Kansas child care center license: opening a center under KOEC

KOEC, not KDHE, licenses centers since July 1, 2026

The 2025 Legislature moved child care licensing out of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and into the new Kansas Office of Early Childhood. The licensing law now sits at K.S.A. 75-7701 to 75-7728. From July 1, 2026, it is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to run a day care facility for children under 16 without a license or temporary permit from the KOEC director.⁠³⁠¹ A license or temporary permit that KDHE issued before the transfer stays in effect until it expires, unless it is suspended or revoked (K.S.A. 75-7725).⁠¹

The transfer has left some loose ends. KOEC’s September 2026 regulation book still uses the K.A.R. 28-4 regulations, and many of them still say “secretary” and “department”. KOEC’s book compiles both the statutes and the regulations, so use it as your working copy. The regulations require you to keep a copy of the current rules available to all staff.⁠¹

KOEC Child Care Licensing is at 915 SW Harrison St, Suite 320, Topeka, KS 66612, phone 785-296-1270. Day-to-day contact runs through the licensing surveyor assigned to your county.⁠²

Center, preschool, or something else

K.A.R. 28-4-420 defines a child care center as a facility that provides care and educational activities for children aged two weeks to 16 years for at least three hours a day. That covers daytime, evening and overnight care for 13 or more children. A center may stay open more than 24 hours straight, as long as no child is there 24 hours or more. You can also be licensed as a center with fewer than 13 children if your program and building meet the center rules.⁠¹

The same regulation book covers a second license, the preschool. A preschool serves children from 30 months old up to kindergarten eligibility. Its sessions last three hours or less, no child attends more than one session a day, and it serves no meal. Montessori schools, nursery schools, church preschools and cooperatives fall under this definition. A preschool serves a daily snack and needs no outdoor play space unless outdoor play is part of its program.⁠¹ You cannot hold two licenses on one site. K.A.R. 28-4-422(g) bars running more than one type of child care on the same premises.⁠¹

Some programs need no license at all:

• A pre-kindergarten run by an accredited non-public school on its own premises, during the school year and school hours, serving only children who turned 4 by August 31.⁠¹
• A program that runs less than five consecutive hours, no more than one day a week, with no child attending more than one session a day.⁠¹
• Summer instructional camps run by a not-for-profit, a school or a school’s employee, and parents teaching their own children (K.S.A. 75-7707).⁠³

School-age programs and youth development programs in schools and public recreation centers have their own regulations and building rules under K.S.A. 75-7724. A center may still serve school-age children in separate units.⁠¹ Care given in a residence is licensed as a family child care home under separate regulations. That license is covered in the Kansas family child care home guide.

Some terms in the rules have precise meanings. An infant is 2 weeks to 12 months old, or older but not yet walking. A toddler walks and is 12 to 30 months old. School-age means a child who is at least 6 by September 1, up to age 16.⁠¹

The fire occupancy decides which buildings work

Your application must include fire safety approval, with the occupancy classification, from the Kansas State Fire Marshal (K.A.R. 28-4-422(d)(4)).⁠¹ The State Fire Marshal sorts programs into two groups:⁠⁷

• Group E (education) occupancy, as a preschool: every child is 3 or older, sessions last three hours or less, each child attends one session a day, and the program serves no meals and has no napping.
• Group I-4 occupancy, as a child care center: you serve any child from 2 weeks to 3 years old, sessions run longer than three hours, or the program serves meals or has napping.

Any one of those features makes you I-4. The Fire Marshal says centers carry a greater fire and life safety burden than schools, especially with children under 30 months.⁠⁷ If you plan full-day care, infants, or naps, look for a building that can meet I-4 requirements before you sign a lease. The Fire Marshal’s prevention office takes child care questions at 785-296-3401 and [email protected].⁠²

The KOEC rules add their own building limits. Use these to rule out buildings early:⁠¹

• At least two exits approved by a fire inspector, with one leading directly outside.
• Second floors and finished basements need fire inspector approval and may only be used for children 2.5 or older. Infant and toddler programs must be on the ground floor (K.A.R. 28-4-440).
• Ceilings at least 7 feet 6 inches in every child care room.
• A building that is also a residence can be a center only if it has rooms used exclusively for child care.
• Mobile classroom units must be anchored and meet all the rules for permanent buildings.
• No floor furnaces where infants or toddlers are served. Open-faced heaters are banned, and a gas heater needs fire inspector approval.

K.S.A. 65-539 also requires that you meet the local jurisdiction’s requirements for fire protection, water supply and sewage disposal. The application needs local city or county code approval, plus sanitarian approval if the building is not on public water or sewer.⁠¹ KOEC tells applicants to check with the city or county building codes office, or any homeowners’ association, that a licensed facility is allowed at the address.⁠²

Site plan approval comes before construction

Before you start new construction or renovate an existing building, KOEC must approve a detailed building and site plan (K.A.R. 28-4-422(c)). The plan shows:⁠¹

• every entrance and exit
• each children’s room with its measurements
• the kitchen and laundry
• children’s bathrooms, with the count of toilets and hand sinks, and any other handwashing sinks
• the outdoor play area, with its measurements, its access from the building and where anchored equipment will go
• the style, height and location of fences

If you change the plan after approval, you must get the change approved before work begins. Later remodels that affect the license terms need a new site plan and new Fire Marshal approval.⁠¹

Space, toilets, water and the playground

Your license capacity is set by the children’s ages, your usable space and your number of self-contained units (K.A.R. 28-4-421).⁠¹

Source: ⁠¹

Under K.A.R. 28-4-437, climbing equipment and swings must be anchored with metal straps or pins, or set in cement. Equipment over four feet high needs impact-absorbent surfacing under and around it. Asphalt, concrete and bare hard-packed dirt are not allowed in any use zone. Trampolines are banned, swing seats cannot be wood or metal, and the play area needs a bathroom within reach.⁠¹ Your water must come from a source approved by the local health department or the state. If no public sewer is available, the septic system must meet local or state requirements.⁠¹

If you cook on site, the kitchen must be separate from eating, play and bathroom areas. Children cannot have access to it, and it cannot be used as a passageway during food preparation. Dishes must be washed in a three-compartment sink with a drainboard, a two-compartment sink plus a sanitizing basin, or a dishwasher with a sanitizing cycle. The other option is single-use plates and utensils. Food brought in from a central kitchen or vendor must come from a source licensed or inspected by the Kansas Department of Agriculture or the equivalent agency in another state.⁠¹ How much food you serve depends on how long children stay:⁠¹

Source: ⁠¹

Ratios and unit sizes

Kansas runs centers in self-contained units: groups with their own staff, in areas separated by walls or partitions. If your space can’t be divided into units, you must get your plan for using the space approved.⁠¹ The ratio and the maximum unit size apply at all times:⁠¹

Source: ⁠¹

Each infant unit can use only one of the two ratios at a time. A staff member may step out of a unit for up to five minutes without a substitute, as long as another staff member stays in the room. You may move a child to the next unit up within 30 days before or after the child reaches that unit’s minimum age.⁠¹ School-age units stay separate from younger children except before and after school, on school breaks and closures, and in the two weeks around the start and end of the school year. During those times, the ratio follows the youngest child in the group (K.A.R. 28-4-441).⁠¹

Volunteers must be at least 14 and count toward the ratio only from age 16.⁠¹ Under the 2025 law (K.S.A. 65-537), assistant teachers must be 16 or older, and KOEC cannot impose education requirements on them.⁠¹

Program director and lead teacher: requirements scale with capacity

Every center needs a full-time program director. Every unit needs a lead teacher present.⁠¹ What else you need depends on your licensed capacity:⁠¹

• Under 24 children: The director must be 18 or older with a high school diploma or equivalent, plus one of these: an associate degree or higher in early childhood, child development or a related field; a CDA credential; an early childhood technical certificate or diploma; three months of direct early childhood experience plus three semester hours of related coursework; or six months of direct early childhood experience.
• 24 or more children: The director needs stronger credentials. The options start at a related bachelor’s degree with three months of experience. They also include a CDA with one year of experience. The non-degree routes are six years of early childhood experience, or four years in a licensed facility.
• Under 60 children: The program director may also serve as a lead teacher.
• Over 60 children: The director can have no other duties that interfere with the job, and you need an administrator for general and fiscal management. The director may fill that role.
• Over 100 children: The director must meet the 24-plus qualifications and have one year of experience in early childhood program administration. You also need an assistant program director with director-level qualifications.
• Over 160 children: The assistant program director can have no other duties that interfere with the job.

Directors whose qualifications were approved before December 31, 2023 may be exempt from the education options above.⁠¹ Lead teachers must be 18 or older with a high school diploma or equivalent, plus one of these: an associate degree or higher in a related field; an early childhood technical certificate; a CDA; three semester hours plus three months of experience with the same age group; or six months of experience with the same age group (K.A.R. 28-4-429(e)).⁠¹

You must notify KOEC in writing before you change program directors.⁠¹

Training, health records and background checks

The licensing rules set these training deadlines (K.A.R. 28-4-428a):⁠¹

• Orientation: The applicant completes it before applying. Each new director, staff member and volunteer completes the facility’s own orientation within seven days of starting.
• Health and safety training: The program director and all staff and volunteers counted in the ratio complete it before starting or within 30 days. It must be KOEC-approved and covers 10 subject areas, including abuse recognition, safe sleep, allergies, emergency preparedness and medication administration.
• Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR: These people must also be certified within the same 30 days, with a hands-on skills check in front of a certified instructor. Each unit must have a certified person present at all times.
• Infant units: Each lead teacher completes four hours of infant-specific training within the same 30 days.
• Every licensure year: The program director completes 16 clock-hours of training, six of them in program administration or management. Each staff member counted in the ratio also completes 16 hours, with four infant-specific hours for anyone caring for infants.

Each person 16 or older who cares for children fills in a health status form every year. Staff and regular volunteers 16 or older also need a record of a negative TB test or x-ray obtained no more than two years before the start date, or within 30 days after it (K.A.R. 28-4-126).⁠¹

Background checks under K.A.R. 28-4-125 must be fingerprint-based for these people:⁠¹

• the applicant
• every center employee
• every volunteer counted in the ratio
• anyone else with unsupervised access to children

Checks must cover every state the person lived in during the past five years. Nobody may work or volunteer until the results clear them. Volunteers who are not counted in the ratio and don’t have unsupervised access get name-based checks through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Department for Children and Families. The fingerprint fee is $48 per person, nonrefundable (K.A.R. 28-4-95, as published on 2026-10-12).⁠¹ KOEC begins the checks once it has a complete application. It will tell you when fingerprint cards are required.⁠²

Paperwork the rules require before you open

These items must exist before the first child arrives:⁠¹

• Insurance: accident insurance on the children, and liability insurance that gives parents recourse for negligence. Proof of coverage, with insurer, policy numbers and dates, must be on file before care starts (K.A.R. 28-4-426(c)).
• A written line of authority naming the person in charge for every hour you operate.
• A non-discriminatory admission policy, available for review. Parents must be told if the program includes religious training.
• A written emergency plan, reviewed with parents. You must also run monthly fire drills and monthly tornado drills and keep the records for one year (K.A.R. 28-4-128).
• Written lesson plans for each unit and a posted daily schedule, covering the developmental areas listed in K.A.R. 28-4-427.
• Staff files and child files, as listed in K.A.R. 28-4-426.

Until KOEC issues a permit or license, you may not advertise “state approval”. Any advertising must match the services in your application (K.A.R. 28-4-422(m)).⁠¹

From orientation to a permanent license

1. Pick the license type

   Choose a center or a preschool and settle your age groups, since that choice sets your fire occupancy and your units.⁠²⁠⁷

2. Attend orientation

   Contact the licensing specialist for your county. KOEC says plainly not to apply until you have attended. The applicant must complete orientation before applying; a corporation or other entity designates an individual to attend.⁠²⁠¹

3. Confirm local approvals

   Confirm zoning or building code approval with the city or county. Get the building and site plan approved before any construction or renovation.⁠²⁠¹

4. Get fire and local sign-offs

   Get State Fire Marshal approval with your occupancy classification, plus local code approval and, if needed, sanitarian approval.⁠¹

5. Submit a complete application

   Apply online through a KOEC account or on paper. Include a statement of services (ages, number of units, expected capacity, specialized services, opening date and hours), the background check request, the site plan and the approvals. An individual applicant must be 18 or older. A corporation must be in good standing with the Kansas Secretary of State.⁠²⁠¹

6. Complete background checks

   Return fingerprint cards and forms promptly when KOEC asks for them.⁠²

7. Pass the initial survey

   In a commercial building, the surveyor inspects before any child is in care. A temporary permit may be issued after the survey. The law limits the temporary permit to 90 days, and KOEC may extend it once by 90 days if you are working toward full compliance.⁠²⁠⁴

8. Get the permanent license

   Unannounced compliance checks may follow the survey to confirm violations were fixed. KOEC issues the permanent license once you are in full compliance.⁠²

The license names the licensee, the premises and the maximum number of children. It must be posted where parents can see it. You need a new application, not an amendment, to reopen a closed center, change location or change ownership. Changing capacity, ages or the number of units requires an amended license, and the change isn’t in effect until KOEC issues it.⁠⁴⁠¹ If you already hold a Kansas child care license, KOEC will not license an additional facility until all of your existing ones are in compliance.⁠¹

If KOEC denies your license, it must issue an order stating its reasons and notify you within five days. On your application, a hearing must be held no more than 15 days after the order is issued.⁠⁴ You may ask for an exception to a regulation on a KOEC form. Since July 1, 2026, waivers of statutory requirements go to the deputy director of child care licensure and finance (K.S.A. 65-541).⁠¹

Fees, as published

As published on 2026-10-12:⁠⁵⁠¹

• License fee: none. K.S.A. 75-7710 says there is no annual fee for a license to conduct a day care facility. K.A.R. 28-4-92, amended September 4, 2026, lists fees only for maternity centers, child placement agencies and resource and referral agencies.
• Fingerprint background check: $48 per required person.
• Late renewal: K.S.A. 75-7710(c) still provides a late fee of $75 (or the renewal fee, if greater) when a license is renewed more than 30 days after it expires. The statute does not say how that applies when the annual fee is zero, and the regulation book sets no late-fee procedure. Ask your licensing specialist in writing whether a late fee applies to a center renewed after the 30-day window.
• Amended license: the statute allows a fee of up to $35, but the regulations set none.

Fire Marshal, building permit and local health charges are outside these rules. Ask each office for its schedule.

Inspections, renewal and penalties

KOEC must inspect every day care facility before licensing it and then once every 12 months. It also inspects whenever it receives a complaint, and it may inspect at any time a facility with repeated complaints or serious violations. KOEC inspectors must hold a state surveyor certification (K.S.A. 75-7715).⁠⁶ To renew, you file a renewal application before the annual renewal date, with updated background checks. If you fail to file it, KOEC may close the facility.⁠¹

KOEC may fine you up to $500 for each violation that significantly and adversely affects children’s health, safety or sanitation. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate violation (K.S.A. 75-7723).⁠¹ A licensee whose license is revoked or not renewed cannot reapply for one year. A licensee with three or more repeat violations, or who contributed to a child’s death or serious harm, is permanently barred from licensure and from working under another licensee.⁠⁴

Child Care Assistance payments

Kansas Child Care Assistance is funded by the federal Child Care and Development Fund. A licensed center enrolls by sending the licensed provider application (ES-1650) to its county’s specialist, or by applying through the Kansas Provider Access Portal. KOEC does not pay providers directly. Families pay you with their Kansas Benefits Card (EBT) plus their own money, and you set up deposits through the EBT contractor. Enrolled providers must record daily sign-in and sign-out times. They must also keep a 60-day grace-period policy for houseless families and families fostering children, and treat assistance families the same as private-pay families.⁠⁸ Under K.S.A. 65-544, state and federal child care funds cannot pay for unfilled slots. A child who is temporarily absent and plans to return is not counted as an unfilled slot.⁠¹

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• July 1, 2025: A 2025 law changed several center rules. It added the director and lead teacher criteria with a non-academic experience option and dropped education requirements for assistant teachers. It also put the 28 and 60 square-foot space minimums into statute, allowed waivers and pilot programs, and barred restrictions on 15-passenger vans bought on or before July 1, 2025 (K.S.A. 65-537 to 65-544).⁠¹
• July 1, 2026: KOEC took over licensing, under the new licensing law (K.S.A. 75-7701 to 75-7728).⁠¹
• September 4, 2026: KOEC amended many of the center regulations, including the application rules, physical plant, staff qualifications, outdoor area and infant rules, and removed child care license fees from K.A.R. 28-4-92.⁠¹

Pilot programs can waive licensing rules, including staffing requirements, for up to five licensure years if KOEC concludes children are not endangered (K.S.A. 65-542).⁠¹ KOEC can still replace the transferred KDHE regulations with its own. Check the regulation book’s date before you rely on a figure.

Sources

1. 1
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Kansas Laws and Regulations for Licensing Child Care Centers and Preschools (September 2026), including K.A.R. 28-4-92 to 28-4-133 and 28-4-420 to 28-4-441 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, How to Open a Licensed Child Care Facility Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 75-7707, child care license or temporary permit required; exemptions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 75-7709, licenses; inspections; temporary permits; denial or revocation Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 75-7710, license fees Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 75-7715, inspections; surveyor certification Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, Childcare Centers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Child Care Assistance Enrolled Providers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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