Kentucky certified family child-care home: getting your certificate of operation

A certificate, not a license, but you cannot skip it

Kentucky does not license family child-care homes. It certifies them, and the paper you receive is called a certificate of operation.⁠¹ The word matters less than the trigger: under KRS 199.8982, a provider caring for four to six children unrelated to the provider “shall apply for certification.” A provider with three or fewer unrelated children may apply voluntarily.⁠¹ The program is run by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS); applications go to the Office of Inspector General’s Division of Regulated Child Care (DRCC).⁠³⁠⁴

The statute defines a family child-care home as a private home that is the primary residence of the provider, caring for six or fewer children “who are not the children, siblings, stepchildren, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children in legal custody of the provider.”⁠⁵ The rule defines “home” as the provider’s private primary residence and contiguous property.⁠² The application asks you to confirm the address is your primary residence and to explain if it is not.⁠⁴

Voluntary certification at three or fewer children is worth weighing: the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) pays only providers that are licensed, certified, or registered as relative providers, so an uncertified home cannot take subsidized children.⁠⁸

How Kentucky counts children

Two numbers apply at once, and both come from 922 KAR 2:100 Section 10.⁠²

• Unrelated children: no more than 6 at any one time, and never more than the number printed on your certificate.
• Total: you may add up to 4 related children, for a maximum of 10.

CHFS treats a child as related if the child is your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, sibling, stepchild, or a child in your legal custody.⁠³ Your own children are outside the unrelated cap, but they still count for staffing. You must have an assistant present whenever you care for more than four infants (under 12 months) or more than six children under age six, in both cases counting your own or related children.⁠²

Running shifts does not get around the cap. If CCAP billing shows a certified home operating over capacity through two or more shifts, the cabinet requests an operating plan listing each employee on each shift.⁠⁸

A Type II center is still in your primary residence, but it is a full license under the child-care center rules, with a $50 initial fee and a $25 annual renewal, and its own director qualifications.⁠⁶ See the Kentucky child-care center license guide if you expect to outgrow six unrelated children.

Homes certified by the U.S. Department of Defense on a military installation are exempt from KRS 199.8982. From July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, a pilot also exempts off-base homes that hold a DOD certificate, passed DOD background screening, and serve only children eligible under DOD Instruction 6060.02; the military oversight office registers those homes with CHFS instead.⁠¹

Who can be certified

The statute and rule set personal qualifications before anything about the house.

• Age and identity: at least 18, shown by photo ID or birth certificate.⁠²
• Education: a high school diploma, GED, or comparable documentation, or a Commonwealth Child Care Credential under 922 KAR 2:250.⁠²
• CPR and first aid: current infant, child, and adult CPR and first aid from an agency approved under 922 KAR 2:240.⁠²
• Health: a physician’s statement that your health is satisfactory and that you are free of active tuberculosis. The statute also accepts a statement from an advanced practice registered nurse on general health, and requires a TB risk assessment, with skin test or chest X-ray follow-up if you are at risk, within 30 days of applying.⁠¹⁠²
• References: two written character references.⁠¹⁠⁴
• No abuse or neglect findings: you cannot have been found by the cabinet or a court to have abused or neglected a child.⁠¹
• No outside job during care hours: the rule bars you from being employed outside the home during regular hours of operation, and the application asks about any other paid or unpaid commitments.⁠²⁠⁴

A prior history with child care regulators has a long tail. If a past registration, certification, or license was denied, revoked, or relinquished during an investigation, you must wait seven years, complete 60 hours of cabinet-approved training in developmentally appropriate practice, and then serve a two-year probation with inspections at least quarterly.⁠² An application is also denied if you have been disqualified from CCAP or another public assistance program for fraud, abuse, or a related conviction.⁠²

Everyone else in the house

Kentucky screens the household, not only the provider. Every adult who lives in the home, is present during operating hours, or has unsupervised contact with children, plus any assistant, must complete background checks under 922 KAR 2:280 and submit a negative TB result or a health professional’s statement of freedom from active TB.⁠² An adult who moves in after you apply has 30 calendar days to complete both.⁠²

The background check runs through the Kentucky National Background Check Program (NBCP): a state and national fingerprint check by the Kentucky State Police and FBI with rap back, plus registry checks including the child abuse and neglect central registry and the sex offender registry.⁠⁷ You pay by credit or debit card; the NBCP processing fee may not exceed $30 on top of the KSP and FBI charges, and the cabinet absorbs fees “to the extent funds are available.”⁠⁷ After paying, each person has 30 calendar days to be fingerprinted at an authorized site.⁠⁷ The rule sets only that $30 ceiling and does not publish the KSP and FBI charges, so ask DRCC or your Family Child Care Network specialist what each person will pay, and whether the cabinet is covering it, before you schedule fingerprinting.

If you, an assistant, or a household member is named as the alleged perpetrator in an accepted abuse or neglect report, that person must be removed from direct contact with children for the length of the investigation and any appeal.⁠²

Zoning, rentals and insurance before you file

Three documents trip up Kentucky applicants because they come from outside DRCC.

Zoning letter. The rule requires “written documentation from the local authority showing the child-care home is in compliance with local zoning requirements.”⁠² KRS 199.8982(4) frames what your city or county may do. Local governments cannot adopt their own licensure, certification, or training requirements aimed at family child-care homes, but their general ordinances still apply.⁠¹ Where a local government has zoning under KRS Chapter 100, it must name family child-care homes in its zoning text so the board of adjustments can consider them for a conditional use permit in residential zones where they are not a permitted use.⁠¹ In practice, ask your planning office whether a home day care is permitted by right or needs a conditional use permit before you start the 90-day application clock.

Landlord sign-off. If you rent, the OIG-DRCC-03 application requires your landlord’s printed name and signature confirming permission to operate. It also asks whether the property is Section 8 housing and whether it is a house, apartment, duplex, condo, or modular or mobile home.⁠⁴

Insurance. You must carry commercial liability insurance of at least $50,000 per occurrence; the rule says “commercial,” so confirm the policy type with your insurer before you apply.⁠²

The application, step by step

1. Talk to a Family Child Care Network specialist (optional)

   CHFS points applicants to the Family Child Care Network, which has specialists statewide; call (800) 621-5908. A meeting is “not required but highly recommended.”⁠³

2. Assemble the packet within 90 days

   The rule gives you 90 days from initiating the application to submit everything: the OIG-DRCC-03, the $10 fee, the zoning letter, proof of age, the statutory documents (references, health statement, TB results), and completed background checks.⁠² The packet checklist also lists your diploma or GED and NBCP findings for assistants and substitutes.⁠⁴

3. Pay and mail

   The $10 fee must be a certified check, business check, or money order payable to “Kentucky State Treasurer.” Mail the original application with copies of supporting documents to Office of Inspector General, Division of Regulated Child Care, 275 E. Main Street, 5 E-F, Frankfort, KY 40621, and keep the originals in your on-site records.⁠⁴

4. Complete orientation

   Within three months of submitting a complete application, you must finish six hours of cabinet-approved pre-service orientation (described in the next section) and write a training plan for the coming years.⁠²

5. Unannounced inspection

   Once the application is complete, DRCC staff review it and inspect the home without notice, including your written evacuation plan.⁠² The statute makes the inspection unannounced by law.⁠¹

6. Certificate issued

   If you meet 922 KAR 2:280 and Sections 2 and 10 through 20 of 922 KAR 2:100, you are certified.⁠² The certificate shows your name, address, maximum number of unrelated children, ID number, and effective and expiration dates, and you must post it prominently.⁠²

The certificate is not transferable.⁠¹ It is valid only for the named individual and the printed address. Moving requires 10 calendar days’ notice, a new OIG-DRCC-03, and an inspection of the new home.⁠²

Training: six hours up front, then nine a year

The pre-service orientation must cover the federal health and safety topics in 45 C.F.R. 98.41 (infectious disease and immunization, safe sleep and SIDS prevention, medication administration, food and allergic reactions, premises safety, abusive head trauma and maltreatment, emergency preparedness, hazardous materials, and transporting children), plus recognizing and reporting child abuse and developmentally appropriate practice.⁠² CHFS lists approved courses on the Early Care and Education Training Records Information System (ECE-TRIS).⁠³

After that, the rule has you write and carry out a plan for:⁠²

• 3 hours of approved training in your first year, including 1.5 hours on pediatric abusive head trauma; then
• 9 hours of approved training every July 1 to June 30 year, with the 1.5-hour abusive head trauma course repeated once every five years.

Assistants and substitutes must complete the same orientation within the same time frames, and CHFS says every required provider training also applies to them.⁠²⁠³ Training compliance is verified through the cabinet’s database, and online courses, including orientation, cannot be repeated for credit within five years unless a state agency orders it.⁠²

The statute as amended effective July 15, 2026 adds one hour of continuing education every three years on pediatric ingestion or inhalation of controlled substances, counted within the required hours.⁠¹ The 922 KAR 2:100 text in force on 2026-10-12 (effective March 14, 2024) does not yet mention it, and the Cabinet’s certification page lists only the 9-hour and abusive-head-trauma requirements.⁠²⁠³ The statute says the hour counts toward the required hours, not on top of them, so it should not raise the 9-hour total; ask DRCC which approved course satisfies it and when the first one is due.

What the inspector checks in the house

Sections 12 through 19 of 922 KAR 2:100 are the inspection standard. The items most likely to need work before the visit:⁠²

• Every floor used for care: an unblocked exit to the outside, a smoke detector (including the kitchen and children’s sleeping areas), a maintained fire extinguisher (including the kitchen), and a carbon monoxide detector if the home has fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage.
• Space: at least 35 square feet of indoor space per child, not counting bathrooms and storage.
• Phones: a working phone on each level in use, with police, fire, EMS, and poison control numbers posted or saved in each phone.
• Firearms: stored away from children, with guns and ammunition in separate locked containers that need a key or combination.
• Stairs and heat: railed stairs; indoor stairs of more than two steps blocked when infants or toddlers are present; heaters, floor furnaces, and fireplaces out of reach or guarded; unused outlets covered.
• Water and pests: potable water “from an approved public water supply,” screened windows and doors, and covered waterproof garbage containers. The rule says nothing about private wells or other non-public sources, so if your home is not on public water, ask DRCC before you apply what it will accept as proof of an approved supply.
• Outdoors: anchored play equipment, barriers against traffic and gullies, and no trampoline access. A pool must be filtered or emptied daily and inaccessible when not in use; above-ground pools need a wall at least 4 feet high; swimming requires one adult per infant or toddler.
• Sleep: individual non-tiered cribs meeting CPSC standards with no loose bedding for infants, who sleep on their backs unless a health professional signs a waiver; playpens must be commercial-grade and never used for sleep.

Operating rules that inspectors also review include no alcohol consumed on the premises during hours of operation (and any alcohol kept out of children’s reach and sight), no smoking or vaping around children, no corporal physical discipline, screen time capped at two hours a day, and a daily planned program of developmentally appropriate activities.⁠² For overnight care, you or your assistant must stay awake until every child is asleep and sleep on the same floor as any infant or toddler. If you run 24 consecutive hours, you must take an eight-hour respite after 16 straight hours and employ an assistant to cover it.⁠² The application’s assistant section is mandatory for homes operating more than 16 hours a day.⁠⁴

If you transport children, the driver must be at least 21, background-checked, have an annual driving record check, and hold a license not suspended or revoked in the last five years. Children under 13 ride in the back seat in an appropriate restraint.⁠²

Paperwork the rule makes you keep

Before the first family enrolls, have these in writing:⁠²

• A parent information sheet stating your rate, payment frequency, hours, and policies on late fees, holidays, vacation, illness, and emergency pickup.
• A written child care agreement with each parent, naming who may pick the child up.
• An evacuation plan for fire, natural disaster, and other threats. The cabinet must post a free, optional online template.
• A reunification plan covering infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, and children with chronic conditions.
• A record for each child, signed by the parent and on file the first day, with emergency contacts, allergy care plans, and consent for emergency treatment; an immunization certificate within 30 days of enrollment.

Ongoing duties include daily arrival and departure records, a fire drill every month, and earthquake, tornado, shelter-in-place, and lockdown drills every quarter, all documented.⁠² You must hold at least one parent or family activity a year, give parents a copy of the standards and the cabinet’s complaint contact, and post children’s and parents’ rights.⁠² Keep all records for five years.⁠²

Most incidents must be reported to the cabinet within 24 hours, including communicable diseases (also to the local health department), injuries needing medical care, fires and vehicle accidents, and accepted abuse reports naming you or your household. A child’s death must be reported within one hour.⁠²

Inspections, violations and renewal

DRCC conducts an unannounced inspection every year.⁠² If it cites a violation, you get a written statement of deficiency and have 15 calendar days to submit a corrective action plan. Anything posing an immediate threat must be fixed within five working days.⁠² The cabinet will review no more than three plans for the same deficiency, and being placed on a directed plan of correction more than twice in three years is grounds for denial.⁠² Denials, suspensions, and revocations can be appealed to an administrative hearing under KRS Chapter 13B.⁠¹⁠²

A certificate expires two years after issuance. Submit the OIG-DRCC-04 renewal form, the $10 fee, a new physician’s statement, and proof of continued compliance one month before expiration; the cabinet inspects unannounced and approves within 15 calendar days if you meet the rule.⁠² Miss the deadline and the certificate lapses, with no right of appeal.⁠²

Getting paid: CCAP, All STARS and the food program

Child Care Assistance Program. Certified homes can serve CCAP families. You must sign the DCC-94 for each enrolled child before payment, bill absences on the DCC-97, and keep the DCC-94E daily attendance record (or an approved electronic system) signed by the parent at every drop-off and pickup.⁠⁸ CCAP will not pay a provider to care for the children of a family that runs its own child care business in its home.⁠⁸ Funds permitting, a household with an adult employed in a certified family child-care home has its income excluded from CCAP eligibility.⁠⁸

Kentucky All STARS. A certified home receiving public funds must join the All STARS quality rating system at certification, at Level 1 or higher. Homes without public funds are enrolled unless they file the DCC-433 opt-out.⁠⁹ Under 922 KAR 2:270 as effective June 17, 2025, a certified home earns a one-time initial achievement award of $250, $750, $1,500, or $2,500 for reaching Levels 2 through 5, and an annual quality award of $150, $450, $900, or $1,500 for keeping them. Homes at Levels 3 through 5 also qualify for a subsidy enrollment award, paid annually, of $20, $30, or $40 per month for each average CCAP child under 3 at Levels 3, 4, and 5 ($18, $28, or $38 for children 3 and over). The cabinet pays these awards to the extent funds are available.⁠⁹

Child and Adult Care Food Program. CACFP reimburses meals and snacks in approved family child care homes. The state application asks whether you have applied for the food program.⁠³⁠⁴ For a home that participates in CACFP and meets the federal meal pattern in 7 C.F.R. 226.20, only a few of the rule’s food provisions still apply.⁠²

Related Kentucky licenses

If you plan to grow past six unrelated children, the next step is a Type II center, covered in the Kentucky child-care center license guide.⁠⁶ Other Kentucky care businesses are licensed separately: the family care home license for up to three adult residents, and the assisted living community license. Adult day, non-medical home care, and home health businesses have their own pages under adult day, non-medical home care, and home health.

Sources

1. 1
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 199.8982, Family child-care home certification program (effective July 15, 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, 922 KAR 2:100, Certification of family child-care homes (effective March 14, 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Division of Child Care, Certified Family Child Care Home Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Inspector General, OIG-DRCC-03, Initial Certification Application for Family Child-Care Home (R. 11/2023) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, KRS 199.894, Definitions for KRS 199.892 to 199.896 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, 922 KAR 2:090, Child-care center licensure Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, 922 KAR 2:280, Background checks for child care staff members, reporting requirements, and appeals (effective March 11, 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, 922 KAR 2:160, Child Care Assistance Program (effective November 18, 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, 922 KAR 2:270, Kentucky All STARS quality-based graduated early childhood rating system (effective June 17, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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