Florida Child Care Licensing: Rules

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) licenses child care in 63 of Florida's 67 counties. Broward, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Sarasota license child care themselves, so there your daycare license comes from the county agency, which may charge its own fee (section 402.315, Florida Statutes). State law covers child care facilities (centers), family child care homes and large family child care homes (s. 402.302). A family home registers with DCF or gets a license depending on its county, and DCF lists 15 counties where registration is not allowed (s. 402.313).

Florida Child Care License Types

Definitions and capacity are from s. 402.302 and DCF's fees from s. 402.315(3). Since July 1, 2026, Florida's statutes say "family child care home" (Chapter 2026-140, noted under s. 402.3131), but rule chapter 65C-20 and some DCF pages still say "family day care home" for the same kind of home.

A center operator must be at least 21 and center directors need a credential (s. 402.305(2)(c) and (f)). For every 20 children, a center open 8 or more hours a week needs one staff member with a child development associate (CDA) or equivalent credential (s. 402.305(3)). A large home must first run 2 consecutive years as a licensed family home, with an operator who has held a CDA or equivalent for 1 year, and needs fire marshal approval before licensing (s. 402.3131(1) and (8)).

If you are in one of the four county-licensing counties, apply on the local agency's forms (s. 402.308(4)), and the fees above are DCF's: a county may collect its own fee for licenses it issues (s. 402.315(4)). The agencies are the Broward County Child Care Licensing and Enforcement Section, the Palm Beach County Child Care Facilities Board, the Pinellas County Licensing Board and the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County. Three of the four use the county health department as the licensing authority, and Broward uses another agency (Child Care Facility Handbook, December 2025, section 1).

In the other 63 counties, DCF takes license applications online through its CARES application and sends questions to your regional licensing office. For the business setup, see the opening a daycare checklist.

Owners, operators, employees and most volunteers (those working 10 or more hours a month) need level 2 background screening and must submit fingerprints (s. 402.305(2)(a) and (b); definition in s. 402.302(3)). DCF's background screening FAQ lists $8.00 for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), $13.50 for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and $24.00 for 5-year fingerprint retention, and says actual costs may vary depending on the live scan provider.

The Florida Department of Education's Gold Seal Quality Care Program gives a separate designation to a center or home that is accredited by an association the department approves and meets the program's other requirements (s. 1002.945).

Who Needs a Child Care License in Florida

Florida's law covers care for less than 24 hours a day, on a regular basis, for a payment, fee or grant (s. 402.302(1)). Care for more than five children unrelated to the operator, outside the family child care home capacity groups above, makes a child care facility, which needs a license (s. 402.302(2)). In your own home the line is lower. DCF says anyone who cares for children from more than one unrelated family must be registered or licensed, and a home that registers needs DCF's registration letter before it starts care (DCF family home page).

Under s. 402.313(1), a family home must be licensed where a county ordinance or county commission resolution requires it. Elsewhere it registers with DCF every year, or may choose a license. DCF lists 15 counties where registration is not permitted: Brevard, Broward, Clay, Duval, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and St. Johns. DCF does not inspect registered homes (DCF family home page).

Schools and their integral programs (with an exception in s. 402.3025), residential summer camps, summer day camps, Bible schools normally held during vacation periods, and hotels or resorts caring only for their guests' children with level 2 screened staff are outside the facility definition (s. 402.302(2)). A child care facility that is an integral part of a church or parochial school with accredited programs is exempt from licensing but must still screen its staff (s. 402.316(1)), and its website and forms must say it "is not subject to licensure or regulation by the Department of Children and Families" (s. 402.316(6)).

Knowingly running a child care facility without a license, or a family home without the license or registration it needs, is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 402.319(1)). If you are not sure your program needs a license, send DCF its Child Care Licensure Questionnaire to find out whether your program must be licensed as a child care facility. For a home, call DCF at (850) 488-4900.

Florida Ratios and Training

Center ratios come from s. 402.305(4) and apply at all times while children are in care (Child Care Facility Handbook, December 2025, section 2.3).

For children 2 and older together, use the ratio of the age group with the most children (s. 402.305(4)(a)7). If a mixed group includes any child under 1, the limit is 4 children per staff member, and 6 if it includes a child from 1 to under 2 (Handbook section 2.3.1). Homes follow the capacity groups in the license table.

Training rules from the statute and the center and home handbooks:

• Center staff, including volunteers working 10 or more hours a month, begin the 40-clock-hour introductory course within 90 days of employment and pass its exams within 12 months of beginning the course, and no later than 15 months after starting work in child care (center handbook 4.1). DCF provides online coursework for it at no cost (s. 402.305(2)(d)).
• A 5-hour early literacy course is due within 12 months of employment, and in a center that offers infant care, safe sleep and shaken baby syndrome training is due within 30 days of hire (center handbook 4.2).
• Family home operators take the 30-clock-hour course before caring for children and a 5-hour early literacy course once (s. 402.313(4) and (6)), and licensed home operators need current pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid certificates (home handbook 5.1.1). Large home operators take a 40-clock-hour course in group child care (s. 402.3131(3)).
• After the introductory course, all of them complete 10 clock hours or 1 continuing education unit (CEU) of training a year (s. 402.305(2)(d)3, s. 402.313(5), s. 402.3131(4)). See DCF's child care training page.

Florida Child Care Licensing FAQ