Licensing a family day care home in New Hampshire: permit, license and the 4-child exemption

Where the license line falls: the 4-child exemption

You do not need a license if you care for any number of your own children plus up to 4 additional children in your private home, for any part of the day but less than 24 hours.⁠² A home that cares only for the provider’s own children, relatives and children who live there is also exempt.⁠² You can choose to be licensed anyway; the exemption applies “unless the caregiver elects to comply with the provisions of this chapter and be licensed.”⁠²

If you run legally exempt care, you must tell each new family that the program is not licensed and is operating as a legally license-exempt program.⁠² If you later drop a license and keep caring for children under the exemption, you must notify the CCLU of the date, return the license, and tell every family.⁠²

The exemption for state-subsidized care is tighter than the licensing exemption. To bill the NH Child Care Scholarship Program as a license-exempt family home, you may care for 3 or fewer children other than your own.⁠¹² That 3-child limit matters only if you want to stay unlicensed and still bill the scholarship; licensed homes enroll through the licensed-program route described below.

Family day care home or family group day care home

The school-age extras apply only to children attending a full-day school program, and only if the state fire code and local ordinance allow the higher number.⁠¹ The statute counts your foster children and all children related to you toward the 6 or 12, except children 10 or older.⁠¹ The 2025 rule words it differently: the license capacity includes “the provider’s own, foster, and resident children up to 6 years of age, when they are present.”⁠³ The two texts do not match, and neither source says how the CCLU reconciles them, so ask the unit whether your own school-age children count toward the 6 or 12 before you set enrollment.

Care for more than 12 children, or care outside a home, moves you to a center license; see the New Hampshire group child day care center guide. The CCLU also licenses night care programs, which can be home-based.⁠¹⁠⁵

Ratios inside the home

The rule caps young children as well as total numbers:⁠³

• You alone: no more than 6 children plus 3 school-age children; of the 6, no more than 4 younger than 36 months and no more than 2 younger than 24 months.
• You plus a child care worker or assistant (family home): still 6 plus 3, with no more than 4 younger than 36 months.
• You plus a worker or assistant (family group home): no more than 12 plus 5 school-age, with no more than 4 younger than 36 months.

A child care worker must be 18 or older. An assistant, paid or volunteer, must be 16 or older and always under the direct observation of the provider or a worker. A junior helper may be 14 but is never counted in the ratio.⁠³ Substitutes may cover for up to 90 consecutive days and no more than 120 days in any 12 months.⁠³

Who can hold the license, and where

He-C 4002 defines the family child care provider as the person in whose home care is provided, who runs the program and who personally provides care for at least two-thirds of operating hours.⁠³ You may hold only one family child care license.⁠³

You qualify at 21, or at 18 if you submit a high school diploma or equivalent (GED, HiSET or TASC) plus either a 2-year child care curriculum approved by the Department of Education or 6 college credits in child development, early childhood, elementary education or a related field, including at least one 3-credit course in child growth and development.⁠³

The care must take place in a dwelling you occupy full time, or in one of three nearby settings the rule allows: on the same property as your single-family home, in the other half of a side-by-side duplex you live in, or in a building of up to 3 stories with one unit per floor where you live in another unit.⁠³

Local sign-offs come first

RSA 170-E:6 requires you to obtain state and local health, safety and zoning approvals.⁠⁷ In practice that means three town-level visits before the CCLU will accept your package:

1. Health officer

   Written approval from the local health officer that the premises were inspected and approved for child care within the 12 months before the CCLU receives your application.⁠³

2. Fire inspector

   Written approval, also within 12 months, that the local fire department or the State Fire Marshal’s office inspected the home for compliance with Saf-FMO 300 and RSA 153:1, VI-a.⁠³

3. Zoning

   Documentation from your town or city that zoning approval was granted or is not required.⁠³ The CCLU’s zoning verification form must be signed by someone authorized to sign zoning documents and should list any limits the town sets on numbers, program types or ages.⁠⁴

Zoning is now on your side. RSA 674:16, VI requires municipalities to allow family day care homes and group family day care homes “by right” as long as He-C 4002 is met, bars ordinances that differ from RSA 170-E or He-C 4002, and states that on any lot where residential use is permitted, family or group family child care is allowed by right in the main building or an existing accessory structure, with no local site plan review.⁠¹⁰ The section was amended repeatedly from 2024 through a change effective September 13, 2026.⁠¹⁰ It does not override private covenants, including homeowners’ association rules.⁠¹⁰

Your licensed capacity will be the lowest of the limits set by the fire inspector, health officer, zoning officials, floor space and bathroom count.⁠³

Space, water and lead

• Indoor space: at least 35 square feet of net floor area per child in rooms children use (the rule text reads “35 feet of net floor area per child”; the unit measures capacity by floor space). Hallways, bathrooms, closets, offices and the cooking area of the kitchen do not count.⁠³
• Bathrooms: one toilet and one handwashing sink for every 20 children of licensed capacity.⁠³
• Outdoor play: 50 square feet per child, directly adjoining the indoor space. Exceptions: an approved play area within 1/8 mile with a written safe-travel plan; enough space for one-third of capacity if no more than one-third play outside at once; or programs open 5 or fewer hours a day with at least 20 minutes of gross motor activity.⁠³
• Hot water: at least 85°F at every indoor sink, and no hotter than 120°F at taps children can reach.⁠³
• Lead: homes built before January 1, 1978 must submit certification of lead safety under RSA 130-A:5-d, II.⁠³

Private wells deserve early attention because the testing takes lab time. A new applicant with its own water supply must submit results no more than 90 days old for arsenic, bacteria, nitrate, nitrite, lead (stagnant and flushed), copper (stagnant and flushed), fluoride, uranium, radon, manganese and PFAS, from a lab accredited under Env-C 300.⁠³ After licensing, you test bacteria every 3 months, arsenic, nitrate and nitrite annually, and stagnant lead, stagnant copper, fluoride and manganese at least every 3 years.⁠³ If manganese exceeds 0.3 mg/L, infants must get water from another source.⁠³

You also submit a diagram of the home: room dimensions, exits, the use of each room, bathroom fixtures and sinks, and the outdoor play area with gates, play equipment and any nearby pools, ponds, streams or roads.⁠³

Background checks for you and your household

The CCLU will not issue a permit until background record checks are complete; it holds the application until results arrive.⁠⁴ Under He-C 4002.40, staff, substitutes, volunteers who may be alone with children, and household members 18 and older submit a “New Background Record Check” through the NH Connections Information System (NHCIS) before employment or residency and every 5 years after.⁠³ Household members aged 13 to 17 instead complete a notarized “Staff and Household Member Form”, submitted with your application and again whenever someone in your home turns 13 or a teenager moves in.⁠³ The unit decides eligibility within 45 days of receiving everything.⁠³

The rule’s application checklist lists background forms for “all household members aged 12 years and older”, while the CCLU instructions letter says 10 and older.⁠³⁠⁴ The rule’s own background section (He-C 4002.40) sets 18 and older for NHCIS checks and 13 to 17 for the notarized form, and the CCLU letter still cites older rule numbering (He-C 4002.34(d)(2), 4002.27(a)(4)) that no longer matches the 2025 rule. Ask the unit which household ages it wants forms for in your application, since the three texts differ.

Fingerprints must be taken by LiveScan; ink cards are not accepted. You schedule and pay through the NH Department of Safety criminal records portal. If a local police department takes the prints instead, you submit a CCLU 1-A authorization with a $30 check to “State of NH - Criminal Records” (as published on 2026-10-12), plus out-of-state registry forms and fees for anyone who lived in another state in the past five years.⁠⁶

Training and first aid

Within 90 days of starting, you and every staff member counted in ratio complete the licensing orientation and health and safety training on 13 listed topics, including infectious disease and immunizations, medication administration, allergies, emergency preparedness, shaken baby syndrome, child abuse reporting and child development. Safe sleep and shaken baby training must come before working with infants, and medication training before giving any medication.⁠³

After that, the provider completes 12 hours of professional development within the first 12 months and every year after, at least 3 of them in health and safety. Self-study can count for no more than 4 hours. A first aid certification counts as 2 hours and CPR as 3 unless the certificate says otherwise.⁠³ Workers and assistants who work under 25 hours a week need 8 hours a year.⁠³

At least one person certified in pediatric CPR and first aid must be present with the children at all times, including off-site. Online courses count only if they include a skills test.⁠³ The CCLU asks to see your current pediatric first aid and CPR certificate at the licensing visit.⁠⁴

Written policies and the emergency plan

Before the permit is issued you need an emergency operations plan covering infants and toddlers, children with chronic medical conditions and children with disabilities, prepared in coordination with your local emergency response agencies.⁠³ Fire drills run monthly in year-round programs, and at least 2 drills a year must use the actual alarm system. Each drill is logged with time, exits used, number evacuated and evacuation time.⁠³

He-C 4002.15 requires written policies, given to parents at enrollment, on: keeping children enrolled rather than suspending or expelling them for behavior, screen and device use, medication, excluding sick children, meals and snacks when parents do not send them, and supervision on field trips and water activities.⁠³ The CCLU posts a Family Child Care Business Policy document and a Family Child Care Emergency Preparedness Guide with its forms.⁠⁵

Applying, in order

1. Call the CCLU early

   The unit’s application letter recommends contacting it in the planning stages: (603) 271-9025 or [email protected].⁠⁴

2. Book the local inspections

   with your health officer and fire inspector, and get the zoning form signed (see above). Each approval must be less than 12 months old when the CCLU receives your application.⁠³

3. Test your well

   if you have one, no more than 90 days before you submit.⁠³

4. Start background checks

   in NHCIS and book LiveScan fingerprints; prepare notarized forms for teenagers in the home.⁠³⁠⁶

5. Submit the application

   online through NHCIS or on the paper “Application for Family Child Care Program” (August 2025).⁠³ Attach: a Child Care Personnel Health Form from a licensed practitioner dated within a year; the health, fire and zoning approvals; the home diagram; NH Secretary of State good-standing documentation (or trade name, LLC or corporation records); lead certification for pre-1978 homes; proof of education if you are 18 to 20; and proof of completed professional development.⁠³⁠⁴ Paper packages must arrive complete in one package; incomplete ones are returned.⁠⁵

6. Licensing visit

   Once the package is complete, a licensing coordinator schedules an inspection of your home.⁠⁴

7. Decision and permit

   The department must approve or deny within 60 days after it has all requested information.⁠³ A new home receives a 6-month permit.⁠³

If you cannot meet a rule exactly, you can request a waiver through NHCIS or a Waiver Request Form. The CCLU grants it when your alternative meets the rule’s intent and does not harm children, but it cannot waive anything in RSA 170-E itself.⁠³

From permit to license, and keeping it

The permit is the statute’s “initial authorization to operate” and is not renewable except for good cause.⁠¹ At the end of the permit period the department renews it for good cause, issues a license for the balance of the license period, or denies the license.⁠⁸ Licenses run 3 years, cannot be transferred, and are surrendered on a change of ownership.⁠⁸ Moving, adding a program type or raising capacity requires a revised license first; for a capacity increase you may need new local approvals and cannot enroll above your current number until the revision is issued.⁠³

The department visits every licensed program at least once a year, and at least one visit per licensing period is unannounced.⁠⁸ File renewal at least 3 months before expiration with fresh health and fire approvals (each within 12 months), Secretary of State verification and an updated staff and household list.⁠³⁠⁹ If you apply on time, your license stays in force until the department acts.⁠³

Repeat citations for most listed violations double the base fine.⁠³ As a mandated reporter, you report suspected abuse or neglect to the Division for Children, Youth and Families at 1-800-894-5533.⁠³

Getting paid through the NH Child Care Scholarship

The NH Child Care Scholarship Program pays enrolled providers directly for eligible children under 13 (through 17 for children with disabilities).⁠¹¹ Licensed programs enroll by completing the Provider Enrollment Application in NHCIS and uploading the 2677 Direct Deposit form with a voided check, an Alt W-9, the 2679 Web Billing form and, if applicable, a letter of non-profit status; the page also says to apply for a vendor number if applicable. Form 1862 is for legally license-exempt providers.⁠¹¹ Enrolled providers must allow parents access to their children at all times.⁠¹²

What changed recently

• He-C 4002 readoption. The rule text dated August 26, 2025 replaced the version effective April 22, 2022, and all application, health and background forms now carry August 2025 dates.⁠³ The rule text and the CCLU’s “2025 Rules Major Changes Summary” carry the 8/26/25 adoption date but state no effective date; ask the unit which date its inspectors apply.
• Zoning by right. RSA 674:16 was amended in 2024, 2025 and 2026, most recently effective September 13, 2026; the by-right rule for family and group family homes is in paragraph VI.⁠¹⁰
• Definitions. RSA 170-E:2 was last amended effective September 1, 2024.⁠¹

Sources

1. 1
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:2, Definitions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:3, Exemptions; Child Endangerment Prohibited Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, He-C 4002, NH Child Care Program Licensing Rules (adopted rule dated 8/26/25) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   New Hampshire DHHS, Child Care Licensing Unit, Child Care Application Instructions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Background Checks for Child Care Personnel Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:6, Applications; Compliance With Local Codes Required Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:8, Issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:9, License Renewal Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    New Hampshire General Court, RSA 674:16, Grant of Power (zoning) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Scholarship Provider Enrollment and Web Billing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Family Assistance Manual 929, Provider Enrollment Qualifications for NH Child Care Scholarship Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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