Maryland Child Care Licensing: Rules

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) Office of Child Care licenses child care centers and registers family child care homes through 13 Regional Licensing Offices. For a home daycare, the daycare license is a certificate of registration, which MSDE calls "a form of license". Registration has no minimum number of children: your home must be registered before it operates unless you are related to each child, are a friend of the parents giving occasional care of less than 20 hours a month, or received the child from a licensed placement agency (Education Article 9.5-304, Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 13A.15.02.01).

Maryland Child Care License Types

Homes register under COMAR 13A.15 (family homes) or 13A.18 (large family homes). Centers are licensed under 13A.16, and letters of compliance follow 13A.17. The application and registration rules (COMAR 13A.15, 13A.16 and 13A.18) list no state application, registration or license fee, and MSDE says there are no fees for inspections by its Regional Licensing Office (family child care page, centers page). Local agencies such as the fire authority and health department may charge for theirs, and fingerprinting has its own fee.

Applicants take a mandatory online orientation, then a second one at their Regional Licensing Office. A center files its application "at least 60 days before your proposed opening date" (centers page). A new license or registration lasts 2 years, and then you can apply for a continuing one that does not expire (Education Article 9.5-409, family child care page). For the business side, see How to Start a Childcare Business.

Who Needs a Child Care License in Maryland

A family child care home or large family child care home "may not operate unless it is registered" (Education Article 9.5-304). MSDE describes family child care as care in your own home for "one or more children" who are not related to you (family child care page). You need no registration if you:

• Are related to each child by blood or marriage.
• Are a friend of each child's parents giving care on a "nonregular basis of less than 20 hours a month" (COMAR 13A.15.02.01A(2)).
• Received the child from a child placement agency licensed by the Department of Human Services or a local department of social services.

You must hold a license before you operate a child care center (Education Article 9.5-405(a)). The exceptions include certain religious nursery schools and programs a tax-exempt religious organization runs only for children whose parents are attending its service or meeting (9.5-405(b)).

Running an unregistered home or an unlicensed center is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,500 for a first violation and up to $2,500 for each later one (9.5-311, 9.5-417). An unregistered home can also be cited $250, $500 and then $1,000, up to $5,000 in total civil penalties in one action (9.5-312). You may not advertise until you are registered or licensed, and the ad must give the number (9.5-304(c), 9.5-405(e)).

Licensing is statewide. The Office of Child Care's Licensing Branch "inspects and licenses all child care centers and family child care providers in the state" (MSDE), and state law supersedes local licensing of centers (Education Article 9.5-420). Centers must still meet local fire, building and zoning codes. A family home gets a local fire inspection, and depending on where you live, a health department inspection too (family child care page).

Maryland Ratios and Training

Center ratios and group sizes for same-age groups are in COMAR 13A.16.08.03C. Mixed-age groups have their own staffing levels in 13A.16.08.03D. An infant is 6 weeks to under 18 months old, and a toddler is 18 months to under 2 years (13A.16.01.02).

A family home may not care for more than two children under 2 at a time without the office's approval, and needs an additional adult whenever more than two are present (COMAR 13A.15.04.03). Residents under 6, including your own children, count toward capacity: the office "shall count as a child in care a resident who is younger than 6 years old." Large family homes have their own ratios in COMAR 13A.18.08.03.

Training rules for family homes and for center directors, teachers and aides:

• Family home provider: first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certificates and 24 clock hours of approved training before registration (or a 90-hour course, a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or a qualifying degree), 3 hours on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and health and safety training within 90 days. Then 18 hours in the first year and 12 a year.
• Center director: 21 or older, high school diploma or equivalent, 90 clock hours of preservice training (or a CDA), plus administration, communication and ADA training. Then 12 hours a year.
• Preschool center teacher: 18 or older (state law, Education Article 9.5-404; the rule text in COMAR 13A.16.06.09 still says 19 and MSDE is amending it), high school diploma or equivalent, 90 clock hours (or a CDA), and 1 year of supervised experience or college. Then 12 hours a year.
• Aide: 16 or older, with 6 hours a year.
• Anyone seeking a center license or family registration: MSDE's 6-hour Medication Administration Training from an approved registered nurse (licensing page).

People who work or live in Maryland child care facilities "need to complete a comprehensive background check at least once every five years" (MSDE background checks page). In a family home, that means fingerprints for you and each adult resident (family child care page). The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) lists a full state and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) check for authorized agencies at $33.00 by mail or $53.00 in person. Those listed prices predate the FBI fee increase from $12 to $15 that took effect October 1, 2026, and DPSCS says to "expect to add three dollars ($3)" (DPSCS fingerprinting page). Private fingerprinting providers may add a service fee, and MSDE says the fee varies by part of the state (family child care page).

Maryland Child Care Rules Changing

On September 10, 2026, MSDE asked the State Board of Education's Education Policy Committee for permission to publish amendments to the probationary teacher rules for centers and large family homes, COMAR 13A.16.06.09-1 and 13A.18.06.06-1 (MSDE memo and proposed text). Those rules let a first-time teacher who has not met the qualifications work on probation for up to 6 months, with children 3 and older only. The proposal would open that to children who are at least 2. State law already lets a first-time teacher work on probation with children who are at least 2: House Bill 635 (2026, Chapter 360, "Child Care Facilities - Criminal History Records Check - Requirement") lowered the statutory age from 3 to 2 effective October 1, 2026. The COMAR text still says 3, and the September 10 proposal would conform it. It is a proposal and not in effect. The memo gives no comment dates.

Separately, state law has set the child care teacher minimum age at 18 since July 1, 2024 (House Bill 662, Education Article 9.5-404). MSDE published a COMAR amendment to match (Maryland Register, comments August 7 to September 8, 2026) and on October 13, 2026 asked the Education Policy Committee for permission to adopt it (MSDE memo).

Maryland Child Care Licensing FAQ