Maryland family child care home: getting your certificate of registration

A registration that works like a license

Maryland’s statute frames family child care as a “system of registration” meant to “minimize the regulatory rigidity often associated with licensing” ⁠²⁹. Don’t read that as a light touch. You cannot operate a family child care home or a large family child care home until it is registered ⁠⁴, and MSDE’s Office of Child Care (OCC) tells applicants plainly that the certificate of registration “is a form of license” ⁠¹. Operating without one is a misdemeanor. The fine is up to $1,500 for a first conviction and up to $2,500 after that ⁠⁶. Separately, OCC staff can issue civil citations for running or advertising an unregistered home: $250, then $500, then $1,000 for each later violation ⁠⁷.

The law defines family child care as paid care, in your residence, for a child under 13 (or a person with a developmental disability under 21), for less than 24 hours a day ⁠². Maryland has two tiers under this subtitle:

This guide covers the 8-child home in detail and summarizes the large home at the end. Care outside a residence is a child care center license (a separate license from OCC). One residence cannot hold a family child care registration and also run a center-type or large-home program, apart from homes approved for both before July 1, 2008 ⁠⁸.

Who must register, and who is exempt

COMAR lists only three situations where you do not need a registration ⁠⁸:

• You are a relative of each child in your care.
• You are a friend of each child’s parent or guardian, and the care is nonregular and under 20 hours a month.
• The child was placed with you by a child placement agency licensed by the Department of Human Services.

The test applies to each child separately. Once one unrelated child comes regularly for pay, you need a registration. Three other rules shape who can apply:

• Your own home only. OCC will not approve a residence that is not the applicant’s primary residence. If you move out, the registration can be revoked ⁠⁸.
• Not transferable. The certificate cannot be transferred to another person or address ⁠⁸. Moving means a new “resumption of service” application. The form is shorter, and OCC can reuse your orientation, recent medical reports, and (within the same licensing jurisdiction) your background checks ⁠²².
• Coproviders. A coprovider shares responsibility for the home and must meet every provider requirement, except that a coprovider does not have to live there ⁠⁸.

OCC may also deny a new registration to someone providing treatment foster care in the home, unless the placement is preadoptive ⁠¹³.

Counting children: the 8-child cap and the under-2 rule

The number on your certificate is the most children who may be present at any one time ⁠¹⁴. OCC counts any child living in your home who is under 6, and it may count a visiting child under 8 who came without an adult or cannot be sent home right away ⁠¹⁴. In practice, if you have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old of your own, you have 6 openings, not 8.

There is a conflict in the sources. The statute counts only the provider’s own children under age 2 ⁠⁵, while the regulation and MSDE’s page count resident children under 6 ⁠¹⁴⁠¹. OCC applies the regulation, so plan around the under-6 count.

Children under 2 have their own limit:

• No more than 2 under age 2 at once unless OCC approves more ⁠¹⁴.
• With approval, the home may serve up to 4 under 2 within the total of 8. Whenever more than 2 are present, an OCC-approved additional adult must be in the home ⁠¹⁴. This matches the statutory ratio of at least 1 adult for every 2 children under 2 ⁠⁵.
• To get approval for more than 2 under 2, you need 3 semester hours or 45 clock hours of approved infant-toddler training ⁠¹⁷.
• If you also run an approved educational (nursery school) program in the home, the cap stays at 8 and only 2 may be under age 2 ⁠¹⁴.

OCC can lower your capacity, hours or age groups because of space, equipment, the people living in the home, your duty to care for an ill relative, or local codes. You have 20 calendar days to request a hearing ⁠¹⁵. Regular care of more than 14 hours in 24, or any overnight care, needs OCC’s approval in advance. Overnight care also needs a written plan that includes an evacuation plan for each sleeping room ⁠¹⁵.

Step one is the face-to-face orientation

Maryland requires an orientation before you can apply ⁠³⁠⁹. MSDE says anyone starting a home or center program must take the face-to-face orientation, scheduled through the OCC Regional Licensing Office for your area. The roughly one-hour online orientation preview “does not replace” it ⁠¹. At the session, OCC walks through the forms and requirements ⁠¹. Large homes have a separate orientation ⁠¹.

The application packet

OCC’s checklist (revised January 2022) lists what makes an application complete ⁠²³:

• Application for Family Child Care Registration (OCC 1230) and Provider Information and Plan of Operation (OCC 1267)
• Training documents recorded on OCC 101, with certificates
• Substitute form(s) (OCC 1229) and, if you will have more than 2 children under 2, an Additional Adult Application (OCC 1275)
• Notarized Release of Information forms (OCC 1260) for you, each resident 18 or older, the additional adult, substitutes, volunteers and anyone else with regular access during care hours
• Medical reports (OCC 1204) for you, every resident, the additional adult, substitutes, and volunteers who are present more than once a week
• Evidence of compliance with local building and zoning codes (a use and occupancy permit)
• Lead-safe evidence (a certificate for pre-1978 rental property)
• Homeowner’s liability insurance, if the home is in a condominium or a community that requires HOA membership
• Environmental Health Survey (OCC 1268) and the fire inspection report
• Emergency escape plan (OCC 1261), program plan (schedule of activities), discipline policy, sample parent/provider agreement, and a 4-week menu plan (OCC 1218 or equivalent)
• Rabies certificates for pets
• Landlord approval (OCC 1296), if you rent

Medical evaluations must be dated within 12 months before you apply. They must be done by a physician, certified nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant, and must include TB screening if indicated ⁠⁹. You must also give your Social Security number or ITIN ⁠⁹.

If OCC has not received everything within 6 months after you submit the application form, it may treat the application as void ⁠⁹.

Background checks for everyone in the house

You, each resident 18 or older, each substitute, and each employee or volunteer 18 or older must apply for Maryland and federal criminal background checks at a designated fingerprinting location ⁠⁹. MSDE says the fee is paid to the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) and “varies in different parts of the state” ⁠¹. If any of these people lived in another state in the last 5 years, they must also get that state’s check and have the result sent directly to MSDE ⁠⁹. OCC also checks child and adult abuse and neglect records using the notarized releases ⁠⁹.

OCC must deny the registration if you or a resident have ever had a conviction, probation before judgment, not-criminally-responsible finding, or pending charge for any of these ⁠¹³:

• a crime involving a child, animal cruelty, intimate-partner domestic violence, or a weapons violation
• a sex offense, a violent felony, abduction, abuse of a child or adult, or confining an unattended child
• manufacturing, distributing or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance within the past 5 years
• perjury, pornography, or reckless endangerment

A felony conviction for murder, spousal abuse or arson is also disqualifying, and so is being out of compliance with child support enforcement ⁠¹³. OCC cannot approve even a provisional registration until the background checks are passed ⁠¹¹.

Training you must finish before approval

COMAR 13A.15.06.02 sets the pre-service training ⁠¹⁷:

1. First aid and CPR

   A current certificate in basic first aid and in CPR for each age group you will serve.

2. Child development coursework

   24 clock hours of approved training taken within 2 years before you apply, with 4 hours in each of the six core of knowledge areas. Alternatives: the 90-clock-hour child care course, Department of Defense modules, a CDA credential, an associate degree with 15 semester hours of early childhood or elementary education, or a bachelor’s degree in early childhood or elementary education.

3. Topic courses

   Emergency and disaster planning, medication administration, supporting breastfeeding practices, and 3 clock hours on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

4. Basic health and safety training,

   due within 90 days of your initial registration.

5. Infants

   To care for any child under 24 months, SIDS training within the last 5 years. For more than 2 under age 2, also 3 semester hours or 45 clock hours of infant-toddler training.

OCC must approve the courses, so check with your Regional Licensing Office before you enroll ⁠¹. Training continues after you open. In the first year you need 18 clock hours of approved training. After that, you need 12 hours a year: at least 6 in core of knowledge and no more than 6 elective. You also repeat the health and safety training each year and keep a professional development plan ⁠¹⁷.

Your substitute, additional adult and volunteers

• Substitute. You must name at least one substitute who can come on short notice. The substitute must be 18 or older, approved by OCC, and complete a medical report, abuse and neglect release, and fingerprint checks. OCC decides within 30 days. Unless OCC approves more in advance, substitutes may cover your absence for no more than 20 working days in any 12 months ⁠¹⁸.
• Additional adult. This is the second adult required when more than 2 children under 2 are present. They must be 18 or older and attend an OCC information session on infant care. They also need a medical report within 12 months, background checks, infant first aid and CPR, and SIDS training within 5 years, and OCC must approve them before they start ⁠¹⁸.
• Volunteers. Volunteers need background checks and your health and safety orientation. They must be accompanied when with unrelated children. A volunteer under 18 may not work with children under 2 ⁠¹⁸.

Getting the house approved: OCC, fire and lead

MSDE describes at least two inspection visits before approval. An OCC licensing specialist goes through the Self Assessment Guide with you, and the local fire authority inspects. Depending on your location, the health department or other local agencies may also inspect ⁠¹. COMAR’s physical standards include ⁠¹⁶:

• compliance with state and local fire, zoning, health and environmental codes
• hot water no hotter than 120°F, a working toilet children can reach, a refrigerator, a stove and a working telephone
• child care rooms approved by OCC, kept at 65°F or warmer, with capped outlets and barriers where children under 5 are present
• cordless window coverings for any installed on or after October 1, 2010
• in homes approved for infants or toddlers, a breastfeeding space that is not a bathroom
• ample outdoor space, fenced if OCC requires
• a pool fenced at least 4 feet high, with a self-closing, self-latching gate, a lock, and alarms in the pool and on the access door
• for each child under 12 months, a crib, portable crib or playpen meeting CPSC standards, on a firm, flat, non-inclined surface with no soft bedding

Lead paint. A pre-1978 rental home that is an “affected property” under Maryland’s lead law must submit its current lead risk reduction or lead-free certificate. In any pre-1978 home not certified lead-free, child care areas must be free of chipping or deteriorated paint, and deterioration or renovation triggers a lead-dust test by an accredited inspector ⁠¹⁶.

Emergency plan. You need a written emergency and disaster plan covering evacuation, relocation, sheltering in place and parent notification. You must practice fire evacuation monthly and other emergencies twice a year, update the plan yearly, and post an escape-route floor plan ⁠²⁰. Trampolines are off limits, and so is climbing equipment children could fall 7 feet or more from ⁠²⁰.

From complete file to certificate

Once your file is complete, OCC reviews your documents, interviews you, inspects the home, and evaluates the background and abuse and neglect results. It then has 30 days to issue the certificate, deny it, or issue a provisional certificate ⁠¹².

A provisional registration gives you up to 120 days to meet the remaining requirements. It can be extended in 120-day periods only for circumstances outside your control, and never beyond 24 months in total ⁠¹¹. If OCC denies you, it must tell you in writing which regulation you failed and how to request a hearing ⁠¹³.

After approval, display the certificate where parents can see it ⁠⁸. Any advertising must say the home is registered and give your registration number ⁠⁴⁠¹⁹.

What it costs, as published on 2026-10-12

Education Article Title 9.5, Subtitle 3, COMAR 13A.15.02 and OCC’s 2022 application checklist do not list any registration or application fee ⁠⁴⁠⁹⁠²³. MSDE’s page does not state a fee for the certificate itself, so ask your Regional Licensing Office to confirm in writing that none applies before you budget. The costs the sources do name are:

The Family Child Care Provider Direct Grant Fund can reimburse compliance costs. The statute limits each applicant to one grant of no more than $500 ⁠²⁴. Grants reimburse compliance expenses, give weight to geographic distribution, community need and family income (lowest-income families first), and draw no more than $50,000 a year in state general funds ⁠³⁰. MSDE says the program serves registered providers who meet income eligibility rules ⁠¹.

The 2-year initial registration, then a non-expiring one

Your first registration expires 2 years after its effective date ⁠³. Before it expires, you apply for a continuing registration. That application includes your continued training and first aid/CPR documentation, new medical reports for you and any resident with child care duties, new notarized releases, your latest fire inspection, and landlord authorization if you rent ⁠¹⁰. A continuing registration does not expire, but it still has deadlines ⁠¹⁰:

• Every 12 months: proof of your continued training.
• Every 24 months: new medical reports, abuse and neglect releases, a fire inspection and, if you rent, landlord authorization.

If you leave a violation unfixed, OCC can put a continuing registration on conditional status for up to 120 days, extendable once with central office approval. You must display the revised certificate during that time, and OCC may suspend or revoke if you do not comply ⁠¹¹.

Inspections, complaints and sanctions

OCC inspects with notice before each initial or continuing registration. After that, it makes at least one unannounced inspection every 12 months and can visit at other times without notice ⁠²¹. It investigates written, oral and anonymous complaints, including complaints about unregistered care ⁠²¹. Short of suspension, OCC can restrict ages or numbers, order remedial training, increase monitoring, or require you to notify parents ⁠²¹. OCC cannot waive a regulation. It can grant a variance if you show by clear and convincing evidence that an alternative meets the rule’s intent, and it must answer within 30 calendar days ⁠¹⁹. Inspection findings since January 2011 are public at CheckCCMD.org ⁠¹.

Day-to-day paperwork OCC will ask to see

• A written agreement with each parent covering fees, your discipline policy, pets, volunteers and any overnight arrangements. Corporal punishment is banned by statute ⁠¹⁹⁠³.
• Daily attendance verified by the parent, plus records of substitute days and drills, kept for 2 years ⁠¹⁹.
• Before a child starts: an emergency form, a health assessment and immunization records. Children under 6 also need lead screening or testing evidence ⁠¹⁹.
• Since March 17, 2025: each year, information for parents of children under 3 about the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program ⁠¹⁹⁠²².

Running a large family child care home (9 to 12 children)

The large home is a separate registration under COMAR 13A.18 with its own orientation ⁠²⁷⁠¹. Capacity is set by floor space, outdoor space, staffing and local codes, up to 12 children, and residents under 6 count ⁠²⁸. The application also requires evidence of zoning and building code compliance and a written plan of operation, and a licensed small center can apply to convert ⁠²⁷. The bigger difference is staffing:

• Director. The provider or a designated director must be at least 21. They need a high school diploma or college credits, 90 clock hours (or 6 semester hours) of pre-service training or a CDA, administrative and communication training, and 1 year of experience with children ⁠²⁵.
• Family child care teachers. At least 19, with 90 clock hours (or 6 semester hours), a CDA or NAFCC accreditation, and a year of relevant experience or college ⁠²⁵.
• Ratios. Infants 1:3 in groups of up to 6; 2-year-olds 1:6; 3- and 4-year-olds 1:10. A mixed group with 3 or 4 children under 2 needs 2 staff for up to 8 children and 3 staff for up to 12 ⁠²⁶.

Child Care Scholarship and other programs

MSDE says registration makes a home eligible for tax deductions, certain food subsidies and liability insurance ⁠¹. The state’s Child Care Scholarship Program has a waitlist. As of July 1, 2026, MSDE began awarding scholarships to a small number of waitlisted families ⁠¹. Do not count on scholarship enrollment to fill your slots in your first year.

Recent and pending changes

• July 6, 2026: the COMAR 13A.15 definitions were amended (53:13 Md. R. 587). The Chapter 04 history cites the same Register issue for the capacity regulation, 13A.15.04.03, but lists its date as July 6, 2023, which looks like a typo for 2026; ask OCC which text governs capacity ⁠²². The capacity figures above are from the text in effect on 2026-10-12 ⁠¹⁴.
• March 17, 2025: the Infants and Toddlers Program notice to parents became a records requirement ⁠²².
• April 29, 2024: the rest-furnishings and safe-sleep regulation was amended ⁠²².
• 2026 session, not enacted: HB 1259 would have barred counties and municipalities from denying or restricting a registered family child care home and required treating it as a permitted residential use. The House refused the Senate’s amendments on April 11, 2026, and the bill was left in conference committee ⁠³¹. Local zoning and use-and-occupancy rules therefore still apply, and OCC still asks for proof of compliance ⁠⁹⁠²³.

Sources

1. 1
   Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care, Family Child Care Providers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-301, Definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-303, Regulations Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-304, Registration required; advertising Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-305, Children counted; group size Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-311, Criminal penalty Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-312, Civil penalties Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.01, Registration: General Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.02, Initial Registration Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.03, Continuing Registration Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.04, Provisional and Conditional Status Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.06, Response of the Office to Application Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.02.07, Denial of a Registration Application Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.04.03, Child Capacity Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.04, Operational Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
16. 16
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.05, Home Environment and Equipment Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
17. 17
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.06.02, Training Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
18. 18
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.06, Provider Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
19. 19
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.03, Management and Administration Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
20. 20
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.10, Child Safety Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
21. 21
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15.13, Inspections, Complaints, and Enforcement Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
22. 22
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.15, Family Child Care (full text with administrative history) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
23. 23
    Maryland State Department of Education, Office of Child Care, Application for Family Child Care Registration Checklist (revised 01/2022) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
24. 24
    Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-317, Direct grants Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
25. 25
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.18.06, Large Family Child Care Homes: Staff Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
26. 26
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.18.08.03, Group Size and Staffing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
27. 27
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.18.02, Large Family Child Care Homes: Registration Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
28. 28
    Code of Maryland Regulations, COMAR 13A.18.04, Large Family Child Care Homes: Operational Requirements Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
29. 29
    Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-302, Registration system; purpose Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
30. 30
    Maryland General Assembly, Education Article § 9.5-316, Direct Grant Fund Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
31. 31
    Maryland General Assembly, HB 1259 (2026 Regular Session), Zoning Authorities: Operation of Family Child Care Homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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