goes on the wall.
• EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND DIRECTIONS TO THE FACILITY. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(g) requires posting "emergency numbers and information including, but not limited to: (i) 911 or emergency services number; (ii) Name, address and directions from the nearest arterial street or nearest cross street to the facility; (iii) The department's toll-free number; (iv) Washington poison center toll-free number; and (v) The department's child protective services." Five components, and the one that fails inspections is the second. Washington does not ask you to post your address; it asks you to post written directions from the nearest arterial or cross street, because the poster exists so that a substitute, a volunteer, a parent or a frightened teenager can read turn-by-turn directions aloud to a 911 dispatcher without knowing the neighbourhood. "Turn east off Pacific Avenue at South 84th, third house on the left, blue door" is compliant; "1423 South 84th Street" alone is not. The remaining numbers are concrete and verifiable on the agency's own pages as they stand today. The department's toll-free information number under RCW 43.216.685 is 1-866-482-4325, published by DCYF as 1-866-48-CHECK and used for the Child Care Check service; RCW 43.216.685(2) obliges the department to tell callers on that line whether a provider is licensed, whether the licence is current, the general nature of any enforcement, and how to report suspected noncompliance, alleged abuse or neglect, and health and safety concerns. DCYF publishes 1-866-363-4276 as the number to call to report suspected child abuse or neglect in a licensed child care facility and to report unlicensed child care; that is the number that satisfies subsection (v), the department's child protective services, and DCYF also publishes six regional intake lines with 1-866-363-4276 covering holidays, evenings and weekends. The Washington Poison Center helpline is 1-800-222-1222, available around the clock. Two traps. First, the phrase "including, but not limited to" means the list is a floor, not a ceiling: the licensor may reasonably expect your own emergency contact and the local fire or police non-emergency number alongside it. Second, this posting is operational, not decorative — WAC 110-300-0475(2)(b) and (2)(c) require you to call 911 immediately and the Washington Poison Center immediately after 911 for poisoning, medication overdoses, a child who took another child's medication, a missing child, or a medical emergency, and to notify the department within 24 hours. The poster is the script for a call you are legally required to make.
• THE LOCATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL INFORMATION — NOT THE INFORMATION ITSELF. This is the subtlest item in WAC 110-300-0505 and the one most often mishandled in both directions. Subsection (2)(h) requires posting "the location of emergency medical information for children and staff." You post a pointer, not the records. Posting the records themselves would breach WAC 110-300-0460(1)(a), which requires each child's record to be "kept in a confidential manner but in an area easily accessible to staff," and WAC 110-300-0450(2)(n), which requires the parent handbook to explain the plan for keeping the child's information confidential and who may legally access it. So the compliant posting reads like a direction: "Children's emergency medical information and medication authorisations are in the red binder on the shelf above the desk in the front room." What the pointer must point at is defined by WAC 110-300-0460. Subsection (3) requires that each child's health record together with the birth date, the parent's phone numbers, address and contact information, the emergency contact information, the names and phone numbers of persons authorised to pick the child up, and the individual care plan "must be available to staff for medical administration or emergencies." The health record under WAC 110-300-0460(4) must include the immunisation record, the child's health history and individual care plan, the medication authorisation and administration log, documentation of special medical procedure training by the parent, the medical and dental provider names and contact information or the facility the parents prefer for treatment, the dates of the last physical and dental exams if available, and a consent to seek medical care and treatment signed by the parent or guardian. That consent is the document that lets an emergency room treat the child; a program that has not collected it has an incomplete record whatever the wall says. The location must also survive an evacuation. WAC 110-300-0470(2)(a)(vi) requires the written plan to state what is taken when children are evacuated, and names first-aid kits, copies of emergency contact information, child medication records and the children's individual medication. If your posted location is a filing cabinet that cannot be grabbed in ten seconds, your posting and your evacuation plan contradict each other, and the licensor will read the contradiction against you.
• DIETARY RESTRICTIONS, KNOWN ALLERGIES AND NUTRITION REQUIREMENTS — POSTED FOR STAFF, DELIBERATELY HIDDEN FROM EVERYONE ELSE. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(c) requires posting "dietary restrictions, known allergies, and nutrition requirements, if applicable, in a location easily accessible for staff but not available to those who are not parents or guardians of the enrolled child, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0186(8)." This is the one posting in the chapter with a negative visibility condition attached, and it cuts against the chapter's general rule in WAC 110-300-0505(1) that postings be "clearly visible to parents, guardians, and early learning program staff." The allergy list belongs inside the kitchen or on the inside of a cupboard door where cooks and teachers see it and where a visiting contractor, a delivery driver or another family's grandparent does not. Programs that laminate an allergy chart and hang it in the entryway where every family reads every child's medical condition are cited for the second half of the sentence, not the first. Be aware that the cross-reference is broken. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(c) points to "WAC 110-300-0186(8)," but WAC 110-300-0186, Food allergies and special dietary needs, as the code reviser serves it in the chapter last updated 1 July 2026, contains only four subsections. There is no subsection (8). The substantive duties actually live in WAC 110-300-0186(1), which requires written instructions — the individual care plan — from the child's health care provider and parent or guardian, identifying the foods that must not be consumed and the steps to take on an unintended allergic reaction, identifying substitute foods, and giving a specific treatment plan naming every medication, how to administer it, the dosage, and a description of the child's reactions and symptoms; WAC 110-300-0186(2), which requires you to arrange with the family that the program actually has the medication, the training and the equipment; and WAC 110-300-0186(4), which requires providers to review each child's individual care plan for food allergies "prior to serving food to children." Do not argue the dangling citation to a licensor. Treat the posted chart as the operational summary of the WAC 110-300-0300 individual care plans, keep the signed plans in the child files, and remember WAC 110-300-0186(3)(b): call 911 whenever epinephrine or other lifesaving medication has been administered.
• HANDWASHING PROCEDURE AT EVERY HANDWASHING SINK. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(d) requires posting "handwashing practices at each handwashing sink, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0200(1)." Two things follow that applicants regularly get wrong. The first is the count: at each sink, not one sign per room and not one sign per building. A family home with a kitchen sink, a bathroom sink and a sink beside the diaper changing area needs three. The second is that WAC 110-300-0200 itself never uses the word "post." The entire posting duty for handwashing lives in WAC 110-300-0505(2)(d); WAC 110-300-0200(1) supplies the text. That matters because the licensor checks the sign against the seven steps the rule sets out, and a generic commercial poster often does not match. The rule requires providers to comply with the following procedure, or the procedure defined by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: wet hands with warm water; apply soap to the hands; rub hands together to wash for at least twenty seconds; thoroughly rinse hands with water; dry hands with a paper towel, single-use cloth towel, or air hand dryer; turn the water faucet off using a paper towel or single-use cloth towel unless it turns off automatically; and properly discard paper or single-use cloth towels after each use. The twenty-second duration and the faucet-off-with-a-towel step are the two most commonly missing lines. WAC 110-300-0200(4) then lists sixteen moments when the provider must wash — on arriving at work, after toileting a child, before and after diapering, after personal toileting, after attending an ill child, before and after preparing, serving or eating food, before preparing bottles, after handling raw meat, before and after giving medication or topical ointment, after handling animals, after handling bodily fluids, after using tobacco or vapour products, after being outdoors, after gardening, after handling garbage, and as circumstances require — and WAC 110-300-0200(5) lists nine moments when children must be directed, assisted, taught and coached to wash. Posting the child list at child height beside the adult list is not required but is how experienced programs answer the licensor's follow-up question. Hand sanitiser does not substitute: WAC 110-300-0200(6) allows it only for adults and children over twenty-four months, only when proper handwashing facilities are unavailable and hands are not visibly soiled, and WAC 110-300-0200(7)(a) states flatly that it "must not be used in place of proper handwashing."
• THE DIAPER CHANGING OR STAND-UP DIAPERING PROCEDURE, AT EACH STATION. This is the only posting in Washington's early learning rules commanded twice, which tells you how often it is missed. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(e) requires posting, "if applicable, diaper changing or stand-up diapering procedure at each diapering station, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0220 and 110-300-0221(1)(d)"; and WAC 110-300-0221(1)(d) independently states that "early learning providers must post an easily viewable diaper changing procedure at each station and must follow each step described in the procedure." The second half of that sentence is the enforcement hook: the licensor watches a change and marks you against your own posted steps. A poster describing a procedure you do not follow is worse than no poster, because it converts an observation into a documented deviation from a written standard. "At each station" is again literal. WAC 110-300-0221(1) requires centres to have a designated diaper changing area "for each classroom or for every age grouping of children who require diapering," while "only one diaper changing area is required for family home early learning programs" — so a family home needs one posted procedure, a centre needs one per area. Stand-up diapering is covered because WAC 110-300-0220(6) permits it for a developmentally ready child but only "in the bathroom or a diaper changing area," which means a second posted procedure wherever stand-up changes actually happen. The physical requirements around the sign shape what the sign can honestly say. Under WAC 110-300-0221(1)(a) the area must be separate from where food is stored, prepared or served, must have a sink with hot and cold running water not used for food preparation and clean-up, must have a washable, moisture-resistant, untorn and untaped surface, and must be uncluttered and not used to store anything not used in diapering — which includes the poster's own tape, tacks and clutter. Under WAC 110-300-0221(1)(b) children must never be left unattended on the changing surface, and under (1)(c) safety belts must not be used at all "because they are neither cleanable nor safe," so a manufacturer's poster that instructs staff to fasten the strap contradicts Washington rule. Under WAC 110-300-0221(2)(a) a handwashing sink must be within arm's reach or readily accessible, and under (4)(c) the hands-free lidded, bag-lined diaper disposal container must be within arm's length. Write the posted steps to match those facts.
• NO SMOKING AND NO VAPING SIGNS, AT EACH BUILDING ENTRANCE. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(k) requires posting "no smoking" and "no vaping" signs pursuant to WAC 110-300-0420(2)(f), and WAC 110-300-0420(2)(f) fixes both the wording and the placement: the provider must "post 'no smoking or vaping' signs. Signs must be clearly visible and located at each building entrance used as part of the early learning program." Both words must appear. A tobacco-only sign, or the international no-smoking pictogram alone, is a finding, because Washington's rule text names vaping expressly and the underlying prohibition in WAC 110-300-0420(2)(a) covers "smoking, vaping, or similar activities." The placement standard is per entrance used by the program, not per building — a home with a front door used for drop-off and a side door used to reach the yard needs two. The authority behind the sign explains why the licensor will not negotiate. WAC 110-300-0420(1) states that chapter 70.160 RCW prohibits smoking in public places and places of employment, and RCW 70.160.050 requires owners, lessees or other persons in charge to post signs prohibiting smoking "conspicuously at each building entrance." Your licensed home or centre is a place of employment and, under WAC 110-300-0030(1), an early learning program is defined by state law as a place of public accommodation. The rest of WAC 110-300-0420(2) is what the sign is announcing and what the licensor checks next: smoking and vaping are prohibited in licensed indoor space "even during nonbusiness hours"; prohibited in licensed outdoor space except during nonbusiness hours or in an area that is not a public place or place of employment; prohibited in vehicles used to transport enrolled children; prohibited for any provider supervising children, including on field trips; and prohibited within twenty-five feet of entrances, exits, operable windows and vents, the presumptively reasonable minimum distance set by RCW 70.160.075. Family home applicants should note the asymmetry in WAC 110-300-0420(4) and (5): a centre must prohibit cannabis use in any form on licensed space outright, while a family home must prohibit it "during business hours" — but cannabis and its paraphernalia must in every case be stored out of the licensed space and inaccessible to children under WAC 110-300-0420(3)(e), and alcohol and tobacco or vapour products must be stored inaccessible to children under (3)(c) and (3)(f). The sign is the visible tip of a storage inspection.
• PESTICIDE TREATMENT NOTICE. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(f) requires posting notice of "pesticide treatment, if applicable, pursuant to RCW 43.216.280 and 17.21.410(1)(d)." Read the two statutes before you design a sign, because the posting duty they create is narrower and stranger than the WAC makes it sound. RCW 43.216.280 says only that "licensed child day care centers and outdoor nature-based child care providers shall provide notice of pesticide use to parents or guardians of students and employees pursuant to chapter 17.21 RCW" — that statute names centres and outdoor nature-based providers and does not name family day care providers, yet WAC 110-300-0505 applies to every licensed early learning programme on its face. If you run a family home, the safe reading is the rule's: post it anyway, and do not build a defence on the statute's silence. RCW 17.21.410(1)(d) is the operative posting text and it is addressed to the applicator, not to you: "a certified applicator making a landscape application to ... a school, nursery school, or licensed day care shall at the time of the application place a marker at each primary point of entry to the school grounds," and RCW 17.21.410(2) extends the same duty to an individual making a landscape application who is not a certified applicator. So the notice is triggered by an event — a landscape application — and it goes at each primary point of entry to the grounds, not on the parent board indoors. RCW 17.21.410(3) specifies the marker: a minimum of four inches by five inches, headed "THIS LANDSCAPE HAS BEEN TREATED BY", footed "FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL", with the applicator's telephone number in the footer, the company name and service mark between headline and footer if a commercial applicator placed it, printed in colours contrasting with the background. RCW 17.21.410(4) makes the property owner or tenant responsible for removing the marker on the schedule set in rule, which means the family home licensee takes the sign down, not the lawn company. Two traps close the loop. First, the sign is not the whole duty: RCW 43.216.280 also requires notice to parents and employees, so a marker at the gate without a written notice to families is half-compliant. Second, WAC 110-300-0465(5)(o) requires records of pesticide use to be kept for seven years — the longest retention period anywhere in the chapter, against a three-year default in WAC 110-300-0465(1) and five years for attendance.
• NOTICE OF ANY CURRENT OR PENDING ENFORCEMENT ACTION, INCLUDING A PROBATIONARY LICENCE. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(i) requires posting "a notice of any current or pending enforcement action, including probationary licenses pursuant to RCW 43.216.687," and sets the timing precisely: the notice must be posted "(i) Immediately upon receipt; and (ii) For at least two weeks or until the violation causing the enforcement action is corrected, whichever is longer." RCW 43.216.687(1)(c) says the same in statute. "Immediately upon receipt" means the day the certified letter arrives, not the day your appeal is decided — and this is the single most expensive misreading in the chapter, because providers routinely hold the notice while they consult a lawyer and thereby add a fresh, separate violation to the one they are contesting. Appealing does not suspend the posting duty. Under WAC 110-300-0443(2) a provider subject to an enforcement action has the right to request an adjudicative proceeding under chapter 110-03 WAC, and under WAC 110-300-0443(3) the department's notice of violation must be served by certified mail or personally and must state the reason, the rules breached, the right to appeal and how to appeal; nothing in either subsection pauses WAC 110-300-0505(2)(i). What counts as an enforcement action is defined by WAC 110-300-0443(1): civil monetary penalties and the denial, suspension, revocation, modification or nonrenewal of a licence. Fines under WAC 110-300-0443(4) may not exceed two hundred fifty dollars per day per violation for centres or one hundred fifty dollars per day per violation for family homes, may be assessed for each day the violation occurs, and must be paid within twenty-eight calendar days. A facility licensing compliance agreement under WAC 110-300-0440(1) is issued "in lieu of the department taking enforcement action," so an FLCA is not itself a posted enforcement notice — but WAC 110-300-0440(4) and (5) give you the right to refuse an FLCA or a probationary licence, and refusing may produce modification, noncontinuation, suspension, revocation or civil penalties, all of which are postable. If a probationary licence issues, WAC 110-300-0440(9) piles four duties on top of posting: give notice and a copy of the probationary licensing agreement to every enrolled family within five business days, document to the department within ten business days that families were notified, inform new families before enrolling them, and return the nonexpiring licence.
• NOTICE OF A SAFE SLEEP VIOLATION. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(j) requires posting "a notice of safe sleep violation in the licensed space as required by WAC 110-300-0291(2), if applicable," and WAC 110-300-0291(2) — amended by WSR 24-19-056, filed 13 September 2024 and effective 14 October 2024, so this is one of the newer duties in the chapter — sets the mechanics. A provider who receives notice of a safe sleep violation must "(a) Post the notice in the licensed space for two weeks or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer, pursuant to WAC 110-300-0505; and (b) Within five business days of receiving notice of the violation, provide all parents and guardians of enrolled children with: (i) A letter describing the safe sleep violation; and (ii) Written information on safe sleep practices for infants." That is a posting and a written handout, running on two different clocks, from a single event. Programs that post and stop are half-compliant; programs that letter families and do not post are half-compliant; the five-business-day letter deadline is shorter than the two-week posting minimum and expires first. Note that this is a posting a family home provider can incur without ever having advertised infant care. WAC 110-300-0291 sits in the Infant and Toddler part of the chapter and applies to any licensed programme with an infant in care, and Washington's family home licence covers birth through twelve under WAC 110-300-0010(1). Note also what is not posted: the safe sleep policy itself. WAC 110-300-0450(2)(i)(ii)(E) puts safe sleep requirements into the written parent handbook, alongside diapering, feeding, toilet training and child sleep patterns, for any programme offering infant and toddler care, and WAC 110-300-0110(2)(e)(vi) puts safe sleep practices into the written staff policies. So the sequence Washington actually builds is: a written policy in the handbook and the staff policies from day one; a posted notice only if and when the department finds you in violation; and a letter to every enrolled family within five business days when that happens. Treat the posted notice as what it is — a disclosure to parents of a specific finding, not a general safety sign — and do not take it down at the two-week mark if the underlying practice has not been corrected, because the rule says two weeks "or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer."
• A COPY OF ANY DEPARTMENT-APPROVED WAIVER OR VARIANCE. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(l) requires posting "a copy of a department approved waiver or variance from a rule of this chapter, if applicable," and then draws a privacy line that no other item in the section draws: "waivers or variances must be posted for parent or guardian view when related to the overall program (not related to any specific child), and as long as the waiver or variance is approved." Programme-wide relief goes on the wall; relief granted for one named child does not, because posting it would disclose that child's circumstances to every other family. Get this backwards and you have either concealed a programme-level departure from the standards or published a child's medical or developmental situation. The two instruments are distinct and applicants confuse them. Under WAC 110-300-0435 a waiver excuses you from a rule in the chapter and must be "for a specific program need or child"; under WAC 110-300-0436 a variance approves a different way of meeting the objective and must be "for a specific program approach or methodology," and it may be requested by an applicant, licensee, centre director, assistant director or programme supervisor. Both must be submitted in writing on the department's form to the local licensing office and both must be "approved in writing by the department director or the director's designee prior to the early learning provider implementing" the departure. Acting first and papering it later is not a technicality: an unapproved departure is simply a violation of the underlying rule, and the posted copy is the department's evidence of what it did and did not authorise. Neither WAC 110-300-0435(1) nor WAC 110-300-0436(1) allows the department to waive or vary a requirement of state or federal law, which means an applicant seeking relief from RCW 43.216.687's posting duties, from the smoking prohibition in chapter 70.160 RCW, or from the firearm and insurance statutes is asking for something the department cannot grant. Two more clauses control the wall. WAC 110-300-0435(4) and WAC 110-300-0436(4) allow time-limited grants, so an expired waiver must come down — "as long as the waiver or variance is approved" is a posting window, not a permanent licence. And WAC 110-300-0435(5) and WAC 110-300-0436(5) let the department revoke a grant when the rule it rested on is materially altered or amended, which is exactly what happened to several sections of this chapter under WSR 26-09-080, filed 14 April 2026 and effective 15 May 2026. Keep the paper copy filed too: WAC 110-300-0465(5)(v) lists waivers and variances among the records that must be available for department review.
• INSURANCE STATUS — AND THE FAMILY HOME OPT-OUT THAT MAKES IT A HANDOUT INSTEAD. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(m) lists among required postings "insurance coverage, or a lapse or termination of such coverage if applicable, pursuant to RCW 43.216.700." The rule reads as though every licensee posts proof of coverage. The statute it cites does not say that, and for family day care providers it says something close to the opposite. RCW 43.216.700(1)(a) applies to licensed child day care centres and outdoor nature-based child care providers: they must provide proof of day care insurance as defined in RCW 48.88.020 or self-insurance under chapter 48.90 RCW, must notify the department when coverage is terminated, must "post at the day care center or outdoor nature-based child care location, in a manner likely to be observed by patrons, notice that coverage has lapsed or been terminated," and must give written notice to parents of the lapse within thirty days. The posted item is the bad news, not the good news. RCW 43.216.700(2)(a) treats family day care providers separately and lets them choose: at licensure or renewal a family day care provider must either provide the department with proof of day care insurance under RCW 48.88.020 or other applicable insurance, or "provide written notice of their insurance status on a standard form developed by the department to parents with a child enrolled in family day care and keep a copy of the notice to each parent on file." A family home provider may lawfully carry no day care insurance at all, provided every enrolled family receives that written notice and a copy of each notice is kept on file. Under RCW 43.216.700(2)(a) a provider who opts out "shall not be subject to the requirements of (b) or (c) of this subsection," which is where the posting duty lives — so for an uninsured family home, Washington requires a written handout to each parent plus a file copy, and requires no posting whatsoever. Only a family home provider who does carry insurance takes on the RCW 43.216.700(2)(b) duties: notify the department when coverage terminates, "post at the day care home, in a manner likely to be observed by patrons, notice that coverage has lapsed or been terminated," and give written notice to parents within thirty days. Two connected duties: WAC 110-300-0425(10) requires notification to the department within thirty calendar days of termination of the liability insurance described in RCW 43.216.700, and WAC 110-300-0450(2)(v)(v) requires the parent handbook to describe where a parent may find and review the programme's liability insurance — describe where, not post it.
• A NOTICE THAT INSPECTION REPORTS AND ENFORCEMENT NOTICES ARE AVAILABLE — THE REPORTS THEMSELVES ARE NOT POSTED. This is the distinction Washington licensors write citations on, and the one most posting checklists sold to providers get wrong. RCW 43.216.687(1)(d) requires every centre, outdoor nature-based provider and family day care provider to prominently post "a notice that inspection reports and any notices of enforcement actions for the previous three years are available from the licensee and the department." What is posted is a notice of availability — a sentence telling parents the reports exist, that you hold them, and that DCYF holds them too. The reports are a separate obligation with a different verb. RCW 43.216.689(1) requires every such provider to "have readily available for review by the department, parents, and the public a copy of each inspection report and notice of enforcement action received by the center or provider from the department for the past three years," and WAC 110-300-0440(10) repeats it: inspection reports and notices of enforcement actions for the past three years must be "readily available for review by the department, parents, and the public." "Readily available" is a defined term in WAC 110-300-0005 — "able to be used or obtained quickly and easily" — and it is not a synonym for posted. A labelled binder at the sign-in table that any parent may open without asking permission satisfies RCW 43.216.689; taping three years of inspection reports to the wall is not required and, in a family home, is a good way to fill the visible wall space that WAC 110-300-0505 actually needs. Note that WAC 110-300-0505(2) never lists this item by name; it reaches it through the catch-all in subsection (2)(n), "any other information listed in RCW 43.216.687." A provider who reads only the WAC and never opens the statute will miss a posting the statute plainly commands, and that is a genuine gap in Washington's rule as the code reviser serves it in the chapter last updated 1 July 2026 — WAC 110-300-0505 has not itself been amended since WSR 18-14-079, filed 30 June 2018. The department's half of the same disclosure is public and worth naming in your posted notice: RCW 43.216.689(2) requires DCYF to make inspection reports and enforcement notices available to the public during business hours with a statement of corrective measures taken, RCW 43.216.689(3) authorises publication on a public website, and RCW 43.216.687(2) requires disclosure of the receipt, general nature and resolution of complaints resulting in enforcement action. DCYF does this through Child Care Check, which publishes valid complaint findings and licensing inspections for the last three years, reachable at 1-866-482-4325.
• THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN HANDBOOK IS A WRITTEN HANDOUT, NOT A POSTING — AND IT SWALLOWS MOST OF WHAT PROVIDERS ASSUME THEY MUST POST. WAC 110-300-0450(1) states the mechanism: "an early learning provider must supply to each parent or guardian written policies regarding the early learning program. Each enrolled child's record must have signed documentation stating the parent or guardian reviewed the handbook and early learning program policies." Delivery plus a signature in the child's file, not a wall. The section was amended by WSR 26-09-080, filed 14 April 2026 and effective 15 May 2026, so the version you are reading is recent. WAC 110-300-0450(2) then lists what the written policies must contain, and the list is where the classic "postings" go in Washington: a nondiscrimination statement at (a); a family engagement and partnership communication plan at (b); permission policy for photography, videotaping or surveillance at (c); alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use at (d); curriculum philosophy at (e); "child guidance plan, which includes restraint policies and forbidding corporal punishment" at (f); the expulsion policy at (g); staff-to-child ratios and classroom types at (h); policies for special needs care, infant and toddler care covering diapering, feeding, toilet training, child sleep pattern and safe sleep, dual language learning, religious and cultural activities, transportation and off-site field trips, water activities, overnight care, and "how weapons on the premises are secured" at (i); programme days, hours, closure dates and observed holidays at (j); enrolment and disenrolment requirements at (k); fees and payment plans at (l); sign-in and sign-out requirements at (m); what the child's record contains and who may access it at (n); the kindergarten transition plan at (o); what parents supply at (p); parent access to the programme during business hours at (q); the termination of services policy at (r); the emergency preparedness plan at (s); and at (t) "the early learning provider and program staff's duty to report incidents including reporting suspected abuse or neglect of a child or youth." Then WAC 110-300-0450(2)(v) closes with the tell: the handbook must contain a "description of where the parent or guardian may find and review" the health policy, staff policies, consistent care policy, menus, liability insurance, and inspection reports and notices of enforcement actions. Washington's design is deliberate — a signed handbook plus a stated location, in place of a wall of paper. Staff policies run parallel under WAC 110-300-0110(2)(a), which requires them to include everything in the parent handbook except fees, and are likewise written and trained, not posted.
• WHAT WASHINGTON DOES NOT REQUIRE YOU TO POST, AND WHY YOUR CHECKLIST SAYS OTHERWISE. Fourteen items appear in WAC 110-300-0505(2), plus the notice of availability RCW 43.216.687(1)(d) reaches through subsection (2)(n). Nothing else in chapter 110-300 WAC is posted. The word "post" appears in only five places in the whole chapter in the version last updated 1 July 2026: WAC 110-300-0221(1)(d) for the diapering procedure, WAC 110-300-0291(2)(a) for a safe sleep violation notice, WAC 110-300-0420(2)(f) for the no smoking or vaping signs, WAC 110-300-0440(9)(e) for a probationary licence, and WAC 110-300-0505 itself. One posted sign sits outside that pattern: WAC 110-300-0170(3)(i)(iii) requires a sign indicating the location of a fire extinguisher mounted in a closet. Menus are not a posting. WAC 110-300-0185(1)(a) requires only that "an early learning provider must supply dated menus," and WAC 110-300-0450(2)(v)(iv) requires the handbook to describe where a parent may find and review them. The daily schedule is not a posting: WAC 110-300-0360 requires an established programme and daily schedule "familiar to children," with outdoor play minimums of twenty minutes per three hours for infants and toddlers and thirty for preschool and older, and never says post it. Drill logs are not posted: WAC 110-300-0470(4) requires monthly fire and evacuation drills and quarterly earthquake, lockdown or shelter-in-place drills, recorded on a department form with date, time, number of children and staff, length and notes, kept three years under WAC 110-300-0465(1) — a record, not a sign. There is no posted mandated reporter notice: the RCW 26.44.030 duty is carried by WAC 110-300-0475(1), by WAC 110-300-0450(2)(t) in the handbook and by WAC 110-300-0110(2)(e)(xiii) in staff policies. There is no posted illness exclusion policy: WAC 110-300-0205(4) and (5) set the criteria and WAC 110-300-0500(2)(e) puts them in the written health policy. There is no posted discipline policy: WAC 110-300-0331 lists the prohibited practices and WAC 110-300-0450(2)(f) puts the child guidance plan in the handbook. There is no posted firearm notice: WAC 110-300-0165(2)(e) requires firearms in a family home to be in a locked gun safe or locked room inaccessible to children, each gun unloaded with a trigger lock or disabling device, and bans them from centre premises, while WAC 110-300-0450(2)(i)(viii) makes the handbook explain how weapons are secured. And chapter 110-300 WAC nowhere requires a copy of itself to be posted or kept for parents — WAC 110-300-0110(4)(a) makes chapters 110-300 and 110-06 WAC and chapter 43.216 RCW staff training topics instead. Where does the longer list come from? From the repealed rules. DCYF's own Standards Alignment guidebook chapter, Program Administration and Oversight, dated October 2019 and still served at dcyf.wa.gov, prints the repealed family home rule WAC 170-296A-2175 and centre rules WAC 170-295-6010 and 170-295-7080 beside WAC 110-300-0505. Those repealed rules required posting the licensee's philosophy of child development, drill dates and times, the monthly smoke detector check, a duty-hour schedule with staff names, a typical activity schedule with operating hours and mealtimes, meal and snack menus for the month, the fire safety record, and a nondiscrimination poster. None of those survived into WAC 110-300-0505. Commercial posting kits and older orientation handouts still sell that list. Do not post from it.

Enrollment forms for each child

• DCYF 15-955, FAMILY HOME AND CENTER CHILD CARE LICENSE OR CERTIFICATION APPLICATION. This is the licence application itself, and the copy DCYF serves today is stamped "DCYF 15-955 (REVISED 5/2026) EXT", seven pages, English PDF only. It is a single combined form for both licence types: you tick "Family Home" or "Child Care Center" under License Type, then "Initial Application", "Certification" or "Move" under Application Type. The applicant and any co-applicant sign it; the form collects legal name, all other names ever used, mailing address, type of organization (government agency, individual/sole proprietor, corporation, partnership, LLC sole proprietor, LLC corporation, LLC partnership, tribal, non-profit corporation), Social Security Number, EIN "if applicant plans to hire staff", and ITIN if applicable, and it forces four yes/no disclosures: ever denied a child or adult care licence, ever had one suspended or revoked, ever previously licensed or certified, and whether you hold another licensed or certified programme in Washington. It also asks whether the programme sits on tribal land, which local agencies manage zoning and building codes, the date the facility will be ready for all inspections, and a day-by-day operating schedule with closure dates and holidays. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(a)(i) is the provision that requires it, and it requires the form only as one item inside a packet that also carries the orientation certificate (orientation must be taken within twelve months of application), a business licence if applicable, liability insurance if applicable, the licence fee, government photo ID, a copy of the Social Security card or a sworn declaration, the EIN, and employment and education verification. The trap is that the form is not the application. WAC 110-300-0400(3) gives DCYF ninety calendar days from receipt of a COMPLETE packet, and 0400(3)(b) says flatly that "Incomplete application packets will be returned to the applicant for completion" — the ninety-day clock does not start on the day you post form 15-955, it starts on the day the last missing attachment arrives. The second trap is that as of today DCYF does not publish a submission address on the form pathway at all: the Forms and Documents page's Applications section gives only an email address, dcyf.welcomeinbox@dcyf.wa.gov, while the Licensing Process page's Step Four says to email dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov. Two DCYF pages, two different inboxes, same week. Send to both and keep the sent-mail timestamps, because that timestamp is your only evidence of when the ninety days began.
• DCYF 15-862, INITIAL CHECKLIST FOR FAMILY HOME CHILD CARE APPLICANT, AND DCYF 15-963, THE FEASIBILITY CHECKLIST. Neither is a filing you send in; both are self-inspection instruments you complete before a licensor walks your home, and both are the cheapest money an applicant can spend. DCYF 15-862 carries revision date 05-2023 and exists in English as a Word document only — there is no English PDF at the forms library, so an applicant working from a phone or a locked-down library computer often cannot open it at all. Its structure is a table of WAC citations: for each row you enter a code from "C = Compliance, N = Non-Compliance, NA = Not Applicable, ? = Have Question for Licensor". It walks the family-engagement rules (WAC 110-300-0080 self-assessment, 110-300-0085(1) developmental goals, 110-300-0085(2) the family information you must attempt to obtain on enrolment and annually, 110-300-0085(4)(f) parental access to the child), then interactions and curriculum starting at WAC 110-300-0300(1)(a) individual care plans, and continues through the chapter. The parallel centre form is DCYF 15-861 and the school-age form DCYF 15-863, both also 05-2023 and both Word-only in English. DCYF 15-963 is listed on the Forms and Documents page as the "Family Home/Center Feasibility Checklist" but the forms library itself titles it "Early Learning-Child Care Facility Feasibility Checklist"; DCYF 15-964, described on the same page as the "School-Age Feasibility Checklist", is titled in the library "Early Learning-Child Care Facility Feasibility Checklist (sa)". Cite the number, never the title, when you ask a licensor about either one, because the two DCYF pages do not agree on what they are called. The specific way applicants get this wrong is treating the checklist as optional homework. It is the same instrument the licensor uses. Every row you mark "C" without reading the underlying WAC is a row you have asserted compliance on; every row you honestly mark "?" is a question you get answered for free before an inspection failure costs you a re-inspection and another ninety-day cycle under WAC 110-300-0400(3)(c). Keep the completed checklist on site with your programme records — WAC 110-300-0465 governs retention of facility and programme records — and bring it out at the walkthrough.
• PORTABLE BACKGROUND CHECK APPLICATION AND DCYF 15-949, FAMILY HOME CHILD CARE RESIDENT AND STAFF BACKGROUND CHECKLIST. Washington does not use a paper background-check authorisation form for family homes; the subject individual files a DCYF background check application through the DCYF Background Check Unit, and what you keep on site is the roster. That roster is DCYF 15-949, revised 05-2026, English PDF, and its instruction line is explicit: "Please list below ALL members who live on the premises, regardless of age. Anyone who lives on the premises age 13 years and older, all staff and volunteers must have a cleared DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC)." You list each household member with full name, birthdate or STARS ID, role and PBC expiration date, entering "N/A" for anyone under thirteen, then a second table for all staff and volunteers, and the licensee signs and dates it. The centre and school-age equivalent is DCYF 15-937, revised 10-2025. Two things in this area are commonly published wrong. First, the age. WAC 110-06-0041(2) sets sixteen as the trigger for providers generally — a background check is due "By the date a subject individual age sixteen or older moves onto the premises" or "By the date a subject individual who lives on the premises turns sixteen years old" — but WAC 110-06-0045(1)(b) separately reaches "Thirteen through 15 years of age on or before the date they begin or continue to reside in a licensed or certified family home child care", and gives a resident who moves in after their thirteenth birthday seven days to complete the minor application, which under 110-06-0045(3) "must be signed by them and their parent or guardian". In a family home the operative threshold is therefore THIRTEEN, not sixteen. Second, the renewal interval, where DCYF's own law is in open conflict. WAC 110-06-0040(1), filed under WSR 22-10-022 on 25 April 2022, requires the application "at least once every three years thereafter". RCW 43.216.270(2)(f), as amended by 2020 c 270 s 9, says the clearance card "is valid for five years from the date of issuance", and DCYF's own 05-2026 form 15-949 says "A DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC) application every 5 years." The codified rule is the stale text here. Diary five years from issuance, keep the card or certificate on site as RCW 43.216.270(2)(h) requires, and note that under WAC 110-06-0040(4) an uncleared adult must not have unsupervised access and under 110-06-0040(5) a disqualified person "must not be present on the premises when early learning services are provided to children" — a spouse who fails a check does not merely stop helping, they leave the house during operating hours.
• DCYF 15-956, NO SOCIAL SECURITY CARD DECLARATION. WAC 110-300-0400(1)(a)(viii) makes the application packet include "A copy of Social Security card or sworn declaration stating that the applicant does not have one", and DCYF 15-956 is that sworn declaration. It exists in English as a Word document only, plus Somali and Spanish PDFs; there is no English PDF at the forms library. The form recites its own legal basis: it cites WAC 110-300-0400 and WAC 110-301-0400, and explains that "The license applicant seeking an initial license under chapter 110-300 or 110-305 must submit an application packet that includes a copy of the license applicant's Social Security card pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(13) and RCW 26.23.150 regarding child support." That federal citation is the reason DCYF cannot simply waive the requirement: it is a child-support enforcement condition attached to state professional licensing, not an early-learning rule. The licence applicant alone signs, in their own name, and the declaration is executed under penalty of perjury: "I understand that a person may be subject to criminal penalties under Chapter 9A.72 RCW for making a materially false written statement" and "I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that the foregoing is true and correct", dated and signed at a named Washington city. It is filed once, with the initial application packet, and DCYF retains it. The way applicants get this wrong is filing 15-956 when they have a Social Security number but have mislaid the physical card. Read the form: the free-text block asks you to "Provide a sworn declaration stating you do not have a Social Security card", and page one of DCYF 15-955 has a separate field for the Social Security Number itself. If you have a number and no card, request a replacement card from the Social Security Administration rather than swearing a declaration you cannot support — a materially false declaration here is a criminal exposure under chapter 9A.72 RCW on top of a licence denial under RCW 43.216.325. Applicants with an ITIN rather than an SSN should complete the ITIN field on 15-955 and raise the question with the Welcome Team before signing anything.
• DCYF 15-879, CHILD CARE REGISTRATION FORM. This is Washington's child enrolment and emergency contact record, revised 6/2021, available in English Word and PDF and in Somali, Spanish and Ukrainian PDFs, and it is a two-page form that covers four separate legal obligations at once. Page one records the date the child entered care and the date the child left care, the child's name, nickname, birthdate and address, then two parent or guardian blocks each with the instruction "Circle the best number to contact you at when your child is in our care" across cell, home and alternate numbers. Then comes the emergency and pickup section, which carries its own signature line: "I give my permission for any of the following individuals to be contacted and my child may be released to any of them. Parent/Guardian signature: ______ Date: ______", followed by "In an emergency, if you are not able to contact me, contact the following:" and, separately, "These individuals also have permission to pick up my child:" — two distinct lists, and this is the form on which authorised pickup is actually captured in Washington, not the permission form DCYF 15-897. Page one closes with child health information: medical care provider or preferred facility, dental provider or preferred facility, date of last physical and last dental exam "if available", and known health conditions with the warning that "An individual care plan from child's health care provider is required for any food allergies or special dietary requirement due to a health condition." Page two is the consent to medical care and treatment of a minor: first-aid and emergency treatment by the licensee, then a broader authorisation for "medical, surgical and hospital care, treatment and procedures" by a licensed physician or aid car attendant when you cannot be reached, an explicit waiver of the right of informed consent, permission to transport by ambulance, and a certification under penalty of perjury. WAC 110-300-0460(2) is the provision that requires all of this: birth date at (a), parent contact at (b), emergency contact at (c) with the allowance that "If no emergency contact is available, a written and signed emergency contact plan may be accepted", authorised pickup names and phone numbers at (d), and enrolment start and end dates at (g). The consent to treatment sits at WAC 110-300-0460(4)(g). Keep it in the child's confidential file "in an area easily accessible to staff" per 0460(1)(a), and update it annually — WAC 110-300-0460(1) requires records "updated annually or as often as enrolled children's health records are updated." The habitual failure is a two-year-old pickup list with a phone number nobody answers.
• DCYF 15-897, CHILD CARE PARENT/GUARDIAN PERMISSION. The forms library indexes this as "Child Care Parent Guardian Permissions"; the form itself is headed "Child Care Parent/Guardian Permission" and its footer reads "DCYF 15-897 (REV. 04/2020) EXT", two pages, English Word and PDF plus Somali and Spanish Word. It is signed by the parent or guardian — there are two signature lines, for two parents — and filed in the child's record. It carries four blocks. Transportation and off-site activity is the largest: for each of four trip categories (to and/or from school, on field trips, on occasional errands, and a fill-in "Other"), you tick yes or no for three modes — "By a personal vehicle", "By riding with my child on public transportation", "By walking with my child" — twelve separate decisions, and the field-trip block reproduces the rule that "a written notice about the field trip will be given at least 24 hours before the field trip is taken". Water activities is a single yes/no line. Bathing has two lines, one for cleaning a child after an accident such as diarrhoea or vomiting and one for a child enrolled in overnight care. Photo, video, or surveillance activity has three: photographs, video, and "Capture my child's image on surveillance video used at this child care facility". The closing attestation is the part providers skip: "I have reviewed the licensee's written policies and have had the opportunity to discuss with the licensee the policies pertaining to the items listed on this permission form." WAC 110-300-0460(2)(f) requires signed parent or guardian permissions for field trips, transportation, bathing, water activities including swimming pools or other bodies of water, and photo, video or surveillance activity — the five headings on the form map exactly onto that subsection. WAC 110-300-0480(1)(b) sets what a transport authorisation must contain and permits three levels of specificity: "A specific event, date, and anticipated travel time", "A specific type of trip", or "A full range of trips a child may take while in the early learning provider's care". The trap is the last option. Providers tick the broadest boxes on 15-897 at enrolment and then treat the form as covering everything for ever, but WAC 110-300-0480(1)(c) still requires a fresh written notice to parents at least twenty-four hours before each field trip, and WAC 110-300-0480(1)(a) caps routine trips at two hours per day for any individual child. A blanket permission is not a substitute for the twenty-four-hour notice, and licensors check for the notices, not the signature.
• WATER ACTIVITY PERMISSION AND THE SINGLE-LINE FORM THAT DOES NOT CARRY IT. Washington requires written permission for water activities as a standalone legal duty: WAC 110-300-0350(3) states that "An early learning provider must have written permission for water activities from each child's parent or guardian", and WAC 110-300-0460(2)(f)(iv) puts that signed permission in the child's enrolment record alongside field trips, transportation and bathing. The only DCYF instrument covering it is one yes/no line inside DCYF 15-897 (REV. 04/2020): "Take my child swimming or play in a swimming pool or other body of water." There is no DCYF water-activity form, no depth-specific consent, and no acknowledgement of the supervision regime the parent is consenting to — which is where the exposure lies, because that regime is severe. WAC 110-300-0350(2) requires a one-to-one staff-to-child ratio for infants, continuous touch of infants, non-ambulatory toddlers and children with special needs as required, and toddlers kept within arm's length. WAC 110-300-0350(4) provides that for water more than twenty-four inches deep, on or off the premises, a certified lifeguard must be present and on duty AND at least one additional staff member beyond the normal requirement must be present to help actively supervise preschool-age or older children. WAC 110-300-0350(5) requires life-saving equipment readily accessible whenever a pool is six feet or more in any direction and two feet or more in depth, listing a ring buoy and rope, a rescue tube, or a throwing line and a shepherd's hook that will not conduct electricity. WAC 110-300-0350(6) reaches further than most providers expect: if you take children off site to an area with an ACCESSIBLE body of water more than four inches deep — the rule's own example is "a park with a lake or stream" — even when children are not doing a water activity, you need one more staff person than the ratio requires and at least one attending staff person must be able to swim. Four inches. A creek at the edge of a park triggers it. The trap is the wading pool in the back garden of a family home: a provider reads the twenty-four-inch lifeguard threshold, keeps the pool at eight inches, and believes no permission is needed. WAC 110-300-0350(3) is unqualified by depth. Get the signature on 15-897, note the swimming pool policy obligation under WAC 110-300-0450(2)(i)(vi), and check WAC 110-300-0175 on water hazards and swimming pools before filling anything.
• CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION STATUS, DOH 348-013, AND CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION, DOH 348-106. The immunisation record for a child in Washington child care is a Department of Health form, not a DCYF form; the DCYF Forms and Documents page carries no number of its own here and simply links out to DOH. The current names and numbers, verified at DOH today, are the Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS), DOH 348-013, and the Certificate of Exemption (COE), DOH 348-106, both published in roughly eighteen languages. WAC 110-300-0210(1) fixes the deadline: "On or before their children's first day of attending an early learning program, the parents or guardians of enrolled children must give to early learning providers proof of vaccination or acquired immunity", under RCW 43.216.690 and chapter 246-105 WAC. WAC 110-300-0210(2) then names exactly three acceptable documents and requires one of them "upon enrollment and annually thereafter": "(a) A current, complete, and medically verified certificate of immunization status (CIS) form; (b) A department approved certificate of exemption (COE) form, if applicable; or (c) A current immunization record from the Washington state immunization information system (WA IIS)." The word doing the work is "medically verified". A CIS printed from the state Immunization Information System, including through MyIR, is medically verified by the IIS itself and needs no further parent or health-care-provider signature; a CIS a parent fills in by hand from memory is not, and a licensor will treat the child's file as incomplete. WAC 110-300-0210(3) is the conditional-acceptance route: to take a child who is not current you must give the parent written notice, and either obtain written proof before enrolment that the child is scheduled to be immunised, or a signed and dated parent statement saying when the immunisations will be brought up to date and stating the parent understands the child will be excluded from care if they are not completed within thirty calendar days of the specified due date. WAC 110-300-0210(5) waives the records for homeless or foster children where the family, caseworker or health-care provider gives written proof the records are being obtained. Two traps recur. First, the annual re-collection at 0210(2) — providers collect a CIS once at enrolment and never again, and a four-year-old's file still holds a two-year-old certificate. Second, exclusion: WAC 110-300-0210(6) says you MUST exclude a child under the criteria in WAC 246-105-080, and WAC 110-300-0210(7) requires that during an outbreak you notify the parents of exempt and undocumented children and permits exclusion for the duration of the outbreak.
• HEALTH HISTORY, AND THE PHYSICIAN'S STATEMENT WASHINGTON DOES NOT REQUIRE. Applicants arriving from another state look for a physical-examination form signed by a doctor before a child's first day. Washington has no such form and no such requirement for children in licensed child care. Read WAC 110-300-0460(4), which is the exhaustive list of what a child's health record must contain: an immunisation record under 110-300-0210(1); "The child's health history including any known health conditions and the child's individual care plan, if applicable"; a medication authorisation and administration log under 110-300-0215 if applicable; documentation of special medical procedure training given by the parent or guardian if applicable; medical and dental care provider names and contact information "or what facility parents or guardians would prefer for treatment"; "Dates of the child's last physical and dental exams, IF AVAILABLE"; consent to seek medical care and treatment signed by the parent or guardian; signed permission for visiting health professionals who provide direct services at the programme; an incident or injury report under 110-300-0475 where one exists; and documentation that food poisoning or contagious disease was reported to the local health jurisdiction or DOH. The qualifier "if available" on the exam dates is the whole answer: the rule wants the date if the family has it and does not require the exam, does not require a clinician's signature, and does not require a form. The health history itself is captured on DCYF 15-879 (REV. 6/2021) in the "Child's health information" block, filled in and signed by the parent or guardian, and it is where a food allergy or dietary restriction surfaces — 15-879 warns on its face that an individual care plan from the child's health care provider is required for any food allergy or special dietary requirement due to a health condition, which is WAC 110-300-0186 read together with WAC 110-300-0300. Two practical points. There is no TB clearance requirement for licensed child care children or staff: DCYF 15-820 and 15-820A, Tuberculosis (TB) Screening, are licensing-division and group-care forms, not child care forms, and pulling them into a child-care file is a common cross-programme error. And where a parent supplies the child's food, WAC 110-300-0190 requires a written food plan — a separate document from the health history, kept in the same record, and one that licensors ask for by name.
• THE INDIVIDUAL CARE PLAN, AND THE RETIREMENT OF DCYF 15-970. WAC 110-300-0300(1) requires an early learning provider to "develop an individual care plan for each child with special needs and must notify the department when a child with special needs is enrolled or identified", and WAC 110-300-0300(2) says the plan "must be signed by the parent or guardian and may be developed using a department provided template." That template no longer exists. DCYF form 15-970 has been withdrawn from the forms library — a search of the library on its number returns nothing, and the number is simply absent from the sequence, which runs 15-969 to 15-971 with no 15-970 in between. In its place, DCYF's own Forms and Documents page now lists under "Care Plan Documents" a link to Public Health — Seattle and King County, labelled in DCYF's own words "Care Plan Documents – King County (formerly DCYF 15-970)". The King County set that DCYF now points every Washington provider to comprises an Allergy Care Plan, an Asthma Care Plan, a Diabetes Care Plan, a Food Intolerance Care Plan, a general Individual Care Plan, a Seizure Care Plan, and companion tracking and authorisation forms. That is a county health department's forms library carrying a statewide licensing obligation, and the King County pages themselves make no reference to DCYF or to 15-970. Content is fixed by rule regardless of template: WAC 110-300-0300(2)(a) requires diagnosis if known, contact information for the primary health care provider or relevant specialist, a list of medications administered at scheduled times or in an emergency with the symptoms that trigger emergency medication, directions for administering, allergies, food allergy and dietary needs under WAC 110-300-0186, activity, behavioural or environmental modifications, known symptoms and triggers, emergency response plans and procedures, and suggested special skills training including specific paediatric first aid and CPR for special health care needs. WAC 110-300-0300(2)(b) requires supporting documentation from the child's licensed or certified physician or physician assistant, mental health professional, education professional, social worker with a bachelor's degree or higher specialising in the child's needs, or registered nurse or ARNP. WAC 110-300-0300(1)(e) requires the plan to be updated annually or on any change, and (1)(f) to be kept in the child's file. The trap is the notification duty in 0300(1): enrolling a child with special needs obliges you to notify DCYF, and providers who quietly build a good care plan and tell nobody are out of compliance on the first line of the rule.
• DCYF 15-968, CHILD CARE MEDICATION AUTHORIZATION FORM. Revision 06/2021, English Word and PDF plus Somali, Spanish and Ukrainian PDFs. It is signed by the parent or guardian, one form per medication, and filed in the child's health record under WAC 110-300-0460(4)(c). The form opens by reciting the rule it enforces: a provider "must not give medication to any child without written and signed consent from that child's parent or guardian, must administer medication pursuant to directions on the medication label, and must use appropriate cleaned and sanitized medication measuring devices", which is WAC 110-300-0215(3). Fields are the child's full name and birthdate, the name of the medication "as it appears on medication container", dosage, start date, end date, times to be given, "Reason for Giving Medication to Child/Medical Need", possible side effects, and additional information. The permission clause names the programme: "I hereby give permission for the staff of ______ to give my child the medication as prescribed above." A second signature block, completed only when relevant, records that the parent or an appointed designee has trained named staff in specialised medication administration procedures for that child — the documentation WAC 110-300-0215(2)(c) and WAC 110-300-0460(4)(d) require, and it is signed by both the parent or designee and the provider. The form reproduces the labelling law verbatim: prescription medication must be labelled with the child's first and last name, the fill date, the prescriber's name and contact information, the expiration date, dosage amount, length of time to give the medication, and instructions for administration and storage; non-prescription medication must arrive in original packaging brought by the parent, with expiration date and the child's first and last name. Where the packaging label lacks expiration date, dosage, age and duration, WAC 110-300-0215(3)(a)(iii) demands written authorisation from a health care provider with prescriptive authority IN ADDITION to the parent's consent, and the form lists what this catches: vitamins, herbal supplements, fluoride supplements, homeopathic or naturopathic medication, and teething gels or tablets, with amber bead necklaces prohibited outright. The overlooked category is non-medical items at WAC 110-300-0215(3)(a)(iv) — diaper ointment, sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, alcohol hand sanitiser for children over twenty-four months, and fluoride toothpaste from age two — which need parent authorisation renewed ANNUALLY. Providers get a sunscreen permission once and never again, and that is the citation licensors write.
• DCYF 15-969, CHILD CARE MEDICATION LOG. This is the administration record, distinct from the authorisation on 15-968, and it is required by WAC 110-300-0215(3)(b), which obliges a provider to maintain a written medication log for every medication given except the non-medical items in 0215(3)(a)(iv). The rule fixes six contents: the child's full name, the name of the medication administered, the dose amount, side effects observed, "The date and time of each medication given or reasons that a particular medication was not given", and the name and signature of the person who administered it. The form mirrors this exactly. It is headed with the child's name (first and last) and "Name of Medication (as it is appears on medication container)" — the typo is DCYF's — then repeats eight identical blocks of Date, Time, Dosage, "Side Effects Observed (if any)", each closed by "Name of person who gave medication: ______ (print name)(signature)". Across the top it carries the instruction in bold asterisks: "** If a medication was not given, you must document the reason why. **" That line is the single most-cited failure on medication logs in Washington. A blank row is not a record that nothing happened; the rule requires the REASON the dose was skipped, and an inspection that finds gaps in a log for a scheduled asthma or seizure medication escalates quickly under the individual care plan rules at WAC 110-300-0300. Two structural facts about the form matter to applicants. First, DCYF 15-969 exists in English ONLY as a Word document — a request for a PDF at the standard forms path returns a 404 — with Somali and Spanish available as PDFs; the English-speaking applicant is the one who has to own Word to print it. Second, the log is not the only medication paperwork: WAC 110-300-0215(1) requires the medication management policy itself, covering safe storage, reasonable accommodations for giving medication, mandatory documentation and forms, to sit inside the written health policy that DCYF must review and approve under WAC 110-300-0500(2)(i). Storage rules travel with the log — medication inaccessible to children, controlled substances locked, kept away from food in a separate sealed container, external and internal medications separated, refrigerated where the label says so, under WAC 110-300-0215(3)(c) — and unused medication must be returned to the parent under 0215(3)(d). Homemade diaper cream or sunscreen must not be accepted at all under 0215(3)(e).
• DCYF 15-941, CHILD CARE INJURY/INCIDENT REPORT. Revision 01/2023 on the form itself, published in English Word and PDF and in Somali and Spanish, and it is the "department form" that WAC 110-300-0475(3) requires: "In addition to reporting to the department by phone or email, an early learning provider must submit a written incident report of the following on a department form within 24 hours." The form restates the deadline across its head: "In addition to reporting to the department by phone or email about the following incidents and injuries, a provider must also complete this incident report and submit it to DCYF within 24-hours." Fields are the child's name, provider name and Provider ID, the child's age, date and time of incident, whether it occurred indoors or outdoors, names of staff present and witnesses, and treatment provided and by whom. The tick-boxes are grouped exactly as the rule is, and each carries its own citation printed on the form for both the centre chapter and the school-age chapter: emergency response from emergency services 911 under 110-300-0475(2)(b), from Washington poison center under (2)(c), from the Department of Health under (2)(d); then the at-risk situations of 0475(3)(b) — inappropriate sexual touching, physical abuse, neglect, maltreatment, exploitation, other; then serious injury under 0475(3)(c), enumerated as severe bleeding, one or more fractured or broken bones, choking or serious unexpected breathing problems, severe neck or head injury, sudden unconsciousness, dangerous chemicals in eyes, on skin or ingested, near drowning, shock or acute confused state, severe burn requiring professional medical care, poisoning, overdose of chemical substance, and injury resulting in an overnight hospital stay. The form is signed twice — by the parent or guardian, under the words "By signing this form, I acknowledge that I received a copy of this report", and by the licensee or staff member — and its footer directs "Copies to: Parent, licensor, licensee". The child's copy stays in the health record under WAC 110-300-0460(4)(i), which additionally requires evidence that a copy was given to the parent. The trap is treating 15-941 as the report. It is not. It is the WRITTEN report that FOLLOWS a telephone report, and the phone deadlines are shorter: forty-eight hours at the outside for a death, an attempted suicide or talk of one, suspected abuse or neglect, or inappropriate sexual contact between children under 0475(2)(a); 911 IMMEDIATELY then DCYF within twenty-four hours for a missing child, a medical emergency, a medication overdose or wrong-child dose, fire, poisoning or other danger under 0475(2)(b). Filing the paper without making the call is a violation even when the paper is perfect.
• DCYF 15-942, DAILY CHILD ATTENDANCE RECORD FOR CHILD CARE FACILITIES. The forms library indexes it as "Daily Child Attendance Records"; the form is titled "Daily Child Attendance Record for Child Care Facilities" and footed "DCYF 15-942 (REV. 08/2019) EXT", English Word and PDF plus Somali and Spanish. It is a month grid with columns for Date, Child's Name (First/Last), Time in, "Parent/guardian or authorized person signature", Time out, and then a shaded band the form explains is "for child care staff use when child leaves and returns to licensee's care" — Time, Staff signature, Time, Staff signature — closing with a second parent or authorised person signature at final departure. WAC 110-300-0455(2) is the requiring provision and it demands, for each child including the children of staff, the name, the date of care, arrival and departure times, the signature or electronic signature of the parent, guardian or other authorised person AT THE TIME of arrival and departure, and a staff signature when a child leaves to attend school or an off-site activity the programme does not offer. Records must be "easily accessible and kept on-site or in the program's administrative office for department review". The gap that costs family home providers a citation is that form 15-942 covers only half of WAC 110-300-0455. Subsection (3) separately requires DAILY STAFF attendance records for each classroom or family home programme, recording the name of every staff member including one-on-one and special-needs staff and every volunteer, the number of children present, the staff-to-child ratio, the date, and the start and end times of each assigned staff member or volunteer. DCYF publishes no form for that; you build it yourself, and a family home provider working alone still has to record their own hours and their ratio. A second trap: WAC 110-300-0455(1) caps care at ten hours per child per day, extendable only for the parent's work, an agreed alternate schedule, or travel to and from the programme — a signed grid that routinely shows eleven-hour days is self-reported evidence. If you go electronic, WAC 110-300-0455(4) imposes eight conditions, including an electronic signature, swipecard, PIN or biometric reader at sign-in and sign-out, authentication of the sender, proof the record has not been altered, and retention in an accessible form for the legal minimum retention period, with WAC 110-300-0455(5) requiring the record to reproduce the contents, the signer and the date each signature was executed. Off-the-shelf childcare apps frequently fail the authentication and non-alteration tests.
• DCYF 15-892, CHILD CARE FIRE SAFETY AND EMERGENCY DRILLS RECORD. The forms library titles it "Fire, Safety, Emergency Drills Record", revision 08-2019, and the document itself is headed "Child Care Fire Safety & Emergency Drills Record for ____ (year)". It exists in English as a Word document ONLY — no English PDF is served — with Amharic, Somali and Spanish PDFs. It is a one-year sheet with four tables. The first records the annual maintenance date of fire extinguishers. The second is the monthly inspection of the premises to identify and eliminate possible fire hazards, a twelve-column January-to-December grid with Date and Staff Initials rows plus monthly working checks of alternate alarms, emergency lighting, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers — the inspection WAC 110-300-0170(3)(j) requires at least once per month, with staff responsible for different groups or classrooms involved. The third table is monthly fire and evacuation drills, one row per month, recording Date, Time of Day/Night, number of children, number of staff, Length of Drill, and "Notes - How did the drill go? How may the drill be improved?" The fourth is headed "Earthquake, Lockdown, or Shelter-in-place Drill – once every three calendar months" with the same columns plus Type of Drill. Those cadences come from WAC 110-300-0470, which requires drills to be conducted and recorded, fire and evacuation monthly, earthquake, lockdown and shelter-in-place quarterly, run "with a variety of staff and at different times of the day, including in the evening" and in overnight hours where the programme offers overnight care, documenting date and time, number of participants, duration and improvement notes. The annual fire safety inspection is a separate obligation under WAC 110-300-0170(2): arrange one with a local government agency, and only if no local agency is available may you self-inspect using the state fire marshal form — DCYF publishes the family home version as FH-Fire-Inspection.pdf and the centre and school-age version as CTR-Fire-Inspection.pdf. Two adjacent traps. WAC 110-300-0170(3)(f) requires annual inspection of any chimney, fireplace, gas-burning fireplace, wood stove or similar device by a state or locally certified inspector UNLESS you file a written statement that it will never be used — that statement is DCYF 15-891 (REV. 09/2019), signed by the licensee. And drills logged only at nine in the morning on a Tuesday fail the "variety of staff and different times of the day" test on their face; the log itself proves the violation.
• PET AND ANIMAL DISCLOSURE — THE WRITTEN NOTICE WITH NO DCYF CHILD CARE FORM. WAC 110-300-0225(1) permits pets and other animals on the premises, and WAC 110-300-0225(2) attaches two conditions in a single short subsection: the provider "must have and follow a pet and animal policy" and must "Provide written notice to children's parents and guardians." DCYF publishes no child care form for either. There is a DCYF 15-826 "Pet Vaccination Agreement", revised 06-2023 and available in seven languages, but read the numbering before you use it: the 15-82x block is the licensing-division foster and group-care series that also holds 15-820 and 15-820A tuberculosis screening, 15-821 the infant safety agreement, 15-822 the influenza vaccination agreement and 15-824 the authorisation to share records. It is not a chapter 110-300 child care form and it does not discharge the WAC 110-300-0225(2)(b) notice duty. You write the notice and the policy yourself. The policy content is fixed elsewhere: WAC 110-300-0500(2)(j) requires the programme health policy — which DCYF must review and approve under 0500(1) — to cover "Care for pets and animals that have access to licensed space and the health risks of interacting with pets and animals". The substantive rules the notice should disclose are in WAC 110-300-0225(3) and (4): animals in contact with children must have all vaccinations required by local and county regulations, show no signs of illness, disease, worms or parasites, and be non-aggressive, with removal from the licensed space on any failure; reptiles and amphibians not part of the programme must be inaccessible because of salmonella risk; chickens, ducks, turkeys, doves, pigeons and other birds must be caged, cooped or penned outside programme space when children are in care, far enough that children cannot reach the enclosures or the waste; indoor birds must be caged; animals must be kept out of the kitchen during food preparation and away from food and serving areas; a food or utensil sink must not be used to clean pet supplies; and pet medication must be stored separately from human medication. Subsection (5) adds the sanitation regime: outdoor toileting in an area inaccessible to children, cages and containers cleaned and disinfected at least weekly, litter boxes inaccessible and cleaned daily, waste disposed of promptly in unlicensed space, toilets or custodial sinks with the area washed, rinsed and disinfected afterwards, fish tank water included. Family home applicants forget the dog they have owned for nine years is an unlicensed programme animal the day the licence issues.
• PARENT HANDBOOK ACKNOWLEDGEMENT — SIGNED IN EVERY CHILD'S RECORD, WITH NO STATE FORM. WAC 110-300-0450(1) is one sentence and it is the whole obligation: "An early learning provider must supply to each parent or guardian written policies regarding the early learning program. Each enrolled child's record must have signed documentation stating the parent or guardian reviewed the handbook and early learning program policies." DCYF publishes no acknowledgement form; you write the signature page yourself and it lives in the child's record under WAC 110-300-0460. This section was amended recently — the current text was filed as WSR 26-09-080 on 14 April 2026, effective 15 May 2026, under statutory authority including 2024 c 298 and 2023 c 122 — so a handbook assembled from a template older than mid-2026 is very likely missing content. WAC 110-300-0450(2) then enumerates what the handbook must contain, and the list is long: a nondiscrimination statement; a family engagement and partnership communication plan; parent permission for photography, videotaping or surveillance; alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use with prohibition of illegal drugs; the curriculum philosophy and how it is implemented; a child guidance plan including restraint policies and forbidding corporal punishment; the expulsion policy; staff-to-child ratios and classroom types; programme days and hours including closure dates and observed holidays; enrolment and disenrolment requirements; fees and payment plans; sign-in and sign-out requirements; what information the child's record holds, why it must be kept current, how it is kept confidential and who may legally access it; a kindergarten transition plan if applicable; what parents must supply; permission for parental access to programme areas during business hours; the termination of services policy; the emergency preparedness plan; and "The early learning provider and program staff's duty to report incidents including reporting suspected abuse or neglect of a child or youth". Conditional policies at 0450(2)(i) apply only if you offer the service — care for children with specific or special needs, infant and toddler care covering diapering, feeding, toilet training, sleep patterns and safe sleep, dual language learning, religious and cultural activities including how holidays are celebrated, transportation and off-site field trips, water activities, overnight care, and how weapons on the premises are secured. Finally 0450(2)(v) requires the handbook to tell parents WHERE to find and review the health policy, staff policies, consistent care policy, menus, liability insurance, and inspection reports and notices of enforcement actions. That last item is the one providers quietly omit, and omitting it is itself the violation.
• DCYF 15-974 DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE, 15-894 LIABILITY INSURANCE NOTICE, AND THE ANNUAL PAPERWORK OF A NONEXPIRING LICENCE. Washington issues nonexpiring licences under WAC 110-300-0425, so there is no renewal application; what replaces it is an annual declaration. DCYF 15-974, "Declaration of Compliance (for family home and centers)", revision 02-2026, is filed each year and its first instruction is that you "complete this form in the Provider Portal" at the WA Compass provider portal, with a paper copy available at the forms library — and DCYF states that after it receives and uploads a paper form, "the form will be shredded." The licensee or the licensee's authorised agent signs. Under RCW 43.216.305(2)(b) you declare either that you plan to keep operating from today onward until you say otherwise, or that you will stop on a stated date, in which case you acknowledge you must not hold yourself out as licensed and must apply for a new licence to operate again. You restate days and hours of operation, closure dates and holidays. For family homes the form adds a checklist under WAC 110-300-0130 of items in UNLICENSED areas of the home for which you nonetheless commit to follow the rules: furnace area safety and smoke or carbon monoxide detectors under WAC 110-300-0170(3), gun, weapon and ammunition storage under 110-300-0165(2)(e), medication storage under 110-300-0215, refrigerator or freezer under 110-300-0165(3)(d), storage areas containing chemicals, utility sinks or wet mops under 110-300-0260, and swimming pools under 110-300-0175. The whole declaration is signed under penalty of perjury with an express warning about chapter 9A.72 RCW. It is filed alongside the background roster, DCYF 15-949 — that form's own opening line is "Along with your yearly declaration, you also need to fill out the form below." A companion family home document is DCYF 15-894, the "Liability Insurance Notice for Family Home Child Care" (REV. 10/2019), a one-page disclosure required by RCW 43.216.700 in which the licensee ticks "I do not carry liability insurance" or "I do carry liability insurance and I will notify you of changes to my insurance coverage", and BOTH the licensee and the parent or guardian sign; the form instructs that "Licensee must keep this signed form on file." A related trap: DCYF 15-979, Declaration of Items in Unlicensed Space (08-2019), and DCYF 15-874, License Change Plan (10-2025), are the forms for changing what space you use, and WAC 110-300-0402 requires department approval BEFORE you change or relocate licensed programme space.

What's specific about getting licensed in Washington

Washington is one of the few states where your family home capacity is directly tied to your years of experience: you start capped at 6 children (max 3 under age 2) with under a year of experience and only step up to 8, 9, 10, or the full 12 as you accumulate 1-2 and then 2+ years, with a qualified assistant required at the higher levels. On top of that, Washington uniquely requires an ECE (Early Childhood Education) certificate pathway and uses the STARS ID/MERIT system to track every training hour, making it a credential-driven state rather than a one-and-done license.

How long it takes and what it costs in Washington

Timeline: Realistically plan for about 3 to 6 months from starting orientation to holding your license. The usual bottlenecks are the background-check clearance (fingerprint results can take several weeks) and getting a slot on your licensor's calendar for the on-site health and safety inspection, so start the background check and book your hands-on CPR/First Aid class as early as possible.

Cost: Expect the largest costs to be the required trainings and checks rather than a big license fee: a hands-on CPR/First Aid class (commonly around $60-$100), a food worker card through your local health jurisdiction (typically about $10-$20), a TB test, and the background-check/fingerprinting fee. The exact DCYF family home license fee changes and could not be confirmed from the official fee page at the time of writing, so confirm the current amount with the DCYF Welcome Team (dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov) before you budget.

Source: PRIMARY SOURCES ACTUALLY OPENED DURING RESEARCH, FIELD BY FIELD (not summarised from memory). [agency] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Chapter index as served 26 Aug 2026. Full title "FOUNDATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS"; index note "Last Update 7/1/26"; index note "This chapter was formerly cited as Chapter 170-300 WAC". Established the current section list. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110 — Title 110 WAC chapter list as served today. Established the complete DCYF chapter map quoted in the field (110-01, 110-03, 110-04, 110-05, 110-06, 110-09, 110-15, 110-16, 110-145 to 110-149, 110-300, 110-301, 110-302, 110-303, 110-400, 110-420, 110-425, 110-700 series). Also established that NO chapter 110-296A exists in the served index. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=170 — Title 170 WAC index served today returns "No active sections in this title – please see 'Show Dispositions' link above."

Established that the Department of Early Learning title is entirely empty. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300A — Disposition served today: chapter 110-300A (Minimum licensing requirements for child care centers) "Repealed by WSR 19-14-076, filed 7/1/19, effective 8/1/19. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.216.250 and 43.216.255." https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.015 — DCYF "is created as an executive branch agency"; history line 2025 c 179 s 1; 2021 c 304 s 4; 2020 c 262 s 1; 2019 c 429 s 1; 2018 c 58 s 76; 2018 c 51 s 1; 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 101. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216 — Chapter title "DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES"; section map used to locate .250, .255, .270, .271, .300, .305, .325, .335, .355, .360, .365, .692, .695. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.250 — All ten subsections of the secretary's licensing duties quoted verbatim in the field, incl. (5) the DCYF/DSHS fingerprint-sharing bar and (6) "Licenses shall specify the category of child care ... and the ages and number of children to be served."

History: 2021 c 304 s 9; 2018 c 58 s 70; 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 205; 2015 3rd sp.s. c 7 s 4. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.325 — Verbatim source for the $150 family day care home / $250 center-and-ONB per-violation cap, the "Each day ... is a separate violation" sentence, the 30-day forgiveness for unlicensed agencies that apply and become licensed, the 10-day payment window, the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, and nonreferral status. History: 2021 c 304 s 15; 2018 c 58 s 38; 2011 c 296 s 1; 2007 c 17 s 2; 2006 c 265 s 311. Formerly RCW 43.215.300. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.300 — License fee statute verbatim: secretary charges fees, fees capped at department cost, "The secretary shall establish the fees charged by rule." History 2018 c 58 s 41; (2021 c 304 s 29 expired June 30, 2023); 2007 c 17 s 1. Formerly RCW 43.215.255. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0401 — "The annual fee for family home early learning programs is thirty dollars, or as otherwise set by the legislature"; centers $125 first 12 + $12 each additional; nonrefundable; due 30 days before anniversary.

Filing tail still WSR 18-15-001 recodified 7/5/18 / WSR 18-14-079 § 170-300-0401. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0020 — Unlicensed programs: 30-calendar-day written agreement on a department form, attend next available orientation, DCYF website posting on default, misdemeanor per RCW 43.216.365, injunction per RCW 43.216.355, hearing route ch. 34.05 RCW / ch. 43.216 RCW / ch. 110-03 WAC. Tail: WSR 19-22-103 filed 11/6/19 eff 12/7/19. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0025 — Certified and exempt programs verbatim (tribal / federal DoD / OSPI certification, subsidy-only vs foundational-standards certification, department form for exempt status, employee-household conflict bar). https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0415 — Building code ch. 19.27 RCW adopted by reference; duty to contact L&I, state fire marshal, DOH, local health jurisdictions; certificate of occupancy and state fire marshal inspection conditioned on CENTER applicants. Tail WSR 18-15-001 / 18-14-079. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0010 — "must be licensed by the department, pursuant to RCW 43.216.295, unless exempt under RCW 43.216.010(2) and WAC 110-300-0025"; center-in-a-private-residence rule; employee-household bar.

Tail: "Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.020. WSR 24-19-056, s 110-300-0010, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — Definitions; tail WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0425 — Tail WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26; source for subsection (6) "Providers cannot appeal the department's decision and have no rights to a hearing." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0358 — Tail "WSR 25-01-087, s 110-300-0358, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25" with the full statutory-authority string quoted in the field. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0400 — Tail "Statutory Authority: RCW 34.05.020. WSR 24-19-056, s 110-300-0400, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24" over "WSR 19-14-076, § 110-300-0400, filed 7/1/19, effective 8/1/19." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0505 — Postings list verbatim, incl. the RCW 43.216.687 enforcement-action posting. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0105 — Preservice: department orientation, background check "pursuant to chapter 110-06 WAC", TB documentation signed within last 12 months, age 14+.

Tail WSR 21-15-023 filed 7/12/21 effective 8/12/21 — i.e. NOT yet updated for 2026 c 82 s 2. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2317.SL.pdf — Engrossed House Bill 2317, Chapter 54, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE LICENSING—EXEMPTION—EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND HEAD START PROGRAMS", printed "EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026". Read in full as PDF text. Amends RCW 43.216.010 (from 2025 c 181 s 1). Passed House 2/11/26 96-0, Senate 3/4/26 48-0, approved by Governor Bob Ferguson 3/14/26 12:03 PM, filed with Secretary of State 3/16/26. Supplied the entire verbatim definitions/exemptions text used in both fields, incl. new exemption (2)(j) and the reletterings (k)→(l) … (n)→(o). https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2219-S.SL.pdf — Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2219, Chapter 82, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE PROVIDERS—LICENSING REQUIREMENTS", printed "EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026". Read in full as PDF text. Sec. 1 amends RCW 43.216.255 (zero tolerance / immediate summary suspension; new (1)(d) opioid-free premises; mixed-ratio 2.5h and 4h-with-90-min-breaks for CENTERS; new (4) definitions incl. "imminent physical harm"; new (5) no private right of action).

Sec. 2 adds a NEW SECTION to ch. 43.216 RCW under the "licensing" subchapter heading = the mandatory orientation waiver. Passed Senate 3/3/26 49-0, House 3/9/26 67-28, approved by Governor 3/17/26 4:09 PM, filed 3/18/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35.63.185 — Verbatim: city may not prohibit family day-care provider's home in residential or commercial zones; the five permitted conditions incl. "(c) is certified by the department of children, youth, and families licensor as providing a safe passenger loading area"; the before-state-licensing adjoining-owner notice; the licensor-as-forum sentence. History 2018 c 58 s 25; 2007 c 17 s 10; 2003 c 286 s 3; 1995 c 49 s 1; 1994 c 273 s 14. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=36.70A.450 — Same prohibition and same permitted conditions applied to counties and cities. History 2018 c 58 s 22; 2007 c 17 s 13; 2003 c 286 s 5; 1995 c 49 s 3; 1994 c 273 s 17. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/legislative-updates — DCYF's own 2026 legislative page. Corroborates HB 2317 and HB 2219 with the 11 June 2026 effective date and the four announced changes.

Used only for corroboration; the session-law PDFs are the authority. https://dcyf.wa.gov/news/child-care-licensing-rule-changes — DCYF news page on the same two 2026 acts. Notable for what it does NOT contain: it announces statutory changes with no WSR number and no WAC citation. Corroboration only. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1 of 1 in this field): the Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A." That is not what the code index serves. Chapter 110-300 WAC is the former chapter 170-300 WAC — the legislature's own index carries the note "This chapter was formerly cited as Chapter 170-300 WAC," and every section tail in the chapter reads "WSR 18-15-001, recodified as § 110-300-XXXX, filed 7/5/18, effective 7/5/18" directly over "WSR 18-14-079, § 170-300-XXXX, filed 6/30/18, effective 8/1/19." 170-296A is a different lineage. What I verified about it: (a) there is no chapter 110-296A anywhere in the Title 110 WAC index served today; (b) the parallel chapter 110-300A is served with the disposition "Repealed by WSR 19-14-076, filed 7/1/19, effective 8/1/19"; (c) Title 170 WAC as a whole now returns "No active sections in this title."

The substantive point the brief was reaching for is correct — the old separate family-home chapter is dead and family homes are now governed by 110-300 alongside centers, as of 1 August 2019, by WSR 19-14-076 — but the citation chain in the brief is wrong and would send a reader to a chapter that never became 110-300. The brief's second WA lead ("vérifier ce que l'index sert aujourd'hui") was correct and is the reason this was caught. UNVERIFIED: I could not load the disposition page for chapter 170-296A WAC itself (app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=170-296A returned the Title 170 shell, not a chapter disposition), so the exact WSR that repealed or recodified 170-296A, and the intermediate chapter number it passed through, are not directly established from the code index. Nothing in the published fields rests on that detail. UNVERIFIED: RCW 43.216.295 (cited inside WAC 110-300-0010 as the license-required statute) and RCW 43.216.327, 43.216.335, 43.216.355, 43.216.365, 43.216.390, 43.216.687, 43.216.700 were not opened section by section; they are named in the published text only as the citations that the rules and statutes I did read point to, never as the source of a substantive claim.

UNVERIFIED: DCYF's internal organisation (division names, regional office structure, licensor assignment) is not in statute or rule and was not established from an official source; the agency field therefore describes DCYF only as the code and the statute describe it. [annual_training_hours] Researched 2026-08-26. Started from the chapter index in effect, not from any pinned URL. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — chapter index served today ("Last update: 7/1/26"); confirmed WAC 110-300-0107 "In-service training" is the operative section and that no Early Achievers section lives inside chapter 110-300 WAC. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0107 — full verbatim text: (1) "ten hours of annual in-service training after twelve months of cumulative employment"; (1)(a) EQEL within 36 months of assuming the role for anyone licensed/hired/promoted on or after August 1, 2019, with "EQEL hours may count towards the ten hours"; (1)(b) every 36 months, 10 hours "child development" + 10 hours "leadership practices" for family home licensee, center director, assistant director, program supervisor — LEAD AND ASSISTANT TEACHERS ARE NOT IN THAT LIST; (1)(b)(i)-(ii) the core-competency content definitions; (2) college courses aligned to the state core competencies delivered by a postsecondary institution and approved by the department; (3) "Only five in-service training hours … may be carried over from one calendar year to the next calendar year."

Amendment history: last amended WSR 21-15-023 filed 7/12/21 eff. 8/12/21 — this section was NOT touched by the 2025/2026 amendments, so the ten hours and the calendar year are current as served. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — definition of "In-service training" ("delivered or approved by the department"), "Core competencies", "Early achievers", "Electronic workforce registry", and the ECE certificate credit counts. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0100 — the per-role "professional development progress documented annually" requirement at (1)(d), (3)(a)(vi), (3)(b)(v), (4)(a)(v), (6)(d), (7)(a)(vi), (8)(d), (10)(c)(v); and the aide 19-hours-per-month in-service exemption at (8)(e)(i)-(ii).

Served today with WSR 26-14-116, filed 7/1/26, effective 8/1/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0115 — (3)(d) "Annual observation, evaluation, and feedback information" must be maintained for each provider and staff member. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0106 — the recurring health-and-safety obligations that sit OUTSIDE the ten in-service hours: (8) safe sleep "must be completed annually", (11) first aid/CPR currency, (12) food worker card "Be renewed prior to expiring", (10) blood and body fluids repeated per L&I. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=296-823-12005 — L&I: bloodborne pathogens training "At least annually and within one year of the previous training". https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.085 — Early achievers program. (3)(a) mandatory for licensed/certified centers, family home child care and outdoor nature-based care serving nonschool-age children and receiving state subsidy; (3)(b) ECEAP per RCW 43.216.515; (3)(c) "Participation in the early achievers program is voluntary for" non-subsidy programs; (3)(d) school-age providers exempt; (4) five primary levels plus an intermediate level between 3 and 4; (5)(c)-(d) first and in-cycle ratings free; (9) quality improvement awards reserved for programs with at least five percent subsidy enrolment.

Section caption still reads "Quality rating and improvement system"; last amended 2021 c 304 s 6. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.135 — subsidy participation deadlines. (1) contains DEAD dates (enrol by Aug 1 2016, level 2 by Aug 1 2017, level 3 by Dec 31 2019, remedial by Dec 30 2020) that the legislature has never cleaned up; (2) is the provision that governs a provider licensed today: enrol within 30 days of the initial subsidy payment, level 2 within 12 months, level 3 within 30 months; (3) loss of subsidy eligibility after the remedial period; (5) tiered reimbursement at levels 3, 4, 5. Last amended 2023 c 222 s 5. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/ea/OperatingGuidelines.pdf — Early Achievers Participant Operating Guidelines, "Original Date: September 2025 | Revised Date: April 2026" — the current operational text.

Established: the timeline table by funding type (subsidy: 30 days / Request for Quality Recognition within 12 months / finalize Level 3+ within 30 months / renew within 3 years; ECEAP: 30 days / Level 4+ within 24 months / renew within 3 years); the point bands (L1 = 0, L2 = 20-29, L3 = 30-49, L3+ = 50-69, L4 = 70-90, L5 = 91-115); PD point tables for family home owner (2/3/4/6/8/10) and centre roles; the exclusion "The Experience-based Competency equivalent and the community-based training equivalent (PACE) are not eligible to receive PD recognition points"; "PD points are not applied towards a Quality Level until the Program Profile and at least two Video Highlights are completed"; MERIT auto-finalization at the due date and auto-withdrawal where no components were completed; the 2% enrolled-provider subsidy bump and the tiered percentages (family home 12/15/17/20, centres 8/8/15/20, family home rates "negotiated by SEIU 925 through Collective Bargaining");

QI Award eligibility incl. the family-home Level 2 carve-out, the 5% subsidy enrolment test, the six-month QIP deadline and the seven-year record retention with possible repayment. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0057.pdf — Early Achievers Quality Standards and Criteria, EPS_0057 (03-2023). Established the five Quality Standard areas and the component point values: Program Profile 20 points, Video Highlights 5 points per cycle up to 30, School-Age Video 5, Child Outcomes 20, Interactions and Curriculum 10, Family Engagement 10, Professional Development and Training 10, Accreditation 10. Also the title shift: DCYF brands the programme "Washington's Quality Recognition and Improvement System" while RCW 43.216.085 is still captioned "Quality rating and improvement system". https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/early-achievers/enrollment — provider participation page: enrolment within 30 days of first subsidy payment, 30 months to Level 3, 24 months to Level 4 for ECEAP, voluntary for non-subsidy providers. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/qualifications/child-care-providers/training — DCYF live training page.

Established, verbatim: "In-service hours are tracked by the calendar year (January – December)"; "MERIT does not track these carry-over hours, so you need to contact your licensor to use this option"; the Continuing Education Proposal (CEP) route for non-state-approved training; "You can submit up to three courses per calendar year. Each course must have been completed within the past three years.

One college quarter credit is equal to 10 in-service training hours."; EQEL is "a 20-hour training series completed over two years … 10 hours per year", Year 1 and Year 2 each two 5-hour modules, required for roles taken on after Aug. 1, 2019; the 30-business-day MERIT posting expectation. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0050.pdf — EPS_0050 (09-2024): "The annual training requirement is based on the DCYF calendar year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31)"; "'STARS hours' or 'state-approved training' are other words commonly used when referring to 'in-service'"; EQEL equivalents "WA State ECE Short Certificate or higher" or a DCYF-recognised equivalent credential. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0035.pdf — EPS_0035 (03-2026): "Reminder: Training hours are reviewed by calendar year (January 1–December 31)"; "Does CCB meet my annual training hours? Yes: If you completed CCB or ECE education during the current calendar year …";

"Note: These modules do not count toward in-service hours" for the five federal health and safety modules. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2026/14/26-14-116.htm — WSR 26-14-116, filed July 1 2026, effective August 1 2026: the ECE certificate deadlines moved from August 1 2026 to August 1 2030, the August 1 2028 short-certificate deadline struck, pursuant to E2SHB 1648. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.755 and https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.757 — 2025 c 281 ss 2-3: the community-based pathway (PACE) with the $250 cap, the "until at least August 1, 2030" instruction, and experience-based competency with its eligibility conditions and the ECEAP carve-out at .757(2). ANSWER TO THE CALENDAR-YEAR VS LICENSING-YEAR QUESTION, stated precisely because it is the trap: the ten-hour DUTY is triggered by employment ("after twelve months of cumulative employment", WAC 110-300-0107(1)), but the ACCOUNTING PERIOD is the calendar year.

The rule itself only names a period once, in WAC 110-300-0107(3) — "from one calendar year to the next calendar year" — and DCYF states it three separate times in current publications. It is NOT the licensing year and NOT the license anniversary. A provider licensed in September has until December 31 of that same year, not the following September. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF: the brief tells the WA writer to "vérifier … le calendrier Early Achievers". The calendar is intact and unchanged — RCW 43.216.135(2) and the April 2026 Operating Guidelines agree on 30 days / 12 months / 30 months / Level 3. What HAS changed, and what the brief does not mention at all, is (a) the delivery mechanism: DCYF has retired the Environment Rating Scales and CLASS observations in favour of a Program Profile plus provider-submitted Video Highlights, rebranded the programme from "Quality Rating" to "Quality Recognition and Improvement System", and now runs a "Quality Recognition Cycle" with published point bands; and (b) the fact that the two free licensing pathways the legislature created in 2025 — PACE and experience-based competency — are expressly worth ZERO Early Achievers PD points, which is a direct financial trap for a subsidy-taking family home.

Also flagged: RCW 43.216.135(1) is a genuine stale layer inside the codified statute, reciting 2016-2020 deadlines that apply to nobody licensed today. UNVERIFIED: the Early Achievers "intermediate level" that RCW 43.216.085(4)(b) requires between levels 3 and 4 is implemented as "Level 3+" in the April 2026 Operating Guidelines; no rule or statute read here uses the label "Level 3+", so that mapping is DCYF's, not the legislature's. UNVERIFIED: whether any 2026 session law altered the Early Achievers participation mandate. SHB 2689 (2026) was identified in search results as amending Working Connections Child Care (billing, rates, market rate survey, 60% SMI eligibility), but its text was NOT opened during this task and no assertion about it appears in the field. RCW 43.216.085 and 43.216.135 as served today still carry the mandate and were last amended in 2021 and 2023 respectively. UNVERIFIED: no pending CR-101/CR-102 rulemaking on WAC 110-300-0106 or 110-300-0107 was located; the DCYF rule-making landing page did not list filings and the WSR rule-making activity index for chapter 110-300 was not enumerated section by section.

Absence of pending rulemaking is therefore not asserted in the field text. UNVERIFIED: the precise dollar value of Quality Improvement Awards and of Needs-Based Grants was not read; only eligibility conditions and documentation duties are asserted. [capacity_max] https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.010 — RCW 43.216.010 as codified today (opened 26 Aug 2026). Subsection (1)(c) defines "Family day care provider" and "family home provider" as serving "not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider's home in the family living quarters except as provided in RCW 43.216.692 and subsection (2)(n) of this section". History line begins "2026 c 54 s 1; 2025 c 181 s 1". Also supplies the (2)(a) relative list that defines "not related", and the (2) exemption catalogue. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2317.SL.pdf — ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 2317, Chapter 54, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE LICENSING—EXEMPTION—EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND HEAD START PROGRAMS", EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026; passed House 2/11/26 (96-0), Senate 3/4/26 (48-0), approved 3/14/26. Read as PDF-to-text and checked line by line against "capacity", "ratio", "12 children", "twelve", "43.216.692". Establishes that the 2026 amendment to 43.216.010 did NOT move the 12-child cap — the only change to (1)(c) is the cross-reference renumbering from (2)(m) to (2)(n), made to insert the new ECEAP/Head Start exemption.

This is the check that stops a writer publishing "the cap changed in 2026" or "the cap is unchanged" from memory. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.692 — RCW 43.216.692 "Family home providers—Capacity flexibility", enacted 2021 c 199 s 313, never amended since. Sole statutory authority to exceed 12; requires DCYF to set conditions by rule and to assess square footage and staffing capabilities. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Chapter 110-300 WAC index, "Last update: 7/1/26", code reviser note "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)".

Live section list confirmed; started from the index, not a pinned PDF. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — WAC 110-300-0355. Supplies the "up to 12 children" ceiling and the "may issue a license to care for fewer" discretion (1); the seven capacity determination factors (2); the binding force of the license (3); the OWN-CHILDREN rule (4) verbatim; and all four experience bands (7)-(10). Last amended WSR 22-03-016, filed 1/7/22, effective 2/7/22. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0354 — WAC 110-300-0354 "Indoor early learning program space capacity": 35 sq ft per child; the exclusion list in (2); tables/desks floor space counts (1)(b); napping areas count if mats removed (1)(d); 75 sq ft gross-motor space does not count (3). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0358 — WAC 110-300-0358 "Capacity waiver for family home providers", last amended WSR 25-01-087, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25. Supplies the 13-to-16 ceiling (2); three years' experience (3)(a); full nonexpiring license required (3)(b); 35 + 15 + 75 sq ft (3)(c); ECE short certificate for licensee and ECE initial certificate for one on-site staff (3)(d);

ratios and under-two sub-limits (3)(e); no overnight care for more than 12 (3)(f); emergency lighting, kitchen extinguisher and heat detector, two-minute evacuation demonstration (3)(g); one toilet and sink per 15 people, septic verification (3)(h); secretary-level written approval and the LOCAL BUILDING CODE documentation requirement (5); no appeal from denial (6); rescission grounds (7); parent notification (8). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — WAC 110-300-0005 definitions: "Capacity", "Premises" ("the licensed and unlicensed space at the licensed address including, but not limited to, buildings, land, and residences"), "School-age children", "Family home early learning program" (12 or fewer, cross-referencing RCW 43.216.010(1)(c)), "Family living quarters", "Household member", "Infant", "Toddler", "Preschool-age children", "Unlicensed space". https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0010 — WAC 110-300-0010 "License required"; (3) sets the trigger for a family home license, including "For preschool age children for more than four hours a day", and defines "not related" by reference to RCW 43.216.010(2)(a).

Last amended WSR 24-19-056, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0425 — WAC 110-300-0425; subsection (8) requires a request to the department before increasing capacity; (7)(b)(v) requires reporting changes in household members aged 14+. Amended WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26 — a 2026 amendment, so this section's text is current-year. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0402 — WAC 110-300-0402; prior notice and new floor plan for changes to space or ages served; move rules including the two-week inspection window for family homes. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0401 — WAC 110-300-0401 license fees: $30 annual for a family home; $125 for the first twelve children plus $12 per additional child for a center. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0435 and https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0436 — general waiver and variance sections; both open with the statement that the department cannot waive or vary a requirement of state (RCW) or federal law.

This is what makes RCW 43.216.692/WAC 110-300-0358 the only lawful route past 12. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0270 — WAC 110-300-0270 overnight care; (1) the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. / three-hour approval trigger. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0505 — WAC 110-300-0505 postings; (2)(a) requires the child care license itself to be posted and clearly visible. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0455 — WAC 110-300-0455 attendance records; (2) requires a record "for each child (including the children of staff in the program)". https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0300 — WAC 110-300-0300 individual care plan; the documentation behind the special-needs capacity/ratio split. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-301-0354 and https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-301-0356 — chapter 110-301 WAC school-age program capacity (35 sq ft, group of 30 at 1:15). Confirms school-age-only programs are a separate license chapter from 110-300. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-302-0356 — chapter 110-302 WAC outdoor nature-based capacity: 4,000 sq ft of natural space per child, 75 sq ft in a permanently located outdoor classroom area. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.295 — RCW 43.216.295 "License required": "It is unlawful for any agency to care for children unless the agency is licensed as provided in this chapter." https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/operating-licensed-child-care/licensed-family-home-capacity-waivers — DCYF's capacity waiver page, read deliberately as an AGENCY page and not as law.

Source of: "The maximum capacity allowed is 16 children"; "A permitted sprinkler system is required (most cities/counties will require this)"; new requests "Starting April 1, 2025"; pre-January-2024 waivers up to 16 may be kept; waivers exceeding 16 must "Reduce to 16 or fewer by June 30, 2026" or convert to a center. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1): the Lot 7 brief states that WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". The code reviser's note on the chapter index reads "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)" and every history line in the chapter traces to 170-300-xxxx, recodified by WSR 18-15-001 filed 7/5/18. The correct predecessor citation for this chapter is 170-300, not 170-296A. AGENCY PAGE vs LAW (method rule 3): the sprinkler requirement is nowhere in WAC 110-300-0358. It reaches the applicant only through 0358(5)(b), which requires documentation from the city or county that the space and structures "meet local building codes and the requirements of the department's Family Home Child Capacity Waiver inspection checklist". The field says so explicitly rather than repeating DCYF's flat assertion as if it were a state rule — it is a local building code consequence, and it is the single largest cash cost of the 16-child waiver.

DATE NOW PAST: DCYF's "Reduce to 16 or fewer by June 30, 2026" deadline expired before this entry was written (today 26 Aug 2026). Any legacy waiver above 16 should be treated as spent. Flagged in the field. UNVERIFIED: whether DCYF has, since June 2026, published a revised capacity waiver checklist or changed the April 1, 2025 request window. The DCYF page carries no visible revision date in the fetched text. UNVERIFIED: whether the department publishes any interpretive policy excluding a licensee's own children from capacity during school hours. Nothing in WAC 110-300-0355(3) or (4) contains such a carve-out, and the field says so on the text; no DCYF policy manual was read on this point, and per method rule 3 a manual would not change the answer. UNVERIFIED: pending rulemaking on 110-300-0355 or -0358. The "Agency filings affecting this section" pages returned empty content to a plain fetch; no assertion in this field rests on them. [home_type_definition] https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.010 — RCW 43.216.010 Definitions as served 26 August 2026. Established: (1)(c) "family day care provider"/"family home provider" = not more than 12 children in the provider's home in the family living quarters, "except as provided in RCW 43.216.692 and subsection (2)(n) of this section"; (1)(a) child day care center; (1)(e) outdoor nature-based child care; the full exemption list at (2)(a) through (2)(o); (22) nonschool age child; (27) school age child.

History line reads [2026 c 54 s 1; 2025 c 181 s 1. Prior: 2021 c 304 s 2; ...]. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216&full=true — full chapter 43.216 RCW downloaded and searched offline.

Established RCW 43.216.295 (license required), 43.216.300 (fees by rule), 43.216.305 (nonexpiring license, annual declarations, "applies only to the licensee and the location stated in the application", two weeks after a move for family day care homes), 43.216.315 (initial license up to six months, renewable to two years), 43.216.340 (local building official consultation), 43.216.355 (injunction), 43.216.360 ($150/day family day care home vs $250/day center, 30-day notice, website posting), 43.216.365 (misdemeanor), 43.216.692 (capacity waiver authority), 43.216.695 (county pilot, counties of 3,000 or less), 43.216.742 (outdoor nature-based program), 43.216.085 and 43.216.135 (Early Achievers, voluntary without subsidy; 30 days / 12 months / 30 months once subsidised). https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2317.SL.pdf — Engrossed House Bill 2317, Chapter 54, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE LICENSING—EXEMPTION—EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND HEAD START PROGRAMS", effective 11 June 2026;

House 96-0 on 11 Feb 2026, Senate 48-0 on 4 Mar 2026, approved 14 Mar 2026. Inserted the new RCW 43.216.010(2)(j) school-day ECEAP/Head Start exemption and thereby re-lettered (2)(j)-(n) old to (2)(k)-(o) new, which is why the cross-reference inside (1)(c) now reads "(2)(n)". https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5545-S.sl.pdf — Substitute Senate Bill 5545, Chapter 181, Laws of 2025, "FAMILY HOME PROVIDERS—EXEMPTION FOR OVERSIGHT BY FEDERAL MILITARY SERVICE", effective 27 July 2025. Added the family-home-near-a-military-reservation exemption, then lettered (2)(m), now (2)(n). https://leg.wa.gov/state-laws-and-rules/state-laws-rcw/session-laws/session-law-chapters-by-year/2025/ — session law chapter index used to resolve "2025 c 181" to SSB 5545 rather than guessing. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — chapter 110-300 WAC section index as served today, "Foundational quality standards for early learning programs (Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)". https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — definitions.

Established "Family home early learning program" (12 or fewer children in the family living quarters where the licensee resides), "Family home early learning program licensee" (an individual licensee), "Family living quarters", "Licensee" (an individual OR legal entity — the contrast that makes an LLC ineligible for a family home licence), "Center early learning program", "Premises", "Capacity", "School-age children", "Preschool-age children", "Infant", "Toddler", "Aide", "Assistant teacher", "Lead teacher", ECE initial/short/state certificate. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0010 — License required.

Established the one-child threshold verbatim, the "not related" cross-reference to RCW 43.216.010(2)(a), the four-hour preschool trigger, and (4) the rule permitting a CENTER licence in a private family residence when the children's portion is used exclusively for children during operating hours or is separate from the family living quarters. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0001 — Intent and authority; confirms the Early Start Act direction to create a single set of standards for centers and family homes. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0020 — Unlicensed programs; 30-day written agreement, website posting, misdemeanour and injunction cross-references. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0025 — Certified and exempt programs; exempt programs must file exempt status on a department form; certification applies all licensing rules. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — Family home capacity, ratio, and group size; used here for the own-children counting rule at (4) and the special-needs asymmetry at (3). https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0100 — General staff qualifications;

(1) family home licensee must be 18, hold a high school diploma, and be on-site 50 percent or more of weekly operating hours or designate an equally qualified person. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-301 — chapter index confirming 110-301 WAC is "Foundational quality standards for SCHOOL-AGE programs", and https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-301-0010 and -0356 for its licence requirement and its 30-child / 1:15 cap. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-302 and .../110-302-0010 and .../110-302-0356 — chapter 110-302 WAC "Foundational quality standards for OUTDOOR NATURE-BASED CHILD CARE", filed WSR 23-10-059, effective 1 June 2023; 30 months through 12 years only, 4,000 sq ft of natural space per child, indoor instructional space must be licensed under 110-300 or 110-301 instead. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110 — Title 110 chapter list, used to establish that 110-300 / 110-301 / 110-302 are three distinct chapters with three distinct subjects. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=170-296A and https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300B — disposition tables.

Chapter 170-296A WAC (the old licensed family home chapter) was DECODIFIED by WSR 18-14-078, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18, and recodified as chapter 110-300B WAC, which was then REPEALED by WSR 19-14-076, filed 7/1/19, effective 8/1/19. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider — DCYF's own "Who Needs a License" page as served today: four licence types, "The provider lives there and can care for 12 or fewer children from birth to age 13", and the June 11 2026 ECEAP/Head Start exemption flagged on the page. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/legislative-updates — DCYF Legislative Updates page: the six-hour "school day" definition, the subsidy carve-out, the mixed-model exclusion, and the figure "About 44 out of 6729 programs, or less than 1%". CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1). The Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". Not as a merger. The disposition tables show 170-296A was decodified into a standalone chapter 110-300B on 1 July 2018 and then repealed outright, effective 1 August 2019, on the day chapter 110-300 took effect.

No section of 170-296A was renumbered into 110-300. The practical consequence for the product is the one that matters: nothing in 170-296A, including its capacity table, is law, so any WA guidance still citing 170-296A is citing a repealed chapter. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (2). The brief's implicit framing that WA family homes are a small "family" tier alongside a larger "group" tier is wrong. Washington has exactly one family home licence, statutorily capped at 12 by RCW 43.216.010(1)(c), with a single waiver route to 16 under RCW 43.216.692. There is no "group child care home" category anywhere in chapter 43.216 RCW or Title 110 WAC. CONFIRMS THE BRIEF. DCYF is the licensor; chapter 110-300 WAC is the "Foundational quality standards" chapter; the Early Achievers calendar is real and is triggered by subsidy, not by licensure. UNVERIFIED: the current dollar amount of the family home licence application fee. RCW 43.216.300(3) delegates it to rule and I did not open the fee rule, so no fee figure is published in this field.

UNVERIFIED: whether any Washington county has ever exercised the RCW 43.216.695 twelve-month pilot transfer. I state only that the statute is limited to counties of 3,000 or less and that DCYF is the statewide licensor; I do not assert a negative county history from any source I read. [max_group_size] https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — WAC 110-300-0355 "Family home capacity, ratio, and group size" as served 26 August 2026. Established the whole capacity ladder verbatim: (1) licences for up to 12; (2) the seven capacity factors including the definition of qualifying experience; (3) the no-exceed rule and the special-needs asymmetry; (4) the own-children/staff-children/visiting-children counting rule; (5)-(6) off-site, transport and water staffing; (7) under one year of experience = up to 6, max 3 under two, one walking; (8) one to two years = 8 alone (ages two through 12, max 4 under three) or 9 with a qualified assistant (birth through 12, max 4 under two); (9) two or more years = 10 alone (ages three through 12), 12 alone school-age only, or 12 with a qualified assistant (max 6 under two, two walking); (10) the birth-to-24-months configuration with "a maximum group size of eight", 1:4, two staff, +15 sq ft; (11) the three two-staff triggers.

History line: WSR 22-03-016, filed 1/7/22, effective 2/7/22, under RCW 43.216.692. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/registerfiling.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — register filings for the section: nothing since the 2022 permanent rule. Confirms no pending amendment to family home capacity. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0358 — WAC 110-300-0358 "Capacity waiver for family home providers". Established the 13-to-16 waiver in full: 3 years' experience as center director, program supervisor, family home licensee or similar; full nonexpiring licence required; 35 sq ft indoor per child plus 15 per child under 24 months plus 75 sq ft outdoor per child; licensee must hold an ECE short certificate and one on-site staff or volunteer an ECE initial certificate; 1:8 for two-and-over, 1:6 for under two, six under-twos maximum with two walking; no overnight care for more than 12; the two-minute evacuation demonstration; one toilet and one handwashing sink per 15 household members, staff and requested children; septic verification; written approval by the secretary or designee; a local building-code letter against DCYF's Family Home Child Capacity Waiver inspection checklist; parent notification; "A denial of a waiver request is ... not subject to an appeal by a provider"; and the rescission grounds including a facility licensing compliance agreement.

History line: WSR 25-01-087, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25 — a 2025 rewrite, so pre-2025 descriptions of this waiver are stale. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0354 — indoor space capacity: 35 sq ft per child; the seven excluded space categories; the crib/playpen +15 sq ft written for CENTER space only; the 75 sq ft gross-motor substitution rule. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0356 — center capacity, ratio and group size AS CODIFIED TODAY. Its subsection (6) still carries the repealed two-hour mixed-age text and its history line still ends at WSR 18-15-001 (7/5/18). Read for the age-band group sizes at (5), which are unchanged: infants 8 at 1:4 or 9 at 1:3; toddlers 14 at 1:7 or 15 at 1:5; preschoolers 20 at 1:10; school-age 30 at 1:15. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/registerfiling.aspx?cite=110-300-0356 — register filings: WSR 26-13-050 Emergency Rule filed 6/11/2026 and WSR 26-10-098 Preproposal Statement of Inquiry filed 5/06/2026. This is what exposed the stale codified text. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2026/13/26-13-050.htm — WSR 26-13-050, DCYF emergency rules, "[Filed June 11, 2026, 3:10 p.m., effective June 11, 2026, 3:10 p.m.]", adopted to comply with ESHB 2219. Contains the amendatory text of WAC 110-300-0356 striking "for periods of no more than the first two hours of the day or the last two hours of the day, not to exceed two hours in any given day" and substituting 2.5 hours per day, or 4 hours with at least 90 minutes reserved for staff meal and rest breaks.

Amends 110-300-0005, -0105, -0356, -0357, -0400, -0420 and the parallel sections in 110-301 and 110-302. Does NOT amend WAC 110-300-0355 — family homes get nothing from this bill. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2026/10/26-10-098.htm — WSR 26-10-098 preproposal statement of inquiry, filed 6 May 2026, confirming the permanent rulemaking on these sections is still open and will use negotiated rule making. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2219-S.sl.pdf — Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2219, Chapter 82, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE PROVIDERS—LICENSING REQUIREMENTS", effective 11 June 2026. Source of the 2.5-hour and 4-hour mixed-ratio periods and of the preservice orientation waiver. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216&full=true — full chapter, searched offline. RCW 43.216.255 "Licensing standards" as amended by 2026 c 82 s 1: the mixed-ratio allowance is expressly "In establishing the maximum group sizes and staff-to-child ratios for CHILD CARE CENTERS"; also the zero-tolerance/imminent-physical-harm summary suspension and its definitions at (4). RCW 43.216.692 for the waiver authority.

RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) for the statutory 12. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0357 — center mixed age group capacity, ratio and group size, read to confirm the mixed-age tables are a CENTER instrument with no family home analogue. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0100 — general staff qualifications. Established assistant teacher (18, high school diploma, ECE initial certificate by 1 Aug 2030 or within five years) and aide (at least 14 years old, may be counted in ratio under continuous oversight of a family home licensee, 19-hours-a-month in-service threshold). This is the evidence that the undefined phrase "qualified assistant" in WAC 110-300-0355(8)(b) and (9)(c) has to be read against the defined roles. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0345 — supervision.

Established that capacity, group size and ratio must be met during off-site activities, transport, meals, rest, evening or overnight care, and "When children are on different floor levels of the early learning program", and that baby monitors, video monitors and mirrors may not substitute for supervision. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — definitions of "Capacity" (includes children in transit and on field trips while signed in), "Premises", "School-age children", "Infant", "Toddler", "ECE short certificate" (initial certificate plus eight quarter credits). https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-301-0356 — school-age programs: group size 30, ratio 1:15, may exceed 30 only for assemblies or performances. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-302-0356 — outdoor nature-based programs: preschool-age 30 months to six years capped at 16 with 1:6; school-age five to 13 capped at 20 with 1:8; school-age nine to 13 capped at 20 with 1:10; each group needs two qualified staff who are not aides or volunteers, with every third ratio staff allowed to be an aide or volunteer.

CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1). The Lot 7 brief tells the WA writer to "vérifier ce que l'index sert aujourd'hui". The index is exactly what is wrong. As served on 26 August 2026, the codified WAC 110-300-0356(6) on app.leg.wa.gov still publishes the two-hour mixed-age rule that ESHB 2219 and DCYF's emergency rule WSR 26-13-050 replaced on 11 June 2026, and its history line still ends at 2018 with no sign of the amendment. The codified rule is the stale one and the emergency filing is the current one. Method rule 3 in reverse: here the code reviser's own published text, not the agency manual, is the perimé source, and only the register filings tab reveals it. Any WA field that quotes the mixed-age rule from the codified WAC is publishing repealed law. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (2). The brief frames the WA question around "le calendrier Early Achievers". Early Achievers has no bearing on group size or capacity at all: RCW 43.216.085(3)(c) makes it voluntary for family homes not receiving subsidy, and nothing in chapter 110-300 WAC conditions a capacity number on an Early Achievers level. The capacity ladder is driven by experience, square footage and staffing only, per WAC 110-300-0355(2). CONTRADICTS A COMMON READING.

The 2026 mixed-age flexibility (2.5 hours, or 4 hours with 90 minutes of staff breaks) does NOT apply to family homes. RCW 43.216.255(2) limits it to child care centers by its own words, and WSR 26-13-050 amended WAC 110-300-0356 and -0357 but left WAC 110-300-0355 untouched. A family home carries the youngest present child's ratio all day with no relief window. UNVERIFIED: the meaning of "qualified assistant" in WAC 110-300-0355(8)(b) and (9)(c). The phrase is used twice and defined nowhere in chapter 110-300 WAC. I describe the defined roles (assistant teacher, aide, lead teacher) and their qualifications rather than asserting which one DCYF accepts, because I did not read a departmental policy resolving it. UNVERIFIED: DCYF's Family Home Child Capacity Waiver inspection checklist itself, referenced by WAC 110-300-0358(5)(b). I cite the rule's requirement to obtain a local letter against it; I do not describe its contents. [prelicensing_steps] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Index of chapter 110-300 WAC (Foundational Quality Standards for Early Learning Programs) as the code reviser serves it today; page states "Last update: 7/1/26" and confirms the chapter is the successor to chapter 170-300 WAC.

Used as the index of rules in effect rather than any pinned dated PDF. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300&full=true — Full text of all 113 sections of chapter 110-300 WAC, downloaded 26 Aug 2026. Source for every WAC 110-300 quotation in elements 01-18, including 0010 (license required), 0100 (staff qualifications and the ECE certificate timetable), 0105 (preservice, TB), 0106 (training, Child Care Basics, CPR live hands-on, food worker card), 0107 (in-service, EQEL), 0115 (staff records in the electronic workforce registry), 0130(4) (annual unlicensed-space declaration), 0145/0146 (outdoor space, fencing, surfacing depths), 0165/0166 (safety, emergency exiting), 0170 (fire safety), 0230 (first aid kit), 0235/0236 (safe water, lead and copper, well testing), 0250 (private septic), 0290/0291 (infant sleep equipment and safe sleep practices, posting of a violation), 0354/0355 (35 sq ft indoor, family home capacity tiers), 0400 (application materials and the 90-day rule), 0401 (fees: $30 family home, $125 + $12/child centre), 0402 (changing space), 0410 (license and program location, Tacoma smelter plume), 0415 (zoning, codes, certificate of occupancy, state fire marshal for centres), 0420 (prohibited substances), 0425 (initial and nonexpiring licenses, anniversary date, no appeal on expiry), 0450 (parent handbook, amended by WSR 26-09-080 filed 4/14/26 effective 5/15/26), 0470 (emergency preparedness plan, three-day supply, drill schedule), 0500 (health policy), 0505 (postings). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-06&full=true — Full text of chapter 110-06 WAC (DCYF background checks).

Established the definition of "subject individual" at 16 years or older including anyone residing or moving onto the premises (110-06-0020), the trigger dates at 110-06-0041(2) including "by the date a subject individual who lives on the premises turns sixteen years old", the process content at 110-06-0040(1) (application, fingerprints, interstate check for every state lived in during the preceding five years, fees) and the three-year re-check cycle, the $12.00 DCYF administrative fee and $25 NSF charge at 110-06-0044, and the existence of a separate regime for minors aged 13 through 15 at 110-06-0045. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216&full=true — Full text of chapter 43.216 RCW as served today. Established: RCW 43.216.255 as amended by 2026 c 82 s 1 (zero-tolerance for "imminent physical harm", premises absent of high-potency synthetic opioids, drug manufacturing equipment and drug paraphernalia; mixed-ratio time of 2.5 hours, or 4 hours where 90 minutes is reserved for staff meal and rest breaks); RCW 43.216.263 "Waiver of orientation requirement", a wholly new section enacted as 2026 c 82 s 2; RCW 43.216.265(5)-(6) as amended by 2025 c 150 s 3; RCW 43.216.340 (department must obtain written verification from the city or county enforcement official before requiring building-code alterations); RCW 43.216.395 (internal review of inspection reports, 10-day request window, 60-day completion); RCW 43.216.085 and 43.216.135 (Early Achievers). https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.010 — Definitions and the exemption list.

Confirmed "family day care provider"/"family home provider" means not more than 12 children in the provider's home, and that the exemption list now carries subsection (2)(j) for school-day ECEAP and Head Start programmes in public school or community/technical college buildings. History line reads "[2026 c 54 s 1; 2025 c 181 s 1 ...]", which pins the 2026 amendment to session law chapter 54. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.700 — Liability insurance. Established that centres and outdoor nature-based providers must prove day care insurance at licensure, renewal and any inspection, while family day care providers under subsection (2)(a) may instead give written notice of insurance status on a department standard form to every enrolled family and keep a copy, and "may choose to opt out of the requirement to have day care or other applicable insurance". https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.305 — 90-day decision duty, nonexpiring licence conditions, "good standing" definition, and the two-week grace for a licensed family day care home after a move. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.315 — Initial licence, six months, renewable to a maximum of two years. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.300 — Licence fees set by rule, may be waived, based on but not exceeding department cost including necessary inspection. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.295 — Unlawful for any agency to care for children unless licensed. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.325 — Enforcement.

Civil monetary penalties capped at $150 per violation per day for a family day care home and $250 for a centre, each day a separate violation; penalties forgiven where an unlicensed agency applies within thirty days of notification and becomes licensed. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.270 — Fingerprint requirement, WSP and FBI, and the statement at subsection (2)(f) that a background check clearance card is "valid for five years from the date of issuance". https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.271 — Portable/individual-based background check clearance registry; last amended 2023 c 437 s 3. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.687 — Statutory posting list (licence, DCYF toll-free number, pending enforcement notice, availability of three years of inspection reports). https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.692 — Department may waive the 12-child family home limit by rule after assessing square footage and staffing. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.27.600 — 2025 c 150 s 2. Building official must calculate a child care centre's occupancy load "based only on the areas in the building where the child care services are provided" in a mixed-use existing building;

legislative findings name churches as the intended beneficiary. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=35A.63.215 — Cities may not prohibit use of a residential dwelling in a residential or commercial zone as a family day-care provider's home facility; enumerates what a city may still require, including the DCYF licensor's safe passenger loading certification and pre-licensing written notice to immediately adjoining property owners. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=36.70.757 — Same prohibition on counties for facilities serving twelve or fewer children. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=35.63.170 — Definitions of "family day care home" (six or fewer), "mini-day care center" and "day care center" used by the land-use statutes.

Note the mismatch with the DCYF definition: for zoning purposes a "family day care home" is six or fewer children, while a DCYF family home licence runs to twelve. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.02.070 — Consolidated business licence application; regulatory agencies retain their own approval authority, so a state business licence does not substitute for the DCYF licence. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/licensing-process — DCYF's own licensing process page.

Established the four-step orientation sequence (STARS ID in MERIT, register on the DCYF training site, complete orientation and save the certificate, then email dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov), the facility-type-specific orientation titles, availability in English/Spanish/Somali, and the Pre-Licensing Support team. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider — Confirms DCYF licenses about 6,800 early learning programmes and school-age sites, lists the four licence types, and carries the new ECEAP/Head Start exemption marked "(Effective June 11, 2026)". https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/legislative-updates — DCYF's account of the 2026 session: HB 2317 and HB 2219, both effective 11 June 2026; the school-day (six hours or more) limit on the ECEAP/Head Start exemption; that subsidy-taking programmes must stay licensed; that about 44 of 6,729 programmes are affected; the zero-tolerance drug rule; the mixed-age grouping allowances; and the preservice orientation waiver, with the note that "MERIT is working on solutions for tracking orientation requirements." https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/qualifications/child-care-providers/training — Establishes that Child Care Basics (CCB) is the current course name, that the federal health and safety modules are folded into CCB, that blood-borne pathogens, first aid, CPR, food handler permit and safe sleep are NOT included in CCB, and the in-service and EQEL structure. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/qualifications/child-care-providers — Role-by-role chart.

Establishes credit weights (ECE Initial Certificate 12 credits, Short Certificate 20, State Certificate 47), the centre director hiring credit floors (10 / 25 / 45 ECE credits by capacity band), and that family home "Other Staff or Household Members 14 and older" need a background check and a TB test. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/earlylearning-profdev/merit — MERIT. Establishes that a STARS ID is a prerequisite to the Portable Background Check application, the exact registration steps, the identity-match requirement and the merit@dcyf.wa.gov correction route, and the Self-Entered / Confirmed / Verified employment record states with the citation to WAC 110-300-0115. CONTRADICTIONS OF THE BRIEF, TEXT IN HAND: 1. The Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". The code reviser's own index for chapter 110-300 WAC states the former citation as "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)", and every section history line in the chapter reads "recodified as § 110-300-XXXX" from § 170-300-XXXX by WSR 18-14-078 / WSR 18-15-001 in mid-2018. Chapter 170-296A WAC was the older family home chapter that 170-300 replaced; the direct predecessor of 110-300 is 170-300, not 170-296A.

Corrected in the elements. 2. The brief asks to verify "le calendrier Early Achievers" as part of prelicensing. It is not a prelicensing step at all for most applicants. RCW 43.216.085(3)(c) states that participation in Early Achievers "is voluntary for ... licensed or certified child care centers, family home child care, and outdoor nature-based child care, not receiving state subsidy payments", and RCW 43.216.085(3)(d) exempts school-age providers entirely. The deadlines in RCW 43.216.135 bind only providers serving non-school-age children who receive state subsidy: a NEW such provider must enrol within 30 days of the first subsidy payment, complete level 2 activities within 12 months of enrolment, and rate or request to be rated at level 3 or higher within 30 months of enrolment, with a remedial period and then loss of subsidy eligibility. The 2016/2017/2019 dates in RCW 43.216.135(1) apply to providers already receiving subsidy at the time and are spent. Because Early Achievers is post-licence and subsidy-conditional, it was deliberately not written as a prelicensing step. 3. The task brief asked for "the portable background check for every household member 16+".

Confirmed as to the background check (WAC 110-06-0020, 110-06-0041(2)), but the age is not uniform across the chapter: WAC 110-300-0105(3) sets FOURTEEN and over for tuberculosis documentation, WAC 110-300-0425(7)(b)(v)(A) requires reporting a change in household members "age 14 years old or older" who move in or out, and DCYF's own qualifications chart applies background check and TB requirements to household members 14 and older. WAC 110-06-0045 governs background checks for minors aged 13 through 15. Element 05 was written specifically to break the 16-only assumption. 4. The task brief asked about "the ECE certificate pathway and its deadline". The deadline in force is 1 August 2030, not the 1 August 2026 date that circulates widely in provider-facing material: WAC 110-300-0100(1)(b)(i) reads "by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being licensed by the department, whichever occurs later". Any Washington checklist quoting 2026 is stale. 5. The codified rule is the stale text on orientation. WAC 110-300-0105(1) still states the orientation requirement absolutely, with no waiver, and its history line stops at WSR 21-15-023 (filed 7/12/21). RCW 43.216.263, enacted 2026 c 82 s 2 and effective 11 June 2026, provides that the department MUST waive it on four conditions.

This is method rule 2 in the field: the session law is current and the codified regulation is behind. Likewise WAC 110-300-0420 (prohibited substances) does not yet carry the high-potency synthetic opioid / drug manufacturing equipment prohibition that RCW 43.216.255(1)(d) now imposes, and WAC 110-300-0357 does not yet carry the 2.5-hour / 4-hour mixed-ratio allowances of RCW 43.216.255(2). 6. Statute and rule disagree on the life of a background clearance. RCW 43.216.270(2)(f) says the clearance card "is valid for five years from the date of issuance"; WAC 110-06-0040(1) requires the process to be completed "at least once every three years thereafter". WAC 110-06-0010(6) provides that where this chapter conflicts with any other rule on background checks "the provisions in this chapter will govern", so three years is the operative cycle. Element 04 says so and names the conflict. 7. Zoning terminology mismatch worth flagging for the site: RCW 35.63.170(1) defines "family day care home" for land-use purposes as six or fewer children, while RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) defines the licensed "family day care provider" as up to twelve.

RCW 35A.63.215 and RCW 36.70.757 protect the twelve-child home by cross-referencing RCW 43.216.010, but a city planner reading only chapter 35.63 RCW may apply the six-child figure. UNVERIFIED: the exact DCYF form numbers for the family home and centre licence applications, the annual declaration form, the emergency drill record form and the family day care insurance-status notice form were not confirmed — the DCYF "Forms & Documents" page under the licensed-provider section returned HTTP 404 on 26 August 2026 and no replacement index was located, so no form number is asserted anywhere in the elements.

Also unverified: the current EPA lead action level in parts per billion (WAC 110-300-0235(3) incorporates it by reference without stating a number); the current fingerprint vendor fee charged by the DCYF contractor, WSP, FBI and DSHS under WAC 110-06-0044(1)(a), of which only the $12.00 DCYF administrative fee is fixed in rule; the content of WAC 110-06-0045 for minors aged 13 through 15, whose section body was not retrieved in full (only its title and the cross-reference in WAC 110-06-0020(b) were read); whether DCYF has yet published a process for claiming the RCW 43.216.263 orientation waiver, its own legislative-updates page saying only that "MERIT is working on solutions for tracking orientation requirements"; and the Washington State Fire Marshal self-inspection form referenced by WAC 110-300-0170(2), which was not located. [preservice_training] Researched 2026-08-26. Started from the chapter index in effect, not from any pinned URL. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — chapter index served today;

chapter title "FOUNDATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS", index stamped "Last update: 7/1/26". Established the live section list for training: 110-300-0100, 0105, 0106, 0107, 0110, 0111, 0115, 0120, 0230. No Early Achievers section exists inside chapter 110-300 WAC. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0106 — full verbatim text of "Training requirements", incl. (1) "within three months of the date of hire", (2) registry registration before initial license, (3) child care basics before license grant / before unsupervised work, (4)-(7) mandated reporter, emergency preparedness, shaken baby/AHT, children experiencing homelessness, (8) safe sleep annually + prior to licensure, (9) medication management, (10) blood and body fluids per L&I, (11) first aid/CPR with the live hands-on instructor-observed component, (12) food worker card.

Amendment history read: WSR 25-10-051 filed 5/1/25 eff. 6/1/25; WSR 25-01-087 filed 12/13/24 eff. 1/13/25. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0105 — "Preservice requirements" verbatim: department orientation, background check per ch. 110-06 WAC, TB documentation "signed within the last twelve months" with the three acceptable forms, retesting on exposure notification. Last amended WSR 21-15-023 filed 7/12/21 eff. 8/12/21. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0100 — "General staff qualifications" AS SERVED TODAY, carrying the brand-new amendment "Statutory Authority: RCW 43.216.755 and 2025 c 281. WSR 26-14-116, s 110-300-0100, filed 7/1/26, effective 8/1/26." Established: family home licensee entry bar (18, HS diploma, preservice), ECE initial certificate due "by August 1, 2030, or within five years of being licensed", short certificate within two years of the initial, director/assistant director/program supervisor state certificate by August 1 2030, the 10/25/45 quarter-credit capacity chart, aide minimum age 14, aide 19-hours-per-month in-service exemption, ongoing vs occasional volunteers. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/law/wsr/2026/14/26-14-116.htm — the permanent rule order itself, with the amendatory strike-through text.

Verbatim purpose statement: "The licensing division is revising these WAC based on E2SHB 1648, relating to child care provider qualifications. The current requirement for providers to have an early childhood education initial certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2026, is being changed to August 1, 2030." Confirms the struck "by August 1, 2028" short-certificate deadline and that WAC 110-301-0100 and 110-302-0100 were amended in the same order. Adopted under notice WSR 26-11-066 filed 5/20/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — definitions verbatim: "Child care basics (CCB)", "ECE initial certificate" (12 quarter credits), "ECE short certificate" (initial + 8), "ECE state certificate" (short + 27), "Equivalency", "Electronic workforce registry", "Preservice training", "Early achievers". https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0110 — program-based staff policies and training; policies approved by the department before the initial license; the self-delivered training on ch. 43.216 RCW and chs. 110-300 and 110-06 WAC.

Amended WSR 26-09-080 filed 4/14/26 eff. 5/15/26 — recent, so inherited templates are stale. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0115 — staff records; entry into the electronic workforce registry, paper may be discarded once confirmed, annual observation/evaluation/feedback. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0230 — first aid/CPR certification cross-reference and the itemised first-aid kit contents. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=296-823-12005 — L&I bloodborne pathogens training rule; established the frequency WAC 110-300-0106(10) only cross-references: "At least annually and within one year of the previous training", at no cost, during compensated hours. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.755 — community-based training pathway; "until at least August 1, 2030"; the $250-per-person price cap; RCW 43.216.755(4) allowing timelines beyond 2030 of no more than five years.

Enacted history "[2025 c 281 s 2; 2020 c 342 s 2]". https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.757 — experience-based competency, 2025 c 281 s 3, verbatim eligibility conditions incl. "without a break in service since August 1, 2021, as of July 27, 2025, or a cumulative five years"; plus the 2025 c 281 findings/intent and the stakeholder-group note expiring July 1, 2028 with a report due to the legislature December 1, 2026. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0035.pdf — DCYF "Completing Child Care Basics", stamped EPS_0035 (03-2026). Five approved options, the ten CCB module names, the CCDF topic list, "Important: CPR, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Safe Sleep are not included in CCB", the no-exemption answer, the seven-year certificate acceptance window, and "Does CCB meet my annual training hours?". https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0050.pdf — DCYF "Training Requirements and Completion Timeline", stamped EPS_0050 (09-2024). Role-by-role table, "STARS hours" retired to slang, the calendar-year statement.

ALSO the stale-agency-document finding below. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0037.pdf — DCYF "Equivalent Options for Education", stamped EPS_0037 (04-2026). The full equivalency crosswalk: 13 Military Modules, current CDA, 12/20/45 aligned credits, CDA+8, CDA+35, MACTE/AMI/AMS Montessori credentials, PACE for initial and short only, experience-based competency, GED or one 100-level college credit for the diploma line, and the footnote requiring MERIT verification. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/EPS_0071.pdf — DCYF "Provider Access to a Community Equivalent (PACE) Program Overview": PACE meets the licensing education requirement for the Initial and Short Certificates; eligible roles; CCB and EQEL as prerequisites; PACE Part 1 = 20 training + 8 on-the-job hours, Part 2 = 20 training + 12 on-the-job hours. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/qualifications/child-care-providers/training — DCYF's live training page: the "90 days of hire" phrasing, the federal health & safety module list, MERIT "Find Trainings", the 30-business-day posting expectation. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/earlylearning-profdev/merit — MERIT = "Managed Education and Registry Information Tool", "DCYF's online workforce registry and recording system"; employment must be recorded in MERIT per WAC 110-300-0115. No replacement or migration announced. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=170-296A — resolves to the Title 170 WAC index, which states "No active sections in this title".

Confirms the entire old Department of Early Learning title, including ch. 170-296A (family home) and ch. 170-295 (centers), is decodified. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1): the brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". Directionally true, materially imprecise. Chapter 110-300 WAC was recodified from chapter 170-300 WAC by WSR 18-15-001 (filed and effective 7/5/18), which itself was newly adopted at WSR 18-14-079 (filed 6/30/18, effective 8/1/19) to replace BOTH the family home rules of ch. 170-296A and the center rules of ch. 170-295. And the whole of Title 170 WAC is now empty, not merely that chapter. Anyone citing 170-296A is eight years out of date. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (2): the brief frames the Washington task around "le calendrier Early Achievers" as the thing to verify. The far larger live change is on the qualifications side: WSR 26-14-116, filed 1 July 2026 and effective 1 August 2026 — three weeks before this research — moved the ECE initial certificate deadline from August 1, 2026 to August 1, 2030 and deleted the August 1, 2028 short-certificate deadline outright, pursuant to E2SHB 1648 / 2025 c 281. Every Washington source published before July 2026 states the 2026 date and is now wrong by four years.

This is precisely method rule 2 in reverse: here the session law (2025 c 281, July 2025) was the current layer for a full year while the codified WAC still said 2026, and the WAC only caught up on 1 August 2026. AGENCY DOCUMENT IS STALE (method rule 3, confirmed again): DCYF's own EPS_0050 (09-2024) footnotes that "Child Care Basics covers trainings listed in WAC 110-300-0106 sections 4-7 and 10 … Medication Management (0106 section 10)." After WSR 25-01-087 and WSR 25-10-051 renumbered the section, medication management is WAC 110-300-0106(9) and subsection (10) is the blood and body fluids training — which DCYF's own EPS_0035 (03-2026) says is NOT covered by CCB. The agency's summary sheet now points a provider at the wrong subsection and implies bloodborne pathogens is covered. Also noted: the DCYF web page says "90 days of hire" where WAC 110-300-0106(1) says "three months of the date of hire". UNVERIFIED: the 30-hour length of Child Care Basics is not stated in WAC 110-300 and is not stated in DCYF's current EPS_0035 (03-2026); it is corroborated only by DCYF prose elsewhere on dcyf.wa.gov and by state-approved third-party trainers who sell it as a 30-hour course.

The text describes it as the practical delivered length, not a rule requirement. UNVERIFIED: the exact dollar ceiling and window of DCYF's state-approved-training cost reimbursement (reported in third-party sources as up to $250 per DCYF fiscal year, July 1 - June 30, while funding lasts) was not confirmed on a DCYF page during this task; the text therefore states it without a figure. UNVERIFIED: chapter 110-06 WAC (background checks) was cited by cross-reference from WAC 110-300-0105(2) but its own text was not opened in this task; no assertion is made about its contents beyond the cross-reference. The "household members ages 13 and older" figure comes from DCYF EPS_0050 (09-2024), not from rule text read here. [program] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Chapter index as served 26 Aug 2026; full title "FOUNDATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS"; "Last Update 7/1/26"; note "This chapter was formerly cited as Chapter 170-300 WAC". Full section list 110-300-0001 to 110-300-0505 used to locate every rule below. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — Verbatim definitions of "family home early learning program" ("12 or fewer children in the family living quarters"), "family home licensee" ("an individual licensee"), "licensee", "license", "applicant", "capacity", "early achievers".

Tail: WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0010 — License required; birth through 12; RCW 43.216.295; the "not related" cross-reference to RCW 43.216.010(2)(a); the four-hours-a-day preschool trigger; the center-in-a-private-residence alternative. Tail: RCW 34.05.020, WSR 24-19-056, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — Family home capacity, ratio, and group size. Verbatim source for the entire experience ladder (subs. 7, 8, 9), the birth-to-24-months option (sub. 10), the two-staff triggers (sub. 11), the total-count rule incl. the licensee's own children and staff children (sub. 4), and the special-needs counting rules (sub. 3). Tail: "Statutory Authority: RCW 43.216.692. WSR 22-03-016, § 110-300-0355, filed 1/7/22, effective 2/7/22." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0358 — Capacity waiver for family home providers: up to 16 children, 3 years' experience, full nonexpiring license, 35 sq ft indoor per child plus 15 additional sq ft under 24 months, 75 sq ft outdoor per child, 1:8 for 2+ and 1:6 for under 2. Tail: "WSR 25-01-087, s 110-300-0358, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25" over "RCW 43.216.692. WSR 22-03-016 ... effective 2/7/22." https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.692 — Verbatim: "The department may waive the limit, as established in RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) ... must assess, at a minimum, the provider's available square footage and staffing capabilities prior to issuing any waiver of the limit of 12 children."

History [2021 c 199 s 313] — i.e. Fair Start for Kids Act. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0400 — Application materials verbatim: orientation certificate within 12 months, floor plan, certificate of occupancy if applicable, septic documentation no more than three years old, well water E. coli and nitrate results no more than 12 months old, Tacoma smelter plume lead/arsenic evaluation agreement for King, Pierce and Thurston counties, lead and copper drinking water tests, the four policy documents, the 90-calendar-day rule, the one-time reapplication fee waiver, and the denial-if-not-withdrawn clause. Tail: RCW 34.05.020, WSR 24-19-056, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0425 — Initial license 6 months extendable by up to three further 6-month periods (2 years max) under RCW 43.216.315; nonexpiring license under RCW 43.216.305; the 30-days-before-anniversary annual submission; expiration on failure; the full 24-hour reporting list incl. household members aged 14+ per RCW 43.216.390; prior approval for capacity increases; 30-day liability insurance notice per RCW 43.216.700; and sub. (6) "Providers cannot appeal the department's decision and have no rights to a hearing."

Tail: WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0105 — Preservice requirements: department-provided orientation, background check per ch. 110-06 WAC, TB documentation signed within the last 12 months, age 14+. Tail WSR 21-15-023, filed 7/12/21, effective 8/12/21 — the rule has NOT been amended for the 2026 orientation waiver. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0505 — Postings list verbatim, incl. the enforcement-action posting under RCW 43.216.687 "posted immediately and for at least two weeks or until violation is corrected", the safe sleep violation notice, the no-smoking/no-vaping signs, and the posted waiver or variance. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2317.SL.pdf — EHB 2317, Chapter 54, Laws of 2026, effective June 11, 2026, amending RCW 43.216.010 (from 2025 c 181 s 1). Read in full. Source of the verbatim RCW 43.216.010(1)(c) family day care provider / family home provider definition with its two carve-outs, the entire (2)(a) through (2)(o) exemption list including the advertising clause in (2)(c) and the new ECEAP/Head Start exemption at (2)(j), the ECEAP part day / full day / extended day definitions, the "negative action" definition, and the outdoor nature-based child care definition at (1)(e). https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2219-S.SL.pdf — ESHB 2219, Chapter 82, Laws of 2026, effective June 11, 2026. Read in full.

Sec. 2 is the verbatim mandatory orientation waiver quoted in the field ("The department must waive ..." with its three conditions). Sec. 1 supplies the RCW 43.216.255 zero-tolerance / immediate summary suspension language, the opioid-free premises requirement, and the mixed-ratio periods — which sec. 1(2) writes for CHILD CARE CENTERS, not family homes. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.085 — Early achievers: mandatory participation for licensed or certified centers, family home child care and outdoor nature-based child care "serving nonschool-age children and receiving state subsidy payments"; five primary levels plus an intermediate level between 3 and 4; first and subsequent in-cycle ratings free; voluntary for providers not receiving state funding. History 2021 c 304 s 6; 2019 c 369 s 2; 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 113; 2015 3rd sp.s. c 7 s 2; 2013 c 323 s 6; 2007 c 394 s 4. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.135 — New-provider deadlines verbatim: enroll within 30 days of the initial state subsidy payment, level 2 within 12 months of enrollment, level 3 or higher within 30 months of enrollment; remedial period then 12 months; sub. (3) loss of subsidy eligibility; sub. (4) the pending-rating grace.

History 2023 c 222 s 5 and prior. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.828 — Subsidy base rates: 85th percentile of market beginning July 1, 2026 (per the survey published before May 20, 2025), then 75th percentile beginning July 1, 2027; the 40%/65% survey response-rate validity thresholds from the June 2028 survey; the RCW 41.56.153 collective bargaining preservation. History [2026 c 268 s 928; 2026 c 264 s 2; 2025 c 424 s 957; 2021 c 199 s 301; 2019 c 368 s 7]. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.556 — ECEAP full implementation and entitlement "in the 2030-31 school year", verbatim in subs. (2) and (3). History [2025 c 412 s 1] and prior. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35.63.170 — Zoning definitions: "family day care home" = "six or fewer children in the family abode"; "mini-day care center" includes "the care of seven through twelve children in the family abode".

History 1989 c 335 s 3. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35.63.185 — Sub. (4) anchor sentence quoted: "As used in this section, 'family day-care provider' is as defined in RCW 43.216.010." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-302 — Chapter title "Foundational quality standards for outdoor nature-based child care"; sections 110-302-0010 License required, 110-302-0356 and 110-302-0357 capacity/ratio. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-303 — Chapter "Organizational license pilot": the five sections named in the field (0001 Authority, 0005 Definitions, 0010 Pilot project licenses—Licensing rules, 0015 Denial, modification, suspension, and revocation—Right of review, 0020 Process of seeking review). https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110 — Title 110 index establishing chapter 110-301 "Foundational quality standards for school-age programs", 110-15 "Working connections and seasonal child care subsidy programs", 110-16 "License-exempt care—Family, friends, and neighbors (FFN) in-home/relative child care providers", 110-425 "Early childhood education and assistance program".

CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (2 in this field): 1. The brief tells the WA writer to "vérifier ... le calendrier Early Achievers" as if the Early Achievers calendar were the current live question. It is not. The deadlines in RCW 43.216.135(1) for existing providers all expired years ago (enrol by August 1, 2016; level 2 by August 1, 2017; level 3 by December 31, 2019, remedial to December 30, 2020). The only calendar that binds a new applicant today is RCW 43.216.135(2): 30 days from the first subsidy payment, 12 months to level 2, 30 months to level 3. Publishing the (1) dates as if they were a schedule to plan against would be publishing dead law. The live Washington calendar is not Early Achievers at all — it is RCW 43.216.828, where the subsidy base rate hits the 85th percentile of market on July 1, 2026 and then DROPS to the 75th percentile on July 1, 2027 under 2026 c 264 s 2 and 2026 c 268 s 928. 2. Not a brief error but a correction of the ambient Washington guidance the brief points at: multiple third-party Washington startup guides and rate explainers state that ECEAP becomes an entitlement for all eligible children by July 2026. RCW 43.216.556 as amended by 2025 c 412 s 1 says the entitlement arrives "in the 2030-31 school year."

The field says so and names the amending chapter. Also worth carrying to the other Lot 7 writers: the brief's WA line "WAC 110-300 ... qui a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A" is a wrong citation chain — see WA/_sources/agency.txt for the full correction. 110-300 is the former 170-300; the family-home/centre merger happened on 1 August 2019 by WSR 19-14-076. UNVERIFIED: WAC 110-300-0358 was read through a summarising fetch that condensed subsections rather than quoting all eight verbatim. The conditions stated in the field (16 children, 3 years' experience, full nonexpiring licence, 35 sq ft plus 15 additional under 24 months, 75 sq ft outdoor, 1:8 and 1:6) are as reported by that read of the served rule but are NOT quoted verbatim in the field for that reason; the statutory ceiling-waiver authority in RCW 43.216.692 is quoted verbatim and is independently confirmed. UNVERIFIED: RCW 43.216.295, 43.216.305, 43.216.315, 43.216.390, 43.216.687 and 43.216.700 were not opened individually; they appear in the published text only as the citations the rules I read point to. UNVERIFIED: chapter 110-15 WAC (Working Connections) and chapter 110-425 WAC (ECEAP) were identified from the Title 110 index but their sections were not opened; nothing substantive in the field rests on their internal text.

UNVERIFIED: chapter 110-303 WAC section 110-303-0001 (Authority) could not be loaded, so whether the organizational license pilot carries a sunset or expiration date is not established. The field describes the chapter only by its served section titles and calls it narrow, which the five-section index supports. [ratios] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Chapter index for 110-300 WAC "Foundational quality standards for early learning programs", opened 26 Aug 2026; index shows "Last update: 7/1/26" and the code reviser note "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)". Confirms the live section list including 0354, 0355, 0356, 0357, 0358. Started from the index rather than any pinned PDF, per method rule 1. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0355 — WAC 110-300-0355 "Family home capacity, ratio, and group size", full text as served today. Establishes the four experience bands (7), (8), (9), the birth-to-24-months eight-child 1:4 program (10), and the mandatory two-staff triggers (11). Last amended WSR 22-03-016, filed 1/7/22, effective 2/7/22, under RCW 43.216.692. Also establishes that own children and staff children count (3) and (4), and the special-needs in/out-of-ratio split (3)(a)-(b).

Subsection (3)(c) is printed in the code as a sentence fragment ("A child who turns 13 years old permitted by chapter 110-15 WAC and who must be counted..."); quoted as printed. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0356 — WAC 110-300-0356 "Center capacity, ratio, and group size". Establishes center group-size/ratio pairs in (5), the single-staff first/last hour allowance in (10), and — critically — subsection (6), which STILL reads "no more than the first two hours of the day or the last two hours of the day, not to exceed two hours in any given day". Never amended since recodification (WSR 18-15-001). https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.255 — RCW 43.216.255 as codified today. Subsection (2) now REQUIRES center licensing standards to allow mixed-ratio time "up to 2.5 hours per day" or "Up to four hours per day ... if at least 90 minutes of that time is reserved for allowing meal and rest breaks for center staff". History line reads "2026 c 82 s 1; 2021 c 304 s 10; 2015 3rd sp.s. c 7 s 3." https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/House/2219-S.SL.pdf — ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2219, Chapter 82, Laws of 2026, "CHILD CARE PROVIDERS—LICENSING REQUIREMENTS", EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026; passed House 3/9/26, Senate 3/3/26, approved by Governor Ferguson 3/17/26, filed 3/18/26. Sec. 1 amends RCW 43.216.255. Sec. 2 adds a new section requiring DCYF to waive the orientation preservice requirement on re-entry within five years with no break in service.

Read as PDF-to-text. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0357 — WAC 110-300-0357 center mixed age group ratios/group sizes; (1)(a) requires meeting the requirement "for the youngest child present in the group". https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0358 — WAC 110-300-0358 capacity waiver; (3)(e) supplies the 13-16 child ratios 1:8 / 1:6 and the five/six-under-two walking conditions. Last amended WSR 25-01-087, filed 12/13/24, effective 1/13/25. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0345 — WAC 110-300-0345 "Supervising children"; (2) extends ratio to off-site, transport, meals, rest, overnight and different floor levels; (5)(a) bans monitors in place of supervision except under 0270(5). Last amended WSR 24-19-056, filed 9/13/24, effective 10/14/24. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0350 — WAC 110-300-0350 water activities: 1:1 for infants, arm's length for toddlers, lifeguard plus one extra staff over 24 inches of water, +1 staff and a swimmer for off-site water over four inches. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0100 — WAC 110-300-0100 "General staff qualifications".

Establishes who may be counted in ratio: assistant teachers (7), aides (8)(e) including the 19-hours-per-month threshold, volunteers (10)(c) and the exclusion of occasional volunteers (10)(d). MOST RECENTLY AMENDED SECTION IN THE CHAPTER: WSR 26-14-116, filed 7/1/26, effective 8/1/26, statutory authority "RCW 43.216.755 and 2025 c 281" — this is the source of the chapter index's 7/1/26 date, and it is what pushes the ECE certificate deadlines to August 1, 2030. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0111 — WAC 110-300-0111 staff oversight; (2) limits when an aide or volunteer may leave the supervisor's visual/auditory range. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0005 — WAC 110-300-0005 definitions. Supplies "Infant" (birth through 11 months), "Toddler" (12 through 29 months), "Preschool-age children" (30 months through six years not attending kindergarten or elementary school), "School-age children" (five through 12 and attending school or home-based instruction under ch. 28A.200 RCW), "Capacity", "Premises", "Family home early learning program", "Aide", "Volunteer".

NOTE: 0005 contains NO definition of "qualified assistant", "group size", "staff-to-child ratio" or "mixed age" — those terms are used in 0355 without definition, which is why the ratio-eligible roles have to be read out of 0100. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0300 — WAC 110-300-0300 individual care plan; the documentation gate for excluding a one-on-one child from ratio. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0455 — WAC 110-300-0455 attendance records; (3)(c) requires the daily staff record to document "The staff-to-child ratio". https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0015 — WAC 110-300-0015 licensee absence; ten-consecutive-operating-day notice and the required "staffing plan that meets child-to-staff ratios". https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-301-0356 — WAC 110-301-0356 school-age program capacity/ratio: group of 30 at 1:15, "including children related to staff or the licensee". Chapter 110-301 index last update 7/1/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-302-0356 — WAC 110-302-0356 outdoor nature-based ratios: 1:6 preschool (group 16), 1:8 school-age 5-13 (group 20), 1:10 school-age 9-13 (group 20), plus (8)(d) "at least two qualified staff members who are not aides or volunteers" and "Every third staff member counted in the ratio may be an aide or volunteer".

Chapter 110-302 index last update 7/1/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-302-0357 — ONB mixed age group ratios, for completeness. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110 — Title 110 WAC index, "Last update: 8/4/26". Establishes that 110-301 (school-age) and 110-302 (outdoor nature-based) are SEPARATE license chapters from 110-300, and that 110-303 is the Organizational License Pilot, not a care chapter. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (1): The Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". The code reviser's own note on the chapter index reads "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)", and every section history line in this chapter traces to 170-300-xxxx recodified by WSR 18-15-001 on 7/5/18. WAC 170-296A was the pre-2018 family home chapter and it was repealed rather than being the source of this chapter's numbering; the chapter served today is the recodified 170-300. Cite 110-300 as formerly 170-300. CONTRADICTS THE BRIEF (2), and more importantly contradicts the codified WAC itself: the brief says to "verify what the index serves today". The index today serves a WAC 110-300-0356(6) that caps center mixed-ratio time at two hours at the start or end of the day.

That rule is now narrower than the statute it implements. RCW 43.216.255(2), as amended by 2026 c 82 s 1 (ESHB 2219) effective 11 June 2026, COMMANDS the department's licensing standards to allow up to 2.5 hours per day, or up to four hours per day where at least 90 minutes is reserved for staff meal and rest breaks, on a schedule set by the center. This is method rule 2 exactly: the codified regulation is the stale one and the session law is current. The WAC has not been conformed as of 26 Aug 2026. NOTE ON 2026 c 54: EHB 2317 (chapter 54, Laws of 2026, effective 6/11/26) amended RCW 43.216.010 but did NOT touch ratios or the 12-child cap; it added the ECEAP/Head Start licensing exemption and renumbered (2)(m) to (2)(n). Verified against the enrolled bill text, not a summary. UNVERIFIED: whether DCYF has filed a CR-101/CR-102 to conform WAC 110-300-0356(6) to the amended RCW 43.216.255(2). The "Agency filings affecting this section" pages for 110-300-0355, -0356 and -0358 returned empty content to a plain HTTP fetch, so pending rulemaking could not be inspected directly. Nothing in the ratios field is written from that page.

UNVERIFIED: internal tension in WAC 110-300-0355(10) between the opening requirement of two staff for the eight-child birth-to-24-month group and the conditional second-staff trigger in (10)(d). Both are quoted verbatim; no DCYF interpretation of the conflict was read. [required_forms] https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Chapter 110-300 WAC index as served today. Last Update 7/1/26. Note reads "Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC" (not 170-296A). Full section list confirms 0400 Application materials, 0450 handbook, 0455 attendance, 0460 child records, 0470 emergency preparedness plan, 0475 duty to report incidents, 0480 transportation, 0500 health policy, 0210 immunizations, 0215 medication, 0225 pets and animals, 0300 individual care plan, 0350 water activities, 0170 fire safety are all in effect under those numbers. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0400 — Application materials, verbatim. Establishes the packet contents (department application form, orientation certificate within 12 months, business licence, insurance, fee, photo ID, SSN card or sworn declaration, EIN, employment/education verification), the policy documents due with it, and the 90-calendar-day rule with "Incomplete application packets will be returned to the applicant for completion."

Amended WSR 24-19-056, eff. 10/14/24. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0460 — Child records, verbatim. Establishes the enrolment record contents (birth date, parent contact, emergency contact, authorised pickup names and numbers, individual care plan, the five signed permissions, enrolment start/end dates) and the health record contents. Amended WSR 21-15-023, eff. 8/12/21. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0450 — Parent or guardian handbook, verbatim. Establishes the signed-acknowledgement duty in every child's record and the full content list. CURRENT TEXT AMENDED WSR 26-09-080, FILED 4/14/26, EFFECTIVE 5/15/26 — a handbook built on a pre-mid-2026 template is presumptively short. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0455 — Attendance records, verbatim. Establishes the child attendance contents, the separate DAILY STAFF attendance duty at (3), the ten-hour cap at (1), and the eight electronic-record conditions at (4)-(5). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0475 — Duty to protect and report incidents, verbatim.

Establishes the telephone deadlines (48h / 24h / immediate 911) and the separate written report "on a department form within 24 hours" at (3). Amended WSR 26-09-080, eff. 5/15/26. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0210 — Immunizations, verbatim. Establishes the first-day deadline, the three acceptable documents (medically verified CIS, department-approved COE, WA IIS record) required "upon enrollment and annually thereafter", the 30-day conditional-acceptance route, and the mandatory exclusion cross-reference to WAC 246-105-080. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0215 — Medication, verbatim. Establishes the medication management policy, the training precondition, the labelling rules, the six mandatory log contents, the annual re-authorisation of non-medical items, and the storage/return/homemade-product rules. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0300 — Individual care plan, verbatim. Establishes the DCYF notification duty, parent signature, ten content items, the five acceptable professional sources of supporting documentation, annual update, and the phrase "may be developed using a department provided template" — a template DCYF no longer publishes. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0350 — Water activities, verbatim.

Establishes the unqualified written-permission duty at (3), the 24-inch lifeguard threshold at (4), the 6ft/2ft life-saving equipment rule at (5), and the FOUR-INCH off-site trigger at (6). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0480 — Transportation and off-site activity, verbatim. Establishes the three permissible specificity levels of a transport authorisation, the 24-hour field trip notice, and the two-hour daily routine-trip cap. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0225 — Pets and animals, verbatim. Establishes the pet policy AND written notice to parents at (2), plus the vaccination, species, kitchen, sink and waste rules. No form is named anywhere in the section. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0500 — Health policy, verbatim. Establishes department review and approval of the health policy and its fourteen required topics, including pets at (2)(j) and medication at (2)(i). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0470 — Emergency preparedness plan. Establishes drill cadence (fire/evacuation monthly, earthquake/lockdown/shelter-in-place quarterly), the "variety of staff and at different times of the day, including in the evening" requirement, the recorded fields, and the three-day supply duty. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300-0170 — Fire safety, verbatim.

Establishes the annual fire safety inspection with state fire marshal form fallback at (2), the chimney/wood-stove annual inspection-or-written-statement rule at (3)(f), and the monthly premises inspection at (3)(j). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-06-0040 — Background clearance requirements, retrieved as raw HTML and read verbatim. Says the application is due "at least once every three years thereafter" (WSR 22-10-022, filed 4/25/22). Also (4) no unsupervised access without authorisation and (5) a disqualified person must not be present on the premises during service. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-06-0041 — Requirements for early learning service providers, verbatim. Sets the SIXTEEN-year trigger for residents moving in or turning sixteen, and requires clearance before first date of employment from 10/1/2020. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-06-0045 — Background checks for minors, verbatim. Sets THIRTEEN through fifteen for anyone residing in a licensed family home child care, with a seven-day window after moving in, signed by the minor and their parent or guardian. https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-06-0020 — Definition of "subject individual", verbatim.

Confirms 16+ generally, 13-15 via 110-06-0045. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.216.270 — Statute, verbatim. Subsection (2)(f): "The background check clearance card or certificate is valid for five years from the date of issuance." Subsection (2)(h): the card must be maintained on site for inspection. History: 2024 c 300 s 2; 2023 c 437 s 2; 2022 c 297 s 960; 2020 c 270 s 9. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/forms-documents — The live DCYF child care forms and documents index. Established the working list of DCYF form numbers, the "Applications" section that gives ONLY the email dcyf.welcomeinbox@dcyf.wa.gov and no downloadable application, and the line "Care Plan Documents – King County (formerly DCYF 15-970)". https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/licensed-provider/licensing-process — Licensing process steps. Step Four says to email dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov — a DIFFERENT address from the one the forms page gives for the same act. Neither page names form 15-955. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/forms?field_number_value=15-9&title= — DCYF forms library filtered to 15-9xx.

Established current titles and revision dates: 15-941, 15-942, 15-943, 15-949 (05-2026), 15-955 (05-2026), 15-956, 15-963, 15-964, 15-965, 15-966, 15-967, 15-968 (06-2021), 15-969, 15-971, 15-974 (02-2026), 15-979, 15-980. CONFIRMS 15-970 IS ABSENT: the sequence runs 15-969 to 15-971. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/forms?field_number_value=15-970&title= — Returns no rows. Independent confirmation that DCYF 15-970 (the individual care plan template) has been withdrawn from the forms library. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/forms?field_number_value=15-8&title= and ...=15-89&title= — Established 15-820/820A, 15-821, 15-822, 15-824, 15-826 Pet Vaccination Agreement (06-2023), 15-835, 15-839, 15-853, 15-857 to 15-860 (the FFN series), 15-861/862/863 (all 05-2023), 15-874 "License Change Plan" (10-2025), 15-879 (06-2021), 15-889, 15-891 (09-2019), 15-892 (08-2019), 15-893, 15-894, 15-895 "Overnight Child Care Planning Guide", 15-896, 15-897, 15-899. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-955.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted. Footer "DCYF 15-955 (REVISED 5/2026) EXT", 7 pages. Established the licence-type toggles, the four disclosure questions, the organisation types, SSN/EIN/ITIN fields and the tribal-land question. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-897.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted.

Footer "DCYF 15-897 (REV. 04/2020) EXT", 2 pages. Established the four permission blocks verbatim (transportation and off-site with 12 tick-boxes, water activities as a SINGLE line, bathing, photo/video/surveillance) and the closing attestation. It contains NO authorised-pickup section. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-879.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted. Footer "DCYF 15-879 (REV. 6/2021) EXT". Established that authorised pickup, emergency contacts, health history and the consent to medical treatment all live here, not on 15-897, and the warning that an individual care plan is required for any food allergy or special diet. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-941.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted. Footer "DCYF 15-941 (REV. 01/2023) EXT" — a revision date the forms library index does not show. Established the tick-box taxonomy with WAC citations printed on the form, the dual signature, and "Copies to: Parent, licensor, licensee". https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-942.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted. Footer "DCYF 15-942 (REV. 08/2019) EXT", titled "Daily Child Attendance Record for Child Care Facilities".

Established that the form has NO staff-attendance section despite WAC 110-300-0455(3). https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-968.pdf — Downloaded and text-extracted. Footer "DCYF 15-968 (REV. 06/2021) EXT". Established the fields, the programme-naming permission clause, the specialised-procedure training block, and the reproduced labelling rules. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-891.pdf — Downloaded. Footer "DCYF 15-891 (REV. 09/2019) INT/EXT", header cites WAC 110-300-0170(3)(f). Licensee signature only. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-894.pdf — Downloaded. Footer "FH LIABILITY INSURANCE FORM / DCYF 15-894 (REV. 10/2019) EXT", cites RCW 43.216.700, signed by BOTH licensee and parent, "Licensee must keep this signed form on file." https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-949.pdf — Downloaded. Footer "DCYF 15-949 (REV. 05/2026) INT/EXT". Establishes "Anyone who lives on the premises age 13 years and older, all staff and volunteers must have a cleared DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC). A DCYF Portable Background Check (PBC) application every 5 years." and "Along with your yearly declaration, you also need to fill out the form below." https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-974.pdf — Downloaded.

Footer "DECLARATION OF COMPLIANCE (FH/CTR) / DCYF 15-974 (REV. 02/2026) INT/EXT", 5 pages. Establishes Provider Portal filing, the shredding of paper copies, the RCW 43.216.305(2)(b) declaration, and the unlicensed-space checklist with its six WAC cites. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-892.docx — Downloaded and XML-extracted (NO PDF EXISTS: the .pdf path returns 404). Title "Child Care Fire Safety & Emergency Drills Record for ___ (year)".

Established the four tables including "Earthquake, Lockdown, or Shelter-in-place Drill – once every three calendar months". https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-969.docx — Downloaded and XML-extracted (NO PDF EXISTS: 404). Established the eight Date/Time/Dosage/Side-Effects blocks, the print-and-sign administrator line, and the bold instruction "** If a medication was not given, you must document the reason why. **" Note the typo on the form: "Name of Medication (as it is appears on medication container)". https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-862.docx — Downloaded and XML-extracted (NO PDF EXISTS: 404). Established the C/N/NA/? coding scheme and the WAC-cited row structure. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-956.docx — Downloaded and XML-extracted (NO PDF EXISTS: 404). Establishes the 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(13) / RCW 26.23.150 basis and the chapter 9A.72 RCW perjury warning. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-943.doc — Downloaded (legacy .doc; NO .docx and NO .pdf: both 404). Confirms the Child Care Agreement is served only in a pre-2007 Word binary format. https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/forms/15-859.pdf — Downloaded. "Safety Record and Evacuation Plan", an FFN (family, friend and neighbour) form with a DIFFERENT cadence — fire and earthquake drills every six calendar months, lockdown annually.

Confirms 15-857 to 15-860 are the licence-exempt series and must not be substituted for 15-892 in a licensed family home. https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/schools/immunization — Established the CURRENT names and numbers: Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) = DOH 348-013; Certificate of Exemption (COE) = DOH 348-106. Also that a CIS printed from the WA Immunization Information System or MyIR is medically verified by the IIS and needs no further signature. https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/health-centers-programs-services/childrens-health/child-care-health-resources/health-forms — The care plan library DCYF now points every Washington provider to. Contains Allergy, Asthma, Diabetes, Food Intolerance, Seizure and general Individual Care Plans plus medication authorisation and log and several authorisation forms. Notably the King County pages make NO reference to DCYF or to form 15-970 — the "formerly DCYF 15-970" statement exists only on the DCYF side. CONTRADICTING THE BRIEF (expected behaviour, per METHOD.md rule 4): 1. The Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A".

The chapter index note as served today says only "Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC", and every section history line in 110-300 traces back to 170-300, not 170-296A (e.g. "WSR 18-14-079, § 170-300-0460"). The 170-296A family-home chapter was repealed, not renumbered into 110-300; the renumbering trail in the code is 170-300 to 110-300. Do not cite 170-296A as the predecessor of a 110-300 section. 2. The coordinator's field instruction asked for "the background check authorisation for each household member 16+". For a FAMILY HOME that is wrong and under-inclusive. WAC 110-06-0045(1)(b) reaches residents THIRTEEN through fifteen, and DCYF's own current form 15-949 (rev. 05-2026) says "Anyone who lives on the premises age 13 years and older". Sixteen is the trigger only under WAC 110-06-0041(2) for the general provider case. 3. The coordinator's field instruction asked for "the health history and any physician statement". Washington requires NO physician statement and NO physical examination for a child entering licensed care. WAC 110-300-0460(4)(f) asks only for "Dates of the child's last physical and dental exams, if available".

Published as a negative finding rather than invented. 4. The task assumed Washington forms carry "DCYF 10-xxx" numbers. The live child care licensing series is DCYF 15-8xx and 15-9xx. The only 10-xxx form in the child care set is DCYF 10-057, the Family Home Child Care Floor Plan Sketch Guide. A 2019-era web result still surfaces "DCYF 10-408 Application for Child Care Agency License or Certification" — that number does not appear anywhere in the current forms library and is superseded by 15-955; do not send it. RETIRED, RENAMED, OR FORMAT-DEGRADED (findings, not omissions): - DCYF 15-970, the individual care plan template, is WITHDRAWN. Absent from the library sequence and returns no rows on a direct number search. DCYF redirects to King County Public Health. WAC 110-300-0300(2) still says a plan "may be developed using a department provided template". - No English PDF is served for DCYF 15-892 (fire safety and emergency drills record), 15-969 (medication log), 15-862 (family home initial checklist) or 15-956 (no SSN declaration); all four are Word-only in English, and 15-943 (Child Care Agreement) is served only as a legacy .doc.

Somali and Spanish speakers get PDFs the English-speaking applicant does not. - No standalone application download exists. The DCYF "Applications" section is an email address, not a form link, even though DCYF 15-955 sits in the library at revision 05-2026. - Title drift between DCYF's own two pages: 15-963 is "Family Home/Center Feasibility Checklist" on the forms-documents page and "Early Learning-Child Care Facility Feasibility Checklist" in the library; 15-874 is "License Change Planning Form" versus "License Change Plan"; 15-853 is "Intent to Transfer Child Care License or Certification" versus "Intent to Transfer License or Certification"; 15-942 is "Daily Child Attendance Records" versus the form's own "Daily Child Attendance Record for Child Care Facilities"; 15-897 is "Child Care Parent Guardian Permissions" versus the form's "Child Care Parent/Guardian Permission"; 15-895 is "Overnight Child Care Planning Form" versus "Overnight Child Care Planning Guide". Cite numbers, not titles. - Two different submission inboxes for the same act on two DCYF pages: dcyf.welcomeinbox@dcyf.wa.gov (forms page) and dcyf.welcome@dcyf.wa.gov (licensing process page). - Direct conflict of law on background check renewal: WAC 110-06-0040(1) says three years; RCW 43.216.270(2)(f) and DCYF form 15-949 (05-2026) say five.

The codified rule is the stale text. - Revision dates on several forms have not moved since 2019-2021 despite the WAC being amended in 2023, 2024 and April 2026: 15-892 (08-2019), 15-891 (09-2019), 15-894 (10-2019), 15-942 (08-2019), 15-897 (04-2020), 15-879 (06-2021), 15-968 (06-2021). 15-897 in particular predates nothing relevant but 15-892's cadence table should be checked against WAC 110-300-0470 each year. - No DCYF child care form exists for: the parent handbook acknowledgement (WAC 110-300-0450(1)), the pet and animal written notice to parents (WAC 110-300-0225(2)(b)), the daily STAFF attendance record (WAC 110-300-0455(3)), or the parent-provided food written plan (WAC 110-300-0190). Providers must draft all four.

UNVERIFIED: I did not open DCYF 15-943 (Child Care Agreement), 15-963/15-964 (feasibility checklists), 15-965, 15-966, 15-967, 15-879's Somali/Spanish/Ukrainian variants, or the state fire marshal inspection PDFs (FH-Fire-Inspection.pdf, CTR-Fire-Inspection.pdf) as documents — their titles, numbers and revision dates come from the DCYF forms library index and the forms-documents page only, and 15-862's full row list was read only as far as the interactions-and-curriculum block. I did not read WAC 110-300-0130, 110-300-0165, 110-300-0175, 110-300-0186, 110-300-0190, 110-300-0335, 110-300-0402, 110-300-0425 or 110-300-0465 in full; where they are cited above it is on the strength of the cross-reference printed in a form or in a section I did read verbatim, not on the section's own text. I did not verify DOH 348-013's or DOH 348-106's revision date, nor open either PDF. I did not confirm whether WAC 110-06 has a pending rulemaking to align the three-year renewal with the statutory five years, and I did not sweep the 2025 or 2026 Washington legislative sessions act by act for amendments to RCW 43.216 that might have moved any of these form duties; a session-law sweep is the obvious next check on this field. I did not verify whether the King County care plan documents are formally adopted by DCYF as the "department provided template" of WAC 110-300-0300(2) or merely recommended — DCYF's page says only "formerly DCYF 15-970" and King County's page is silent on DCYF. [required_postings] SOURCES OPENED — WA / required_postings — research run 26 August 2026 https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=110-300 — Code reviser index of chapter 110-300 WAC, FOUNDATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS.

Started from the index of rules in effect, not a pinned PDF. The index states "Last update: 7/1/26" and "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)". Established the section list served TODAY, including the Records, Policies, Reporting and Posting group WAC 110-300-0450 through 110-300-0505. https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=110-300&full=true — full chapter text as served today (352,111 characters extracted). Primary source for every WAC quotation below. WAC 110-300-0505 (full text read verbatim) — the entire posting list: (a) child care licence; (b) floor plan with emergency routes and exits in each child care area; (c) dietary restrictions, known allergies and nutrition requirements, staff-accessible but NOT available to non-parents; (d) handwashing practices at each handwashing sink; (e) diaper changing / stand-up diapering procedure at each station; (f) pesticide treatment; (g) emergency numbers and information, five named components; (h) THE LOCATION of emergency medical information; (i) notice of current or pending enforcement action including probationary licence; (j) safe sleep violation notice; (k) "no smoking" and "no vaping" signs; (l) approved waiver or variance; (m) insurance coverage or lapse/termination; (n) any other information listed in RCW 43.216.687. Rule history shows NO amendment since WSR 18-14-079 (filed 6/30/18) / WSR 18-15-001 recodification — the posting rule is the oldest unamended part of a chapter that was otherwise amended as recently as WSR 26-09-080, effective 15 May 2026. WAC 110-300-0010 — licence required; one unrelated child on a regular ongoing basis, or preschool-age children more than four hours a day, triggers licensure.

Anchors posting item (a). WAC 110-300-0400(1)(b)(i) and 110-300-0402 — floor plan with licensed/unlicensed space and emergency exit pathways is an application document; changes need department/fire marshal approval. Anchors posting item (b). WAC 110-300-0470 — emergency preparedness plan; (2)(a)(i) evacuation floor plan must identify room numbers or names, exit pathways, exit doors and exit windows per WAC 51-51-0326; (1)(f)-(g) plan is REVIEWED with staff annually and with parents at enrolment, not posted; (4) drill schedule and department-form drill records. Established that only the diagram is posted, the plan is not. WAC 110-300-0166(4) — two emergency exits per licensed room; exit-window dimensions (5.7 sq ft, 5 sq ft ground floor, 20 in wide, 24 in tall, 44 in sill, 48 in landing). Establishes what may honestly be drawn as an exit on the posted plan. WAC 110-300-0186 — food allergies; READ IN FULL and it contains only FOUR subsections. WAC 110-300-0505(2)(c) cites "WAC 110-300-0186(8)", which does not exist. Dangling cross-reference reported in element 05. WAC 110-300-0200(1),(4),(5),(6),(7) — the seven handwashing steps, the sixteen adult trigger moments, the nine child moments, hand sanitiser limits.

Note: WAC 110-300-0200 never uses the word "post"; the posting duty exists only in WAC 110-300-0505(2)(d). WAC 110-300-0220(6) and 110-300-0221(1)(d),(1)(a)-(c),(2),(4) — the ONLY duplicated posting duty in the chapter (0221(1)(d) plus 0505(2)(e)); "must follow each step described in the procedure"; safety belts prohibited; one changing area for family homes, one per classroom/age grouping for centres. WAC 110-300-0420(2)(f) and (1)-(5) — "no smoking or vaping" signs clearly visible at EACH building entrance used by the programme; cannabis asymmetry between centres (outright) and family homes ("during business hours"). WAC 110-300-0291(2) — safe sleep violation: post in licensed space two weeks or until corrected, AND letter plus written safe-sleep information to all parents within five business days. Amended by WSR 24-19-056, effective 14 October 2024. WAC 110-300-0435 and 110-300-0436 — waiver (specific programme need or child) vs variance (specific programme approach or methodology); both need prior written approval by the director or designee; neither can waive state or federal law; both revocable when the underlying rule is materially amended.

WAC 110-300-0440(9)-(10) — probationary licence duties (parent notice in 5 business days, documentation in 10, tell new families before enrolling, return the nonexpiring licence, post the probationary licence) and the key negative: inspection reports and enforcement notices for three years must be "readily available for review", NOT posted. WAC 110-300-0443 — enforcement actions defined; certified-mail notice contents; fine caps $250/day centres, $150/day family homes; 28-day payment. Establishes that appealing does not suspend the posting duty. WAC 110-300-0450 — parent handbook. THE decisive section for this field: written policies supplied to each parent with a signed acknowledgment in the child's record, covering nondiscrimination, curriculum philosophy, child guidance and restraint, expulsion, ratios, safe sleep, weapons securing, hours, fees, duty to report abuse/neglect, and at (2)(v) a "description of where the parent or guardian may find and review" the health policy, staff policies, consistent care policy, MENUS, liability insurance and INSPECTION REPORTS. Amended by WSR 26-09-080, filed 4/14/26, effective 5/15/26. WAC 110-300-0185(1)(a) — "an early learning provider must supply dated menus."

No posting duty anywhere. Confirms menus are a supply-and-locate obligation, not a posting. WAC 110-300-0360 — programme and daily schedule; outdoor play minimums. No posting duty. WAC 110-300-0205(4)-(6) — illness exclusion criteria and contagious-disease written notice within 24 hours. No posting duty. WAC 110-300-0331 — prohibited behaviour and discipline. No posting duty. WAC 110-300-0165(2)(e) — firearm storage: locked gun safe or locked room, unloaded with trigger lock, in family homes; prohibited on centre premises. A storage rule, not a notice; the handbook carries the disclosure via 0450(2)(i)(viii). WAC 110-300-0170(3)(i)(iii) — a sign indicating the location of a fire extinguisher mounted in a closet: the only posted sign in the chapter outside WAC 110-300-0505. WAC 110-300-0460 and 110-300-0465 — child records confidential but staff-accessible; three-year default retention, five years for attendance, SEVEN years for pesticide use records (0465(5)(o)). WAC 110-300-0475 — duty to report; 911, poison centre, department timelines. Explains why the emergency-numbers posting is operational.

WAC 110-300-0030 — nondiscrimination: a WRITTEN policy is required at (2); no nondiscrimination POSTER is required, unlike the repealed centre rule WAC 170-295-6010(2)(a). WAC 110-300-0005 — definitions. "Readily available" means "able to be used or obtained quickly and easily" — a defined term, and expressly not a synonym for posted. Also "premises", "licensed space", "family home early learning program" (12 or fewer children). WAC 110-300-0110(2)(a),(4)(a) — staff policies must contain everything in the parent handbook except fees; chapters 110-300 and 110-06 WAC and chapter 43.216 RCW are staff TRAINING topics. Nothing requires a copy of chapter 110-300 WAC to be posted or held for parents. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.687 — statutory posting list: licence; department toll-free number; notice of pending enforcement action posted immediately on receipt for at least two weeks or until corrected; and (1)(d) "a notice that inspection reports and any notices of enforcement actions for the previous three years are available from the licensee and the department"; (2) department disclosure of complaints resulting in enforcement action, by website or physical location. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.689 — reports and enforcement notices "readily available for review by the department, parents, and the public" for three years; department publishes to the public and may publish on a website.

Confirms the reports themselves are NOT a posting. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.685 — toll-free information line; (3) the number is printed on the face of new licences; (2) the line answers licensure status, enforcement, and how to report noncompliance, abuse or neglect. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.700 — day care insurance. Centres/outdoor nature-based post only a LAPSE or TERMINATION notice.

Family day care providers may OPT OUT of insurance entirely under (2)(a)(ii) by giving each enrolled parent written notice of insurance status on a department standard form and keeping a copy on file — and an opting-out family home is expressly not subject to (2)(b), i.e. not subject to any posting duty. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.216.280 — pesticide notice statute names licensed child day care centers and outdoor nature-based child care providers; it does NOT name family day care providers, though WAC 110-300-0505 applies to all. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=17.21.410 — the pesticide marker is placed by the certified applicator at the time of application, at each primary point of entry to the grounds; minimum 4 x 5 inches; "THIS LANDSCAPE HAS BEEN TREATED BY" headline, "FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL" footer with the applicator's phone; the property owner or tenant removes it. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=70.160.050 and .075 — signs posted conspicuously at each building entrance; 25-foot presumptive minimum distance. https://dcyf.wa.gov/safety/child-care-complaints — DCYF publishes 1-866-363-4276 to report suspected abuse or neglect in a licensed child care facility and to report unlicensed child care;

complaint action begins within five working days, usually resolved within 45 days; valid findings go to Child Care Check. https://dcyf.wa.gov/safety/report-abuse — statewide after-hours intake 1-866-363-4276 plus six regional intake numbers. https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/earlylearning-childcare/child-care-check — Child Care Check publishes licensing status, valid complaint findings and licensing inspections for the last three years; contact 1-866-48-CHECK (1-866-482-4325). This is the department's RCW 43.216.687(2)(a)/43.216.689(3) website disclosure and confirms the toll-free number to post. https://www.wapc.org/ — Washington Poison Center helpline 1-800-222-1222, the number required by WAC 110-300-0505(2)(g)(iv). https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/lic-guide/ProgramAdmin-Oversight.pdf — DCYF "Standards Alignment — Program Administration and Oversight" guidebook chapter, dated October 2019, still served today.

Prints the REPEALED WAC 170-296A-2175 (family home) and WAC 170-295-6010 / 170-295-7080 (centre) posting rules side by side with WAC 110-300-0505. Established exactly which items the old rules required posted and the new rule does not: licensee's philosophy of child development, drill dates and times, monthly smoke detector check, duty-hour schedule with staff names, typical activity schedule with operating hours and mealtimes, meal and snack menus for the month, fire safety record, and nondiscrimination poster. This document also cites repealed sections such as WAC 170-295-4110 as if current — a live instance of the rule that the agency's manual is not the law. CONTRADICTIONS OF THE BRIEF 1. The Lot 7 brief says WAC 110-300 "a fusionné les anciens WAC 170-296A". The code reviser's own chapter header says only "(Formerly: Chapter 170-300 WAC)", and the section histories throughout show recodification from 170-300 by WSR 18-15-001 / 18-14-078 (2018). Chapter 170-296A is not a predecessor of 110-300 by recodification; it was the separate family home chapter that was REPEALED when the foundational quality standards took effect 1 August 2019, and a request for cite=170-296A on app.leg.wa.gov today returns the Title 170 index rather than a chapter. "Merged" overstates a repeal-and-replace.

The practical consequence is the whole point of element 16: the 170-296A posting list did not carry over, and anyone treating it as absorbed will post six items Washington no longer requires. 2. The brief tells the WA researcher to "vérifier le calendrier Early Achievers". Nothing in chapter 110-300 WAC, in RCW 43.216.687 or in RCW 43.216.689 requires an Early Achievers rating to be posted. DCYF publishes participation and ratings itself on Child Care Check. Early Achievers is irrelevant to required_postings and was not used. 3. The task prompt's minimum list asks about "the most recent licensing/inspection report and compliance history", "the menu", "the daily schedule or routine", "the parent complaint procedure", "the mandated reporter notice", "the discipline/guidance policy", "the illness exclusion policy", "the drill logs" and "the firearm storage notice" as candidate postings. On the text, NONE of those nine is a required posting in Washington.

Inspection reports are "readily available" under RCW 43.216.689(1) and WAC 110-300-0440(10) with only a notice of their availability posted under RCW 43.216.687(1)(d); menus are supplied dated under WAC 110-300-0185(1)(a) and located via the handbook under WAC 110-300-0450(2)(v)(iv); the daily schedule is an operational requirement under WAC 110-300-0360 with no posting clause; the complaint route is posted only as the department's toll-free number and CPS number under WAC 110-300-0505(2)(g)(iii) and (v); mandated reporting lives in WAC 110-300-0475(1), the handbook at 0450(2)(t) and staff policies at 0110(2)(e)(xiii); discipline is WAC 110-300-0331 plus the handbook child guidance plan at 0450(2)(f); illness exclusion is WAC 110-300-0205 plus the written health policy at WAC 110-300-0500(2)(e); drill logs are department-form records under WAC 110-300-0470(4) retained three years; and firearms are a storage rule under WAC 110-300-0165(2)(e) disclosed in the handbook at 0450(2)(i)(viii). Elements 15 and 16 say so plainly rather than inflating the list. 4. Chapter 110-300 WAC does not require a copy of itself to be available to parents.

It is a staff training topic under WAC 110-300-0110(4)(a)(iii). UNVERIFIED: whether DCYF has any CR-101/CR-102/CR-103 rulemaking pending against WAC 110-300-0505 specifically — DCYF's rule-making landing page at https://dcyf.wa.gov/practice/policy-laws-rules/rule-making was read and lists the filing categories but no per-section docket, and the individual CR filing lists were not opened; the section's own history line shows no amendment since 2018, and WSR 26-09-080 (effective 15 May 2026) amended WAC 110-300-0110, 0425, 0450 and 0475 but not 0505. UNVERIFIED: DCYF's current provider-facing guidance on postings could not be read — https://dcyf.wa.gov/node/1866 (Program Administration and Oversight), https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/early-learning-providers/operating-licensed-child-care/faq?field_categories_value=ic (WAC 110-300 FAQs) and https://dcyf.wa.gov/services/earlylearning-childcare/licensed-providers/licensing-guidebook all returned HTTP 404 on 26 August 2026 while still being indexed by search engines; only the October 2019 Standards Alignment PDF resolved. UNVERIFIED: the exact removal schedule for pesticide markers, which RCW 17.21.410(4) leaves to rule (chapter 16-228 WAC, not opened). UNVERIFIED: local jurisdiction posting add-ons (fire marshal, county health) that may apply on top of state rule in individual Washington counties.

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