Massachusetts group and school age child care license: Large and Small Group rules

Large Group, Small Group or family child care

Massachusetts does not use the term “child care center” as a license name. EEC’s licensing page lists group, school age and family child care among the programs it licenses,⁠¹² and 606 CMR 7.00, the same regulation that covers family child care, splits group programs by size.⁠¹

• Large Group and School Age Child Care covers any program that regularly receives more than ten children unrelated to their caregivers, younger than 14 (or 16 with special needs), for non-residential care outside their homes. The rule names centers, day care centers, preschools, nursery schools, child development programs, school age programs and before- and after-school programs, “regardless of their location.”⁠¹
• Small Group and School Age Child Care covers the same kinds of programs with ten or fewer children, when care is not provided in a private residence.⁠¹ EEC created it effective January 22, 2010 so small programs in non-residential settings could operate “without as many administrative requirements” as a Large Group license.⁠⁶

EEC’s 2012 policy statement draws the residence line sharply. A Small Group program cannot be licensed in a private residence, single-family or multifamily, unless part of the building has been converted to meet the State Building Code for a center. Ten or fewer children in an unconverted home means a family child care license. At 11 or more, the program must be Large Group “regardless of the setting.”⁠⁶ If you plan to care for children in your own home, see the Massachusetts family child care guide.

EEC’s Large Group application page opens by saying the license is for “10 or more children,” but the same page, the regulation and EEC’s program overview all put the line at more than 10 (11 or more).⁠²⁠¹⁠⁴

Programs outside EEC licensing

The definitions exclude any part of a public school system; a private school system unless its services are primarily kindergarten, nursery or preschool; a program run by a school system for its own enrolled students unless it is primarily a school-age program; Sunday schools and religious classes; and care during religious services.⁠¹ EEC tells founders to contact their local EEC office before opening to confirm whether an exemption applies.⁠²

Summer programs interact with recreational camp rules. A licensed program that obtains a Department of Public Health summer camp permit for its licensed facility can hold a school-year-only license, and a program that moves to an off-site camp for part of the day is subject to 606 CMR 7.00 only while children are at the licensed facility.⁠¹

The order EEC expects

1. Attend a Potential Provider meeting

   EEC says this is how the licensing process begins. Sessions are listed in the StrongStart Professional Development System.⁠²⁠³

2. Complete an EEC-approved orientation

   The licensee or a designee must have attended an approved orientation to early education and care within one year before licensure.⁠¹

3. Get a LEAD account

   Applications go through the Licensing Education Analytic Database (LEAD). You request a new user account from the EEC regional office closest to your program.⁠²⁠³

4. Secure the building and inspections

   Building certificate, fire code evidence, lead paint inspection if you serve children under 5, water source approval if you use a private well, and pool inspections if any (details below).⁠¹

5. Write the required plans and policies

   and upload them with the application and fee.⁠¹

6. Run background record checks

   on staff through EEC’s BRC system.⁠⁸

7. Licensing visit

   Once EEC receives a complete application, a licensor contacts you to schedule a visit.⁠²

8. Provisional license

   For a program that has not operated before, EEC may issue a provisional license valid for six months, renewable once for up to six more months, as long as care is adequate to protect children’s health and safety.⁠¹

EEC’s pages reviewed on 2026-10-12 give no processing timeline for group licenses. EEC’s main office is at 50 Milk St., 14th Floor, Boston (617-988-6600); the EEC Contact Center is 617-988-7841.⁠²

The building: certificate, space and inspections

Building certificate and use group

Every program not in a residence, and every program licensed for more than ten children, must provide a certificate of inspection from the Department of Public Safety or the local building inspector showing compliance with 780 CMR, the State Building Code.⁠¹ The building certificate capacity is one of the limits EEC weighs when it sets licensed capacity, alongside room size and layout, educator numbers and qualifications, equipment, and the children’s needs.⁠¹

School-age-only programs have a cheaper route. Based on guidance from the State Board of Building Regulations and Standards, EEC accepts a building certificate under Use Group A-3 (Assembly) for programs serving only school-age children, the classification typically applied to Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCAs. Such a program may opt to meet Use Group E or I-2/I-4 instead. A school-age program inside a public school can submit the school’s current certificate for the whole building or the classrooms used.⁠⁷

Other inspections

• Fire: evidence of compliance with applicable fire codes.⁠¹
• Water: a private well or water source must be approved by the local board of health, health department or a private lab within one year of licensure, updated at each regular renewal. A program on well water serving 25 or more people for at least 60 days a year needs Department of Environmental Protection approval as a small public water supplier.⁠¹
• Pools: current pool and pool roof inspections where the law requires them.⁠¹
• Lead paint: if any child is under 5, evidence of a lead paint inspection from the local board of health, DPH or a private inspector, plus compliance with 105 CMR 460.000. You must disclose the results and any remediation plan to enrolled and prospective families.⁠¹
• Pest management: documented compliance with the Department of Agricultural Resources Integrated Pest Management program, with the plan kept on site. Pesticides may not be used on the premises during child care hours.⁠¹

Space

Source: 606 CMR 7.07.⁠¹

The program must have activity space of its own, apart from other groups using the building while it operates. Porches and decks used by children need EEC approval first, and any more than three feet above grade need a protective barricade. Under swings, slides and climbers you need impact-absorbing surfacing per EEC policy, and pea gravel or wood chip nuggets are not allowed in infant and toddler areas.⁠¹

Who runs the program: administrator tiers

606 CMR 7.04(17)(m) ties the administrator’s qualification and required non-teaching time to licensed capacity, hours and ages served. At least one qualified administrator must be on the premises full time during operating hours. Two or more people can share the role if each has non-teaching administrative time and their combined time meets the table.⁠¹

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: 606 CMR 7.04(17)(m)9.⁠¹

In school-age programs, half of the non-teaching administrative time may be done outside program hours.⁠¹ Programs serving children younger than school age also need a lead-teacher-qualified person for each age group on site full time, and above a licensed capacity of 39, one more lead-teacher-qualified person on site full time for every 40 additional children.⁠¹ If one administrator covers several sites, you must submit a plan stating the number of sites, the weekly hours at each, and who covers absences. You must notify EEC in writing before changing the designated administrator.⁠¹

Early childhood qualification ladder

These are the minimums in 606 CMR 7.09(18) for programs serving children younger than school age:⁠¹

• Assistant Teacher: at least 16 or a high school diploma; always under direct supervision of a teacher-qualified person.
• Teacher: at least 21 or a high school diploma, plus 3 college credits in Child Growth and Development with 9 months of work experience or one practicum, or a CDA, or an EEC-approved two-year high school vocational program in early childhood. Degrees can replace part of the experience.
• Lead Teacher (preschool): at least 21, with, for example, a high school diploma, 12 credits in at least four categories of study and 36 months of experience; or a CDA with preschool endorsement and 27 months; or an associate degree in early childhood education or a related field, 12 credits and 18 months. At least 9 months of experience or one practicum must be with preschoolers. Infant/toddler lead teachers have a parallel path that includes 3 credits in Infant and Toddler Care.
• Director I: lead teacher qualifications, 6 more months of work experience, at least 2 credits or 3 CEUs in Child Care Administration, and 2 more credits or 3 CEUs in another category.
• Director II: everything for Director I plus 2 more credits or 3 CEUs in specified categories.

A practicum means at least 150 hours over at least eight weeks, supervised by a college or approved training program. Four CEUs in one category equal three credits, but CEUs cannot count toward Child Growth and Development.⁠¹

School-age qualification ladder

Programs serving school-age children use 606 CMR 7.09(19):⁠¹

• Assistant Leader: 16 or older under direct supervision of a group leader (with a diploma or other listed option), or 18 or older under general supervision.
• Group Leader: 18 or older, with an associate or bachelor’s degree and 3 months’ experience with school-age children; or a high school diploma and 6 months’ experience; or 9 months’ experience. The last two options must include 3 months of supervised experience in a school-age program.
• Site Coordinator: 20 or older, from a bachelor’s degree in a listed field plus 6 months’ experience, up to a high school diploma plus one year of experience.
• Program Administrator: 21 or older, site-coordinator qualified, plus 6 months of administrative experience or 9 college credits in management or administration.

A Site Coordinator may serve as School Age Administrator only under the supervision of a qualified School Age Program Administrator, who may be off site.⁠¹

Small Group staffing

Small Group programs have a simpler rule. At least one educator must meet family child care provider qualifications for the number of children, or be teacher or site coordinator qualified for 6 or fewer children. For 7 or 8 children that educator must be lead teacher qualified or have two years’ experience as a teacher or site coordinator; for 9 or 10, three years’ experience or lead teacher or program administrator qualifications. Other staff must be at least 16 and in high school, or at least 18.⁠¹

Ratios and group sizes

Large Group programs assign children to consistent groups. The fixed-age ratios are:⁠¹

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: 606 CMR 7.10(9)(b).⁠¹

Mixed-age options also exist: infant/toddler groups of up to 9 with no more than 3 infants (1:3), toddler/preschool groups of up to 9 (1:5), and preschool/school age groups of up to 20 with a maximum age of eight (1:10).⁠¹

Small Group programs, and Large Group programs during the first and last two hours of a day longer than seven hours, may use multi-age groupings. These allow up to six children with one educator (no more than three under age two), up to ten with two or three educators depending on the number of infants. A Large Group program can apply for EEC approval of a single full-day multi-age group and add more only after the first has operated successfully for at least a year.⁠¹

Volunteers and student interns count in ratios only if they are at least 16 and assigned for at least three months. When more than one educator is on duty, you must keep a posted written schedule showing ratios are met at all times, including breaks. A second adult trained in the program’s health and emergency procedures must always be immediately available.⁠¹

Plans and documents for the application

Every program submits a completed application and fee, evidence of compliance with the background check rules (102 CMR 1.05(1)), inspection documentation, the written information for parents, child record forms, a REAP tax certification, and a volunteer plan if you use volunteers.⁠¹ Group programs add:⁠¹

• evidence of authority to operate, with names and addresses of all owners or corporate officers;
• staff schedules showing supervision and ratios;
• written plans for staff orientation and staff supervision;
• the lead paint inspection;
• a diapering and toileting plan;
• enrollment procedures and a non-discrimination statement;
• evidence of an administrative designee;
• plans for student interns and staff meetings, and personnel policies, where they apply;
• a referral services plan and a written plan to avoid suspending or terminating a child.

Large Group applicants also submit Background Record Check policies, a health care policy, procedures for moving a child between classrooms and programs, and financial documentation: a projected one-year operating budget, and for a program that has not operated before, proof of financial capability to run the program for at least three months.⁠¹

Some of these trigger at a headcount. With four or more staff you must hold and document staff meetings of at least two hours a month. With four or more paid staff you need written personnel policies, including job descriptions and the salary range for every position.⁠¹

Health and safety staffing

The Large Group health care policy must be approved by a Health Care Consultant, a Massachusetts-licensed physician, registered nurse, nurse practitioner or physician assistant with pediatric or family health training or experience. The consultant approves the plan at initial licensure and at each renewal and approves first aid and medication training.⁠¹ The policy must cover, among other things, mildly ill children, medication administration, allergies, placing children 12 months or younger on their backs to sleep, and notice to parents that educators are mandated reporters.⁠¹

Each group educator must be certified in first aid within six months of hire, and at least one educator with current first aid and age-appropriate CPR must be present whenever children are in care. CPR must be renewed before the certificate’s expiration date.⁠¹ Evacuation drills must be held at least monthly from each floor, at varying times, using alternative exits.⁠¹

Background checks, orientation and annual training

EEC’s Background Record Check covers a Massachusetts CORI check, a Department of Children and Families check for supported abuse or neglect findings, a SORI check, a fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check, and, where applicable, national sex offender and out-of-state checks for places lived in the past five years.⁠⁸ Large Group personnel files must also record two verbal reference checks, one of them professional or academic.⁠¹

Every educator must attend EEC’s orientation to early education and care, have had a physical exam within one year before employment, and be immunized as DPH recommends (with religious and medical exemptions). No educator may regularly care for children more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period.⁠¹ No staff member may supervise or be solely responsible for children until they have completed your program orientation.⁠¹ A lead-teacher-qualified or higher staff member must observe each educator at least every two months, and each educator gets an annual written evaluation.⁠¹

Source: 606 CMR 7.09.⁠¹ In Large Group programs at least one third of the hours must address diverse learners; in Small Group programs, at least 25%. First aid and CPR do not count.⁠¹

Fees, as published

EEC’s Small Group application page lists, as published on 2026-10-12, $150 for a provisional license and $175 for renewal.⁠³ The Large Group page lists no fees. The only Large Group schedule EEC posts is its Application Fee Schedule with rates effective February 15, 2010:⁠⁵

Source: EEC Application Fee Schedule.⁠⁵

The schedule says fees are non-refundable. No capacity-change fee applies during a provisional license, at renewal, for a decrease, or for regrouping infants, toddlers and preschoolers without raising total capacity, but you must still file a Capacity Change Application.⁠⁵ EEC’s Large Group application page, which lists no fees, does not say whether these 2010 amounts are still charged, so ask your EEC regional office for the current Large Group fee before you submit.⁠²

After licensure: renewal and changes you must report

A regular group license is valid for two years.⁠¹ File the renewal application and fee at least 30 days before expiration; if you file on time, the license stays in effect until EEC decides. Renewal also requires a license renewal meeting and copies of any plans revised during the license period plus current inspection certificates.⁠¹

Give EEC written notice at least 30 days before a change of location, a change of ownership, or closing (closing notice also goes to parents). A move may require a new application. Changes in program space also need 30 days’ notice where possible.⁠¹ You can request a written variance from any provision of 606 CMR 7.04 through 7.13 if you show by clear and convincing evidence that your alternative meets the rule’s intent.⁠¹

Getting paid through child care financial assistance

EEC child care financial assistance is governed by 606 CMR 10.00 (effective January 1, 2026). A licensed or license-exempt program can serve subsidized children as a contracted provider, holding a contract with EEC, or as a voucher provider under an EEC voucher services agreement.⁠¹¹

What has changed and what is pending

606 CMR 7.00 took effect January 22, 2010; licenses issued under the earlier 102 CMR 7.00 or 8.00 stayed in effect until a new license was issued under it.⁠¹ In 2021 EEC adopted emergency amendments that let the Commissioner revise or rescind educator qualification and professional development requirements during a significant workforce shortage, changed CPR renewal from annual to before the certificate expires, and added infectious disease provisions.⁠⁹⁠¹ The Board voted in November 2021 to make that emergency language permanent.⁠¹³

At its October 2023 meeting, the Board of Early Education and Care said the regulations “have not seen a comprehensive revision since 2010” and that a revision process begun in 2021 had paused and was being relaunched.⁠¹⁰ The Board materials and regulation notices found on mass.gov as of 2026-10-12 show no proposed or adopted comprehensive revision of 606 CMR 7.00 after that meeting. Before you invest in a building plan, ask your EEC regional office whether a revised rule is pending, because the space, staffing and ratio figures above come from the 2010 text as amended in 2021.⁠¹⁰⁠¹

Sources

1. 1
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, 606 CMR 7.00, Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Family Child Care; Small Group and School Age and Large Group and School Age Child Care Programs (clean copy) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Apply for a Large Group and School Age Child Care license Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Apply for a Small Group and School Age Child Care license Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Learn about Group and School Age Child Care programs Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Application Fee Schedule (Large and Small Group rates effective February 15, 2010) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Policy statement: Clarifying definition, where SGSA programs may operate Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Policy statement: Building Inspections (Large Group and School Age) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, EEC Background Record Checks Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, 606 CMR 7: Notice of public comment on emergency amendments (September 2, 2021) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Board of Early Education and Care meeting materials, October 11, 2023 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, 606 CMR 10.00, Child Care Financial Assistance (effective January 1, 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Child Care Program Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Motion to Approve Amendments to 606 CMR 7.00 (Board of Early Education and Care, November 2021) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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