New Hampshire group child day care center license: permit, rules and steps

Which New Hampshire license you are applying for

New Hampshire licenses child care by program type, and one center can hold several types on a single license. RSA 170-E:2 defines a group child day care center as care for preschool children and up to 5 school-age children. The name a program calls itself does not matter: “day nursery, nursery school, kindergarten, cooperative, child development center… Montessori school, or by any other name” all count.⁠¹ The CCLU lists seven licensed categories, among them Group Child Care Centers, Child Care Nurseries, School Age Programs and Night Care Programs.⁠¹⁰

Before you fill in the Application for Child Care Center, decide which types you will run:

• Infant and toddler program: 5 or more children under age 3, for any part of the day.⁠¹
• Preschool program: a structured program for children 3 and older who are not in full-day school. No child may be enrolled for more than 5 hours a day.⁠¹ He-C 4002.37 holds preschool programs to that 5-hour limit and to the group-center ratios.⁠⁸
• School-age program: 6 or more school-enrolled children aged 4 years 8 months or older, before or after school or when school is out.⁠¹ If you serve more than 5 school-age children alongside preschoolers, you need this type as well.
• Small group child day care center: no more than 12 preschool children. It falls under the same He-C 4002.33 section as family homes, must operate somewhere other than the licensee’s residence, and is run by a “child care manager” who gives the care for at least two-thirds of operating hours.⁠¹⁠⁸
• Night care program: any care between 7:00 PM and 5:00 AM. Staff must be awake the whole time.⁠⁸

The 13-hour cap applies to every type: no child may stay in care more than 13 hours a day, except in emergencies, when parents or guardians are working over 13 hours in a 24-hour period, or when they are deployed by the military over a weekend.⁠¹ To add a program type later, or before moving, you must apply to revise the license.⁠⁸

Who is exempt

Under RSA 170-E:3, the definitions do not cover:

• kindergartens and nursery schools run by a public or private school system or a college;
• skill instruction such as athletics, crafts, music or dance;
• care offered alongside religious services or only for religious instruction;
• free drop-in care at a shopping center or ski area while parents are on site;
• municipal recreation programs, including after-school and summer programs.⁠²

Exempt programs under some of those categories must tell parents at enrollment that they are not licensed.⁠² A private nursery school that is not part of a school system is not exempt. Anyone who operates a child day care agency without a license or permit violates RSA 170-E:4, I.⁠³

If you plan to care for children in your own residence instead, see the New Hampshire family day care home guide.

Permit first, license second

RSA 170-E:8, IV lets the department issue a permit to a newly established facility so it can show compliance “during actual operation.”⁠⁵ He-C 4002.02(i) sets the term: a new applicant receives a 6-month permit after a complete application and a department inspection.⁠⁸ When the permit period ends, the department issues a license for the rest of the licensing period, renews the permit for good cause, or denies the license.⁠⁵ Licenses run 3 years from issue.⁠⁵

Neither the permit nor the license transfers to a new owner or a new location. A change of ownership means surrendering the license and a new application.⁠⁵⁠⁸ Plan a purchase of an existing center around that.

Local sign-offs you need before you apply

The CCLU will not treat your application as complete without local approvals. Get them first:⁠⁸⁠⁹

1. Local health officer inspection

   You need written approval that the premises were inspected and approved for a child care program within the 12 months before the CCLU receives your application.

2. Fire inspection

   The local fire department or the State Fire Marshal’s office must inspect for compliance with Saf-FMO 300 and RSA 153:1, VI-a, and approve the space, within the same 12 months.

3. Zoning

   The town or city must confirm that zoning approval was granted or is not required. On the CCLU’s Zoning Verification form, a person authorized by the municipality signs and lists any limits on number of children, program types or ages.⁠⁹

4. Lead safety

   For a building erected before January 1, 1978, new applicants must submit lead safety certification under RSA 130-A:5-d, II.⁠⁸

5. Water tests, if you are on a private well

   Results dated no more than 90 days before you apply must cover arsenic, bacteria, nitrate, nitrite, lead and copper (stagnant and flushed), fluoride, uranium, radon, manganese and PFAS, from a lab accredited under Env-C 300. After opening you test bacteria every 3 months and arsenic, nitrate and nitrite yearly.⁠⁸

There is one exception. A program licensed only as a school-age program, in a building where a public or private school currently operates, does not submit the health, fire, zoning or lead documents.⁠⁸⁠⁹

The license capacity will be the lowest number the fire inspector, health officer and zoning official approved, measured against your floor space and fixtures.⁠⁸ If you expect a town to cap enrollment, get that answer before you sign a lease.

Space and how capacity is calculated

He-C 4002.21 sets the numbers:⁠⁸

• 35 square feet of net floor area per child, measured inside the rooms children use. Corridors, stairs, bathrooms, mechanical rooms, closets and fixed equipment are subtracted.
• Common space, hallways, lockers, kitchen cooking areas and offices never count toward capacity. The CCLU adds up each room’s count.
• One toilet and one handwashing sink for every 20 children of licensed capacity.
• 50 square feet of outdoor play area per child, directly adjoining the building.

There are three exceptions to the outdoor rule. You can use department-approved space within one-eighth of a mile if you submit a written plan for getting children there safely. You can size the yard for one-third of capacity if no more than one-third of the children are outside at once. And a program of 5 hours or less a day can skip the yard if its curriculum includes at least 20 minutes of gross motor activity.⁠⁸

The program needs space of its own while it operates. If you share a building with a license-exempt program such as a recreation department, the children may not mix or share space.⁠⁸ Hot water at sinks must be at least 85°F, and taps children can reach must be held at or below 120°F.⁠⁸

Centers with several buildings on one site-specific address can hold a single license. Staff in each building must be able to reach the others quickly, and each building must have enough floor area and bathrooms.⁠⁸

Your application includes a diagram for each building. Indoors it shows room dimensions, exits, room uses, toilets and sinks. Outdoors it shows the play area’s size, gates, fixed equipment, and nearby hazards such as ponds, streams or roads.⁠⁸

Director and teaching staff qualifications

He-C 4002.34 sets the qualifications by position. You document them with the application through transcripts, certificates, a non-expired NH child care credential or a résumé.⁠⁸

Center director (required in every center-based program except a school-age-only one). The director must:⁠⁸

• be at least 21 and hold a high school diploma or equivalent;
• have 3 college credits in management or supervision, or 2 years in a supervisory or management position, or a written plan to complete the 3 credits;
• have 1,500 hours working with children in a licensed program or an elementary school;
• have one of the following: an associate degree in related coursework; a non-expired center-based CDA plus another 3,000 hours of experience; NH Department of Education certification in early childhood, elementary or special education; a MACTE-accredited Montessori credential; or 60 college credits, with 24 in related coursework covering special needs, child development and early childhood curriculum.

The director or a qualified substitute must be on site or readily available for at least 60% of daytime operating hours.⁠⁸

Lead teacher. At least one must be on the premises at all times. One of every 6 staff counted toward ratios must be lead-qualified. During the first and last hour of a program open more than 5 hours, an associate teacher can cover instead. A lead teacher must be 18 with a diploma, plus one of several options. Examples: 18 related credits, including 3 in child development, plus 1,000 hours; a center-based CDA; completion of the New Hampshire Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program; or 5 years as a licensed family child care provider with no enforcement actions.⁠⁸

Associate teacher. At least one associate or lead teacher is required per group. The associate must be 18 with a diploma and have, for example, 9 related credits including a 3-credit child development course, or 1,000 hours of supervised experience plus 30 hours of child development training. That training can be documented life experience.⁠⁸

Assistant teacher. May be as young as 15 but works only under direct supervision of associate-level staff, with narrow exceptions.⁠⁸

When the director leaves, notify the CCLU within 10 business days and name the substitute. An unqualified temporary director may serve no more than 120 consecutive days.⁠⁸

Ratios and group sizes

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

In mixed-age groups the ratio follows the average age of the group. If that average is under 36 months, the infant and toddler rules apply.⁠⁸

The infant and toddler staffing waiver

RSA 170-E:11, I(c) offers an alternative staffing model for children under 3. You request it as a waiver. The department may deny it only for documented cause. There is no fee, it renews annually, and the department must notify licensees of the option every year.⁠⁷

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Because assistant teachers can be 15, this model lets you staff the larger bands with less credentialed adults. Other rule waivers go through NHCIS or the Waiver Request Form. The department will not waive anything in RSA 170-E itself or another agency’s rules, such as fire code.⁠⁸

Background checks

RSA 170-E:7 requires an FBI fingerprint check through the state police, plus searches of the NH sex offender and abuse and neglect registries and those of every state the person lived in during the past 5 years.⁠⁴ The application must include background check forms for the owner or applicant, every household member 12 or older, and the program manager. A permit cannot be issued until the checks are complete, and the application is held until results arrive.⁠⁸⁠⁹

After opening, staff, substitutes, other employees, and volunteers who may be alone with children submit a “New Background Record Check” in NHCIS before starting work and every 5 years after.⁠⁸ They may attend orientation but may not interact with children until the CCLU confirms eligibility. The CCLU decides within 45 days of a complete submission.⁠⁸

Fingerprints are LiveScan only. Appointments are scheduled and paid through the NH Department of Safety CHRI Applicant Portal.⁠¹¹ Printing at a local police department instead means mailing a $30 check to “State of NH - Criminal Records” with form CCLU 1-A, plus any out-of-state registry fees (as published on 2026-10-12).⁠¹¹ By law the provider pays these costs, but may pass the actual cost on to the employee.⁠⁴

Training before and after opening

Everyone responsible for supervising children, or counted in ratios, needs orientation training within 90 days of hire. In programs that run 3 months a year or less, the deadline is 2 weeks.⁠⁸ The topics include:

• the licensing orientation itself;
• infectious disease and immunizations;
• medication administration and allergic reactions;
• building safety and hazardous materials;
• emergency preparedness and transportation;
• pediatric first aid and CPR;
• shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma;
• abuse and neglect reporting;
• child development;
• safe sleep, for programs with infants 12 months and under.⁠⁸

Until a new hire finishes abuse reporting, shaken baby and pediatric first aid/CPR training, they work under direct supervision of someone who has.⁠⁸ Have proof of the director’s current pediatric first aid and CPR ready for the licensing visit.⁠⁹

After that, the program manager and all child care staff complete 12 hours of professional development in the first 12 months and every year after, at least 3 of them in health and safety. Assistant and associate teachers who work fewer than 25 hours a week for the same licensee complete 8 hours instead.⁠⁸

The application, in order

1. Talk to the CCLU early

   The unit’s application letter recommends contacting the office “early in the planning stages”: 603-271-9025, [email protected], 129 Pleasant Street, Concord.⁠⁹

2. Form the business and register it

   The packet requires Secretary of State documents for trade names, LLCs or corporations and proof of good standing.⁠⁸⁠⁹

3. Line up local approvals

   Get the health officer, fire inspector and zoning sign-offs described above, plus lead and water documentation where they apply.⁠⁸

4. Hire a qualified director

   Collect their transcripts and experience records, and a Child Care Personnel Health Form signed by a licensed practitioner within a year before submission.⁠⁸

5. Start background checks

   The owner, the director and any household members begin these as soon as possible; the CCLU’s background check page says to schedule LiveScan fingerprints first and then submit the request in NHCIS. This is a separate process from the application.⁠⁹

6. Submit one complete package

   Use the NHCIS portal or the August 2025 paper Application for Child Care Center. The CCLU asks that all materials arrive together. The CCLU’s application page says a package missing any required item is returned to the applicant.⁠⁸⁠¹⁰

7. Prepare your emergency operations plan

   It must exist before a permit is issued. Write it with your local emergency responders, and cover reunification and children with disabilities or medical needs.⁠⁸

8. Licensing visit

   After a complete application, a Licensing Coordinator schedules a visit to check compliance and measure your space.⁠⁹⁠⁸

9. Permit, then license

   The department must decide within 60 days of receiving all requested information.⁠⁸ A new center receives the 6-month permit.

Costs set by the state

Neither RSA 170-E nor He-C 4002 sets a license or permit fee, as checked on 2026-10-12.⁠⁸ The CCLU’s application instructions and application page list no fee either.⁠⁹⁠¹⁰ Ask the CCLU to confirm that no application fee is charged before you submit. The published state costs are background checks: the $30 criminal records fee on the local-police route, plus out-of-state registry fees.⁠¹¹

He-C 4002.05(j) does not require liability insurance. You must either carry it or tell parents at enrollment that the program is uninsured.⁠⁸

After you open: visits, reporting and renewal

Inspections. The CCLU makes at least one monitoring visit a year, at least one of them unannounced. The CCLU describes a yearly unannounced visit plus an unannounced visit before each 3-year expiration.⁠⁵⁠⁸ Findings require a corrective action plan, and the statements of findings are posted online in NHCIS’s provider search.⁠⁵⁠⁸

Reporting deadlines.⁠⁸

• Abuse or neglect suspicions go to DCYF at 1-800-894-5533.
• Notify the CCLU in writing within 24 hours of a missing or unsupervised child.
• Report abuse allegations or corporal punishment by the next business day.
• Report a change in mailing address, email or phone within 5 business days.

Over capacity. The department can let you exceed capacity on up to 20 workdays a calendar year, by no more than 4 children in a group center.⁠⁸

Renewal. File no later than 3 months before the license expires.⁠⁶⁠⁸ The renewal needs new health officer and fire approvals dated within 12 months, Secretary of State good standing, an updated staff list, and a new space diagram if anything changed.⁠⁸ A timely application keeps the license in force until the department acts.⁠⁸

Fines.⁠⁸

• Operating without a license or permit: $500 plus $100 a day.
• Operating on an expired license after missing the renewal deadline: $1,000 plus $100 a day.
• Operating after suspension, revocation or denial: $2,000 plus $500 a day.

Recent changes

The posted He-C 4002 is marked “Adopted Rule 8/26/25.” It references August 2025 versions of the center application, the personnel health form, the background check form and the waiver request form. It names the NHCIS portal as the route for applications, renewals, waivers and background checks.⁠⁸

RSA 170-E:11 was last amended by 2026 Laws chapter 98, effective July 27, 2026.⁠⁷ The posted statute does not describe the change itself. It does show the waiver system in paragraph I(c) as current law, with the annual notice to providers and the annual waiver reports. Ask the CCLU whether chapter 98 altered how the infant and toddler waiver works, and read the chapter’s session-law text before you design a staffing plan around it.

The infant and toddler staffing waiver above comes with annual reports to the legislature on waivers applied for, granted and denied, the next one due November 1, 2026.⁠⁷

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 General Court, RSA 170-E:4, License Required Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:7, State Registry and Criminal Records Check Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:8, Issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:9, License Renewal Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   New Hampshire General Court, RSA 170-E:11, Rulemaking (including the infant and toddler staffing waiver) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, He-C 4002, NH Child Care Program Licensing Rules (adopted rule 8/26/25) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   NH DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit, Child Care Application Instructions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Background Checks for Child Care Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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