Nevada child care center license: rules, ratios and the 90-day roadmap

Center, group home or something else?

Nevada licenses child care by headcount. A “child care facility” is any place caring for five or more children under 18 when compensation is received for any of them.⁠¹ The regulations then split that into three community licenses:

The center definition is NAC 432A.050: a facility where the licensee “regularly provides day or night care for more than 12 children” in a developmentally appropriate program.⁠² If you plan to stay at 12 or fewer children, read the Nevada family and group home guide instead. A family or group home licensee cannot hold any other child care license, so you cannot run a home program and a center at the same time.⁠²

Several center-scale programs carry their own definitions, and each one changes a rule further down:

• Nursery for infants and toddlers. A facility running an early care and education program for five or more children under 2. NAC 432A.425 adds infant-specific rules for it.⁠²
• Special needs facility. Children with special needs make up 40 percent or more of licensed capacity. The director needs extra qualifications.⁠²
• Accommodation facility. Child care run by a business licensed for some other purpose, as a service to its customers. It does not need outdoor play space.⁠¹⁠²
• On-site child care facility. Care for employees’ children at the place of employment, owned, run, subsidized or contracted for by the employer. If you cannot fit the outdoor play space, you can substitute an equal amount of indoor play space.⁠¹

Facilities that care for ill children have separate rules: 50 square feet of indoor space per child and their own director and staffing qualifications.⁠² This guide covers a standard well-child center.

Who issues the license

Child care licensing now sits in the Department of Human Services. The statute defines “Division” as the Division of Social Services, and its Child Care Licensing unit runs the application.⁠¹⁠³ The Southern Nevada office is at 3811 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 210, Las Vegas (702-486-3822). The Northern Nevada office number is 775-684-8781.⁠³

Older documents still name earlier agencies. The State Fire Marshal’s child care matrix still says the Division of Public and Behavioral Health issues the license.⁠⁵ Washoe County’s 2024 ordinance item says the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services “took over all child care licensing activities for Washoe County effective July 1, 2024.”⁠⁸ Treat those as history. You apply through the Division of Social Services.

The law still allows local licensing. Under NRS 432A.131, a county or incorporated city with its own licensing agency and ordinance can license centers instead of the state. Its standards must be no less restrictive than the state’s and must be approved by the Division. A local government that wants to stop licensing must give the Division 12 months’ notice.⁠¹ The Division’s roadmap tells applicants to contact cities and counties only for local permits and licenses.⁠³ The roadmap names no city or county that runs its own center licensing, and it sends every applicant through the state application.⁠³ Before you file, ask Child Care Licensing whether a local licensing agency covers your address, since the statute allows one.

What must be in place before you apply

The Division will not accept an application, and will withdraw one already filed, unless these are in place first:⁠³

• A physical location that can pass fire, health, building and zoning codes.
• A fenced outdoor play area. Accommodation facilities and special-event facilities are exempt.
• Employees and adults who can pass a criminal background check, child abuse and neglect screening and sex offender registry screening.
• Money for all the fees involved in opening.
• A qualified director. The roadmap lists this for centers and institutions only.

The director: qualifications and Division approval

Every center must have a director who meets NRS 432A.1773. That can be the licensee, if qualified, or someone the licensee appoints.⁠² The director must be at least 21 and meet one of these education and experience combinations:⁠¹

On top of that, the director needs 1,000 verifiable hours in an administrative position or a completed course in business administration. They must also register with The Nevada Registry within 90 days of starting and renew that registration every year.⁠¹

The director must apply to the Division and be approved before serving. The facility keeps the approval notice in the director’s personnel file, and you report any new director appointment within 5 working days.⁠² On the roadmap, centers submit the director application within the first 30 days after filing.⁠³

A special needs facility director must also have 12 semester hours of coursework, including 6 in the education of children with special needs. The experience requirement is 6 months with a degree or 2 years with a high school diploma.⁠²

NAC 432A.304 sets out what the director must do day to day:⁠²

• Provide space for an office, records storage, parent conferences and staff meetings.
• Keep a separate personnel file for each employee, with training records and background clearance.
• Designate a staff member to run the facility whenever the director is absent.
• If the center operates 25 hours a week or less, be present for at least half of the operating hours.

The building: space, playground and fire code

Space. A center needs at least 35 square feet of indoor space per child. That excludes bathrooms, halls, kitchens, stairs, storage and any multipurpose room or gym not in regular use. It also needs 37.5 square feet of outdoor play space per child, measured against licensed capacity.⁠² Usable, measured classroom floor area can count toward the indoor figure as long as each classroom keeps its ratio and group size.⁠² The Division’s FAQ says your child care surveyor can help you measure.⁠⁴

Plans review. If you are building new or remodeling, you must submit plans to the Division before construction starts. Plan review does not approve your license.⁠² A building taken over through a change of ownership must meet the chapter and applicable building and safety codes.⁠²

Indoor environment. Rooms used by children must stay between 65°F and 82°F from October through March, and between 68°F and 82°F from April through September. Heating units hotter than 100°F need nonflammable guards.⁠²

Playground. The play area must be fenced so children cannot leave unsupervised, and it needs drainage. Elevated equipment needs resilient surfacing and safety barriers. No poisonous plants are allowed, and no body of water can be accessible. From April through September you must provide 5 square feet of shade per child outdoors.⁠² The Division’s roadmap mentions a 6-foot minimum fence height in its home-provider section. Confirm the height for a center with your surveyor.⁠³

Fire code. The State Fire Marshal, or a designee, inspects on the Division’s behalf. Your license depends on a satisfactory inspection and a Certificate of Compliance.⁠⁵ The Fire Marshal’s matrix assigns your occupancy class by the children’s ages:⁠⁵

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

An E-occupancy center needs two approved exits once the occupant load is over 49. Any facility caring for 10 or more children aged 2½ or younger needs at least two exits.⁠⁵ The Fire Marshal also requires a posted evacuation plan, a fire drill every month and a natural disaster drill every three months.⁠⁵

Staffing: ratios, group sizes and who counts

Between 6:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., every classroom in a center must meet these minimums:⁠²

Between 9:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., the ratio is 1:6 (group of 12) for children under 3 and 1:10 (group of 20) for children 3 and older. Staff on duty at night must remain awake.⁠² When ages are mixed, you staff the whole group by the ratio and group size for its youngest child.⁠²

Other staffing rules shape your schedule:

• Supervising staff must be physically present in the room with the children.⁠²
• Field trips need one extra caregiver or adult volunteer per group beyond ratio, unless the group is entirely school-age.⁠²
• Staff counted toward the napping ratio must be on the same floor of the same building as the sleeping children.⁠²
• If a caregiver has an unplanned absence, the replacement must be able to arrive within 5 minutes, be background-cleared and meet the health and initial training rules.⁠²
• When you drive school-age children to and from school, the vehicle ratio is at least 1 staff member per 15 children. Other transport follows the classroom ratios.⁠²

Caregivers must be at least 16, and someone 18 or older must always be on the premises. No more than 50 percent of a center’s caregivers may be under 18. Each of them must have completed, or be enrolled in, an approved child development course and work under an adult employee’s supervision.⁠² According to the Division’s FAQ, staff and volunteers count toward ratio once they have a completed background check and have taken First Aid and Signs of Illness.⁠⁴

Training and The Nevada Registry

Every caregiver must join The Nevada Registry within 120 days of hire and stay active.⁠² The training clock starts on the first day:⁠²

• Within 2 weeks: facility orientation.
• Within 90 days: 1 hour on shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma, 2 hours on medication administration (including allergic reactions), 2 hours on building and premises safety, and 2 hours on emergency preparedness. Add 1 hour on transport if the person drives children. Also 2 hours on recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect, repeated every 5 years.
• Within 120 days: CPR certification (then kept current), 3 hours of age-specific child development or guidance, 2 hours of first aid, 2 hours on signs of illness and bloodborne pathogens, 2 hours on SIDS, and 2 hours on lifelong wellness, nutrition and physical activity.

After that, each employee completes 24 hours of training a year. At least 12 hours must be specific to the age group served and at least 2 must cover lifelong wellness, health and safety.⁠¹ The Division may make new hires repeat training completed more than 36 months before they started.⁠²

Background checks

The Division investigates the applicant, every employee and every adult volunteer other than a parent of an enrolled child.⁠² Employees and volunteers must be fingerprinted within 24 hours of hire or of first being in the facility. The applicant is fingerprinted when the application is filed. Everyone repeats the process every 5 years.⁠² Checks cover local and national criminal records, child abuse and neglect registries and sex offender registries. Anyone who has not lived in Nevada for the past five years also needs a check from their previous state.⁠³

The process runs in this order: sign the Division’s Consent and Release form, get fingerprinted at your local police agency, then submit to the Department of Public Safety Criminal History Repository in Carson City. Child Care Licensing notifies the facility of each person’s clearance.⁠³

Programs and policies the Division reviews

The Division examines your plans for care and management as part of the investigation.⁠² Within the first 30 days, the roadmap requires you to upload a Facility Statement, an Emergency Plan, background forms and your curriculum.⁠³ The rules behind those documents:

• Early care and education program. Every facility needs a written assessment plan and a written curriculum plan, prepared before the program starts. The curriculum must cover literacy, math, science, social studies, creative arts, and health and safety, and include English speaking and listening. Each child is assessed within 3 months of enrolling and twice a year after that.⁠²
• Emergency plan. You need a written plan, posted emergency numbers and drill records.⁠²⁠⁵
• Infant and toddler room. Before enrolling a child under 2, parents must agree in writing to your policies on feeding, diapering, sleeping and seven other listed matters. Each infant has an assigned caregiver who gives them at least 30 minutes of undivided attention every morning and afternoon. An awake infant may never be left in a crib for more than 15 minutes, and staff post a daily report for each child. The center must also provide a private area for breastfeeding.⁠²
• Safe sleep. Infants under 12 months sleep on their backs on a firm surface, and sleeping children are checked at least every 15 minutes.⁠²
• Food. Meals and snacks follow USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program standards. A child in care 10 hours or less gets one meal and two snacks, or two meals and one snack. Menus are planned a week ahead and kept for 90 days.⁠² Whether you need a kitchen permit is up to your local health department. The Division says cooking from raw food “typically requires a Kitchen Permit.”⁠⁴
• Insurance. You must hold third-party liability insurance and give the Division a certificate before the license is issued. The policy must require the insurer to notify the Division before cancellation or nonrenewal.⁠² If you transport children, you also need transport insurance and a transportation log kept for 4 months, with a signed vehicle sweep after every trip.⁠²

The application, step by step

The Division says its standard timeframe is licensure within 90 days of application.⁠³ Here is the order on the Licensing Roadmap:

1. Complete the LAP orientation

   The Licensing Application Process orientation is mandatory and online. It runs through the NEATS system, so set up a NEATS log-in first.⁠³

2. Get a state business license

   Register through the Secretary of State’s SilverFlume portal.⁠³

3. File the application and fee

   Submit the initial child care facility application online with the capacity-based fee.⁠³

4. First 30 days

   Meet your assigned surveyor for a consultation and checklist. Attend the New Facility Training and Backgrounds Training, which run once a month. Request State Fire Marshal and local health inspections, and apply for any city or county permits. Upload the Facility Statement, Emergency Plan, background forms and curriculum, and submit the Director application.⁠³

5. By day 60

   Staff complete the initial training courses listed on The Nevada Registry. Set up the facility and upload the remaining documents. Schedule the initial inspection with your surveyor, and file a Plan of Correction for any deficiencies.⁠³

6. By day 90

   Finish all corrections and have your fire, health and local permits issued. Tell your surveyor early about any delay. Missed deadlines mean withdrawal, and you have to file a new application.⁠³

7. Issuance

   Once the investigation shows compliance, the license is issued within 30 days.⁠² It is valid only for the named licensee and the listed premises, cannot be transferred, and lasts up to one year.⁠¹ If you need more time to come into compliance, the Division can issue a provisional license for up to a year, but only after background investigations are complete.⁠¹

For the Fire Marshal request, use the Child Care Inspection Request form, check “Child Care Center,” and pay the fee for your ZIP code. Have your fire escape route plan ready for the inspector.⁠⁶

Fees, as published

Sources: NAC 432A.200, 432A.220 and 432A.918; State Fire Marshal fee schedule under NAC 477.325.⁠²⁠⁶ The Division says zoning, special use permits, business licenses, fire and health requirements vary by jurisdiction and “may have associated costs.”⁠⁴ No fee is published for the LAP orientation or the Director application.

Inspections, letter grades and renewal

Division inspections can be unannounced and happen at least twice per 12-month licensing period, or once every 6 months. The Division can bill you for the cost of investigating a substantiated complaint.⁠²

After each inspection, the Division adds up the severity and scope scores of your deficiencies and assigns a grade from A to F.⁠² Within 60 days it posts the grade online along with any unresolved violations.⁠¹ You must post the grade placard near each public entrance within 24 hours of receiving it.⁠¹⁠² With a B, you can submit a $100 plan of correction to have the grade changed to A once the corrections are made. With a C, D or F, you must apply and pay for a resurvey within 30 days, or risk revocation.⁠²

Apply to renew at least 45 days before the license expires. The Division charges a $50 late fee if your application arrives later than 30 days before expiry. A renewed license runs one year.⁠²

Operating without a license is a misdemeanor and can bring a cease-and-desist order with 30 days to stop or apply. A court can impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for a first offense and $10,000 to $25,000 for later ones.⁠¹

Child care subsidy enrollment

Nevada pays for subsidized care through the Child Care and Development Program (CCDP). The Division directs providers to The Children’s Cabinet ([email protected]) to enroll. It asks providers to allow 30 business days for a valid timesheet to be processed.⁠⁷

What to watch

• Agency names in the rules. The statute now names the Division of Social Services, but older forms and the Fire Marshal matrix still name earlier agencies.⁠¹⁠⁵ Check form versions with your surveyor.
• Local licensing. Washoe County handed licensing to the state in July 2024.⁠⁸ NRS 432A.131 still lets other jurisdictions license locally, so confirm with Child Care Licensing which authority covers your address.⁠¹

Adding adult services later? A center for adults is a separate license from a different agency. See the Nevada adult day care facility guide.

Sources

1. 1
   Nevada Legislature, NRS chapter 432A, Services and Facilities for Care of Children Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Nevada Legislature (Nevada Administrative Code), NAC chapter 432A, Services and Facilities for Care of Children Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Nevada Division of Social Services, Child Care Licensing: Open and Operate a Child Care Facility (Licensing Roadmap) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Nevada Division of Social Services, Child Care Licensing FAQs Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Nevada State Fire Marshal Division, Licensed Child Care Facilities (fire and life safety matrix) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Nevada State Fire Marshal Division, Child Care Inspection Request and Certificate of Compliance fees (revised January 2023) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Nevada Division of Social Services, Child Care Providers (Child Care and Development Program) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Washoe County, Board of County Commissioners agenda item: ordinance amending Washoe County Code chapter 45 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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