Nebraska Family Child Care Home I and II licenses: who needs one and how to get it

The four-child line, and what it does not cover

Nebraska’s trigger is set by statute: no one may operate “a program for four or more children under his or her direct supervision, care, and control at any one time from families other than that of such person” without a DHHS license.⁠¹ The same section says a person “may operate child care for three or fewer children without having a license,” and may choose to get one voluntarily, in which case the full Child Care Licensing Act applies.⁠¹ DHHS’s own summary of license-exempt home care is a maximum of six children from one family, or three or fewer children from more than one family.⁠⁷

Count “at any one time,” not total enrollment, and count only children from other families. Your own children still matter for capacity once you are licensed (see the counting rules below), but they do not push you over the four-child licensing line.

A “program” under the act means care in place of parental supervision for children under 13, for compensation (direct or indirect), averaging less than 12 hours a day but more than two hours a week.⁠² The definition excludes casual care at irregular intervals, care offered only to school-age children during summer and other extended school breaks, foster care, and programs on a military base or licensed by the Department of Defense or Coast Guard.⁠²

Two traps for people who lost a license: if DHHS suspended or revoked yours for anything other than unpaid fees, you may not care for any number of children, even one or two, until you are relicensed.⁠¹ And providing unlicensed care when a license is required is a Class IV misdemeanor, with each day a separate offense.⁠³

A city, village or county that had its own ordinance on July 10, 1984 covering programs for two or three children from different families may still license those small programs locally.⁠¹ If you plan to stay at three or fewer children, ask your city or county whether such an ordinance applies.

Home I or Home II: choosing the tier

Nebraska does not use “small” and “large” home labels. It uses two numbered licenses under separate rule chapters, 391 NAC 1 and 391 NAC 2, both operative since May 20, 2013.⁠¹³

Sources: definitions in 391 NAC 1-002⁠⁴; DHHS program types⁠⁷; FCCH II checklist⁠¹⁰; licensing process overview⁠⁵.

Home II is the route if you want to run a home-style program outside your own house, for example in a rented house or a space at a church. DHHS warns Home II applicants to contact the local planning department “before renting or purchasing a home for child care,” because some cities, including Omaha and Lincoln, require the licensee to live in the child care home.⁠⁵ More than 12 children takes you out of family child care altogether: a Nebraska child care center license covers 13 or more.⁠⁷

How Nebraska counts capacity and ratios

Your licensed capacity is the smaller of two numbers: what DHHS allows for your space and what the State Fire Marshal (or the local fire authority it delegates to) authorizes.⁠⁴ When an inspector checks capacity, every child on site counts, including any adult receiving care, except children who left for the day, enrolled children who are at school, and your own children age eight or older, unless you are paid for them.⁠⁴

DHHS treats grandchildren as your “own” children whether they live with you or with their parents: grandchildren under 8 always count, and grandchildren 8 or older count once you receive pay for them, private or through Child Care Subsidy.⁠⁸ Children of volunteers under 13 count toward capacity even though nobody is paid.⁠⁸

Source: 391 NAC 1-006.08B.⁠⁴ An “infant” in these rules is 6 weeks to 18 months; a toddler is 18 months to 3 years.⁠⁴

In a mixed-age Home I you may care for up to three infants, provided no more than two are under 12 months.⁠⁴ DHHS’s Q&A spells out the consequences: there are no exceptions to the ratios (the old alternative compliance for twins is gone); four infants means an infants-only program; and a fifth infant requires a second provider, with eight infants as the ceiling.⁠⁸

For Home II, the DHHS Q&A says that with two providers, and when the Fire Marshal allows it, you may have six infants as long as two of them are at least 12 months old, within the 12-child maximum.⁠⁸ DHHS’s Home II compliance checklist lists the ratios as infant 1:1, toddler 2:1, preschool 4:1 and school-age 6:1, and the primary provider must be on site enough hours to manage the program.⁠¹⁰ The published DHHS pages do not reproduce the full table in 391 NAC 2, so ask Children’s Services Licensing how the ratios apply to your mix of ages and your two providers before you set enrollment.

A 2026 change matters for staffing: under Laws 2026, LB912, a volunteer with a qualifying fingerprint check may count in the staff-to-child ratio for no more than 10 hours a week. That provision ends December 31, 2028.⁠³

Who may hold the license, and who may live in the house

A Home I licensee must be at least 19, of good moral character, a U.S. citizen or qualified alien lawfully present, and personally responsible for day-to-day operation.⁠⁴ The application includes an attestation of citizenship or immigration status.⁠⁴ Home II requires a primary provider who is at least 19 and on the premises enough hours to manage the program.⁠¹⁰ Staff and substitutes must be at least 16.⁠⁹

Because the program is in a residence, your household is screened too:

• Fingerprint-based criminal history check for everyone on the application 18 or older, through the Nebraska State Patrol.⁠⁵ The statute requires it of anyone “residing in a family child care home” who is 18 or older, and repeats it at least once every five years.⁠³ Anyone who has lived in Nebraska less than 12 months also needs a criminal history check from their previous state.⁠⁸
• APS/CPS (central registry) consent for everyone 13 or older.⁠⁵
• Report of Law Enforcement Contact for everyone 19 or older, updated annually.⁠⁵⁠⁹
• Health Information Report for the licensee and any staff working more than 20 hours a week.⁠⁵

391 NAC 1 still says 19 for the criminal history check; the statute and the DHHS application overview use 18. Follow the overview.⁠⁴⁠⁵⁠³

391 NAC 1 sets permanent, 20-year and five-year disqualifying offenses.⁠⁴ A person found ineligible may not live in the home or be on the premises at any time, even outside child care hours (the one exception is a parent picking up an enrolled child), and DHHS will not license a pending home while that person is there.⁠⁸ After you are licensed, a new household member 13 or older must be reported by amendment before the change (Home I) or at least five working days before it (Home II); members 12 and under within two working days.⁠⁸

Preparing the house: fire, space and zoning

DHHS sends a referral to your local fire jurisdiction once your application arrives; you do not schedule the fire inspection yourself.⁠⁵ DHHS still links a State Fire Marshal handout dated August 22, 2007, based on the 2000 edition of NFPA 101, that lists what inspectors look for:⁠¹¹

• Two unblocked exits from every floor used for child care, one a door straight outside; the second may be an egress window no more than 44 inches above the floor with a 5.7-square-foot clear opening.
• Furnaces, fireplaces and stoves inaccessible to children; a fire extinguisher may be required.
• Bathroom and closet doors that can be unlocked from outside.
• Smoke alarms on every level, outside sleeping rooms and in each sleeping room children use, hard-wired and interconnected.

391 NAC 1 adds: no candles, incense or open flames while children are in care, and heaters out of children’s reach when in use.⁠⁴

The DHHS inspection checklist for Home I sets these space and household standards:⁠⁹

• At least 35 square feet of activity space per child, not counting rooms you don’t use for child care.
• At least 50 square feet of outdoor play space per child.
• A continuous fence, 36 inches high and flush to the ground, where hazards make one necessary.
• Hot water at 100 to 120°F.
• If you are on a private well or septic system, water tested every year.
• Firearms unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately.
• Pets examined by a veterinarian every year.

Natural bodies of water, hot tubs and livestock tanks are off-limits to children, and a pool on the property must be fenced at 4 feet.⁠⁹

Zoning is a separate approval you get from the city or county, and it goes in the application packet. Home I needs it only in Blair, Grand Island, Holdrege and Lincoln. Home II needs it everywhere.⁠⁵ Cities and counties may also adopt their own safety standards for child care, as long as they are at least as strict as the state’s.⁠³

Training before you apply, and in the first five years

The application packet must include certificates for:⁠⁵

1. FCCH Orientation

   DHHS’s recorded orientation slideshow. The rule calls it a two-hour orientation and requires it, with CPR and First Aid, before a provisional license is issued.⁠⁴ It also walks you through choosing Home I or Home II.

2. Prepare to Care

   The state’s health and safety training.

3. Safe With You, three modules

   ABCs of Safe Sleep, Never Shake a Child, and Power to Protect, through the Nebraska Department of Education. Each is valid for five years; versions under the old names completed within five years are accepted.

4. CPR and First Aid

   Expiration depends on the training organization. DHHS suggests checking Child Care Subsidy’s CPR/First Aid rules before you book a class if you plan to accept subsidy.

After licensure, 391 NAC 1 adds deadlines counted from your provisional license date:

• Safety training (SIDS, safe sleep, shaken baby syndrome, child abuse and reporting): within 3 years, then every 5 years.⁠⁴
• Business management training (“Getting Down to Business”): within 5 years.⁠⁹ Center director management training counts instead.⁠⁸
• Nebraska’s Early Learning Guidelines: one of the seven six-hour domains within 4 years, then one a year until all seven are complete.⁠⁴⁠⁸

Every year, the licensee (and Home II’s primary provider) needs 12 clock hours of approved in-service training. Staff working 20 hours a week or less need 6.⁠⁹⁠¹⁰ Required courses count toward those hours.⁠⁸ Keep the certificates on site for your inspector; don’t mail them in.⁠⁸

Policies and plans the inspector will ask for

391 NAC 1 requires these in writing:⁠⁴

• An illness exclusion policy, available to parents and DHHS. DHHS supplies sample guidance.
• A disaster preparedness plan covering evacuation, reuniting parents with their children, and children with special needs.
• Posted fire and tornado diagrams.
• Records of monthly fire drills, and of tornado drills at least four times a year between March and September.

From July 1, 2026, any licensed program caring for a child with a known food or other allergy must also have an anaphylaxis policy and publish it in its parent handbook or similar document.⁠³

Other day-one rules:

• Collect each child’s immunization record (or the medical or parental exemption statement) within 30 days of enrollment.⁠³
• Report enrollees’ immunization status to DHHS by November 1 each year.⁠³
• Serve meals and snacks by how long a child is present: one snack and one meal for 4 to 8 hours, up to two snacks and two meals for 10 hours or more.⁠⁴
• No blankets in cribs (Laws 2024, LB874).⁠³

DHHS posts inspection checklists and instructions for writing policies in the Family Child Care Home I and II section of its licensing site.⁠⁵

The application, step by step

DHHS processes applications in the order received and says outright: “Do not set an opening date for your child care until the process is completed and your license is issued.”⁠⁵

1. Assemble the packet. It contains:⁠⁵⁠⁴
   • The Home I or Home II application
   • A $25 check or money order to “DHHS – Children’s Services Licensing” (no cash)
   • The background check forms above
   • Training certificates
   • A floor plan sketch, one per floor, with room measurements, areas children will and won’t use, the exit to outdoor play, and the measured play area
   • Zoning approval where required
   • For Home I, two proofs of residence (such as utility bills) dated within the last 90 days
   • A completed rules compliance checklist
2. Submit it. Mail it or drop it off. Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass, Dodge, Colfax and Cuming counties go to 1313 Farnam St., 3rd Floor, Omaha; all other counties to 301 Centennial Mall South, PO Box 94986, Lincoln. You may also email it to [email protected], but you still have to mail the fee and a copy of page one.⁠⁵
3. Corrections. DHHS reviews the packet and asks for anything missing. Send all corrections together.⁠⁵
4. Fingerprinting and fire referral. Criminal history applications go to DHHS’s fingerprinting staff, and DHHS refers your home to the local fire jurisdiction.⁠⁵
5. Announced licensing inspection. Once the file and background checks are complete, a Child Care Inspection Specialist visits. This initial visit is announced; nearly every later inspection is not.⁠⁵⁠³
6. Insurance, then the license. Proof of liability insurance can come late, but DHHS will not issue the license without it.⁠⁵ The license is issued when the home complies with every requirement.⁠⁵

The license is not transferable and is valid only at the address printed on it.⁠⁴

Fees and insurance

As published on 2026-10-12, DHHS charges $25 for a provisional license and $25 a year for programs licensed for fewer than 30 children (every family home), payable only by check or money order.⁠⁶ The fee is set by statute.⁠³ Fees are nonrefundable, except that DHHS returns the fee if it denies the application, or you withdraw it, before any inspection.⁠⁶⁠⁴

The larger cost is insurance. You must show written proof of liability coverage of at least $100,000 per occurrence for the hours children are in your care before the license is issued, and keep it in force.⁠³ The proof must show:⁠⁵

• The owner or program name and address
• The policy’s effective and expiration dates
• The $100,000-per-occurrence limit
• The insurer’s or agent’s contact details

If the coverage is bundled into a homeowner’s policy, you need an endorsement stating that child care is covered at that limit.⁠⁵

Enforcement has tightened. Since September 22, 2025, under LB257 (2025), every unannounced inspection, including fire and sanitation inspections, includes a demand for current proof of insurance. If you can’t produce it, you have three business days, after which DHHS starts a disciplinary suspension that lasts until you provide it.⁠¹²⁠³

The provisional year and after

Every new home gets a provisional license good for one year.⁠⁴ DHHS makes an unannounced visit within 60 days of issuing it, and again within 60 days of any operating or amended license.⁠⁴ DHHS sends an expiration notice at least 90 days before the provisional license expires.⁠⁴ To move up, you apply for an operating license with:⁠⁴

• A new application
• An updated Health Information Report and Law Enforcement Contact reports
• Proof of your provisional-year training hours
• A rules compliance checklist
• A fire inspection approval
• Another $25

At the one-year mark DHHS issues an operating license, extends the provisional license once for up to six months (only if you are making a good-faith effort and have an approved plan of correction), or denies the operating license.⁠¹ An extension cannot be appealed.⁠¹ If you miss the expiration date but apply complete and compliant within 90 days, you get an operating license. After 90 days you start over as a provisional applicant.⁠⁴

The operating license does not expire. It stays in force subject to annual unannounced inspections and the yearly $25 fee.⁠¹⁠³⁠⁶ Changes need DHHS approval:

• Before the change: building use, children’s ages, hours or days, address, or adding staff, volunteers or household members 13 or older.⁠⁹
• Fire re-inspection and licensing visit: a move, use of space the Fire Marshal hasn’t approved, or extending hours into overnight care.⁠⁴⁠⁸
• Closing: return the license to DHHS within one week.⁠¹

Inspection reports are public on request, and you must post your license where parents can see it.⁠³⁠¹

Changes since 2024 worth knowing

• 2024, LB874: Blankets banned in cribs in all licensed child care.⁠³ DHHS’s Home I checklist lists the same crib-blanket rule as effective July 18, 2024.⁠⁹
• September 22, 2025, LB257: Insurance proof checked at every unannounced inspection, with a three-business-day cure period before suspension.⁠¹²
• September 23, 2025: DHHS revised its Home I and II Q&A, including the rules on grandchildren and ratios cited above.⁠⁸
• July 1, 2026: Anaphylaxis policy required when caring for a child with a known allergy.⁠³
• 2026, LB912: Fingerprinted volunteers may count in ratios for up to 10 hours a week, through December 31, 2028.⁠³

The rule chapters themselves, 391 NAC 1 and 2, have not been replaced since 2013.⁠¹³ The statute is now newer than the rules in places, such as the age for fingerprint checks, so the statute and DHHS’s current forms govern.

For other Nebraska care licenses, see the guides to assisted living facilities, adult day services and home health agencies, or the Nebraska overview. Questions go to DHHS Children’s Services Licensing at [email protected] or 800-600-1289.⁠⁵

Sources

1. 1
   Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1911, Licenses; when required; issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Nebraska Legislature, Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-1910, Terms, defined Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, 2026 State of Nebraska Statutes Relating to Child Care Licensure Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, 391 NAC 1, Family Child Care Home I (effective 2/20/2013, operative 5/20/2013) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Provisional Family Child Care Home I and II Licensing Process Overview Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure Unit, Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Types of Child Care in Nebraska Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Questions and Answers: Family Child Care Home I and II (391 NAC Chapters 1 and 2), revised 9/23/2025 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Regulations Compliance Review, FCCH I Cover Sheet (CRED-0959, 7/2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Regulations Compliance Review, FCCH II Cover Sheet (CRED-0958) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, State Fire Marshal Requirements for Family Child Care Home I and II (August 22, 2007) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Children''s Services Licensing, Liability insurance enforcement letter to child care providers (September 22, 2025) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Title 391, Children's Services Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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