Licensing a family child care home in Oklahoma: the OKDHS permit, ratios and the large-home tier

When Oklahoma requires a license

The Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act defines a family child care home as “a family home which provides care and supervision for seven or fewer children for part of the twenty-four-hour day,” and a large family child care home as a residential family home caring for eight to twelve children (10 O.S. § 402).⁠¹ There is no minimum count and no registration tier. OKDHS’s own FAQ answers “Do I need a license to do child care in my home?” with a flat yes: the Act requires anyone who provides child care on a regular basis to be licensed.⁠⁴

The exemptions in 10 O.S. § 403 are what decide whether you are covered:⁠¹⁠²

• care given in the child’s own home, or by relatives (parent, grandparent, sibling, step-relative, aunt, uncle or cousin, by blood, marriage or adoption);
• informal arrangements parents make with friends or neighbors for the occasional care of their children;
• any child care facility, family homes included, giving care 15 or fewer hours a week;
• programs running less than 10 weeks a year, or summer programs running under 8 hours a day;
• programs on tribal land, on a military base or federal property, or family child care licensed by a branch of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard.

The rules add that an exempt program may still ask to be licensed.⁠² That matters if you want to take OKDHS child care subsidy or join the food program, both of which run through the permit and license (see the subsidy section below).⁠³

If you plan to run a program outside a home, read the Oklahoma child care center guide instead. A center is defined by its hours (30 or more a week) rather than a child count, and it has its own rule book.⁠¹

Two tiers, and you cannot start at the top

Both tiers are covered by one rule book, OAC 340:110-3-80 through 340:110-3-97.1, published by OKDHS as Publication 86-104 and effective November 1, 2024.⁠¹ The large home follows every family home rule unless section 97.1 says otherwise.⁠¹

The big difference is who may apply. If you applied after October 1, 2007, you can be the primary caregiver of a large family child care home only if you have six months of satisfactory experience as the primary caregiver of a licensed family child care home in Oklahoma, a high school diploma or GED, and a Level 4 or higher certificate on the Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder.⁠¹ In practice, that means most founders open as a 7-child family home first. The full large-home rules are in the last section of this guide.

Counting children: your own under-5s and the under-2 limit

The license number is a hard ceiling “on or off of the premises.” It includes:⁠¹

• your children younger than 5 who live in the home and are present during care;
• foster children 12 and younger who live in the home and are present;
• any children of your substitute or assistant caregiver who are present.

Your school-age children (5 and older) do not count in your own residence. Oklahoma lets a primary caregiver be licensed in an “alternative residence” other than their own home. In that case, every child 12 and younger who is present and does not live there counts toward capacity.⁠¹

In a 7-child family home, the mix of ages decides how many caregivers you need. One caregiver may care for seven children with no more than two under age 2, six children with no more than three under 2, or five children of any age.⁠¹ A second caregiver is required if you have seven children and more than two are under 2, or six children and more than three are under 2.⁠¹ The rule also requires additional staff for children with disabilities who need individual attention.⁠¹

Who can be the primary caregiver

The primary caregiver is the person in the home who runs the program day to day. They must be present for at least 80 percent of the weekly operating hours, and a sole proprietor is the primary caregiver by definition.⁠¹ The basic qualifications are:⁠¹

• at least 21 years old;
• a high school diploma or GED (required for anyone applying after October 1, 2007);
• able to read and write well enough to keep records and give medication;
• three non-relative references (a licensed physician may be one of them);
• a Level 1 or higher Oklahoma Professional Development Ladder (OPDL) certificate, earned before licensure or within 12 months of it. Level 1 means 12 clock hours of early childhood, child development or school-age training in the past 12 months.

The rules also set conditions on how you run the household. You may not conduct other business in the home during care hours, and you may not work outside the home during those hours.⁠¹ Foster care is allowed only with Licensing’s written approval for each placement. Therapeutic foster care is not allowed at all.⁠¹ Overnight care is allowed only in your primary residence.⁠¹ If you go more than 90 days without children in care, you become inactive and must call Licensing before you reopen. After 12 months without care the home is closed and you must reapply.⁠¹

Helpers have age floors. An assistant counted in the ratio must be at least 16, and a substitute at least 18. In a family home, children may not be left alone with anyone under 18.⁠¹ Each helper fills out the OKDHS personnel information form before starting, relatives’ references are not accepted, and the substitute’s name, address and phone number go to Licensing and are posted with your emergency numbers.⁠¹

Training to finish before the permit

State law bars OKDHS from issuing a permit or license until everyone who will be left alone with children has finished CPR, first aid, health and safety training and the minimum education requirements (10 O.S. § 405).⁠¹ Under the rules:⁠¹

1. CPR and first aid

   The primary caregiver needs age-appropriate certification from a source approved on the Oklahoma Professional Development Registry (OPDR) before permission to operate or the initial permit. Anyone caring for children alone needs it too. Other caregivers counted in the ratio have three months after they start.

2. Fifteen health and safety topics

   Before caring for children, caregivers complete training in infectious disease and injury prevention, fire extinguisher use, shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma, SIDS risk reduction, safe sleep, car seats and transportation, premises safety, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness, immunizations, medication administration, food allergy emergencies, child abuse reporting, behavior guidance, and child development.

3. Safe sleep for infant care

   Before caring for infants, the primary caregiver and anyone caring for infants alone complete at least two clock hours of safe-sleep training from an OPDR-approved organization.

4. Annual hours

   You then complete 12 clock hours of professional development a year, enough to keep your OPDL certificate. No more than six of those hours may come from videos or readings, and reading and television programs do not count.

Background checks for everyone 18 and older in the house

Oklahoma requires a national fingerprint-based criminal history check for the owner, every person 18 or older living in the home, employees, volunteers and anyone with unsupervised access to children.⁠⁷⁠¹ Adults in the home must be cleared before you are authorized to operate. Anyone who moves in later must be cleared before moving in, and so must a child in the household who turns 18.⁠¹ The owner or primary caregiver submits these requests to the OKDHS Office of Background Investigations (OBI) and is responsible for getting dispositions on any charges the report shows without one.⁠¹ You also search the Restricted Registry (Joshua’s List). Anyone on it may not be licensed, own or work in a program, have unsupervised access to children, or live in the home.⁠¹ The non-fingerprint review is repeated every five years.⁠¹

Some records are listed as prohibitions rather than restrictions. They include sex offender or violent offender registration, and felony pleas or convictions for murder, child abuse or neglect, crimes against children, spousal abuse, rape or sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, and physical assault or battery, plus violent misdemeanors against a child (child abuse, endangerment or sexual assault) and misdemeanor child pornography. A drug-related felony in the past five years is also a bar unless OKDHS grants a restriction waiver.⁠¹ No waiver is available for the other prohibitions or for Restricted Registry registrants.⁠¹ Other records are restrictions that bar a person unless a waiver is granted.⁠¹ OBI can be reached at (405) 962-1735 or 1-800-347-2276.⁠⁷ OBI’s fingerprinting instructions (revised 06/11/2024) state that the cost of the fingerprint and criminal background request for Child Care Services programs is $53.25.⁠⁸

What Licensing checks in the house

Your home must meet these physical requirements:⁠¹

• Space. At least 35 square feet of indoor space per child, not counting hallways, bathrooms, the kitchen, or rooms used only for napping. Outdoors, at least 75 square feet per child, away from traffic and water, with a fence that starts at ground level. Licensing may waive the fence for a 7-child home but not for a large home.
• Utilities and comfort. Hot water at the children’s sink no hotter than 120°F, indoor temperatures between 65 and 80°F, screens on open windows and doors, and a working landline or cell phone. If you are not on public water, test it for lead, bacteria and nitrates before opening and every year after.
• Weapons and tobacco. Weapons stored unloaded in a locked container, cabinet or closet, with ammunition locked up separately. No smoking or vaping inside the home or around children during care hours, and parents must be told at enrollment if anyone smokes or vapes in the home.
• Water and animals. No pond, pool or hot tub that children can reach. A pool needs a fence at least 4 feet high with locked gates and doors. Portable wading pools are banned, and so is swimming in lakes and ponds. Dogs and cats need documented rabies vaccinations, and reptiles such as pythons and venomous snakes may not be kept on the premises.

Fire safety is in section 97.⁠¹ The house must meet the local building code (or the state code where there is none). Every room used for care needs two ways out: one is a door to an unobstructed path outside, and the other may be a window of at least 820 square inches. Exit doors must be at least 28 inches wide and open without a key. Children 3 and younger may not be cared for, even for naps, on any floor above ground level, and no care is allowed above the second story. You need a smoke detector on every level and in every play and sleeping room except the kitchen, plus a carbon monoxide detector if the home has a fuel-burning appliance. Test both monthly and record the tests. You also need an ABC or BC fire extinguisher at the cooking area, serviced and tagged every three years. Unvented heaters and portable heaters are not allowed during care, except electric oil-filled units.⁠¹ Fire and tornado drills are held monthly and documented.⁠¹

Mobile homes are allowed. A mobile home built after June 25, 1976 needs documentation that it complies with HUD standards, and it must be anchored and enclosed to ground level with wind-resistant material.⁠¹ A large family child care home in a mobile home must also pass a state or local fire inspection before caring for children.⁠¹ At OKDHS’s request, the State Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal may inspect any applicant (10 O.S. § 406).⁠¹

The state rules do not cover zoning or homeowners’ association limits. When you ask about licensing, Licensing staff are required to refer you to the fire department, health department and city regulatory offices “when applicable,” so ask your city about home daycare before you sign up for training.⁠²

$200,000 of liability insurance, or a posted notice

10 O.S. § 404.3 requires every child care facility to carry general liability insurance of at least $200,000 per occurrence covering injury to a child from negligence.⁠¹ Each year a licensed Oklahoma insurance agent completes OKDHS Form 07LC092E, Insurance Verification, which you keep with the certificate of insurance.⁠¹ If you cannot get coverage, your limits are exhausted or you self-insure, you must notify OKDHS. You must also post Form 07LC093E, Insurance Exception Notification, at the main entrance and keep each parent’s signed acknowledgment.⁠¹ Parents also sign Forms 07LC045E (insurance) and 07LC046E (compliance file) every 12 months.⁠¹ Insurance coverage is one of the items Licensing checks before it recommends a permit.⁠³ Failing to comply with the insurance law is grounds for suspension or revocation of the license (10 O.S. § 404.3).⁠¹

From first call to full license

The application runs in this order:

1. Call your county licensing specialist

   OKDHS sends you first to the child care licensing specialist at your local county office.⁠⁴ The state line is (405) 521-3561 or (844) 834-8314.⁠⁵ Licensing staff send you the requirements and a request-for-license packet, refer you to other agencies, and check whether you are qualified to run a program. If you are already caring for children, they will tell you not to continue without permission to operate.⁠² Your local child care resource and referral agency, reachable at 1-888-962-2772, helps with training and referrals.⁠⁴

2. Clear background checks and training

   Both must be done before a permit can be granted.⁠¹

3. Submit Form 07LC004E, Request for License – Child Care Program

   Include proof of ownership (OKDHS Appendix L-7, Ownership Proof Chart) and Form 07LC041E, Personnel Information, for yourself. Incomplete requests are sent back.⁠²⁠³

4. Monitoring visit

   Licensing inspects the home, explains the Stars quality rating criteria, and discusses subsidy contracts. A full monitoring visit must take place no more than 60 days before a permit is issued.⁠²⁠³

5. Six-month permit

   When the request is complete and the home qualifies, Licensing issues a permit within 45 calendar days or documents why it needs longer.⁠² The permit is recommended once the home complies on background checks, staffing, training and CPR/first aid, hazards, liability insurance, equipment, fencing and playground safety, and fire safety.⁠³ You may not accept children until OKDHS gives permission.⁠¹ A second permit needs a supervisor’s review and a letter to you listing each problem.⁠³

6. License

   Before the license, you add a one-week sample menu, your references, and well-water test results if you are not on public water.⁠³ Licensing must observe children in care during at least one visit, and it visits again within 60 days after the license is issued.⁠³ The license stays in effect until it is revoked or you close.⁠³

In limited cases, Licensing may grant “permission to operate” while your application is pending if you cannot yet meet every requirement, the care is needed, and the problems do not put children at risk of imminent harm. Permission to operate cannot exceed 30 calendar days.⁠²

The license covers one owner at one address and cannot be transferred.⁠¹ If OKDHS denies or revokes it, you get 30 days’ written notice and can ask for a hearing. If the denial or revocation stands, the owner is barred from applying for any child care license in Oklahoma for five years.⁠¹

Fees

None of the sources reviewed on 2026-10-12 lists a fee for the request for license, the permit or the license: Publication 86-104, OAC 340:110-1-6 and 340:110-1-8, and the OKDHS licensing pages. That includes the Licensing Act sections reprinted in Publication 86-104.⁠¹⁠²⁠³⁠⁵ The sources do not say that no fee exists, only that none is published, so ask your licensing specialist whether any application or license fee applies. The one published cost is the $53.25 fingerprint and background request per person, as stated in OBI’s instructions revised 06/11/2024.⁠⁸

After you open

Licensing specialists visit licensed programs three times a year.⁠⁶ You must post the permit or license in the home, plus any denial or revocation notice.⁠¹ You must notify Licensing within 24 hours of any of these:⁠¹

• a child’s death, or an injury that needs emergency medical care;
• a lost or unsupervised child;
• a reportable illness;
• an animal bite that breaks the skin;
• a transportation accident;
• a change in insurance or phone number;
• an unplanned closure;
• damage or remodeling that affects compliance;
• an arrest or child abuse investigation involving anyone in the home or caring for children.

You have five days to report someone moving into the home, and you must give 30 days’ notice before moving to a new residence.⁠¹ Suspected child abuse is reported to the OKDHS hotline at 1-800-522-3511.⁠¹

Running a large family child care home

A large home (8 to 12 children) has its own ratio table and replaces the family home’s caregiver rules:⁠¹

The staffing rules are stricter than in a family home:⁠¹

• Children may not be left alone with anyone under 21, and anyone substituting for the primary caregiver must be 21 or older with CPR and first aid.
• Assistants (16 and older) must have CPR and first aid, and a Level 1 OPDL certificate within 12 months of hire.
• The primary caregiver must finish all health and safety training within two years before requesting the license.
• The program must register as a direct care organization on the OPDR.
• The primary caregiver completes 20 clock hours of professional development a year, instead of 12.

The outdoor area must be enclosed by a building or by a fence at least 4 feet high, with no exceptions. If two or more staff are needed for the ratio, at least one must be outside whenever children are outdoors.⁠¹

Subsidy, the food program and Stars

The six-month permit is what lets you contract with OKDHS for child care subsidy and receive Child and Adult Care Food Program reimbursement. Licensing staff are required to discuss subsidy contracts at the application visit and to explain the Stars quality rating criteria.⁠³⁠² Separately from the food program, the rules require a balanced meal meeting at least one-third of daily nutrition needs, under the State Department of Education’s CACFP guidelines, for any child (other than an infant) in care longer than four hours.⁠¹

Sources

1. 1
   Oklahoma Human Services, Child Care Services, Licensing Requirements for Family Child Care Homes and Large Child Care Homes, OAC 340:110-3-80 to 340:110-3-97.1, with the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act (10 O.S. § 401 et seq.), Publication 86-104 (effective 11/1/2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Oklahoma Administrative Code (reproduced by Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School), OAC 340:110-1-6, Inquiries and request for license process Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Oklahoma Administrative Code (reproduced by Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School), OAC 340:110-1-8, Types of issuance Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Oklahoma Human Services, Frequently Asked Questions for Providers or Parents Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Oklahoma Human Services, Child Care Licensing Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Oklahoma Human Services, Provider Information Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Oklahoma Human Services, Office of Background Investigations, Child Care Background Check Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Oklahoma Human Services, Office of Background Investigations, FP and BIDS Instructions (Fingerprinting & Criminal Background Request), rev. 06/11/2024 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

Was this information accurate? Report an errorPrint or save as PDF