The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) licenses child care through the Child Care Licensing Program of its Community Care Licensing Division and 21 regional offices. It licenses child care centers and family child care homes, and a home license is small (up to 8 children) or large (up to 14) under Health and Safety Code (HSC) 1596.78. You can care for your own or a relative's children plus children from one other family without a license; beyond that, you will likely need one (CDSS). The application is on paper: after a CDSS orientation, you mail your packet to your regional office or drop it off there (CDSS steps for homes and centers).
California Child Care Licensing: Rules
Official California links
- CDSS Child Care Licensing Program (licensing)Phone (916) 651-6040
- California child care rules (Title 22, Division 12)
- California Child Day Care Act (Health and Safety Code 1596.70 to 1596.895)
- Apply for a license (CDSS How to Become Licensed)
- Register for a licensing orientation
- Search licensed providers
- Background checks
- Child care subsidy program
- Food program (CACFP)
- Quality rating program (Quality Counts California)
California Child Care License Types
Who each license covers comes from the CDSS How to Become Licensed and orientation pages, and the fees from HSC 1596.803. A home's capacity counts the licensee's own children under 10 (22 CCR 102416.5), and an infant is a child under 2 (22 CCR 101152, 102352).
| License | Who it covers | Capacity | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child care center | Group care, usually in a commercial building. Centers newly licensed on or after January 2, 2024 get one license that lists the age groups they serve; existing multi-license centers convert later (PIN 24-01-CCP). | Set on the license, and can be more than 14 children. At least 35 square feet of indoor activity space per child of licensed capacity (22 CCR 101238.3). | $484 to $2,420 to apply, then $242 to $1,210 a year, by capacity |
| Small family child care home | Care in the licensee's own home, where the licensee must live | 4 infants; or 6 children with no more than 3 infants; or 7 or 8 under the conditions in HSC 1597.44 | $73 to apply, $73 a year (licensed for 8 or fewer) |
| Large family child care home | Care in the licensee's own home, with an assistant provider | 12 children with no more than 4 infants; or 13 or 14 under the conditions in HSC 1597.465. Small-home limits apply when no assistant is present. | $140 to apply, $140 a year (licensed for 9 to 14) |
Center fees by licensed capacity (HSC 1596.803):
| Licensed capacity | Application fee | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | $484 | $242 |
| 31 to 60 | $968 | $484 |
| 61 to 75 | $1,210 | $605 |
| 76 to 90 | $1,452 | $726 |
| 91 to 120 | $1,936 | $968 |
| 121 or more | $2,420 | $1,210 |
The annual fee is due on each anniversary of the license. The orientation fee set by HSC 1596.803 is $25 for a home or $50 for a center. CDSS adds online processing fees ($27.43 total for a home; $54.85 plus $4.85 for the center's two required orientations), per its application steps for homes and centers. A center also needs a fire clearance from the local fire authority, and it may need city or county permits and a business license (CDSS). For the home daycare steps, see California Home Daycare Requirements.
Who Needs a Child Care License in California
CDSS says you do not need a license if you care for your own children (or a relative's) and children from only one other family. Care for unrelated children from more than one family, in your home or a non-residential facility, for less than 24 hours a day will likely need one (CDSS). The exemptions in HSC 1596.792 include:
- a home caring for the children of only one family besides the operator's own (d),
- any care of children by a relative (f),
- a parent cooperative that meets the law's conditions, including no payment in money or in kind and no more than 12 children in care at the same time (e),
- a program that runs only one day a week, for no more than four hours that day (j).
Operating without a license is a misdemeanor with a $200 per day fine, and you may also face criminal charges from local law enforcement, according to CDSS.
California Ratios and Training
Center ratios come from Title 22. The toddler ratio comes from a CDSS written directive, PIN 24-02-CCP, which has the same force and effect as a regulation until regulations are adopted.
| Age group | Staff to children | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Infants (under 2) | 1 teacher to 4 infants. Aides may fill in when a fully qualified teacher directly supervises no more than 12 infants and each aide has no more than 4. | 22 CCR 101416.5 |
| Toddlers (18 to 36 months, in a toddler component) | 1 teacher to 6 toddlers; a group of no more than 12 with two teachers, or a fully qualified teacher and an aide | PIN 24-02-CCP |
| Preschool age | 1 teacher to 12 children; 1 teacher and 1 aide to 15; 1 fully qualified teacher and 1 qualified aide to 18 | 22 CCR 101216.3 |
| School age | 1 teacher to 14 children; 1 teacher and 1 aide to 28 | 22 CCR 101516.5 |
At nap time, one teacher may watch 24 napping children, or 12 sleeping infants, if the rest of the staff needed for the full ratio are immediately available at the center (22 CCR 101230, 101416.5).
In a family child care home, the license capacity is the most children in care at any one time, as in the table above (22 CCR 102416.5).
Training and staff rules today:
- Health and safety training: until September 30, 2027, at least one director or teacher at each center, and each family child care home licensee who provides care, needs at least 15 hours, plus 1 hour of nutrition training where it applies (HSC 1596.866). That is at least 8 hours of pediatric first aid and CPR, retaken every 2 years, and 7 hours of preventive health practices, taken once (22 CCR 100019.01). Since January 1, 2026, the first aid or CPR course must include anaphylaxis prevention and treatment, including epinephrine auto-injectors (HSC 1596.866(a)(4)(A)(i)). Home-study courses do not count, though approved online pediatric first aid and preventive health practices courses can (HSC 1596.866(e)).
- Mandated reporter training: applicants finish it before licensure and new employees within their first 90 days, then it is renewed every 2 years (HSC 1596.8662).
- Center education: a fully qualified teacher needs 12 units in early childhood education or child development plus 6 months of experience, or a qualifying credential or permit (22 CCR 101216.1). One route for a director is a high school diploma or GED, 15 units including 3 in administration or staff relations, plus 4 years of teaching in a licensed center or comparable group program (22 CCR 101215.1).
California Child Care Rules Changing
CDSS explains these 2026 laws in PIN 26-11-CCP, dated September 25, 2026.
- January 1, 2027: every child care facility must have an emergency and disaster plan that meets HSC 1596.868, with training for staff and volunteers, drills at least every quarter and a yearly review (AB 150). Applicants send the plan with the license application (PIN 26-11-CCP).
- October 1, 2027: the 15 hours of health and safety training (plus 1 hour of nutrition training where it applies, which CDSS counts as 16 in PIN 26-11-CCP) and current pediatric first aid and CPR cover all staff who provide care in a center, all home licensees, all home staff and each substitute adult in a home (AB 150 and AB 190). All of them also need 12 hours of continuing education a year from CDSS-approved sources (PIN 26-11-CCP).
- January 1, 2028: licensed facilities must follow the anaphylaxis policy that CDSS has to set by July 1, 2027 (HSC 1596.7985, as amended by AB 150; PIN 26-11-CCP).
California Child Care Licensing FAQ
Q:Can I apply for a child care license online in California?
Not yet. You mail the packet to your Child Care Regional Office or drop it off, with the fee by check or money order (CDSS steps for homes and centers). CDSS's licensing fees page says only annual fees can be paid online today. Its new CCLD Public Portal, which launched August 17, 2026, is meant to let licensed facilities track and pay most fees online and, in later releases, apply online. CDSS expects the full portal by summer 2027 (PIN 26-10-CCLD).
Q:How long does it take to get a child care license in California?
CDSS says it varies with factors such as how fast your documents, background clearances and any fire clearance come in. Once CDSS has all your application materials, it inspects within 30 days. It decides within 30 days after it has every material and clearance and the facility passes that inspection (CDSS steps for homes and centers).
Q:Do daycare workers need a background check in California?
Yes. Each person who must be checked needs a criminal record clearance or exemption from CDSS before their first presence in the facility (HSC 1596.871). That includes the applicant, adults who live there and anyone who cares for the children. Fingerprints go through Live Scan. Anyone associated with a child care facility also needs a Child Abuse Central Index check (CDSS background checks).