Louisiana Home Daycare Requirements

In Louisiana, you can care for up to six children in your home without registering with the state, as long as no state or federal money pays for their care. Once you take Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments or join the federal food program, you must register with the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) before the first dollar arrives. Care for seven or more children who are not your own, on a regular basis, and your home counts as a child day care center. A center needs a license before it opens.

This guide covers each path: what registration takes and costs, the rules a registered home must follow, local zoning in New Orleans, Metairie, Baton Rouge and Mandeville, and what changes at seven children. Each rule names its source. The rules were checked on September 27, 2026.

Do You Need a License for a Home Daycare in Louisiana?

It depends on how many children you watch and who pays for their care.

The two limits count children differently. The center rule leaves out your own children, your grandchildren and any child in your legal custody. So six unrelated children plus your own kids stays under the center line. A registered home is capped at six children under 13 (Bulletin 139, §309). Bulletin 139 does not say whether your own children count toward that six. LDOE's food program checklist does count the children who live in the home, so ask LDOE before you plan on more than six children in total.

Running a center without a license can bring a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each day it operates (R.S. 17:407.37). A home that takes state or federal money without registering can be fined $25 to $100 a day (R.S. 17:407.69).

Why Register When You Do Not Have To

Registration opens two streams of money that private-pay homes cannot touch.

• CCAP families. Parents who get child care assistance can only use it with a certified provider. No CCAP payment goes to a provider until LDOE certifies them (Bulletin 139, §301). CCAP will not pay you for your own children or any child who lives in your home, except foster children (§319).
• The food program. A registered home can be reimbursed for meals and snacks. At the 2026-27 rates, five children eating breakfast, lunch and a snack can bring in about $300 to $630 a month. The math is in the food program section below.

Registration also puts you under inspections and parent-access rules. If every family you serve pays you directly, you can skip it. Still meet the Fire Marshal's home checklist below either way: it is the state's own baseline for a safe home with children in it.

How to Register a Home Daycare in Louisiana

Louisiana calls a registered home daycare a family child care provider. LDOE's own application system labels the registration an "FCC License." The steps below are the route to CCAP certification, and they come from LDOE's home-based child care page and Bulletin 139 (January 2026 edition).

1. Take the training. Before certification you need the four-hour CCAP pre-service orientation, LDOE's Key Orientation Training Modules 1, 2 and 3, infant, child and adult CPR, pediatric first aid, and the online Mandated Reporter training from the Department of Children and Family Services (Bulletin 139, §323.B). LDOE also asks for a medication administration training certificate.
2. Run background checks. Every check goes through the state's Child Care Criminal Background Check system. It covers you, every adult who lives in the home, anyone you employ, and any other person on the property while children are there, other than a parent or someone dropping off or picking up a child (§310.C). The check includes fingerprints, the state child abuse registry and sex offender registries, and it repeats at least once every five years.
3. Pass the Fire Marshal inspection. The $40 fee is paid by money order to the Office of State Fire Marshal, attached to the inspection application. The inspection is scheduled after that, usually within a month (Fire Marshal).
4. Apply in EdLink. Submit the application in LDOE's EdLink system. Upload a photo ID, your Social Security card, the orientation certificate, a written emergency plan, the background check results, your CPR, first aid and medication training certificates, and the Fire Marshal inspection.
5. Get the LDOE home visit. LDOE inspects the home within 30 days after your documents are in.
6. Apply for CCAP certification if you want CCAP payments. This takes a W-9, a direct deposit form with a voided check or bank letter, proof of your address, a signed time and attendance agreement, the orientation certificate, and proof of the rates you charge, such as a notice or newsletter to parents. If you have not set your rates yet, the daycare rate calculator shows what each age group has to pay to cover a teacher.

A home registered only for the food program works through its sponsor instead. The state background check and CPR rules do not apply to it (R.S. 17:407.71(F)), so ask the sponsor what it requires.

What registration costs

For a home with two adults, you and a spouse, that is about $231 to $241 before CPR, first aid and training course fees. The old $30 inspection fee you may see in older guides went up to $40 on August 1, 2022 (Act 585 of 2022 digest).

Renewal

The current rules do not state how long a certification lasts. EdLink opens your renewal 90 days before the expiration date on your record, so note that date the day you are approved. Some pieces run on their own clocks: training and the Fire Marshal inspection every year, medication administration training every two years, and background checks at least every five years.

Rules for a Registered Home Daycare

A CCAP-certified home follows Bulletin 139 and the family child care law. The main rules:

Training every year

A registered provider needs 12 clock hours a year of LDOE-approved training in health, safety and job topics, plus the Mandated Reporter course every year. CPR and pediatric first aid must stay current, and medication administration training repeats every two years (Bulletin 139, §323.C and §323.E).

What the Home Inspection Checks

LDOE inspects when you apply and can visit again whenever it sees a need (R.S. 17:407.65(A)). The State Fire Marshal's staff do the first fire and safety inspection and come back every three years. In the years between, an authorized agent inspects, and that can be your food program sponsor (R.S. 17:407.64(B)). Food program sponsors also review each home three times a year, and at least two of those visits are unannounced (7 CFR 226.16).

The Fire Marshal's family child care checklist looks for:

• At least one working smoke detector, installed in the right place
• A charged fire extinguisher rated at least 2A:10B:C, within reach and certified every year by a fire extinguisher company
• Two ways out of every room used for sleeping, living and dining
• Outlet covers anywhere children under 5 are
• A refrigerator at 40°F or colder
• No insects or rodents

There is no separate health department inspection for a registered home. Registered family child day care homes are exempt from the day care part of Louisiana's Sanitary Code (LAC 51:XXI.105, February 2026, following Act 409 of 2025). The Fire Marshal's visit covers basic sanitation.

Caring for Children in Their Own Home

If you watch children in the family's house instead of yours, Louisiana calls you an in-home provider. The registration rule is the same: you only register if state or federal money pays for the care. A registered in-home provider must be at least 18, have Fire Marshal approval for the home, and care for no more than six children. You pass a background check, and so does any adult living there who is not the child's parent or other caregiver (§310.C.2). LDOE or another authorized inspector visits at least once a year (Bulletin 139, §311). Working as a nanny for one private-pay family needs none of this. The nanny guides cover that path.

The Food Program for Home Daycares

Louisiana runs the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program for homes as the Family Day Care Home Food Program, through LDOE's Division of Nutrition Support. Its new provider checklist sets the conditions. They include:

• You sign an agreement with an approved sponsoring agency. The sponsor handles your claims and pays you.
• At least one child in your care does not live in your home.
• No more than six children under 13 are in the home during care, your own included.
• The Fire Marshal inspects the home every year.
• You prepare and serve the meals yourself, in your own home.
• You allow announced and unannounced monitoring visits.

Reimbursement rates for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 (USDA):

Your home gets Tier I rates if your household income qualifies for free or reduced-price school meals, or if the home sits in an area where at least half the children qualify. Every other home gets Tier II (7 CFR 226.2). A Tier II home can still claim Tier I rates for children whose families qualify for free or reduced-price meals, if the sponsor collects their income forms (7 CFR 226.18(b)(11)). You can claim up to two meals and one snack, or one meal and two snacks, per child per day (7 CFR 226.18).

Example: five children who do not live with you eat breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack on 21 days a month. At Tier I, that is $6.03 per child per day, or about $633 a month. At Tier II, it is $2.88 per child per day, or about $302 a month, before any children who qualify for Tier I rates. Meals for your own children count only if your household qualifies for free or reduced-price meals. For a full picture of what a home daycare earns, see how much daycare owners make.

Zoning: Check Your City or Parish First

State registration does not override local zoning. The rules differ a lot between cities, so read your own code before you enroll a child. Four that readers ask about most:

New Orleans

The Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance calls a home daycare "home-based child care." A small one has up to six children, and the count includes the family's own children and everyone else under 12. It is permitted in every historic urban and suburban residential district. A large home-based child care, seven or more children, is not listed in any residential district, so it is not allowed there. The ordinance also says the home must keep its residential character, the outdoor play area needs a shade device, you need an on-site drop-off spot, and no child may stay more than 24 hours in a row (§20.3.T). New Orleans does not treat a day care home as a home occupation (§21.6.R.12).

Metairie and unincorporated Jefferson Parish

Jefferson Parish allows a day care home, up to six children not related to you and no overnight care, as a home occupation in any dwelling. The outdoor play area needs at least 75 square feet per child and a solid fence at least 6 feet high. Only people who live in the home may work in the business, you need one extra parking space, and a renter needs the property owner's consent (Code §33-5.3.2). A day care center in an R-1A single-family zone needs a lot of at least 20,000 square feet and Parish Council approval (§40-92).

Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish

The Unified Development Code only defines day care for seven or more people. In the A1, R, A2, A2.7 and A2.9 districts it needs a Planning Commission conditional use permit, and it cannot be in a recognized residential subdivision, serve more than 10 people, or run in a house the owner does not live in. It also needs a 6-foot wooden fence between outdoor play areas and neighboring homes (§9.4.3). The code has no separate category for six or fewer children. A paid home daycare may be treated as a home occupation, which needs a conditional use permit and a 22,500-square-foot lot in single-family districts and is not allowed in the A2.7, A2.9, A2.1, A2.6 and A2.5 districts (Table 9.A, §9.4.5). Ask the Planning Director, who rules on unlisted uses (§9.2.1.F), before you open.

Mandeville

Mandeville counts child care for up to six children, your own included, as a home occupation (CLURO §8.2.6.1). You need a home occupation permit: $15, good for one year, $10 to renew (§4.3.6). No one from outside the household may work there, and the business can use no more than 20% of the living area or 400 square feet, whichever is less. The same rules say a home occupation may not generate more than three vehicles a day. Drop-offs and pickups for six children can pass that, so ask the planning office how it applies before you enroll anyone (§8.2.6.1). The city is rewriting this ordinance, so check for changes.

Renting? State rules do not bar renters. The application only asks you to verify your address. Jefferson Parish requires the owner's consent for any home occupation. Your lease or homeowners association may still limit a business in the home, so get the landlord's OK in writing before you apply.

Seven or More Children: The Early Learning Center License

Once you regularly care for seven or more unrelated children, you are running a child day care center, and Louisiana calls it an early learning center. It needs a license from LDOE under Bulletin 137 before the first child walks in.

Can a house become a daycare center?

Rarely. Bulletin 137 requires a center, unless it sits in a church or school, to be physically separated from any dwelling (§1903.B). Its indoor and outdoor space must be used only by the children and staff during open hours (§1903.A). The State Fire Marshal puts it plainly: "Many people believe they can simply convert an existing house into a day care facility. That is not true" (Fire Marshal). To grow past six children, plan on a separate building. The daycare rent guide shows how to price that space.

License types and fees

Louisiana has three license types (R.S. 17:407.36):

• Type I: owned or run by a tax-exempt church or religious organization that takes no state or federal money. Older non-church centers that were grandfathered into Type I lose it when they need a new license, such as after a change of owner or location (Bulletin 137, §307.A.1).
• Type II: takes no state or federal money, other than the USDA food programs.
• Type III: takes state or federal money from another source, such as CCAP. It must also meet the state's early childhood performance standards.

Source: R.S. 17:407.39. Type I centers pay no annual fee. You apply online in EdLink. Before LDOE issues the license, you need Fire Marshal and Office of Public Health approval, background check clearance for all owners and staff, proof of ownership, and a licensing inspection (Bulletin 137, §701.E). In New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Monroe, Bossier City, Minden, Amite, Zachary, and St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes, you also need zoning approval, and New Orleans adds city fire approval (LDOE initial licensure checklist). LDOE says the process can take up to 90 days (LDOE licensing).

New in 2026: a center that first opens on or after August 1, 2026 in a building built before 1978 needs a lead risk assessment of the building and grounds, and it cannot open until any lead hazards are controlled (Act 893 of 2026, LDOE FAQ). Every new center files the Department of Environmental Quality's lead notification form, and a building from 1978 or later only needs proof of its construction date.

Center ratios in Louisiana

These are the ratios for licensed centers, not for registered homes (Bulletin 137, §1711; LDOE's ratio poster):

A center must have at least two staff members present when more than four children are there. In a mixed-age room with children under 2, the youngest child's age sets the ratio.

Center director requirements

A center director must be at least 21 and, on the day they are hired, meet one of four options (Bulletin 137, §1709):

1. An early childhood ancillary certificate and one year of experience
2. A national administrator credential, one year of experience, and 6 credit hours or 90 clock hours of training in child care, child development, early childhood or management
3. Three years of experience as a director or staff member in a licensed center, plus the same 6 credit hours or 90 clock hours
4. Current or past work as a school principal, assistant principal or headmaster, plus one of: a graduate degree in any field from an accredited school, principal certification on a valid Louisiana teaching certificate, or a Louisiana educational leadership (EDL) certificate

The director or a qualified designee must be on site full time during daytime hours, which means at least 32 hours a week. When neither is there, a staff member aged 21 or older is appointed to be in charge (§1707).

Overnight and 24-Hour Care

A registered home provides care for less than 24 hours per day per child. Bulletin 139 allows longer care only when the parent's job requires it (§103). Several local codes are stricter: New Orleans caps any stay at 24 hours in a row, and Jefferson Parish's day care home rule excludes overnight care entirely. A center open after 9 p.m. must follow the nighttime care rules: two staff members present, staff counted in the ratio awake, a separate bed or cot for each child, and no bunk beds (Bulletin 137, §1905).

Overnight care can be a real market. Childcare Biz's founder ran a 24/7 center in Las Vegas that grew to 350 children enrolled across day, evening and overnight shifts. In Louisiana, that model needs a licensed center.

Taxes, Insurance and Business Setup

• Business name. If you operate under any name other than your own, file an assumed name certificate with your parish clerk of court, or the register of conveyances in New Orleans (R.S. 51:281). The Secretary of State's geauxBIZ site lists the state and local permits for your business.
• Sales tax. Child care is not on Louisiana's list of taxable services (Louisiana Department of Revenue).
• Tax ID. The IRS generally requires an employer identification number (EIN) once you hire employees or form a partnership or corporation. Parents who claim the child care tax credit must report your name, address and taxpayer ID number. For an individual, that is a Social Security number or ITIN. Parents can request it on Form W-10, and a provider who refuses can be penalized (IRS Publication 503). Register for Louisiana withholding tax only once you have employees.
• Insurance. No Louisiana rule requires liability insurance for a registered home. The only insurance rule is car insurance when you drive children (Bulletin 139, §309.A.9.d). Ask your home or renter's insurer, in writing, whether your policy covers child care in the home. Our home daycare insurance guide covers costs and the companies that sell child care policies.

For the full startup list, including supplies and weekly costs, see the opening a daycare checklist and the in-home daycare cost breakdown.

Louisiana Child Care Contacts

The name of anyone who files a complaint about a registered home is kept confidential by law (R.S. 17:407.65(C)).

What Changed in 2025 and 2026

• 2025: Act 409 wrote the exemption for registered family child day care homes into the center licensing law, and the Sanitary Code followed in February 2026.
• January 2026: Bulletin 137 updated the director qualification options and added Act 409's child-safety rules for centers.
• August 1, 2026: new centers in pre-1978 buildings need a lead risk assessment before they open (Act 893).

Louisiana Home Daycare FAQ

Q:

Can I run a home daycare without a license in Louisiana?

Yes. A home with up to six children never needs a center license. It must register with LDOE only if state or federal money, such as CCAP or the food program, pays for care (R.S. 17:407.63). LDOE's EdLink system labels that registration an "FCC License." Seven or more children who are not your own, on a regular basis, needs a center license.

Q:

How many kids can you have in a home daycare in Louisiana?

A registered home can care for up to six children under 13 (Bulletin 139, §309). The rule does not say whether your own children count, but the food program counts the children who live in the home. An unregistered private-pay home becomes a center at seven children who are not your own children, grandchildren or children in your custody. Some cities count differently: New Orleans counts your own children too.

Q:

What is the ratio for a home daycare in Louisiana?

6:1, with a hard cap of six children in a registered home (Bulletin 139, §309). Licensed centers use different ratios by age, from 5:1 for infants to 23:1 for children 6 and older.

Q:

How much does it cost to register a home daycare in Louisiana?

The fixed fees are $40 for each yearly Fire Marshal inspection and about $96 to $100 per adult for background checks and fingerprints. No LDOE registration fee appears in the law or LDOE's application pages. Training courses cost extra.

Q:

Can parents visit a home daycare at any time in Louisiana?

In a registered home, yes. The law opens the home to parents of children in care during working hours or whenever children are there (R.S. 17:407.65(B)).

Q:

Do I need insurance for a home daycare in Louisiana?

Only car insurance, if you transport children. No state rule requires liability insurance for a registered home, but check whether your home or renter's policy covers child care before you start.

Q:

Can I run a 24-hour home daycare in Louisiana?

A registered home provides care for less than 24 hours per day per child, unless a parent's work requires longer. New Orleans and Jefferson Parish zoning rules limit overnight care in homes. Round-the-clock care for more than six children needs a licensed center that follows the nighttime care rules.

Q:

Does a home daycare need a tax ID number in Louisiana?

You need a federal EIN once you hire employees. Parents who claim the child care credit need your taxpayer ID, which is your Social Security number if you do not have another one. Child care is not subject to Louisiana sales tax.

Q:

What do you need to be a daycare director in Louisiana?

You must be at least 21 and hold one of four combinations of credentials, experience and training, such as an early childhood ancillary certificate plus one year of experience (Bulletin 137, §1709). Home daycares do not need a director.