Nebraska child care center license: the provisional year, rules and steps

Is your program a child care center?

Nebraska’s Child Care Licensing Act makes a license mandatory once you care for four or more children from other families at one time. Three or fewer need no license.⁠² DHHS issues five license types: Family Child Care Home I, Family Child Care Home II, Child Care Center, Preschool and School-Age-Only Center.⁠⁵ The Child Care Center rule, 391 NAC 3, applies to programs licensed for 13 or more children. Nebraska does not require a commercial building: “A center may be located in the licensee’s residence or another location.”⁠¹ If the center is in a private residence, everyone living there age 13 or older goes through the registry checks.⁠¹

Below 13 children you are in family home territory, covered in the Nebraska family child care home guide. A program for 13 or more children who attend or have attended school is licensed as a School-Age-Only Center under 391 NAC 4. Preschools have their own chapter, 391 NAC 5. Each has its own application and checklist, so pick the right one before you start.⁠⁵⁠¹⁴

Section 3-001.02 lists programs that are exempt from mandatory licensing but may choose to be licensed. The ones a center founder most often runs into are:⁠¹

• programs operated or contracted by a public school district under State Department of Education rules, and preschool programs in a school approved under Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-318
• services only for school-age children during summer and other extended school breaks
• care only for children 13 or older, and care averaging less than two hours a week
• recreation camps and programs run by a city or other political subdivision
• classes or services by a religious organization, other than child care, preschool or nursery school
• care on federal military installations, and care on Indian reservations as the rule describes

Once you hold a license, you are bound by the Act even if your program would otherwise be exempt.⁠²

The provisional year, then a non-expiring license

Nebraska licenses centers in two stages. This shapes your first two years more than any other rule.

• Provisional license. Every newly licensed center gets one, and it lasts one year.⁠¹ The statute ties it to completing “preservice orientation training approved or delivered by the department.”⁠² DHHS can extend it once, for no more than six months, if you are making a good-faith effort, the gap poses no unreasonable risk and you have an approved plan of correction. That decision cannot be appealed.⁠²⁠¹
• Operating license. After one full provisional year with satisfactory compliance, you apply for an operating license. It is “standard, non-expiring” but remains “subject to annual inspections and fees.”⁠¹⁠²

DHHS sends notice no later than 90 days before the provisional license expires. If you miss the deadline but apply complete and compliant within 90 days after expiry, you get an operating license. After 90 days, DHHS treats you as a brand-new provisional applicant.⁠¹ The operating application is short: the application and ownership disclosure, lawful-presence attestation where it applies, updated Reports of Law Enforcement Contact, director verification, proof of insurance and the fee.⁠¹⁠⁸

The director: qualifications and the pre-licensure paperwork

DHHS will not license a center without a named director who meets 391 NAC 3-006.04. The licensee can run the center personally or designate a director, and the director’s duties must be written down.⁠¹ For a center first licensed after May 20, 2013, the director must be at least 19, of good moral character, and meet one of these:⁠¹

1. Bachelor’s degree

   in early childhood education, education or child/youth development.

2. Any bachelor’s degree

   with at least six credit hours in those fields.

3. Associate degree

   in those fields.

4. Child Development Associate (CDA) credential

5. High school diploma or GED plus 3,000 clock hours

   of verifiable experience in organized group activities for children from birth to age 13, backed by a positive reference. You also need six credit hours or 36 clock hours of Department-approved training in administration, early childhood or child/youth development, or an approved plan to finish them within 12 months. Business courses can make up no more than half.

A training plan goes to the Early Childhood Training Center for approval (the DHHS overview cites LB 967). The application checklist calls it a “Pre-Service Training Plan that has been approved by the Nebraska Department of Education.”⁠⁷⁠⁸

Before the provisional license, the director (or an owner who is an individual or partner) must also:

• complete Safe with You training (safe sleep, abusive head trauma, Power to Protect). DHHS’s Q&A says this must be done before a provisional license is issued, and co-directors each need it.⁠⁷⁠⁸⁠¹⁰
• submit the Director Orientation Review: Statements of Understanding, a review of the regulations. The inspector goes over it with the director at the provisional inspection and then issues a certificate.⁠⁷
• submit a Health Information Report, with a health professional’s assessment, and a Report of Law Enforcement Contact.⁠¹⁠⁸

After hiring, a new director has 30 days to finish Department-approved director orientation. Other deadlines run from the provisional license date: safety training within three years and every five years after, Child Care Management Training within five years, and one domain of Nebraska’s Early Learning Guidelines within four years and one domain a year after that.⁠¹

Background checks and fingerprints

Section 71-1912 requires a national fingerprint-based criminal history check for every child care staff member, including prospective staff, at the applicant’s or licensee’s expense. It must be repeated at least once every five years, along with searches of sex offender registries and state criminal and child abuse registries for every state lived in during the preceding five years.⁠³ At the application stage, the checklist asks for a national check and a Central Registry check for each applicant (owners, LLC members and corporate officers who sign) and each director.⁠⁸ If someone has lived in Nebraska less than 12 months, you also need a criminal history record from their previous state.⁠⁷

DHHS runs the child abuse/neglect central register check (age 13 and older) and the adult protective services registry check (age 18 and older). You run the State Patrol sex offender registry check yourself, and all registry checks must clear before a person takes responsibility for children.⁠¹ The rule sets permanent, 20-year and 5-year disqualifications by type of conviction.⁠¹ The statute also bars anyone convicted of a crime of violence, moral turpitude or dishonesty, and anyone on a sex offender registry. A center that employs an ineligible person cannot be licensed or take part in the subsidy program.⁠³

On cost, DHHS said in May 2024 that it will keep paying the $45.25 Nebraska State Patrol fingerprint fee for child care workers until April 30, 2029, using federal CCDF funds.⁠¹²

Space, playground and building rules

Licensed capacity is set by DHHS “based on available space and the capacity authorized by the State Fire Marshal.”⁠¹ The application warns that the capacity you request may not be approved.⁠⁸ The space rules in 391 NAC 3-007 are:⁠¹

For example, 40 children need at least 1,400 square feet of countable activity space.

If the play area does not adjoin the building, your plan must cover the distance, supervision, any transportation, the numbers and ages of children, and how often they go outside.⁠¹ Alternative compliance can be requested in writing for many rules, and DHHS decides within 30 days of having what it needs. It is never available for capacity or ratios, transportation, supervision, fire safety, background checks, or licensee and staff requirements.⁠¹

Building work. The Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects says a new stand-alone day care building under 2,000 square feet does not need an architect or engineer. Projects of 2,000 square feet or more may. Renovations under 2,000 square feet are exempt only if they do not affect mechanical, electrical or structural systems, egress or the occupancy classification.⁠¹¹ DHHS links this guidance from its application page.⁠⁶

Zoning, fire and sanitation approvals

Three outside approvals have to be in hand, and DHHS’s process overview explains the order.

• Zoning. Submit a zoning approval letter or a certificate of occupancy from the city planning department or county office. A center on the premises of an operating school submits a statement claiming that exemption instead.⁠⁷ DHHS lists city-specific items: carbon monoxide detector rules, impact fees and zoning information for Lincoln, and a certificate of occupancy requirement for centers in Omaha.⁠⁶
• Fire and sanitation. Once all required forms are received and approved, DHHS sends referrals to the fire and health inspectors.⁠⁷ Both approvals are listed application items, and the rule requires them to stay in effect.⁠¹ If an inspector has not contacted you within 30 days, DHHS suggests calling them. The fire department “will not release an approval without their fire fee payment.”⁠⁷ After licensure, DHHS sends new fire and sanitation referrals every two years, and whenever you add space, move or get a complaint on those issues.⁠¹

Staffing and ratios

Ratios are measured center-wide, and only staff in direct care count.⁠¹

The other staffing rules:⁠¹

• At least two staff on the premises at all times. The exceptions are 12 or fewer children, or 15 or fewer when all are school-age.
• A teacher in every room where children are in care, and all staff awake and alert, including at nap time.
• Infant rooms hold no more than 12 children. With 5 or more infants in a room you need two staff in the room, and with 9 or more, three. DHHS’s Q&A adds that any room with infants keeps 1:4 for the infants, so a room with four infants plus older children needs a second staff member.⁠¹⁠¹⁰
• At least one staff member with current CPR and first aid on the premises during all hours. CPR must come from a course approved by the Nebraska Board of Emergency Medical Services.

Teachers must be at least 18 and hold an education degree, an associate degree or a CDA. The alternative is a high school diploma or GED plus either 1,500 verified hours with young children or an approved plan for three credit hours or 45 clock hours within six months. Certificated teachers at centers on accredited or approved school premises qualify. Support staff can be 16 but must work with a teacher in the room. Volunteers and parent helpers do not count toward ratios under the rule.⁠¹

Training. Staff need an orientation covering eight listed topics before they take on direct care. Direct-care staff need 12 clock hours of training a year, or 6 if they work 20 hours a week or less. Anyone planning menus or preparing food needs 4 hours of nutrition and food safety training within 30 days of hire and every year after. Drivers need “Safe Kids Buckle Up” within 90 days and every five years, plus CPR and first aid.⁠¹ Center-run orientation does not count toward annual hours.⁠¹⁰

Written policies DHHS reviews

Section 3-006.14 requires a written description of services: ages served, days and hours, the child development program, special services, any parent education, what you expect of parents, owner contact details, and DHHS information on regulations and complaints.⁠¹ Written policies must cover:⁠¹

• excluding ill children
• suspending and ending care
• fees and parent contracts
• verifying who may pick up a child
• parent grievances
• personnel matters: qualifications, training, staff discipline, immunization and exclusion of ill staff

Give copies to staff and parents. At enrollment, you must also hand each family the DHHS Parent Information Brochure and keep a signed receipt.⁠¹ The provisional application asks for a sample daily schedule for each age group and a sample weekly menu.⁠¹ DHHS publishes a guide to writing policies and procedures for centers.⁠⁵ Any hours between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. count as overnight care, which has its own rule section.⁠⁸

Applying, step by step

DHHS says the process “typically takes up to 60 - 75 days.” It processes applications in the order received and tells you not to set an opening date until the license is issued.⁠⁷

1. Read 391 NAC 3 and the center checklist

   The DHHS licensing page posts the rule, the compliance-review checklist (CRED 0964) and the center Q&A.⁠⁵⁠⁶

2. Arrange insurance

   You can send a binding quote with the application, but proof that the policy is active must reach DHHS before the license is issued.⁠⁷

3. Finish Safe with You training

   for the owner or the director.⁠⁷

4. Get zoning approval

   or a certificate of occupancy (Lincoln and Omaha have extra items).⁠⁷⁠⁶

5. Submit the application and the required documents

   The application asks for business type, authorized agents, federal ID and, for an LLC or corporation, a Nebraska Secretary of State number. It also asks whether you will accept child care subsidy and whether anyone with an ownership interest has held a Nebraska child care license before. You need a working phone on the premises; a cell phone is fine.⁠⁸ Email the application and documents to [email protected] and mail the fee separately with a copy of page 1, or mail everything to DHHS, Office of Children’s Services Licensing, P.O. Box 94986, Lincoln, NE 68509-4986.⁠⁸

6. Pass fire and sanitation inspections

   after DHHS sends the referrals, and pay the fire department’s fee.⁠⁷

7. Pass the provisional inspection

   A Child Care Inspection Specialist schedules this announced visit within 30 days of your complete application. You get a preliminary compliance report at the end of the visit and the final report within ten working days.⁠¹⁠³⁠⁷

8. Start care on the effective date

   DHHS tells you the effective date by phone or email, and you may enroll children from that date. The paper license follows by mail.⁠⁷

Licensing staff are at (402) 471-6564 in Lincoln, (402) 595-3343 in Omaha and (800) 600-1289 toll-free.⁠⁵

Fees, as published

Pay by check or money order; cash is not accepted. The fee must arrive before a license is issued.⁠⁵ Fees are nonrefundable, with one exception: if DHHS denies the application or you withdraw it before an inspection is completed, the fee is returned.⁠¹ Local fire departments charge their own approval fee, which DHHS does not set.⁠⁷

Insurance: the 2025 enforcement change

Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1911.03 requires written proof of liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence, covering the hours children are in care, before a license is issued. The coverage must stay in force whenever a child is in care.⁠⁴

LB257, signed May 21, 2025, did not change the amount but added enforcement. Starting September 22, 2025, DHHS licensing staff and fire and sanitation inspectors ask for current proof of insurance at every unannounced inspection. If you cannot show it, you have three business days to send it. After that, DHHS starts a disciplinary suspension that lasts until you provide proof.⁠⁹⁠³

After you open: inspections and changes

• Unannounced inspections at least once a year for centers licensed for fewer than 30 children, and at least twice a year at 30 or more. The 30-child line therefore affects both your fee and how often you are inspected.⁠³⁠¹
• Follow-up inspections come within 60 days when violations are found. DHHS can also make monitoring visits.⁠¹
• Report changes to DHHS on the amendment forms. These include location, days or hours, licensed age range, program name, capacity, use of space, staff and volunteers, and a change of director.⁠⁵
• Moving means applying 90 days before you occupy the new site, with fresh fire, sanitation and zoning approvals and a site inspection. You cannot use the new space until it is licensed.⁠¹
• Selling. The license is not transferable, and a change of ownership ends it. The buyer applies for a new license.⁠¹
• Enforcement ranges from a voluntary licensing agreement or corrective action status up to a probationary license, enrollment limits, suspension or revocation. Civil penalties can be up to $5 per child of licensed capacity for each day of violation.⁠¹⁠²

Inspection reports are public. DHHS releases compliance reviews on request, free for 10 pages or fewer.⁠⁵

What is changing

391 NAC 3 dates from 2013 (effective February 20, operative May 20, 2013). DHHS revised its center Q&A on September 23, 2025.⁠¹⁠¹⁰ The draft minutes of the Child Care Advisory Committee’s April 18, 2026 meeting say a subcommittee is still reviewing the center, school-age-only and preschool rules, and that DHHS expected to open a child care regulation revision the following month.⁠¹³ Those minutes also summarize LB912 (2026). Under it, a new hire could start supervised work once either the national or the home-state fingerprint check comes back clean. Someone who has already been cleared would not need a new check when changing jobs, unless they had been out of child care work for more than 180 days. The bill also requires a complaint-tracking system, and its language would let volunteers count toward ratios depending on their qualifications and training.⁠¹³ Section 71-1912 already reflects the two-check start rule.⁠³

The slip law itself settles part of the volunteer question. LB912 was approved on April 14, 2026, and its Section 28 says no licensed program may be prohibited from counting a volunteer in the staff-to-child ratio, for supervised care when the volunteer has a qualifying fingerprint result and all other 71-1912 checks, and for unsupervised care when the volunteer also meets staff qualifications and training. No volunteer may count for more than ten hours a week, and DHHS must adopt rules to match. That section becomes operative three calendar months after the 2026 session adjourned.⁠¹⁵ The 391 NAC 3 text DHHS posts (2013) still says in 3-006.06 that volunteers are not counted in ratios.⁠¹ Until DHHS tells you in writing how it applies Section 28, staff your ratios without volunteers and ask the Licensure Unit at your inspection whether, and under what conditions, a volunteer may count.⁠¹⁠¹⁵

On subsidy, the application asks whether you will accept Nebraska child care subsidy. DHHS’s subsidy program can be reached at (402) 471-9152.⁠⁸⁠⁵

Sources

1. 1
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Title 391 NAC Chapter 3, Child Care Centers (effective 2/20/13, operative 5/20/13) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1911, licenses; when required; issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1912, inspections; national criminal history record information check Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1911.03, applicant; liability insurance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Nebraska DHHS, Licensure Unit, Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Nebraska DHHS, Licensure Unit, How to Apply for a Child Care or Preschool License Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Nebraska DHHS, Children's Services Licensing, Licensing Process Overview: Provisional Child Care Center (01/17/2023) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Nebraska DHHS, Children's Services Licensing, Application for a Child Care Center License (Provisional or Operating) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Nebraska DHHS, Children's Services Licensing, LB257 Insurance Change Announcement to Providers (September 22, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Nebraska DHHS, Children's Services Licensing, Questions and Answers: Child Care Centers (391 NAC Chapter 3), revised 9/23/2025 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects, Requirements for Day Care Projects (August 27, 2020) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS Extends Coverage of Fingerprinting Costs for Child Care Providers to 2029 (news release, 5/8/2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Nebraska DHHS, Child Care Advisory Committee, minutes of the April 18, 2026 meeting (unapproved) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Types of Child Care in Nebraska Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
15. 15
    Nebraska Legislature, LB912 (2026), slip law approved by the Governor April 14, 2026 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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