Michigan child care center license: MiLEAP rules, ratios and steps

Does your program need a center license?

Michigan’s trigger is lower than in most states. MCL 722.111 defines a child care center as “a facility, other than a private residence, receiving 1 or more children under 13 years of age for care for periods of less than 24 hours a day, where the parents or guardians are not immediately available to the child.”⁠¹ There is no “more than five children” floor. A single child in a storefront, church wing or office building puts you under the center rules.

The definition also covers programs that run at least 2 consecutive weeks, however few hours a day. The statute lists day care centers, day nurseries, nursery schools, parent cooperative preschools, play groups, before- and after-school programs and drop-in centers.⁠¹ The license can be held by an individual, a company, a for-profit or nonprofit organization, a school, an intermediate school district or a government agency.⁠⁵

The statute excludes these programs:⁠¹

• Sunday schools, vacation Bible schools and religious classes run by a religious organization, if children attend no more than 3 hours a day indefinitely, or up to 8 hours a day for no more than 4 weeks in a 12-month period.
• Care by a religious organization for up to 3 hours while parents attend religious services.
• Single-subject training for school-age children, such as dance, drama, music or religion, for the time the child is in that training.
• Club, scouting, recreational or supplementary education programs for school-age children, but only if the child can come and go at will.
• Programs that mainly provide therapeutic services to a child.

Neighboring licenses. Care in a private home falls under a separate license: a family child care home for 1 to 6 children, or a group child care home for 7 to 12.⁠¹ See the Michigan family child care home guide. Day or residential camps that run 5 or more days in a 14-day period for more than 4 children in a natural setting are “children’s camps,” which are a separate category under the same act.⁠¹

Pick your center type first

The rule set that took effect May 7, 2025 recognizes four kinds of center, and your choice drives ratios, space and staff qualifications:⁠³

Source: R 400.8101-400.8103.⁠³

Add-on program components need their own rule review. The application asks whether you will serve infants and toddlers, or offer nighttime care, transportation, swimming or on-site food preparation.⁠⁶ Nighttime care means any care between midnight and 5 a.m.⁠³

Vet the building before you sign a lease

MiLEAP’s own guide advises reviewing the building’s certificate of occupancy before you buy or rent. It also says to complete the fire safety inspection, lead inspection and risk assessment, and environmental health inspection before you commit, because results “may need extensive and costly renovations before a license can be issued.”⁠⁵ Check with the city or township, the building department and the local fire marshal too; some communities require local permits, inspections or special zoning approval.⁠⁵

Certificate of occupancy. You must submit one before the original license and again before each renewal.⁠³ Two kinds of center are exempt. School-age centers run by or for a school in a school building approved by the state fire marshal don’t need one. Outdoor nature-based centers instead submit a location map showing the emergency shelter and an outdoor benefit-risk assessment.⁠³

Construction type. Wood-frame buildings are acceptable only if children stay on the first or main floor. Second-floor child use requires protected ordinary construction, enclosed stairways and 20-minute or solid-core self-closing doors. Above the second floor, the building and stairways must be 1-hour fire-resistive.⁠³ A basement used by more than 30 children needs one of three setups: two enclosed 1-hour stairways that discharge outside, one exit directly outside with travel under 50 feet from any point in the room, or a combination of the two.⁠³

Exits. Under R 400.8525, each occupied floor needs at least 2 approved exits directly outside, set apart by at least half the floor’s longest dimension. Travel from an infant or toddler room door to an exit may be no more than 50 feet. For preschool and school-age rooms the limit is 100 feet. A building with complete automatic sprinklers may add 50 feet.⁠³⁠⁸

Fire alarm. A center with 4 or fewer child-occupied rooms (not counting bathrooms) and 60 or fewer children needs an electrical or manual evacuation signal that sounds throughout the center. Anything larger needs an NFPA-72 fire alarm system.⁠³

Lead. In a building constructed before 1978, a certified lead risk assessor must do a lead-based paint inspection and a lead hazard risk assessment. Both must cover the child use space, including outdoor play areas. File them with form CCL-4344.⁠⁵⁠⁶

Heating. A licensed contractor must inspect fuel-fired furnaces and water heaters before the original license and every 2 years at renewal. A boiler needs a certificate from LARA’s boiler division. Electric heat and electric water heaters need no inspection.⁠³⁠⁵

Space, toilets, playground and water

Source: R 400.8121, 400.8125 and 400.8143.⁠³

Hallways, bathrooms, offices and reception, kitchens, storage and closets don’t count toward indoor space. Areas used only for sleeping, resting or eating don’t count either, except for infants and toddlers. You must give the department a floor plan of every child use area, and children may use only approved space.⁠³ During the on-site inspection, your licensing consultant measures each room.⁠⁵

If no outdoor space adjoins the building, you may use a park reachable by a safe walking route. You must name that park to the department in writing.⁠³ Before the original license, a certified playground safety inspector must approve any playground equipment, use zones and surfacing. Centers licensed after January 1, 2014 must meet the 2010 CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook, and the inspector reports on form CCL-5047.⁠³⁠⁵

A new center needs a diapering area with its own hand sink. It also needs a separate kitchen hand sink if it prepares food.⁠³ Under Michigan’s filtered drinking water law, every center had to adopt a drinking water management plan by January 24, 2025. Since October 24, 2025, drinking water served to children must come from a filtered faucet or other filtered source. A center in a school building that complies with the Clean Drinking Water Access Act (2023 PA 154) is treated as compliant.⁠³

Ratios and group sizes

Early childhood, school-age and nature-based centers use Table 1 of R 400.8222. The ratios apply in each room, and children related to staff or the licensee count.⁠³

Source: R 400.8222(4).⁠³

At least 2 adults, one of them a child care staff member, must be present whenever 3 or more children under age 3, or 7 or more children over age 3, are in the building.⁠³ In a mixed-age room, the ratio and group size follow the youngest child. With written parental permission, a child may move up early: at 33 months to a 3-year-old room, at 45 months to a 4-year-old room, and at 57 months to a school-age room.⁠³ At nap time, one staff member may watch a room of sleeping children. That person must stay in the room doing nothing else, see every child and have other staff nearby. Full ratio returns as soon as the first child wakes.⁠³

Small capacity centers follow a different rule. The ratio is 1:6, with no more than 4 children under 30 months per staff member, and a maximum group size of 20. A center that serves only Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) preschoolers may operate at 1:10.⁠³

The program administrator and lead teachers

Every center needs a program administrator. MiLEAP must approve that person’s credentials before you hire them.⁠³⁠⁵ The administrator must be at least 21 and hold a high school diploma or GED. Within 6 months of hire, they must complete 2 semester hours or 3.0 CEUs in child care administration, unless a qualified central administrator covers those duties.⁠³ Each center type has its own qualification routes:

Source: R 400.8204(11)-(12).⁠³

“15 hours of specified training” means 3 hours each in program management; observation, documentation and assessment; and teaching and learning. It also includes 6 hours in interactions and guidance, challenging behaviors or trauma-informed practices.⁠³ With your application, send transcripts, any CDA or Montessori credential, documented experience hours and MiRegistry training records.⁠⁵⁠⁶

When a single-site administrator is away, a staff-in-charge must be on the premises. One administrator may cover several sites only if they are on site at least 5 sessions in every 30 consecutive open days, document those visits and appoint a site administrator for each center.⁠³ Directors who qualified under the old rules keep their status if they have no break in service longer than 180 days.⁠³

Lead teachers are required for every group of preschool age or younger. A lead teacher must be with the group full time in programs under 6 continuous hours, and at least 6 hours a day in longer programs.⁠³ They must be at least 19 with a high school diploma or GED. They also need one of these:

• 1 year of experience plus the 15 training hours, in a Great Start to Quality center.
• 6 months of experience plus 6 semester hours (90 clock hours) of child-related coursework, in a Great Start to Quality center.
• A CDA, Montessori or infant family associate credential, or any associate degree, plus the 15 training hours.⁠³

Small capacity centers use a lighter version: 3 months of experience with the training, or 45 clock hours of coursework or any associate degree, in either case in a Great Start to Quality center.⁠³ Infant and toddler lead teachers need 45 hours (3 semester hours) of infant-toddler coursework within 6 months of hire.⁠³

Background checks, MiRegistry and training

Before anyone has unsupervised contact with children, the department must find them eligible through a fingerprint-based comprehensive background check. This applies to the licensee, the licensee designee, every child care staff member and every unsupervised volunteer.⁠³ You enroll each person in the state’s child care background check system. Instructions arrive after you submit your application and fee.⁠³⁠⁵ Staff awaiting a result may work only under supervision. Supervised volunteers need a public sex-offender registry check before any contact with children.⁠³

Within 30 days of hire, all program staff, substitutes and unsupervised volunteers need a MiRegistry account and a verified employment entry.⁠³ Required training:⁠³

• Before caring for children (within 30 days): prevention of abusive head trauma and child maltreatment, and recognizing and reporting abuse. If you serve infants and toddlers, add shaken baby syndrome and safe sleep/SIDS. Staff also need orientation to the center’s own policies.
• Within 90 days, and before caring for children unsupervised: emergency preparedness, medication administration, food allergies, premises safety, hazardous materials, transportation (if offered), child development, and pediatric first aid and CPR.
• Before the license issues and at every renewal: at least 50% of program staff must hold valid pediatric first aid and pediatric, child and adult CPR certification.
• Each calendar year: 16 clock hours of professional development for program staff (10 in small capacity centers). Substitutes need 10 or 5 hours, depending on whether they average 20 hours a week. Unsupervised volunteers need 2 hours.

All staff and volunteers are mandated reporters. They must call Children’s Protective Services at 1-855-444-3911 and follow up in writing within 72 hours.⁠³

Applying, step by step

1. Form the entity and get an EIN

   You submit EIN documentation and formation documents with the original application. Schools may submit a W-9 instead.⁠⁵ Under MCL 722.115m, you must disclose owners: every member and manager of an LLC, and for a public corporation, its officers, directors and shareholders above 5%.⁠² Use form CCL-2119 for the disclosure.⁠⁶

2. Apply online with the fee

   Log in through MiLogin and file in the Child Care Hub Information Records Portal (CCHIRP). A paper packet is also accepted. Mail form CCL-3971, a check or money order payable to the “State of Michigan,” photo ID and the administrator’s qualifications to PO Box 30837, Lansing, MI 48909.⁠⁴⁠⁵⁠⁶

3. Name a licensee designee

   If an organization is the applicant, the designee signs form CCL-5003.⁠³⁠⁵

4. Get the fire plan review

   Upload professional plans for the entire building to the Bureau of Fire Services through the Accela Citizen Access portal. Fire alarm and sprinkler systems need their own plan review submittal, filed separately. BFS says plan review itself is free.⁠⁷⁠⁸ BFS says a review “can take up to 4-6 weeks.” Once the plan is approved, email [email protected] to request the fire inspection. The inspector should contact you within 5 business days.⁠⁷⁠⁸ In a K-12 school building, a prior BFS or State Fire Marshal approval, or the superintendent’s form CCL-5043, replaces the inspection.⁠⁵

5. Book the environmental health inspection

   Send form CCL-1787-CC and the local health department’s fee to the health department. If you prepare food on site or have a well or septic system, its plan-review rules apply too.⁠³⁠⁵⁠⁶

6. Finish the other inspections

   These are the lead inspection and risk assessment for a pre-1978 building, furnace and water heater approvals, and the playground inspection. You arrange and pay for each one.⁠⁵⁠⁶

7. Write your policies

   The consultant reviews them on site. They include program plans, a discipline policy, children’s records, emergency and evacuation plans, an equipment list, nutrition, operational policies, a staff and volunteer screening policy, a staffing plan, a training plan and a use-space plan. MiLEAP’s Technical Assistance and Consultation Manual sets the minimum content for each.⁠⁵⁠⁶

8. On-site licensing inspection

   Your consultant inspects the premises, measures child use space and writes a corrective action plan for anything out of compliance. A follow-up visit may be needed before the license issues.⁠⁵

MiLEAP says licensing takes “3 to 12 months on average.” The paper packet says 3 to 6 months after a complete application.⁠⁴⁠⁶ By law, MiLEAP must issue or deny a license within 6 months of a completed application, and must flag an incomplete one within 30 days. The clock pauses while a deficiency or corrective action plan is open. If the department misses the deadline, it refunds the fee and cuts your next renewal fee by 15%.⁠²

Fees

Source: MCL 722.115m(11) and the MiLEAP application page.⁠²⁠⁴

The fee is non-refundable, even if the license is denied or the application is rejected.⁠²⁠⁴ Local health departments, fire inspectors, lead assessors and playground inspectors bill separately. The BFS plan review is free,⁠⁸ and MiLEAP says the comprehensive background check costs $64.25 for a person who has not lived outside Michigan in the past 5 years, with no state charge for processing the fingerprints. Anyone who lived elsewhere in the past 5 years gets instructions for additional out-of-state checks and fees.⁠¹⁰ The sources reviewed do not publish a rate for the BFS inspection, local health department, lead, heating or playground inspections, so ask each inspector for a quote before you book.

After the original license

The first license lasts 6 months. Before it expires, MiLEAP sends a renewal packet. After you return it with the renewal fee, a consultant inspects again. If you pass, you get a regular license valid for 2 years.⁠⁵

Renewal inspections recur on a fixed schedule. Fire inspections come every 4 years.⁠³⁠⁹ Furnace and fuel-fired water heater inspections come every 2 years.⁠³ Environmental health inspections also come every 2 years if you have a well or septic system or cook on site in an unlicensed kitchen.⁠³ A new certificate of occupancy and the 50% CPR/first aid check apply at every renewal.⁠³

Get written approval from MiLEAP before you change capacity, age groups, program components or use space.⁠³ Adding an infant-toddler program or food service triggers a new health department inspection. Construction requires approved plans first.⁠³ The licensee or licensee designee must report an arraignment or conviction for any crime listed in MCL 722.115r within 3 business days. If the licensee designee or program administrator leaves, notify the department within 5 business days and include a replacement plan.⁠³

MiLEAP may grant a variance from a rule if your alternative protects children by “clear and convincing evidence.” It cannot vary a statutory requirement.⁠³

Child care subsidies and GSRP

To serve families on the Michigan Child Development and Care (CDC) scholarship, a Provider Verification form (DHS-4025) naming you as the provider is completed and the family submits it to MDHHS. A SIGMA account is required if you accept CDC scholarships or state grants.⁠⁴ Several qualification routes for lead teachers and administrators require that the center take part in Great Start to Quality, the state’s quality rating system.⁠³

MCL 722.111 still names the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs as the child care licensing agency. Applications, rules and inspections are handled by MiLEAP’s Child Care Licensing Bureau (517-284-9730, [email protected]).⁠¹⁠⁵

Sources

1. 1
   Michigan Legislature, MCL 722.111, Child Care Organizations Act (1973 PA 116), definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Michigan Legislature, MCL 722.115m, child care center licensure, ownership disclosure, timelines and fees Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, Licensing Rules for Child Care Centers, R 400.8101 et seq. (updates effective May 7, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Apply for a Child Care Center License Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Resource Guide to Child Care Center Licensure in Michigan (revised 05/11/2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Child Care Center Original Application packet, CCL-3971 (Rev. 06/18/2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Fire Safety Inspections Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   MiLEAP and LARA Bureau of Fire Services, Bureau of Fire Services Child Care Center Plan Review FAQs (Rev. 10/2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Inspections Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau, Background Checks (FAQ) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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