Licensing a family child care home in Colorado: five home licenses and how to qualify

When Colorado requires a license

Colorado’s family child care home rules apply to care given in a home, for less than 24 hours a day, to children under 18 who are not related to the head of the household. The rules apply whether or not you are paid.⁠¹ A license must be in place before care begins, unless the care fits an exemption.⁠¹

The home exemption in rule 2.112 is narrow. You may use only one of these options at a time:⁠¹

• care only for children directly related to you (by blood, marriage or adoption, including stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings and first cousins), or for siblings from one unrelated family; or
• care for up to four children, related or unrelated, with no more than two under age 2.

CDEC’s exemption page says your own children are part of the four-child limit.⁠⁵ A parent with two toddlers of their own can therefore take only two more children before needing a license, and neither can be under 2. CDEC also says it no longer takes exemption applications or issues declaration letters. If you meet the criteria, you simply operate as exempt.⁠⁵ One exception: if any child in an exempt home is paid for through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), the rules require CBI/FBI fingerprints for you and for every adult who lives with you.⁠¹

Occasional care is also exempt, meaning care that is “infrequent and irregular” with no apparent pattern.⁠¹ Regular after-school care for a neighbor’s children has a pattern, so it does not qualify.

If you plan to run care outside your home, or to grow beyond 12 children, you need a center license instead; see the Colorado child care center guide. The rules allow only one family child care classification per address, and a second license in the same home is not an option.⁠¹

The five home license types

CDEC’s application form asks you to pick one of five home licenses.⁠³ Every type except infant/toddler is issued for ages birth to 18. Within that range you choose which ages to enroll.⁠¹ Across all five, your own birth, adopted, step or foster children under 10 count toward capacity whenever they are in the home, and children 10 and older do not.⁠¹⁠⁴

The space in your home also limits capacity. CDEC sets licensed capacity by license type and by the indoor and outdoor space you set aside for care.⁠¹⁠⁴ At 35 square feet of indoor play space per child, a regular home with eight children present needs 280 square feet of qualifying floor space. That space cannot include hallways, bathrooms or stairways.⁠¹

“Infant/toddler training” here means CDEC’s Expanding Quality in Infant/Toddler Care (EQIT) course, or three semester credit hours in infant/toddler theory from a regionally accredited college.⁠¹

Large home. The licensee must be at least 18 and must be the primary provider.⁠¹ You qualify by meeting one of these:⁠¹

• 21 months of documented experience in group care of children under 6, or as a licensed Colorado family child care home (equal time as an approved military child care home also counts);
• 60 college credit hours with at least one early childhood course, plus one year of experience in a licensed home, a military home, a certified foster home or a licensed center;
• a current Child Development Associate (CDA) credential;
• EQIT (or the college equivalent) plus 1,820 hours of experience in a licensed program;
• an Early Childhood Professional Credential at level III or higher, or a director qualifications letter from CDEC.

When more than eight children are present, a second staff member must be there. Staff aides may be as young as 16, but they must work under the primary provider’s direct supervision. Before an aide can be left alone with children, the aide must meet the same age and training rules as you.⁠¹

Experienced provider. This license requires five consecutive years as a licensed Colorado home, or 9,100 hours as a director or CDEC-certified early childhood teacher. You also need EQIT and either 75 clock hours of training in the past five years or a level III credential. Pre-licensing, CPR/first aid, standard precautions and medication administration courses do not count toward the 75 hours.⁠¹ The rule’s options table sets the age mixes, and you may switch between options without telling CDEC as long as you comply with one at a time. Four of them are 7 children plus 2 school-age, 8 plus 1, 5 plus 4, or 6 (up to 3 under 18 months) plus 3, each topping out at 9. The table also has a fifth option capped at 4 children, which this guide does not describe; confirm it with CDEC.⁠¹ At least 60 days before you start, you file a separate experienced-provider application acknowledging that exceeding capacity triggers adverse action.⁠¹ The application form calls this the ECCP Acknowledgement Form.⁠³

The three-under-18-months and experienced licenses bar anyone who, in the past two years, had a founded complaint at severity level 1 or 2, or an adverse action against their license. The large and infant/toddler licenses apply the same two-year bar to applicants who were previously licensed.⁠¹ The application fee is nonrefundable if you apply for a type you do not qualify for, so check rules 2.306-2.310 first.⁠⁴

Who must live in the home and who can help

The primary provider must live in the home and give direct care for at least 60% of the daily hours of operation. This person is “Applicant 1” and is legally liable for the business.⁠¹⁠⁴ A spouse or other resident adult who regularly shares the care is “Applicant 2.” Applicant 2 needs the same training and is also legally liable.⁠¹ CDEC’s guide says a resident who does not regularly help should not be listed as Applicant 2.⁠⁴ The license can be issued only for the address where you actually live and give care.⁠³

Other people can help within these limits:

• Qualified substitutes are 18 or older and have all required training. One may stand in for you for up to 12 weeks (480 hours) per calendar year, and parents must be told each time a substitute is used.⁠¹
• Emergency substitutes are 18 or older and cover sudden absences. They must call every parent right away. If they lack your training, they must ask parents to pick up their children.⁠¹
• Staff aides and volunteers are 16 or older and always work under direct supervision. Volunteers never count toward ratios.⁠¹

You must have a written plan for leaving the home suddenly in an emergency.⁠¹ Before the license is approved, you, Applicant 2 and everyone living in the home need a medical statement signed by a physician or other health care provider. Providers and resident children under 10 repeat it every two years. A new resident needs one within 30 days of moving in.⁠¹ Keep these forms on file for the inspection; do not mail them with the application.⁠⁴

Training to finish before the license

The rules list training in three waves, and every course must be documented.⁠¹ Everyone also registers in the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System (PDIS).⁠¹ CDEC says many of the required courses are free there, and some must be taken in person with a CDEC-approved vendor. The licensing specialist checks your certificates at the original inspection.⁠⁴

1. Before the license is issued: the 15-clock-hour pre-licensing course

   This is required for the primary provider, Applicant 2 and any equally qualified provider. You are exempt if you hold a CDEC director qualifications letter, or a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate with a major in early childhood or elementary education.⁠¹

2. Before working with children

   Standard precautions meeting OSHA requirements (renewed every year), and first aid and CPR covering infants through age 21. Also required: medication administration (every three years) and building and physical premises training, which you design yourself around your home’s hazards. Child abuse prevention and reporting is renewed every year. If you care for children under 3, add prevention of shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma (every two years). If you care for infants, add safe sleep (every year).⁠¹

3. Within 30 days of opening

   The CDPHE immunization course (every year, for whoever keeps immunization records) and playground safety for homes (once).⁠¹

4. Within 90 days

   An introduction to early intervention and preschool special education, recognizing the impact of bias, injury prevention for homes, and working with an early childhood mental health consultant. Each is taken once.⁠¹

After that, each provider and staff member needs 15 clock hours of professional development every year. At least 3 hours must be in social-emotional development, CPR recertification does not count, and unused hours do not carry over.⁠¹

Background checks for the whole household

Colorado runs three separate checks, and their timing matters.⁠⁴

• Trails (child abuse and neglect). Your application authorizes CDEC to check everyone listed as living in the home, of any age, at licensure and every five years after.⁠³ For residents, the check is included in the application fee. For each non-resident employee, assistant or volunteer it costs $30.⁠⁴ An adult who moves in after you open must be submitted within five calendar days and cannot have unsupervised access to children until cleared.⁠¹
• CBI/FBI fingerprints. These are required for every resident 18 or older and for every non-resident adult with access to children, at licensure and every five years.⁠⁴ You cannot start fingerprinting until CDEC has processed your application and emailed you a pending license number. If no email arrives within 30 days of applying, contact CDEC. Prints go through IdentoGO or Colorado Fingerprinting, and each person pays their own fee.⁠⁴⁠¹ Each fingerprinted adult signs a Person In Home Authorization form, which you keep at home rather than submit.⁠⁴⁠³
• Out-of-state checks. Anyone who lived in another state or territory in the past five years needs a criminal history check, a sex offender registry check and a child abuse registry check from each of those states. You may start these before applying.⁠⁴

The application asks directly whether you, anyone living with you, or any employee has been convicted of, or entered a deferred sentence for, any felony, child abuse or unlawful sexual behavior in any state.⁠³ False answers can bring fines of up to $100 a day, to a maximum of $10,000.⁠³

Making the house pass inspection

CDEC can inspect the whole property: the residence, basement, attic, shed, garage or carport, the grounds, and any vehicle you use to transport children.⁠¹ During care hours you cannot run another business on the premises that could endanger children or interfere with supervision.⁠¹ Unlike Colorado centers, family child care homes do not need separate approvals from the fire department or health department. Rule 2.122 exempts them, so the CDEC licensing inspection covers fire and safety.⁠¹

These are the physical rules that most often require spending money:⁠¹

• Escape routes. Every level used for care needs two means of escape. A basement window can be the second exit. If the sill is more than 30 inches up, it needs permanent access, such as a bolted ladder or fixed steps. A window well deeper than 44 inches needs an attached escape ladder. Homes licensed after March 1, 2024 must have escape openings of at least 5.7 square feet, 20 inches wide and 24 inches high.
• Alarms and extinguisher. You need smoke alarms in every bedroom used for care, outside every sleeping area and on every floor. For homes licensed after March 1, 2024, the alarms must be interconnected. You also need a carbon monoxide detector in the hallway outside sleeping areas, and at least one 5-pound fire extinguisher rated 2A-10-BC, replaced every six years.
• Heat and chemicals. Open-flame gas or oil stoves, unscreened fireplaces, hot plates and unvented heaters cannot be used. Space heaters need a tip-over switch and an element no hotter than 212°F. Flammables must be locked away from the kitchen and kept at least 3 feet from the furnace and water heater.
• Weapons. All weapons, including BB guns, bows and hunting knives, must be unloaded, locked and inaccessible. Ammunition is locked separately. Staff, substitutes and volunteers may not carry firearms on the property or in vehicles used for children.
• Outdoors. You need 75 square feet of usable outdoor play space per child, enclosed by a fence at least 42 inches high with gaps of no more than 4 inches, or by a natural barrier. Without a fence, you can apply for a hardship waiver. Decks higher than 12 inches need railings. Pools need a 5-foot fence with a locked gate.
• Mobile homes must be secured, skirted, stabilized and have at least two exits.

Waiver requests are possible for a rule that creates a substantial, unnecessary burden. CDEC accepts them only once you have a pending license number.⁠⁴

Zoning and HOA approval

Rule 2.122 requires every licensed facility to have written approval from the local zoning department before the original license. The approval must show the address and the number and ages of children, and you need a new approval when you move, add capacity or add age groups.⁠¹ CDEC’s guide asks you to keep approving letters showing compliance with zoning, building and planning rules, and with any HOA covenants, ready for the original inspection.⁠⁴

State law limits what those bodies can demand. HB21-1222, effective September 7, 2021, requires family child care homes to be classified as residences for licensure and for local regulations, including zoning, land use, fire and life safety, and building codes.⁠⁶ SB20-126, effective September 14, 2020, lets a homeowner in a common interest community run a licensed family child care home, whatever the community’s governing documents say.⁠⁷ The HOA’s rules on architectural control, parking, landscaping and noise still apply. The HOA must make reasonable accommodations for the licensing fence requirement, and it may require you to carry additional liability insurance. The act does not apply to a community that qualifies as housing for older persons under federal law.⁠⁷

Policies you must hand parents

Rule 2.316 lists 36 subjects your written policies must cover, and parents get a copy at enrollment and after any change.⁠¹ Beyond fees and hours, the list includes:⁠¹

• substitute care and backup arrangements;
• acceptance of non-immunized or under-immunized children;
• safe sleep for infants;
• sunscreen;
• protection from secondhand smoke;
• when ill children are excluded;
• medication storage and records;
• extreme weather and disaster procedures;
• how you report child abuse, including the county to call;
• how parents can file a complaint about you;
• routine checks for recalled toys and equipment;
• interaction with chickens, reptiles or amphibians.

Write these before the inspection. CDEC publishes policy, records and inspection checklists for homes.⁠⁴

Applying, step by step

1. Attend the free orientation

   CDEC runs a one-hour family child care home pre-licensing orientation, in English or Spanish, with sign-up through a form on its licensing page. Sessions listed on 2026-10-12 were October 6 (6-7 p.m.), October 24 (10-11 a.m.) and December 1 (6-7 p.m.), 2026, in English, plus a Spanish-language session on November 10 (6-7 p.m.).⁠²⁠⁴

2. Confirm zoning and HOA approval, and start any out-of-state checks

   Both can be done before you apply.⁠⁴

3. Submit the original application

   Use the Provider Hub (paying by card or e-check) or send the paper form with a check or money order payable to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. Credit cards are not accepted by phone or mail.⁠²⁠³ The rule requires the complete application and fee at least 60 days before opening, and CDEC does not begin its evaluation until both arrive.⁠¹ CDEC recommends 60-90 days, says the whole process can take up to 90 days, and processes applications in the order received.⁠² List every person living in the home, of any age.⁠³

4. Fingerprint after you get the pending license number

   Watch for CDEC’s fingerprinting email.⁠⁴

5. Finish training and the paperwork kept at home

   That means health evaluations, Person In Home Authorization forms and written policies.⁠⁴

6. Original inspection

   A licensing specialist is assigned and calls to schedule an on-site inspection. If nobody contacts you within 45 days of applying, call CDEC.⁠⁴

7. Approval

   A licensing supervisor approves the application. You may not care for children until both the inspection and the application are approved.⁠⁴ Colorado can issue a provisional license, valid only for the first six months, if you are temporarily out of compliance but can show you are working on it.⁠¹

CDEC’s licensing line is 1-800-799-5876 or 303-866-5948, and its email is [email protected].⁠⁴

The application form lists the three-under-18-months and infant/toddler homes as separate types, but the rule’s fee schedule has no separate line for them.⁠³⁠¹ Confirm the fee with CDEC when you apply. Fees are nonrefundable.⁠²

After approval: Colorado Shines, continuations and changes

New licensed programs serving children 0-5 enter Colorado Shines, the state quality rating system, at Level 1. Homes enrolling children 5 or younger are required to take part.⁠²⁠¹ Moving up the rating can pay off. A home rated Level 3-5 that serves enough CCCAP children (at least 50% of its own enrollment, or 50% of the county’s CCCAP population) can get up to half off the annual continuation fee.⁠¹

A permanent Colorado license does not expire. It stays in effect until you surrender it or it is revoked. Each year, though, you file a declaration of compliance and pay the continuation fee at least 60 days before your license anniversary.⁠¹ CDEC posts the continuation form on the Provider Hub 90 days before the anniversary and emails reminders starting three months out.⁠² Missing the continuation counts as a consistent failure to maintain standards and can lead to fines or revocation.⁠¹

A new owner, a different license type or a new address voids the license and needs a new original application.⁠¹ Adding a basement room, removing a room or adding a household member goes through CDEC’s change request process instead.⁠²⁠³

The Colorado Food Program, run by CDPHE, helps homes pay for two meals and a snack per child each day. CDEC points applicants to CDPHE at 303-692-2330.⁠⁴

Recent changes

• December 15, 2023: child care licensing rules moved from 12 CCR 2509-8 to 8 CCR 1402-1 under the new Department of Early Childhood.⁠¹ CDEC’s application form still points to the old rule number “7.707.”⁠³
• March 16, 2024: the rewritten family child care home rules (2.300-2.338) took effect.⁠¹ Homes licensed after March 1, 2024 face the interconnected smoke alarm and larger escape opening standards. Earlier homes are held to the older standard.⁠¹
• February 14, 2026: the version of 8 CCR 1402-1 in force on 2026-10-12. Its changes were to center, camp and special-activity rules, not to the family child care home sections.⁠¹
• Pending: CDEC’s licensing page, on 2026-10-12, links an SB26-020 Child Care Licensing Task Force information page. Ask your licensing specialist whether its work has changed any rule in this guide.⁠²

Sources

1. 1
   Colorado Secretary of State, Code of Colorado Regulations, 8 CCR 1402-1, Child Care Facility Licensing Rules and Regulations (version effective 02/14/2026; family child care home rules 2.300-2.338 effective 03/16/2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Child Care Licensing and Administration Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Division of Early Learning Licensing and Administration, Family Child Care Home Original/Full License Application (revised 2024_09) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Family Child Care Home Application Submission Guide (updated November 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Legal Exemption from Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Colorado General Assembly, HB21-1222, Regulation of Family Child Care Homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Colorado General Assembly, SB20-126, Allow Home Child Care in HOA Community Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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