Licensing a family child care home in Kansas under the Office of Early Childhood

Who needs a license, and the 35-hour exemption

Kansas law makes it unlawful to run a day care facility for children under 16 without a license or temporary permit from the Kansas Office of Early Childhood (KOEC).⁠² The family child care home is the home-based license. The regulations treat “family child care home,” “day care home” and “group day care home” as one definition: premises where care is given to a maximum of 12 children under 16.⁠¹ Kansas has no lighter registration tier. If you fall inside the definition, you get the full license.

The exemption is narrow. You do not need a license if you care for fewer than 35 hours a week, for four or fewer children who are not related to you by blood, marriage or legal adoption, with no more than two of them infants. Care in the child’s own home, and irregular care arranged between friends and neighbors, is also exempt.⁠¹ The legislature ordered this exemption in K.S.A. 65-538(b) in 2025.⁠¹ In Kansas an “infant” is a child from two weeks to 12 months old, or an older child who has not yet learned to walk.⁠¹ That means a 14-month-old who is not walking yet counts toward the two-infant limit.

All three limits apply together. Five unrelated children for 20 hours a week needs a license. So do three children for 40 hours a week, or three infants for any number of hours.

If you plan for 13 or more children, or want a classroom program with a director and teachers, look at the Kansas child care center license. A licensee may hold only one type of child care license on the same premises, so you cannot run a home and a center from one address.⁠¹ Kansas day care facilities may not care for adults except as the regulations allow.⁠¹

A home license that no longer has to be your home

Two 2025 changes make the Kansas license unusual. First, under K.S.A. 65-540, the state cannot make living in the child care home a condition of licensure.⁠¹ Second, KOEC’s application form CCL 201 “includes commercial settings,” and a separate checklist (CCL 201b) covers homes in non-residential buildings.⁠⁶

The capacity and staffing rules are the same either way. The approvals are not:

Fire safety rules for non-residential buildings are different from those for homes.⁠⁷ The State Fire Marshal says that if you hold a home daycare license but operate out of a church, it will treat you as a child care center or preschool, with that approval process and a yearly inspection.⁠¹⁰

How many children: the group-size tables

Kansas does not use a single number. K.A.R. 28-4-114(e) sets maximum group sizes by the age mix and the number of providers present.⁠¹ The license states your capacity, and you may not keep more children on the premises than it allows.⁠¹

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

With one provider and no children under 2.5, Table II allows 10 children aged 2.5 to under 10, 11 if all are 3 or older, and 12 if all are 5 or older.⁠¹

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

A second provider must be present whenever the count goes above the one-provider limit in Table I.⁠¹ With two providers and all children aged 2.5 to under 10, the maximum is 12.⁠¹

Counting rules that catch new providers:

• Your own children. Children under 10 who are related to you, or to any other provider, count toward both capacity and the age-category limits.⁠¹
• Older children. Unrelated children aged 10 to 15 who are there for care count toward the group once care for that age group adds up to more than five hours a week.⁠¹
• Developmental age. A child who does not function at age-appropriate levels counts in the age group that matches their developmental level.⁠¹
• Absent under-5s. For each child under five who is not in attendance, you may add one child aged five or older, up to the maximum group size.⁠¹
• Permitted extras. Up to two additional part-day preschool or kindergarten children (2.5 or older) may be present from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the noon meal on school days. Up to two additional children aged 5 to under 10 may be present between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. before and after school, on school holidays and closures, during breaks of up to two weeks, and in the two weeks before and after the school year.⁠¹

Who can be the licensee and the providers

An individual applicant or licensee must be at least 18. They cannot spend more than 18 hours in any 24-hour period on child care, or child care combined with other employment, and cannot have business or social activities that interfere with supervision.⁠¹ The CCL 201a instructions say each individual applicant must be a high school graduate or hold a GED, and KOEC’s application steps ask whether you are 18 with a high school degree or equivalent.⁠⁷⁠⁴ That requirement does not appear in the text of K.A.R. 28-4-114(b) as amended September 4, 2026, so ask your local licensing specialist how KOEC applies it to you.

A corporation, LLC or LLP can hold the license. It submits its Federal Employer Identification Number and its Kansas Secretary of State Business Entity Identification Number. If it is located in a church, school or another building it does not own, it also needs a signed authorization from the property owner.⁠⁷ A non-individual licensee must name one individual to meet the orientation and training rules.⁠¹

The “primary care provider” (you, or your designee) must be at least 18.⁠¹ You must arrange a substitute for absences. A substitute covering a temporary absence (up to three hours in a day) must be at least 16. For an extended absence (more than three hours) the substitute must be at least 18. Either way, the substitute must meet the full training rule.⁠¹

If you already hold a license, KOEC will not grant one for an additional facility until all your existing facilities comply with the regulations. Each facility must be run as a separate entity.⁠¹

Training before and right after you apply

K.A.R. 28-4-114a sets the order:⁠¹

1. Orientation, before you apply

   The orientation is given by the licensing designee for your county. KOEC says the local licensing surveyor runs it, and tells applicants not to apply until they have attended.⁠¹⁠⁴ It covers licensing regulations, emergency procedures, discipline, daily schedules, outdoor play, safe sleep and hazardous materials, confidentiality, and the required training topics.⁠⁴

2. Health and safety training, within 30 calendar days of applying

   This must be a course approved by the state. It covers child abuse recognition and reporting (including shaken baby syndrome), child development, safe sleep and SIDS, illness and immunizations, food allergies, building and premises hazards, emergency preparedness, hazardous materials and bodily fluids, transporting children, and medication administration.⁠¹

3. Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR, within 30 calendar days of applying

   Both must include a practical component demonstrated in front of an instructor certified by a nationally recognized organization. At least one provider with both current certifications must be present at all times.⁠¹

Every other provider must finish the health and safety course and the certifications before starting work, or within 30 days of starting, and before being left alone with children. Each must also get a facility orientation from you first.⁠¹ Keep every training record in the individual’s file at the home.⁠¹

The application, in order

KOEC’s five steps are choosing the license type, orientation, application, background checks and the onsite survey.⁠⁴ In practice:

1. Check local rules

   Before you apply, ask your HOA and city or county codes office whether a licensed facility is allowed at the address.⁠⁴

2. Attend orientation

   Contact the local licensing specialist for your county to schedule it.⁠⁴

3. File CCL 201 at least 90 days before opening

   Applications are processed in the order received, and incomplete applications are returned.⁠⁷ You can submit online after creating an account, or on paper.⁠⁴ The family child care home packet also includes the background check form (CCL 002), an affiliate-roles guide (CCL 002a), the fingerprint waiver (CCL 601) and a schedule of enrollment (CCL 205).⁠⁶

4. Background checks

   KOEC processes everyone listed on the background check form, and emails you when fingerprints are needed.⁠⁴⁠⁷ See the next section.

5. Fire inspection

   For a residence, the State Fire Marshal or local fire officials contact you after the application arrives.⁠⁷⁠⁹

6. Temporary permit and first survey

   A home in a residence whose background checks are all processed may get a temporary permit and start care. The surveyor then schedules the initial survey.⁠⁴ A temporary permit lasts up to 90 days. It can be extended another 90 days if you are not yet in full compliance but are working toward it.⁠¹ Unannounced compliance checks may follow to confirm violations are fixed. The permanent license is issued at full compliance.⁠⁴

You may not care for children before you receive a temporary permit or license.⁠⁷ If KOEC denies a license, it must issue an order with its reasons and notify you within five days. You can request a hearing under the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act within 15 days.⁠¹

Background checks and the $48 fingerprint fee

K.A.R. 28-4-125 divides household members and staff into two groups:⁠¹

• Fingerprint-based checks: the applicant or licensee, every provider, every resident aged 18 or older, and anyone else regularly in the home who has unsupervised access to children.
• Name-based checks by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Department for Children and Families: every resident aged 10 or older, and volunteers and others without unsupervised access.

The information must cover every state of residence in the previous five years. Nobody may work, regularly volunteer or live in the home until their results come back clear.⁠¹ Each required fingerprint check costs a nonrefundable $48.⁠¹⁠⁷ KOEC notes that some fingerprinting locations charge their own small fee. It also offers free fingerprinting at events around the state.⁠⁸ Bent or folded fingerprint cards are rejected.⁠⁸

Plan for teenagers and adult children who live with you. A 10-year-old in the household needs a name-based check. An 18-year-old needs fingerprints. Everyone aged 16 or older who lives, works or regularly volunteers in the home also needs a negative tuberculosis test or chest x-ray. It must be dated no more than two years before the application, or obtained within 30 days after it. Each caregiver aged 16 or older also files a health status form every year.⁠¹

Making the house meet K.A.R. 28-4-115

The surveyor checks the physical rules in K.A.R. 28-4-115. The most specific ones are:⁠¹

• Space: 25 square feet of available play space per child.
• Fire equipment: a 2A 10B:C fire extinguisher, a working smoke detector on each level, and a readily available second means of escape from the first floor.
• Floors: a basement or second floor used for care must be approved by a fire inspector before use. A third floor may never be used.
• Climate and fixtures: play areas kept between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, at least one working bathroom with a sink and flush toilet, and individual or disposable towels.
• Child-proofing: outlets covered, no accessible window-blind cords, railings on stairways with more than two steps, and freestanding heaters behind a barrier. With children under 2.5, stairways need balusters no more than four inches apart, plus gates or doors that an adult can open readily. Accordion gates are banned, and pressure gates may not be used at the top of stairs.
• Weapons: stored in a locked room, closet, container or cabinet, with ammunition locked separately.
• Water: if you use a private well or other nonpublic source, have it tested every year by a certified laboratory. If you enroll infants, use bottled water until a test shows nitrates at or below 10 mg/l.
• Outdoors: any home licensed on or after March 1, 2012 must have an outdoor play area on the premises. It must be fenced if it adjoins another child care facility or is near hazards such as ponds, ditches or railroad tracks. Equipment over four feet tall needs impact-absorbing surfacing. Trampolines must be inaccessible during care hours.
• Mobile homes: these are allowed if they are skirted and anchored.

Smoking is banned inside the home whenever unrelated children are in care. The license itself carries a bold-print statement of that ban.⁠¹

A licensed home daycare must be inspected once during its lifetime, by the State Fire Marshal, your local fire department or another local jurisdiction. A new inspection is required if you move to a different home.⁠⁹ There is no charge for the State Fire Marshal’s inspection, but some local jurisdictions charge.⁠¹⁰ The State Fire Marshal does not re-inspect homes each year, but many local fire departments require an annual inspection.⁠⁹ Either way, you must complete and sign the State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Life Safety Agreement, a self-inspection checklist, every year, and keep your original inspection report.⁠¹⁰ On door locks, the State Fire Marshal accepts locks on outside doors during care hours if they open in one motion without a key. They may be mounted out of children’s reach but no higher than 60 inches.⁠¹⁰

Plans and records the surveyor will ask for

Kansas requires several written documents before and during operation:⁠¹

• A supervision plan covering every age you serve. It must show where children play, eat and sleep, how you will supervise them, and any evening (6 p.m. to 1 a.m.) or overnight (1 a.m. to 6 a.m.) care. If you offer overnight care, at least one provider must stay awake at all times.
• An emergency plan for fire, severe weather, a missing child and other likely events. It must name a shelter-in-place area and an off-site relocation site. Review it with parents, and practice the procedures with staff at least once a year.
• Monthly fire drills and monthly tornado drills, with the dates and evacuation times kept for one year.
• Child files. Each child under 10 enrolled, and each child under 16 living in the home, needs a medical record with a health assessment and an immunization record, both obtained within 60 days of enrollment.

Infants must sleep on their backs, in a crib or playpen with no soft items. No crib bought before June 28, 2011 may be used.⁠¹ If you transport children, each driver must be at least 18 and licensed. The vehicle must carry at least $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident and $50,000 property-damage coverage.⁠¹

Fees, as published on 2026-10-12

KOEC contracts with local health departments or private contractors for local licensing services, and they may charge their own fee. Ask your local licensing specialist for the amount and pay it directly to them.⁠⁷ KOEC’s forms page says background check and fingerprinting fees “have been reinstated” for initial and renewal applicants.⁠⁵

After you open: inspections, renewal and annual training

KOEC must inspect every day care facility once every 12 months, and whenever it receives a complaint.⁠¹ The licensure year runs from the license’s effective date to its expiration date. Renew on form CCL 202.⁠¹⁠⁶ Background check information must be submitted again with each renewal.⁠¹ If you do not file renewal forms, the facility may be closed.⁠¹

Each provider must complete 10 clock-hours of professional development every licensure year. Four hours must be in the health and safety or first aid and CPR topics, four are your choice, and proof of four hours is sent to the state. If one provider ever cares for four infants at the same time during the year, that provider must also complete three hours of infant-specific training.⁠¹

Enforcement can be expensive. KOEC may assess a civil fine of up to $500 for each violation that significantly affects children’s health, safety or sanitation. A continuing violation counts as a new violation every day.⁠¹ Operating without a license is a misdemeanor with a fine of $5 to $50, and each day is a separate offense.⁠¹ If your license is revoked or not renewed, you cannot reapply for one year. The bar is permanent for repeat violators (three or more times) and for anyone found to have contributed to a child’s death or serious harm.⁠¹

If a rule does not fit your situation, you can request a time-limited waiver of a statute under K.S.A. 65-541. You can also request an exception to a regulation on form CCL 031. KOEC grants exceptions case by case, and the written approval must be posted with your license.⁠¹⁠⁶ KOEC also has a separate exception process for licensees who want to provide foster care (CCL 039).⁠⁶

Child Care Assistance

Kansas’s child care subsidy program is now listed under KOEC. Licensed providers apply to accept subsidized families through the Kansas Provider Access Portal. Unregulated and relative providers still get paper applications from their local DCF office.⁠¹¹ The DCF Child Care Provider Handbook and the rate chart are posted on the same KOEC page.⁠¹¹

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• New agency. Child care licensing moved from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to the new Kansas Office of Early Childhood on July 1, 2026. The licensing statutes now sit at K.S.A. 75-7701 to 75-7728.⁠¹⁠² Licenses and temporary permits issued before the move stay in effect until they expire.⁠¹ Some forms, including CCL 201a (revised June 2025), still carry KDHE’s name and email address.⁠⁷
• No license fees. Application fees ended on July 1, 2025, and the statute now prohibits an annual license fee for any day care facility.⁠⁷⁠³
• Residence not required, and a new exemption. The 2025 act (L. 2025, ch. 118) removed the residency condition. It also wrote the 35-hour, four-child exemption into law, and set the annual training at up to 10 hours, with infant-specific hours for single providers caring for four infants.⁠¹
• Regulations re-amended. K.A.R. 28-4-113, 28-4-114, 28-4-114a and 28-4-126 were amended effective September 4, 2026. KOEC republished the full set as the September 2026 regulation book.⁠¹

Sources

1. 1
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Kansas Laws and Regulations for Licensing Family Child Care Homes (September 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   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 ↑
3. 3
   Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 75-7710, License fees; day care facilities Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, How to Open a Licensed Child Care Facility Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Forms and Applications Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Family Child Care Homes (forms and applications) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood (form issued by KDHE), CCL 201a, Instructions for Completing the Application for a New Family Child Care Home (rev. 06/2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Background Check Information Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, Home Daycares Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, Home Daycares FAQs Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Child Care Assistance Program, Provider Resources Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

Was this information accurate? Report an errorPrint or save as PDF