Licensing a family child care home in Missouri: the 7-child line, ratios and DESE inspections

Where the license line falls in Missouri

Missouri’s licensing trigger is set in statute, not by counting families. It is unlawful to operate a child care facility, or to advertise or hold yourself out as offering child care, without a written DESE license, unless an exemption applies ⁠¹. A “child care facility” is any house or other place where someone holds themselves out as providing care, paid or not, to more than six children or more than three under age 2 ⁠². The first exemption covers anyone caring for six or fewer children, including no more than three under age 2, at the same physical address ⁠¹. Children who live in your home and are old enough to enroll in public kindergarten, elementary or high school are left out of that count ⁠¹. DESE adds that a provider under the limit is not required to be licensed and does not have to report that they are providing care ⁠⁹.

The threshold has applied in this form since 2019, when House Bill 397 (“Nathan’s Law”) made licensure mandatory above six children or above three under age 2, counting related children except school-age children living in the home ⁠¹⁵. In practice that means your own toddler or preschooler counts toward the six, while your third-grader does not.

Two consequences of staying below the line:

• If you run unlicensed, every parent must sign a written notice that they know the care is unlicensed, and you keep a copy on file ⁠¹.
• Taking state or federal child care money normally removes any licensing exemption, except Child and Adult Care Food Program funds. However, the statute says subsidy grants paid to parents are not treated as funds received by a six-or-fewer provider ⁠¹. DESE runs a separate subsidy contract checklist for “Six or Fewer” providers ⁠¹³.

Once you take a seventh child, or a fourth child under 2, you need a license.

Family home, group home, or center

DESE licenses three settings for care above the exempt limit, and the rules differ by setting:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

A licensee may operate only one family child care home or group child care home ⁠⁵. DESE’s page adds that the one-home limit does not apply when the home is owned by a legal entity ⁠⁷. If you plan to grow past 10 children or move care into a separate building, see the Missouri child care center license guide, which also covers group child care homes. Programs under the exclusive control of a religious organization are license-exempt but must file a Program Evaluation Questionnaire with DESE ⁠⁹.

How many children, and how many under 2

The license states the number and ages of children you may have at one time ⁠³⁠⁵. Within the 10-child ceiling, 5 CSR 25-400.105 sets the mix:

So a provider working alone at full capacity can have only two infants or toddlers. Infants are under 12 months, toddlers 12-24 months, preschoolers 2-5 and not in kindergarten, and school-age children 5 or older and in kindergarten or above ⁠⁵.

Rules that change the count:

• Related children. Up to two children aged 5 or older who are related to you (by marriage, blood or adoption: parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew) or in your court-appointed guardianship or custody are not counted in licensed capacity ⁠⁵. Senate Bill 683 added this in 2022 ⁠¹⁵. If more than one member of an owning entity runs the home day to day, only one member’s related children are excluded ⁠⁵.
• Hours. You may be at full capacity for 18 consecutive hours of the day; for the other six hours you may care for one-third of licensed capacity ⁠⁵.
• Overlap. For shift changes or before- and after-school pickups, children over age 2 may exceed capacity by up to one-third for no more than two hours total in a 24-hour day. Overlap is never allowed for children under 2, and you may not start until DESE approves a Child Care Facility Overlap Request in writing ⁠⁵. The fire inspection also decides whether the home is approved for overlap ⁠⁵.
• Nighttime. Regular care between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. requires a license specifically covering nighttime care, with separate sleeping and dressing areas for school-age boys and girls and a caregiver close enough to hear sleeping children ⁠⁵.

Who can be the provider

There is no education requirement for a family home provider in 5 CSR 25-400; the rule focuses on presence, health and training instead. The provider must:

• be at least 18, as must every caregiver ⁠⁵;
• routinely be present at least 40 hours a week during the hours of highest attendance, and hold no other job while on duty ⁠⁵;
• name at least one adult assistant who can substitute or help meet ratios, post the assistant’s contact details, and tell parents whenever the assistant is covering ⁠⁵;
• have a medical examination report on file at initial licensure, including a TB risk assessment signed by a health care professional or a negative TB skin test from within the previous 12 months ⁠⁵;
• show that the family’s financial resources can maintain the rule’s minimum standards ⁠⁵.

If someone in the household needs extensive care because of illness or disability and is home during child care hours, another adult must be home full time to care for that person ⁠⁵. You must notify DESE of any new household member ⁠⁵.

An LLC or corporation may own the home, but it must designate the person responsible for daily operation and notify DESE right away if that person changes ⁠⁵. At application, entities submit Secretary of State documents (articles, operating agreement or certificate of good standing), and anyone using a business name must have a fictitious name registration that matches the owner and the care address ⁠¹⁰.

Background checks, and who pays since July 2026

Missouri’s comprehensive background check has three parts: fingerprints, a sex offender registry search and a Family Care Safety Registry (FCSR) screening ⁠¹¹. In a family home it covers you, your assistants, volunteers with access to children, and every household member 18 or older ⁠¹¹. For entity-owned homes, DESE’s checklist also lists LLC managers and members, officers, directors and shareholders ⁠¹⁰. Results must be qualifying before the license is first issued ⁠⁵.

The order matters. You first send DESE’s Comprehensive Background Check Notification form to [email protected]; DESE then emails fingerprint instructions ⁠¹¹. Each person registers once with the FCSR, run by the Department of Health and Senior Services, and you request the FCSR screening no more than 30 days before fingerprinting ⁠¹¹. A person not yet registered with the FCSR must pay a registration fee; the page gives no amount ⁠¹¹.

Effective July 1, 2026, DESE no longer covers the cost of fingerprinting ⁠¹¹. The DESE page does not publish the fee amount. An eligibility letter lasts five years from its date, and someone with a letter from the last five years who has not been out of child care work for more than 180 days does not need new fingerprints ⁠¹¹. A household member 18 or older with a disqualifying result may not be present during child care hours ⁠⁶. DESE may also deny a license if the home is within 1,000 feet of where a registered sex offender lives ⁠³, and if one does, you submit a safety plan with the application ⁠⁵.

Training before and after you open

• Licensing orientation. The free, roughly one-hour DESE orientation is the first step, online or in person at a Child Care Compliance office ⁠⁷.
• First aid and CPR. You need current age-appropriate certification from a nationally recognized organization, and at least one certified caregiver must be on site whenever children are present ⁠⁵.
• Safe sleep. If you will be licensed for infants under 12 months, you, your assistants and volunteers must complete DESE-approved training on American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep recommendations before licensure, and repeat it every three years. Assistants added later complete it within 30 days ⁠⁵.
• Annual clock hours. You need 12 clock hours of DESE-approved training each calendar year, as does any assistant working or volunteering more than five hours a week. People who work part of a year earn one hour per month ⁠⁵. Training is logged under a Missouri Professional Development (MOPD) ID. One college credit in a child-related subject counts as 15 clock hours, and earning a CDA counts for 12 hours that year ⁠⁵.
• Staff orientation. Each new caregiver gets a facility orientation within seven days and before being left alone with children ⁠⁵.

Making the house pass three inspections

You need three separate approvals before the license: fire safety, sanitation and DESE licensing ⁠¹⁰. Missouri law requires the fire inspection by the state fire marshal, the marshal’s designee or a local fire district, and the sanitation inspection by DESE’s designee, which may be the Department of Health and Senior Services or the local health department ⁠⁴. Checking local zoning is your responsibility under the rule, and DESE’s checklist tells you to contact your city about zoning and building requirements before you apply ⁠⁵⁠¹⁰.

Space. You need 35 square feet of usable indoor floor space per child. Kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, closets, office space, furniture children don’t use, and permanently placed cribs or cots don’t count ⁠⁵. You and the inspector measure the home together ⁠⁵. Outdoors, you need 75 square feet per child. The play area must be fenced where traffic, water or other hazards require it, with new fences at least 42 inches high, and an adult must be outside with children under 3 at all times ⁠⁵.

Fire safety (5 CSR 25-400.086).

• Care may not be more than one level below ground. In homes licensed under the current rule, a basement or second floor used for care needs an exit directly outside, with no more than 8 feet of vertical travel from the basement or 12 feet from the second floor ⁠⁵.
• Each level children use needs two remotely located ways out ⁠⁵.
• Smoke detectors go on every level, in or near sleeping areas. Homes licensed under the current rule need detectors wired to the home’s electrical system with 9-volt battery backup, interconnected when more than one is required ⁠⁵.
• You need a carbon monoxide detector if you have gas or other CO-risk appliances or an attached garage ⁠⁵.
• You need a 5 lb. 2-A:10-B:C extinguisher near the kitchen plus one on each other level used, inspected yearly by an extinguisher company ⁠⁵.
• You need a flashlight for each staff member on each level, a monthly fire drill, and a tornado or other disaster drill every three months ⁠⁵.
• If the second exit runs through the garage, no cars may be parked there during care hours unless the fire inspector finds enough space for safe evacuation ⁠⁵.

Household safety. Guns, ammunition, hunting knives and bows must be in a locked cabinet or closet. No one may use tobacco while children are present. Painted surfaces must be lead-free, and you need a flush toilet with an adjacent sink, a working telephone, and, unless meals are catered, a kitchen with stove, sink, hot and cold running water and refrigerator ⁠⁵. Pools 48 inches deep or more require an adult with lifeguard certification on duty; shallower pools require a basic water safety course that includes infant/child CPR ⁠⁵.

Documents DESE reviews before licensing

Under 5 CSR 25-400.045, you submit ⁠⁵:

• a room-by-room diagram showing toilets, sinks, kitchen and doors;
• a diagram of the outdoor play area and equipment;
• parent policies covering program goals, admission and discharge, child care practices, and discipline and guidance;
• a daily schedule;
• a sample weekly menu;
• an itemized equipment list;
• written job responsibilities and lines of authority;
• a list of all household members and assistants;
• any forms you use other than DESE’s;
• evidence of sanitation compliance;
• entity good-standing documents, if an entity owns the home;
• a disaster and emergency plan;
• a safe sleep policy if you will serve infants;
• a sex offender safety plan, if needed.

DESE posts sample policies, a sample home diagram and an equipment list guide on its family home page ⁠⁷⁠⁸.

The application, in DESE’s order

1. Orientation

   Complete the free licensing orientation ⁠⁷.

2. Application

   Submit the Application for License to Operate a Child Care Facility to your regional Child Care Compliance office by fax, mail or email ⁠¹⁰. There are six regional offices: Northwest (Raytown), Northeast (Macon), Southwest (Springfield), Central (Jefferson City), Eastern and Southeast ⁠¹². If you have not met the rules within six months, the application is void and you must file again ⁠⁵.

3. DVN and inspector

   DESE assigns a nine-digit Departmental Vendor Number and a Compliance Inspector, who sends the fire and sanitation inspection requests. Each inspector then contacts you to schedule ⁠¹⁰. If you are building or renovating, plans go to your inspector, the Missouri Division of Fire Safety and DHSS Environmental Child Care ⁠¹⁰.

4. Optional site review

   The inspector can do a preliminary walk-through and measurements and email you a Proposed Site Review listing changes ⁠¹⁰.

5. Documents and staff files

   Submit the policies and documents listed above. Keep background eligibility letters, medical reports, CPR and safe sleep records on file ⁠¹⁰.

6. Fire and sanitation inspections

   Both must be approved ⁠¹⁰.

7. Announced licensing inspection

   The inspector checks every rule. Violations are corrected on site, by later documentation, or by a return inspection within 10 business days. You get the report within three business days ⁠¹⁰.

8. Supervisory approval

   Every initial license gets supervisory review. The license is then emailed to you, and you post it near the entrance with the names and contact details of the provider and owners ⁠¹⁰⁠⁵.

Expect an unannounced post-licensing inspection 60 to 90 days after the license is issued ⁠¹⁰. Inspection reports are posted publicly on DESE’s Show Me Child Care Provider Search ⁠¹⁰.

No license or application fee appears in 5 CSR 25-400, the application guide or DESE’s Steps checklist as published on 2026-10-12. Your out-of-pocket costs include fingerprinting, CPR certification and any home changes the inspections require.

Keeping the license

Since 2020, Missouri child care licenses do not expire ⁠¹⁵. Instead, at least 30 calendar days before the anniversary date on your license, you submit an Annual Declaration for Licensed Facility with an updated equipment list and household/assistant list. Within the 30 days before that date, you run a new FCSR check on all staff ⁠⁵. Fire and sanitation inspections happen once a year and DESE licensing inspections twice a year ⁠⁸⁠⁴.

The license covers only the people and address printed on it. It becomes void if you close, change ownership or, for a license not held by an entity, the licensee dies ⁠⁵. Moving means a new license. If DESE revokes or denies a license, it will not accept a new application for that facility for 12 months ⁠⁵. You can ask DESE in writing for a variance from a rule, and the statute requires approval of any variance that does not endanger children’s health or safety ⁠³.

Getting paid through subsidy and CACFP

To be paid for subsidy-eligible children, you must hold a Child Care Subsidy contract with DESE’s Office of Childhood. DESE keeps separate application checklists for new licensed providers ⁠¹³. Accredited providers, and those serving a disproportionate number of children, nontraditional hours or children with special needs, may qualify for an enhanced rate ⁠¹³. The Child and Adult Care Food Program is the one federal funding source that does not take away a licensing exemption ⁠¹.

Rule rewrite under Executive Order 25-15

Governor Kehoe’s Executive Order 25-15 directs DESE to cut child care licensing requirements by at least 10% and rewrite the rules in plainer language ⁠¹⁴. DESE counted 681 requirements in the family home rulebook and flagged 79 as duplicative, outdated or unnecessary, an 11.60% reduction if removed ⁠¹⁵. DESE held 11 regional informational sessions on proposed changes in March and April 2026 ⁠¹⁴. It estimated the public notice, comment and hearing stage alone at 8 to 10 months ⁠¹⁵. As of 2026-10-12, the DESE rule-revision page and the September 2025 report describe the process but do not say whether proposed amendments to 5 CSR 25-400 have been filed in the Missouri Register or when a final rule would take effect ⁠¹⁴⁠¹⁵. Ask your regional Child Care Compliance office, or email [email protected] with “Executive Order 25-15” in the subject line ⁠¹⁴, which version of the rules will be applied to your inspection. Until a new rule takes effect, the version last amended effective April 30, 2023 applies ⁠⁵. That includes the ratio table, space minimums and training hours above.

For the other Missouri care licenses, see the assisted living facility, residential care facility, adult day care program and home health agency guides, or the Missouri overview.

Sources

1. 1
   Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 210.211, License required, exceptions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 210.201, Definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 210.221, Licenses to be issued by department, standards, variances, denial Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 210.252, Fire, safety, health and sanitation inspections Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations, 5 CSR 25-400, Licensing Rules for Family Child Care Homes Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations, 5 CSR 25-600, Child Care Comprehensive Background Screening Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Start a Family Child Care Home Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Start a Child Care Program Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Child Care Rules and Laws Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Steps to Becoming Licensed: Family Child Care Homes (rev. 11/2023) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Child Care Background Check Process Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Regional Offices for Child Care Compliance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Child Care Subsidy Providers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Child Care Licensing Rule Revision (Executive Order 25-15) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    Missouri DESE, Office of Childhood, Executive Order 25-15 Implementation Report (September 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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