DC child development center license: opening a daycare center in Washington

What counts as a child development center in DC

DC law calls every licensed child care program a “Child Development Facility.” A license is needed once you regularly care for more than two unrelated children.⁠¹ OSSE licenses four kinds of facility: centers, Child Development Homes, Expanded Child Development Homes and out-of-school-time programs.⁠¹

A Child Development Center is a facility that serves more than 12 children in premises other than a dwelling the operator lives in.⁠¹ If you plan to care for children in your own home, you need a different license: a home holds up to 6 children, and an Expanded Home holds up to 12. See the DC child development home guide.

5-A DCMR § 101.5 lists the programs that need no license. Among them:⁠¹

• nanny-shares and care in the child’s own home paid for by the family;
• care by a related person;
• facilities run by the federal government on federal property (a private operator leasing federal space is not exempt unless federal law says so);
• DC public and public charter schools (pre-K3 through grade 12) and private schools (pre-K through grade 12), during a full school day;
• community-based organizations that provide only OSSE-funded pre-K;
• programs that offer only before-school care, only after-school care, or only summer camp for school-age children.

The burden of proving an exemption falls on the operator if OSSE prosecutes. Operating without a license can bring up to 6 months in jail, a $300 fine, or both; a repeat conviction raises that to 1 year and $5,000.⁠¹

Each license covers one address, and each building needs its own license, even on the same site. A license cannot be sold or transferred to a new owner.⁠¹

Zoning and the Certificate of Occupancy come first

DOB’s guidance for center founders is blunt: check the zoning district before you sign a lease. You need to confirm that a child development center is a permitted use there, whether the number of children is capped, and whether staff parking is required.⁠⁶ The zoning definition of a center is broader than OSSE’s: a non-residential building or part of a building caring for 7 or more people under age 15.⁠⁶ DOB zoning staff answer questions at 202-671-3500 or [email protected].⁠⁶

The building code sorts centers by size. Fewer than 100 children is an “E” (educational) use; more than 100 is an “I” (institutional) use. Either can trigger a sprinkler system for the whole building, more restrooms, and a tub or shower.⁠⁶ DOB also flags these points:⁠⁶

• Children may not use adult restrooms. Child and adult restrooms must be separate and accessible, and you need accessible drinking fountains for both.
• Basement and second-floor rooms are limited by egress rules.
• A mixed-use building needs physical and fire separation between the center and other tenants.
• If the space was not already a center, or you change the number or ages of children, you need a building permit. Construction must pass inspection before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.

The Certificate of Occupancy states the occupant load: the maximum number of children by age, and staff, in each space.⁠⁶ OSSE asks that it name the use as a child care center and show the maximum number of infants and children, the hours of operation and the number of staff.⁠³ DOB’s load is often higher than the number OSSE will license, and OSSE’s number controls.⁠⁶

OSSE’s June 2026 checklist offers one alternative to a Certificate of Occupancy: a contract with DC Public Schools and a facility use agreement.⁠⁴

How OSSE sets your licensed capacity

OSSE sets capacity using the lowest of four limits: the occupancy set by DOB or FEMS, program space, lavatories, and ratios and group sizes.⁠¹ Indoor space is measured wall to wall, inside program space only.⁠¹

“Program space” excludes kitchens and food prep areas, bathrooms, offices, staff rooms, corridors, stairways, closets, storage, laundry and furnace rooms, and fixed furniture not built for children.⁠¹

DC sets several rules on where children can be placed:

• Infants and non-ambulatory children. Children under 2, and children who cannot walk, may only be in space that is at street level and has two means of egress. If an exit has steps, it needs a ramp so staff can roll evacuation cribs out, unless FEMS has approved the lack of a ramp.⁠¹
• Outdoor play. Many DC centers have no yard. The rule accepts an enclosed area on your premises, a nearby park or playground, or a rooftop play space that meets the chapter.⁠¹
• Shared buildings. Any area the children use must be reserved for the center during its hours, apart from public entryways and hallways.⁠¹

Changing capacity later requires an application to amend the license, with a $100 fee.⁠¹

Ratios and group sizes

Ratios apply at all times, including non-peak hours, nap time and transport.⁠¹ Every group needs at least two staff members at all times. For infants, toddlers and preschoolers, that means two Teachers, or a Teacher and an Assistant Teacher or aide.⁠¹

In mixed-age groups, the ratio for the youngest child applies. A child who cannot walk counts as under 2. Volunteers do not count toward ratio.⁠¹ You also need a written staffing plan and a written staffing policy that includes a mobile device policy.⁠¹

OSSE proposed on May 17, 2024 to loosen the 24-30 month ratio from 1:4 to 1:6.⁠⁷ The August 2025 final notice amends only the education sections (§§ 164-175), and OSSE’s regulations page lists only the 2017 chapter, so no official source shows the 1:6 ratio in force.⁠² Plan staffing on 1:4 and ask your licensing specialist whether the proposal has since been finalized.

Hiring a director and teaching staff under the 2025 education rules

OSSE changed the minimum education rules for center staff, first by emergency rule on December 20, 2023. It adopted them as final on May 7, 2025, effective on publication in the D.C. Register.⁠² The final rule replaced the vague “closely related field” with a named list of majors. The list covers child and family studies, child development, child studies, developmental psychology, early care and education, early childhood development, education, special education and studies, early learning and development, and human development. For directors, elementary education also counts.⁠²

Sources: ⁠²

One year of experience means 1,000 hours, averaging at least 20 hours a week. Separate periods can be added together.⁠¹ A Teacher on the CDA pathway who has stayed enrolled, or who had a documented hardship, can get up to 6 years from hire to finish the degree.⁠²

Long-serving staff can apply for a continuous service certification. It is open to directors who were directing a DC center on December 2, 2016 and had done so continuously since December 2, 2006. It is also open to teachers and assistant teachers employed on December 20, 2023 with 10 years of continuous service.⁠²

The director must be on site during peak hours, when most children are present. In the director’s absence, an authorized representative must be on site. That person must either meet the rest of § 164 or be a teacher with at least five years in the role.⁠² Directors also complete 12 hours a year of OSSE-approved training in program management.⁠¹

Background checks, training and CPR

Every staff member is cleared through OSSE before working. The checks are an FBI fingerprint check, a National Sex Offender Registry search, and registry searches in every state the person lived in during the past five years.⁠⁵ Renewal paperwork asks for checks run through Fieldprint.⁠³ You must also adopt a drug and alcohol testing policy covering pre-employment, reasonable-suspicion and post-accident tests.⁠⁵ An initial license can be denied if an owner, officer or planned employee is on a child protection registry.⁠¹

Training deadlines run from the date of hire:⁠¹

• Within 30 days. Health and safety basics: child abuse prevention and reporting, emergency planning, safe sleep and SIDS, shaken baby syndrome, and first aid and CPR.
• Within 90 days. Orientation on developmentally appropriate programming, infectious disease and immunization, medication, food allergies, premises safety, and poisons.
• Before working unsupervised. Safe sleep, abusive head trauma, first aid and CPR, poison prevention, and infection control.

After that, center staff complete at least 21 hours of professional development a year and register in OSSE’s professional development system.⁠¹

All staff need age-appropriate first aid and CPR certification. At least two certified staff must be on the premises at all times.⁠¹ If you prepare or serve food, OSSE’s orientation tells you to get a Food Protection Manager Certificate from DC Health.⁠⁵

The application packet and its expiry clocks

Several documents in the packet go stale quickly, so order them last. 5-A DCMR § 103.5 requires originals of:⁠¹

• the Certificate of Occupancy;
• a FEMS fire safety inspection certificate no more than 90 days old;
• a lead-based paint clearance from a DOEE-certified inspector or risk assessor, dated no more than 30 days before you apply;
• a Clean Hands certificate from the Office of Tax and Revenue, issued within 30 days of the application;
• proof of commercial general liability, umbrella “follow form,” sexual abuse and molestation, and vehicle liability insurance (vehicle cover if you transport children);
• a notarized building use agreement naming a contingency location if your site becomes unusable.

Instead of the building use agreement, you can agree to close in any emergency lasting more than 24 hours. To do that, attach a facility closure statement to the Safe Evacuation Site form.⁠⁵

OSSE’s orientation adds more items to the packet:⁠⁵

• your orientation completion certificate;
• an approved fire evacuation plan;
• a certificate of good standing if you are incorporated (valid 30 days);
• the applicant’s FBI and child protection registry results;
• credentials for staff already hired.

From orientation to license, step by step

1. Complete OSSE’s center orientation and quiz

   You must finish the orientation before applying. OSSE may stop processing an application that arrives first. Submit the certificate with your application.⁠¹⁠³

2. Secure the space

   Get the Certificate of Occupancy, or a DCPS contract and facility use agreement, then the FEMS fire inspection and the lead certification.⁠⁴

3. Get Clean Hands and insurance

   Note that the umbrella policy is required for centers only.⁠⁴

4. Submit the application with the $75 fee

   For questions, contact [email protected] or (202) 727-1839.⁠⁴ OSSE’s process page and June 2026 steps list do not say how the initial application is submitted. The 2022 orientation describes a paper packet delivered to 1050 First St. NE, with DELLT used for uploads after a specialist contacts you, so ask the Licensing and Compliance Unit whether an online submission is now accepted.⁠⁵

5. Upload your policies

   A licensing specialist contacts you within 10 business days and gives you access to the Division of Early Learning Licensing Tool (DELLT).⁠⁵ Upload your written program and policies, your drug and alcohol policy, the building use or safe evacuation form, and a five-day menu that follows the USDA meal pattern if you serve food.⁠⁵

6. Prepare for the initial inspection

   Buy materials, cribs and cots, and set up the classrooms. Build staff files with each person’s health certificate, credentials, OSSE suitability notice, drug test result, SIDS training and CPR card, plus a traffic record check for anyone who drives children.⁠⁵

7. Pass the initial inspection

   If OSSE finds problems, it issues a Statement of Deficiencies. You have up to 90 days to correct them, and then a follow-up inspection is held.⁠¹⁠⁵

8. Pass the validation visit

   The specialist and a program manager make a final visit before the license is issued.⁠³

OSSE can deny the application if it is still incomplete 90 days after you first submit it. It can also deny if you cannot fix deficiencies within its deadline (no more than 90 days) or reach full compliance within 180 days.⁠¹ The rules set no processing deadline for OSSE.

Fees, as published

Sources: ⁠¹

Fees cannot be refunded or transferred. They do not cover inspections by other agencies, such as the fire and lead inspections. OSSE must publish any new fee schedule at least 30 days before it takes effect.⁠¹

Inspections and renewal

OSSE inspects every licensed center at least twice a year: one announced visit and one unannounced. Inspectors may enter without notice.⁠¹

Renewal comes every three years. Apply at least 90 days before expiry; if you apply on time, your license stays in effect until OSSE decides.⁠¹ The renewal packet repeats the fire inspection, Clean Hands, insurance and background checks. It also needs a DC Health Certificate of Immunization Compliance showing that your enrolled children met the immunization target.⁠¹⁠³

Subsidy, Capital Quality and the Pay Equity Fund

Three OSSE programs affect how DC centers are paid and staffed:

• Child Care Subsidy Program. A center that signs a subsidy provider agreement must follow that agreement as well as the licensing chapter.⁠¹
• Capital Quality. Any licensed facility that accepts public funding must take part in Capital Quality, DC’s quality rating system.⁠¹ Participating programs get a yearly observation-based rating, which families can see on My Child Care DC.⁠⁹
• Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. Since FY24, OSSE has paid this fund to licensed facilities through a payroll formula. In return, a facility must pay eligible educators at least OSSE’s minimum salaries by role and highest credential. Joining is optional. The Council adjusted the minimum salaries in October 2024.⁠⁸ Because the salary floors depend on credentials, the 2025 education rules feed directly into your payroll if you join.

Changes adopted and pending

• Adopted: the education rules for directors, teachers and assistants, emergency effective December 20, 2023 and final in 2025, as described above.⁠²

• Proposed May 17, 2024:⁠⁷

  • a 1:6 ratio for 24-30 month olds;
  • a temporary license to cover approval delays or a temporary alternate site;
  • restricted licenses of up to 180 days instead of 30;
  • three new application documents: a fire and life safety evacuation plan, a Child Development Facility Legal Entity form and an IRS tax ID letter;
  • quarterly enrollment and vacancy reports and an annual tuition schedule;
  • codified lead-in-drinking-water filtering and annual testing.

  The August 2025 final notice does not adopt any of these items, and OSSE’s regulations page lists only the 2017 final chapter. Ask OSSE whether any have been finalized before relying on them.

Older OSSE documents name the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) for occupancy permits. DOB now publishes the center zoning and permitting guidance and handles the building permit and Certificate of Occupancy.⁠⁶

Sources

1. 1
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, 5-A DCMR Chapter 1, Child Development Facilities: Licensing (Notice of Final Rulemaking) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Notice of Final Rulemaking: Child Development Facilities Licensing, education requirements (August 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Licensing Process for Child Care Providers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Child Care Program Licensing Process: Steps for Getting Licensed in DC (updated June 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Licensing Orientation for New Child Development Centers (March 2022) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   DC Department of Buildings, Establishing a District of Columbia Child Development Center: Regulatory Zoning and Permitting Guidance (March 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Licensing of Child Development Facilities Proposed Regulations: Plain Language Summary of Changes (May 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Capital Quality (QRIS) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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