South Carolina child care center license: from DSS orientation to a regular license

Does your program need a center license?

South Carolina’s child care law covers “childcare”: care of a child away from home, without a parent, “on a regular basis, for periods of less than twenty-four hours per day, but more than four hours”.⁠¹ “Regular” has a precise meaning. Care must be available on more than two days in a week.⁠¹ Within that definition, a childcare center is “any facility which regularly receives thirteen or more children for childcare.”⁠¹ A private center cannot operate unless DSS licenses it.⁠¹

There are three neighboring categories, and the line between them is set by headcount and location:

• Family child care home. Up to 6 children in the operator’s own residence, counting the operator’s own and related children. These homes register with DSS and may choose to be licensed.⁠³ See the South Carolina family child care home registration guide.
• Group child care home. 7 to 12 children in the operator’s residence. These homes must be licensed.⁠³
• Legally exempt operations. Center-based programs open less than 4 hours a day, or only on school holidays. DSS says this exemption is not available to family or group homes.⁠³

Reg. 114-500 lists the programs the center rules do not cover:⁠²

• schools for grade one and up
• five-year-old kindergarten programs
• nursery schools and other daytime programs open no more than four hours a day
• drop-in care at a shopping center or similar business, where parents stay on or near the premises. These must still meet local fire and sanitation rules and keep proof on file.
• school-vacation day camps run in sessions shorter than three weeks, unless a child can attend more than three consecutive weeks
• summer resident camps
• vacation Bible schools

Church-run centers. A center owned and operated by a local church congregation, an established religious denomination, or a religious college that receives no state or federal child care money does not get licensed. It registers under S.C. Code 63-13-1010 and may voluntarily choose licensing.⁠¹⁠² That choice matters if you plan to take subsidized children. ABC Quality, the program that connects centers to SC Voucher payments, states that “Faith-based must be licensed to participate.”⁠⁷

Public centers. A center created by the state, a county, a city or another political subdivision and run by a government agency is “approved” under Article 5 of the statute, not licensed. The center regulations treat licenses and approvals the same way.⁠¹⁠²

The rules are from 2018, and a rewrite is stalled

The center regulations, Regs. 114-500 to 114-509, were last amended by Document No. 4747, effective June 22, 2018.⁠² In 2024, DSS drafted a full replacement. The State Advisory Committee on the Regulation of Child Care Facilities voted for the proposed rules on September 5, 2024, and they were published in the State Register for comment.⁠⁵ The final version, Regulation Document No. 5314, went to the General Assembly. Its approval resolution, S.594, was introduced on April 23, 2025, recommitted on May 7, 2025, and as of 2026-10-12 was “currently residing in the Senate Committee on Family and Veterans’ Services.”⁠⁶ The Code of Regulations text published on 2026-10-12 still prints the 2018 center rules, and the legislature’s page shows no approval.⁠²⁠⁶ The official sources do not say when, or whether, Document No. 5314 will take effect. Ask your licensing specialist which version you will be inspected against.

The statute has also moved ahead of the regulations. In 2024, Act No. 216 rewrote the caregiver requirements in S.C. Code 63-13-30, effective July 10, 2024.⁠¹ The difference is covered under staffing below.

The director: age 21 and one of five routes

Every center needs a center director and/or co-director. That person is responsible for running the center, keeping children safe, setting and carrying out policies, communicating with parents, hiring and supervising staff, and keeping the center compliant.⁠² The director or a designee must be on site whenever the center is open. If you operate more than 12 hours a day, you need a co-director.⁠²

The director and any co-director must be at least 21 and meet one of these qualifications:⁠²

The staff file must hold three letters of reference for the center director.⁠² The application itself is signed by the director, not the owner.⁠² The director must complete at least 20 clock hours of training a year. At least 5 hours must be in program administration, and at least 5 in child growth and development and/or health and safety, not counting first aid and CPR. Up to 10 extra hours can carry over to the next year.⁠²

Space, building and playground

DSS staff measure every room wall to wall and set capacity room by room at 35 square feet of indoor play space per child.⁠² Bathrooms, reception areas, isolation rooms, halls, and space taken up by furniture and equipment children can use all count toward the total. Kitchens, staff-only storage rooms and staff storage cabinets do not. Halls count toward space but cannot be used for activities or storage.⁠² The maximum number of children allowed at one time is printed on the license.⁠²

Outdoors, you need 75 square feet per child. If the site is short, the rule lets you take children out in shifts or use a nearby park that meets the safety requirements.⁠² Other playground rules:⁠²

• A fence or natural barrier at least 4 feet high must keep children away from traffic, parking, ditches and steep slopes.
• Equipment must meet CPSC standards where they apply, and recalled products must be out of reach.
• Stationary equipment must be anchored and cannot sit on concrete or asphalt. Cushioning must extend at least 6 feet beyond the equipment.
• Pools, ponds, ditches and similar water must be fenced off with a secure fence at least 4 feet high.

Inside, you need at least one flush toilet and one sink with running water for every 20 children over age two. Staff count toward the toilet total if there is no staff restroom.⁠² Other building rules:⁠²

• Clear glass within 32 inches of the floor that children can reach must be safety glass.
• Above-ground windows that children under 5 can reach must open less than 6 inches or have guards.
• Hot water must meet DHEC’s retail food rules (Reg. 61-25).
• Firearms, weapons and ammunition are banned anywhere on the premises.

For fire safety, the center must comply with the State Fire Marshal’s regulations and codes. You also need a written plan for evacuating during a fire, natural disaster or other threat, including how staff are trained on it.⁠² For new buildings or alterations, DSS’s process starts with plan review. Where required, architectural plans go to the Chief Fire Marshal at DSS Child Care Licensing, P.O. Box 1520, Columbia, SC 29202-1520, and must be approved before you file your application.⁠³ Brochure 501 says only “if required” and does not say which projects need this review, so ask your regional office whether your building or alteration does.

At initial licensing, you must show that the site conforms to county or municipal zoning, or has authorized nonconformity. DSS can attach zoning conditions to the license.⁠¹

Ratios, nap time and water

Reg. 114-504 sets these ratios. They apply whenever children are on the premises or on outings, and they must be posted in every classroom:⁠²

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

*Nap ratios apply only if at least one other staff member is readily available.⁠²

In a mixed-age room with no infants or toddlers, the ratio follows the age of most of the children. If even one infant or toddler is in the group, the youngest child’s ratio applies.⁠² At least two staff members must be in the building at all times.⁠² At least one person certified in pediatric first aid and CPR, including rescue breathing and blocked airways, must be present whenever children are in care and on every outing.⁠¹⁠²

If you transport children, these ratios apply in the vehicle too. The driver cannot count toward the ratio for infants or toddlers.⁠² For night care, staff counted in the ratio must be awake, and you must hold an unannounced emergency drill during sleeping hours at least every 60 days.⁠² Infant rooms have their own rules: infants sleep on their backs, cribs need 3 feet of clearance on two sides, and stacked cribs are banned.⁠²

Hiring staff: background checks, qualifications and training

Background checks. The operator applying for the license needs four checks: a SLED fingerprint check, an FBI fingerprint check, a check of the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect, and sex offender registry checks.⁠¹ Staff go through the same checks. DSS also requires out-of-state abuse and neglect checks for anyone who lived outside South Carolina in the past 5 years. Fingerprints are taken digitally through IdentoGO (sc.state.identogo.com).⁠³

You cannot hire anyone who is on a sex offender registry or the Central Registry. You also cannot hire anyone convicted of a crime in Title 16, Chapter 3 (offenses against the person) or Chapter 15 (offenses against morality and decency), or of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.⁠¹⁠² Before DSS issues the first license, provisional or regular, Central Registry checks must be done on the director(s) and at least two staff members.⁠²

A new hire may start provisionally once the SLED review comes back favorable. FBI prints must then be submitted within 14 business days.⁠² The regulation keeps results valid unless the person has a break in service of a year or more.⁠² The statute, as amended in 2019, says the fingerprint-based results are valid and reviews are repeated every five years, and repeated after six months out of child care work.⁠¹ You must get signed statements from parents acknowledging that the center may provisionally employ staff when an unexpected vacancy occurs.⁠¹ The center or the applicant pays the background check fees, and SLED cannot charge more than the FBI does.⁠¹

An operator convicted of a disqualifying offense cannot be licensed. Applying anyway is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or up to one year in prison.⁠¹

Caregiver qualifications. Caregivers must be at least 18 and able to read and write. A 17-year-old with a diploma or GED may work under continuous in-room supervision.⁠² The 2018 regulation requires new caregivers to have a high school diploma or GED plus six months’ experience. Without the experience, they must be directly supervised for six months, and they need 6 clock hours of child development and ECE training within six months.⁠² The statute, as rewritten in 2024, sets a different standard. A caregiver needs a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent, Certificate of Completion, or South Carolina High School Employability Credential. They must complete “fifteen hours of health and safety service provider training” within 30 days of being hired and must be directly supervised for at least 30 days, and until that training is done, by someone with a year of licensed-facility experience.⁠¹ The sources do not say how DSS applies the two standards together at inspection, so ask your licensing specialist which one it will use.

Ongoing training. Before anyone starts work, the director must orient all new staff, volunteers and emergency persons.⁠² After that, direct-care staff need 15 clock hours a year drawn from at least three topic areas. The hours must include OSHA bloodborne pathogens training, and CPR and first aid do not count toward them. Up to 5 extra hours can carry over.⁠²

Staff health. Each staff member needs a health assessment from a provider, done within three months before hire or within the first month on the job. They also need written evidence that they are free of communicable tuberculosis.⁠²

Policies and parent paperwork DSS will look for

DSS reviews “written policies and other information specified by the Department” before it decides on a license.⁠² The rules require these written policies and records:⁠²

• A policy on releasing children, with a security system to prevent release to unauthorized people.
• Medication policies, including a medication log and an error log.
• A discipline and behavior-management policy, signed by parents and staff.
• An emergency medical plan. It must cover when to seek emergency care, the steps to follow, the hospital to use, how the child will be transported, and an emergency staffing plan.
• A confidentiality policy covering all records.
• A written daily program of activities.
• A procedure for accounting for each child entering, leaving, boarding vehicles and changing locations.

Parents and staff must sign an agreement that they have read the center’s policies, renewed every year.⁠² Each child’s file needs a health statement on the DSS form and a South Carolina Certificate of Immunization.⁠² If the center carries no liability insurance, state law requires signed statements from parents acknowledging that. DSS treats compliance as a requirement for initial licensure.⁠¹

From orientation to a provisional license

DSS Brochure 501 sets out this order:⁠³

1. Attend a new applicant orientation

   DSS sends the application packet, with all required forms, before the session. You register through the regional office that will monitor your location. On 2026-10-12, the orientation calendar listed virtual child care center sessions for the Upstate, Midlands, Florence and Lowcountry regions on October 14, 2026, and Lowcountry sessions on November 4 and December 9, 2026.⁠³⁠⁴

2. Get architectural plans approved, if required

   Plans go to the DSS Chief Fire Marshal at the Columbia central office.⁠³

3. File with the regional office

   After orientation and plan approval, submit the zoning approval letter or form, the application, and the fire and health inspection request to your regional Child Care Licensing office.⁠³

4. Complete the packet with your Licensing Specialist

   DSS assigns a specialist, and you submit the remaining documents from the packet.⁠³

5. Pass the inspections

   DSS asks health and fire officials in writing to inspect, and both file written reports.⁠² DSS gives at least two working days’ notice before its own on-site licensing study.⁠² If everything meets the rules, the application goes forward and DSS issues a provisional license.⁠³

6. Pass the full evaluation

   Once you have operated with 13 or more children enrolled for at least 45 days, Licensing returns for a full evaluation. If there are no deficiencies, DSS submits you for a regular license.⁠³

DSS decides using the application, its inspection report, the health and fire reports, the background checks and your policies. It then does one of three things: issues a regular license, issues a provisional license with a correction notice for violations that do not seriously threaten children, or denies the application.⁠² If DSS fails to approve or deny a complete application within 90 days, you get a provisional license by law.⁠¹ A provisional license cannot run longer than one year.⁠¹

Fees

Neither S.C. Code Title 63, Chapter 13 nor Regs. 114-500 to 114-509, as published on 2026-10-12, sets a fee for a child care center license or renewal.⁠¹⁠² The costs the law does mention are background check fees, which the facility or employee pays, with SLED’s fee capped at the FBI’s.⁠¹ Fire, health and zoning bodies may charge their own fees; ask them directly. Neither source says whether DSS publishes a separate fee schedule, so ask your regional office before you apply.

Keeping the license: term, changes, inspections and renewal

The regulation says a regular license lasts two years from the date it is issued.⁠² The statute, as amended by Act No. 216 effective July 10, 2024, defines a regular license and a renewal as covering three years, and says DSS begins issuing the notices for regular approval with calendar year 2025.⁠¹ Ask DSS which term your license will carry. It is tied to one operator and one site. A change in location, ownership or sponsorship automatically voids it, and a license cannot be transferred or moved without DSS’s written consent.⁠¹⁠² You must report these to DSS right away: a new director, new ownership or sponsorship, a new location, or major renovations.⁠²

You must display the license, and any cited violations, in a prominent public place. Your license number must appear in every advertisement.⁠¹⁠² DSS makes at least one unannounced inspection a year and inspects without notice when it gets a complaint.⁠²⁠³

The center must report these to DSS:⁠²

• Within 48 hours, in writing: any injury needing professional medical treatment, and any communicable disease on the DHEC school exclusion list.
• Immediately: a child missing or left in a vehicle, emergency medical treatment, the death of a child or staff member, and criminal charges or abuse reports involving staff.

DSS starts renewal itself. It notifies you in writing 120 days before the license expires and requests new health and fire inspections, and the same review steps as the first application apply.⁠² Operating in violation of the chapter is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $1,500, up to six months in jail, or both.⁠¹

SC Voucher and ABC Quality

South Carolina pays for subsidized child care through SC Voucher, a Child Care and Development Fund program. Centers join through ABC Quality, the state’s voluntary quality rating system, and the payment rate depends on the center’s quality level.⁠⁷ The December 2022 ABC Quality center manual sets these requirements:⁠⁷

• The center must have been operating for at least six months.
• It must hold a current regular license. A provisional license is not enough, except for a buyer taking over an enrolled program that already has scholarship children.
• It must have at least one unrelated fee-paying child enrolled.
• It must set up an organization profile in SC Endeavors, the state’s workforce registry, listing classrooms and staff.

The practical effect is that a new center cannot count on voucher income for at least its first six months.

If you are weighing a smaller start, compare the home-based options in the family child care home registration guide. For other care businesses in the state, see the South Carolina day care facility for adults license and the other guides on the South Carolina page. Child care center rules in other states are compared at /licenses/child-care-center/.

Sources

1. 1
   South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code Title 63, Chapter 13, Childcare Facilities Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code Regs. Chapter 114, including 114-500 to 114-509, Regulations for the Licensing of Child Care Centers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   South Carolina Department of Social Services, DSS Brochure 501, Child Care Licensing Requirements (Jan 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   SC Child Care Services (South Carolina Department of Social Services), New Applicant Orientation Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   SC Child Care Services (South Carolina Department of Social Services), Proposed Regulations for Licensed Child Care Centers (October 7, 2024) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   South Carolina Legislature, S.594 (2025-2026), Joint Resolution to approve Regulation Document No. 5314 Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   SC Child Care Services (South Carolina Department of Social Services), ABC Quality Center-based Manual (December 2022) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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