Virginia Child Care Licensing: Rules

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Office of Child Care Health and Safety licenses child day centers and home-based child care, also called family day homes. In your own home, you need a daycare license to care for 5 to 12 children, not counting your own children or children who live with you (Code of Virginia 22.1-289.02). With 4 or fewer, no license is required, though you may apply for voluntary registration (22.1-289.015). Unless you are licensed or registered, you may care for no more than 4 children under age 2, and that count includes your own.

Virginia Child Care License Types

Since July 1, 2026, Virginia law says "home-based child care" where it used to say "family day home" (House Bill 258, per VDOE What's New); the rule book, the Virginia Administrative Code (VAC), still says "family day home," and VDOE says the change is terminology only. The types below are defined in 22.1-289.02 and 22.1-289.015. The fees below are the schedule in 8VAC20-821-150 and are nonrefundable (8VAC20-821-140), but VDOE says it is not collecting application fees through December 2027.

For programs open less than 12 weeks a year, the schedule sets $50 for 1 to 50 children or $110 for 51 or more. Under 8VAC20-821-30 a license expires two years after it takes effect, though VDOE may lengthen or shorten that period, and you may not open before VDOE issues a license or a conditional license (8VAC20-821-30 and 8VAC20-821-40). Chapter 821, in effect since February 1, 2026, holds these procedures, fees and background check rules (VDOE What's New).

To apply, you complete a required Phase 2 pre-licensure orientation with your regional office, then apply online, per VDOE's center and home pages. Centers add a functional design plan. Homes add a form signed by the local zoning official, and VDOE tells applicants to "contact your local zoning office to determine the number of children you may request to care for in your home." For the business setup, see the opening a daycare checklist.

Employees, volunteers alone with children, applicants and adults living in a home provider's residence need background checks. Since October 1, 2026, fingerprinting costs $66.23 per person, or $46.23 for volunteers, paid to Fieldprint (VDOE background checks). Household members 14 and older in a licensed or registered family day home need a Child Protective Services (CPS) Central Registry check within seven days of turning 14 or moving in (8VAC20-821-170).

Who Needs a Child Care License in Virginia

Anyone who operates a child day program or home-based child care system "shall obtain the appropriate license from the Superintendent" of Public Instruction (22.1-289.011), unless the law exempts it. For homes, 22.1-289.02 draws these lines, not counting your own children or children who live in the home:

• 5 to 12 children: a license is required.
• 1 to 4 children: no license, though you may register voluntarily.
• Children all related to you by blood or marriage: no license.
• Children under age 2: no more than 4, this time counting your own and resident children, unless you are licensed or registered.

An unlicensed, unregistered home must tell each parent in writing that the care is not regulated by VDOE, unless all the children are related to you (22.1-289.016).

Four localities regulate certain homes and programs by local ordinance instead of VDOE: Arlington County (homes and centers), plus Alexandria City, Fairfax County and Norfolk City (homes only), per VDOE's local ordinance page. Voluntary registration is not offered there (22.1-289.015 G).

Programs that need no license under 22.1-289.030 include organized sports leagues, Sunday schools and nurseries during religious services, and programs open no more than 20 program days a calendar year (with a limit on consecutive weeks for children under 6), among others. A center run by a religious institution is exempt from licensing if it files a statement of intent with VDOE before opening and every year and meets the other requirements in 22.1-289.031.

Operating without a required license, or over the licensed capacity, is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and each day without a license "shall constitute a separate offense" (22.1-289.027). VDOE may also assess civil penalties of up to $500 per inspection when a program is substantially out of compliance and children's health and safety are at risk (8VAC20-821-290).

Virginia Ratios and Training

Centers follow the ratios and group sizes in 8VAC20-780-350. In a mixed-age group, the youngest child's ratio and group size apply to the whole group. A "balanced mixed age" group may run at 1 to 14 (group size 28), and looser ratios apply during rest periods, both with conditions.

A licensed home uses a point system: one caregiver may not go over 16 points (8VAC20-800-570). Children from birth through 15 months count 4 points, 16 through 23 months count 3, ages 2 through 4 count 2, ages 5 through 9 count 1, and 10 and older count 0. Your own children and resident children under 8 count toward the points, though not toward licensed capacity (8VAC20-800-40). So one caregiver can have 4 babies under 16 months, or 8 children aged 2 to 4.

Training from the center and home standards:

• Center staff: facility orientation within 7 days and before working alone with children, first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training within 30 days, and the VDOE-sponsored orientation course within 90 days (8VAC20-780-240).
• Center staff who work with a group of children: at least 16 hours of training a year, or 10 at a short-term program (8VAC20-780-245).
• Home providers: 18 or older, a high school diploma or the equivalent (or college admission eligibility), 3 months of programmatic experience, and current CPR and first aid (8VAC20-800-140), plus 16 clock hours of training a year (8VAC20-800-210).

Virginia Child Care Rules Changing

The State Board of Education proposed replacing the center rules, 8VAC20-780, with a new chapter, 8VAC20-781, in the December 1, 2025, Virginia Register. Virginia Regulatory Town Hall lists the final stage as "Secretary of Education review in progress," with the effective date "Not yet determined." As proposed, the new chapter would:

• Set the school-age ratio at 1 to 20 (now 1 to 18 for school-age children under 9) and cap school-age groups at 100.
• Let the 10-hour preservice orientation count toward the first year's 16 training hours.
• Require centers to keep stock epinephrine, with at least one trained person able to reach it at all times during regular hours.
• Require new applicants in buildings built before 1978 to submit a lead risk assessment.

Until 8VAC20-781 takes effect, 8VAC20-780 applies, and the final text, not yet published in the Register, may differ from the proposal.

Homes have a separate change pending. Code of Virginia 22.1-289.059 requires the State Board of Education to amend its rules so a home-based child care provider, or one of its caregivers, is trained to give epinephrine and tells parents whether the home keeps it on hand. VDOE's June 23, 2026, memo says "Providers do not need to take any action at this time" and that VDOE will notify providers when the proposed rules are published for comment.

Virginia Child Care Licensing FAQ