Registering a family child care home in West Virginia (4 to 6 children)
If you care for four to six children for pay in your own West Virginia home, you need a certificate of registration from the Department of Human Services, Division of Early Care and Education. West Virginia registers these homes on your self-certification that you meet legislative rule 78CSR19, with a written decision due within 60 days. A certificate lasts up to two years. Seven to 12 children puts you in the separately licensed family child care facility category.
Contents14 sections
Key takeaways
- Four to six children in your own home requires a certificate of registration; three or fewer is informal care, and seven to 12 is a licensed family child care facility.12
- No more than six children under 13 at once, no more than two of them under 24 months, and your own children under six count.3
- Registration rests on your self-certification of compliance with 78CSR19; the state must decide within 60 days and can inspect without notice afterward.3
- You and every adult in the household need fingerprint checks through WV CARES: $20 per person to WV CARES plus $34.50 per person for fingerprinting (as published on 2026-10-12).37
- CPR, first aid and the 10-module pre-service course are due within three months of registration, then eight training hours every year.3
- Registered homes are paid at Tier I subsidy rates, $26 to $30 a day per child (as published on 2026-10-12); Tier II needs one year on a regular certificate.89
Quick facts
| Regulator | DoHS, Bureau for Family Assistance, Division of Early Care and Education |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 4 to 6 children under 13, max 2 under 24 months, your own under-6s included |
| Credential | Certificate of registration, valid up to 2 years |
| Decision deadline | Written decision within 60 days of application |
| Background checks | $20 WV CARES + $34.50 fingerprinting per adult (as published on 2026-10-12) |
| Annual training | 8 hours in at least 2 core competency areas |
No registration fee appears in the statute, 78CSR19 or the department page; the background check charges are set by WV CARES and the fingerprint vendor.
Which West Virginia category you fall into
West Virginia sorts home-based child care by headcount, and the statute counts children in your household who are under six. Each category has its own rule series and credential:
| Category | Children at one time | Where | Credential | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative family child care | Only related children | Caregiver’s home | None required; voluntary registration | 78CSR20 |
| Informal family child care | 3 or fewer, at least one unrelated | Caregiver’s home | None required; voluntary registration | 78CSR20 |
| Family child care home | 4 to 6 | Caregiver’s residence only | Certificate of registration | 78CSR19 |
| Family child care facility | 7 to 12 | Residence or separate building | Statement of certification (license) | 78CSR18 |
| Child care center | 13 or more, open over 30 days a year per child | Any setting | License | 78CSR1 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Sources: definitions in § 49-1-206; credentials in § 49-2-113.12
“Relative” has a narrow meaning: grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle or adult sibling of the child.1 Care given only to such children is exempt. So is occasional care while parents shop or attend services, programs with sessions of four hours or less a day, and summer camps with sessions of 30 days or less.2 Informal and relative caregivers may still register voluntarily under 78CSR20.211 The department posts a separate application and disaster plan form for them.11
The registration covers homes “approved by the department for receipt of funding.” Taking subsidized children does not change the category you need.2
If you expect to grow past six children, plan for the facility license from the start. A family child care facility needs two staff on duty whenever more than six children, or more than two under 24 months, are present. It also needs a State Fire Marshal inspection before opening and every year after, and 75 square feet of outdoor play space per child.10 A new facility starts on an initial six-month license, not a two-year certificate.10 At 13 children you need a child care center license under 78CSR1.17
Counting to six
The statute defines the home as caring for “four to six children at one time, including children who are living in the household, who are under six years of age.”1 Rule 78CSR19 sets the working limits:3
- No more than six children under 13 in care at any one time.
- No more than two of them may be under 24 months.
- The count includes your own children under six who live in the home.
- It also includes visiting children under six who are not accompanied by a parent or responsible adult.
Your own school-age children are not in the count. Your own toddler and a neighbor’s unaccompanied preschooler are. A home with two children of its own under six can therefore enroll four more.
The department can also set a lower limit on your certificate. It may restrict the ages, sex, number or intake of children if it finds insufficient space or inadequate sleeping areas. It may do the same if you also provide another home-based service such as foster care or adult family care.3
Ground rules of a registered home
Rule 78CSR19 took effect April 1, 2023, and sunsets August 1, 2028, so expect a replacement rule before that date.3 Some of its terms shape the business itself:
- One caregiver per residence. The certificate is issued in one caregiver’s name. The home must be that caregiver’s residence.3
- An 18-hour cap. You may operate no longer than 18 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period, with a six-hour break every 18 hours.3 Night care is allowed. For overnight sleeping, mats and sleeping bags may not go directly on the floor, and you must be awake while any child is awake.3
- Location- and person-specific. A certificate cannot be transferred and covers only the address on the application. You must display it publicly.3 Report a change of address within 72 hours.3
- You are the staff. The caregiver must be physically present and within sight or hearing of all children.3 A substitute must be at least 18. You may use one for emergencies and occasional absences, but for no more than two consecutive full weeks a year or an average of eight hours a week. Tell parents in advance for planned absences.3
Who can be the caregiver
You and any substitute must be at least 18 and able to read and write.3
Health. Within 30 days of applying, get a medical examination plus a tuberculosis risk assessment, TB skin test or chest x-ray. Do this again at each renewal. An exam done up to six months before you apply is accepted. The form must show no physical or mental condition that would affect child care, and the TB result must be negative.3 The department posts its own Family Child Care Medical Form and TB Screening Form.4
Disqualifications. The department will not register a home if you or anyone in the household:3
- is under indictment for, or charged with, a disqualifying offense under W. Va. Code § 16-49-1(8) and 69CSR10;
- is on parole or probation for a felony;
- is an active recipient of child or adult protective services;
- has substantiated child or adult abuse or neglect, found by a court or by the department’s protective services staff; or
- has committed other crimes the secretary decides may pose a risk to children.
If you or a household member has a disqualifying conviction, you cannot operate unless the secretary approves a waiver or variance.3 Report any new charge, indictment or conviction within 24 hours.3
WV CARES background checks for the whole household
West Virginia runs child care fingerprint checks through WV CARES, housed in the Office of Inspector General. Everyone checked is automatically enrolled in Rap Back (Record of Arrest and Prosecution Background).7 Rule 78CSR19 requires a state and federal fingerprint check on you and each adult household member. You must also complete:3
- a state criminal check in every state each person has lived in during the past five years;
- a sex offender registry check where each person lives now and in every state they lived in during the past five years; and
- child and adult abuse and neglect registry searches in the same states, repeated every five years.
Each person’s signed WV CARES self-disclosure and consent form must be uploaded to WV CARES no later than your approval date. Keep the fitness determination on file.3 Anyone who moves into the household later must finish the background check within 180 days, and you must report the new adult within 72 hours.3
The department’s background check guide gives the sequence.7
Open an administrative account
Call WV CARES at 304-558-2018 or email it with the subject “Set Up Administration Account.” For a family child care home, the account is in the provider’s own name.
Complete the WV CARES online training
Only the account holder takes it. Then pay the $20 prescreening fee for each person who needs fingerprints, including yourself, and list every household member 18 or older in the system’s spreadsheet.
Schedule fingerprinting with IdentoGO/IDEMIA
Do this after prescreening is complete, then enter the appointment details in WV CARES and submit.
Pay IDEMIA $34.50 per person
at fingerprinting. You can pay on site or through a credit-card-linked NCAC account.
Fees are as published on 2026-10-12.7
Making the house meet 78CSR19
No outside inspection is required before registration, but you certify that the home already meets these standards. The department may inspect afterward, with or without notice.3
| Area | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Utilities | Heat, electricity, indoor plumbing and a working telephone; hot and cold water at bathroom and kitchen sinks; working stove and refrigerator |
| Space | At least 35 sq ft of indoor space per child, not counting hallways, bathrooms or rooms not used by children |
| Exits | Two exits from every room children use (bathrooms excepted) and two unobstructed outside exits on every level; a window exit no more than 44 inches from the floor; a basement used by children needs a door straight outside |
| Stairs and heights | Handrails on stairs of four or more steps when children under five are present; gates top and bottom for infants and toddlers, with no accordion gates and no pressure-mounted gates at the top; railings on any deck, porch or play area more than 36 inches up |
| Fire and CO | A working smoke detector on every level; digital CO detectors in homes with gas appliances, fireplaces, wood or pellet stoves, or oil or propane heat; an ABC fire extinguisher; batteries replaced twice a year |
| Heating | Unvented gas heaters only as supplemental heat, with a digital CO detector and an oxygen depletion sensor; no kerosene heaters while children are in care; barriers around wood stoves and fireplaces |
| Weapons and hazards | Guns, ammunition, hunting knives and bows in a locked cabinet or closet; chemicals, medicines, medical cannabis and alcohol out of reach of children under six |
| Water | Pools deeper than 24 inches fenced at least 4 feet high with gates locked; hot tubs hard-covered and off-limits |
| Outdoors | Outdoor play space within reasonable walking or driving distance (it need not be your yard); no trampoline access |
Source: 78CSR19 sections 7 to 11.3
The rule also reaches household habits. If anyone in the home smokes or uses smokeless tobacco, tell parents in advance, and keep the home smoke-free while children are present.3 If you keep pets, every parent signs an acknowledgement of each pet’s type, breed, spay or neuter status and vaccinations. You must give parents two weeks’ notice before a new pet arrives and keep rabies records for cats and dogs on site. Report an animal bite that breaks the skin to the department within 24 hours.3 The department posts Pet Acknowledgement and Responsible Pet Ownership forms, along with pool safety barrier guidelines.4
Infant equipment rules are specific. Use only CPSC-compliant cribs made after June 28, 2011, and portable play yards made after February 19, 2014. Drop-side cribs and baby walkers are banned.3
The written evacuation plan
West Virginia puts the evacuation plan in statute. Every registered child care service must have one, with:23
- a relocation site;
- parent notification and reunification procedures;
- provisions for children with special needs; and
- coordination with local emergency management.
Rule 78CSR19 adds a drawing of the primary and secondary exits from every area of the house and an outdoor meeting place.3 Run fire drills monthly and practice both sheltering in a safe spot inside and relocating twice a year, with written records of each.3 Update the plan by December 31 every year and send a copy to your child care regulatory specialist.3 If you miss the deadline, no action can be taken against your registration until you get notice and 30 days to comply.2 Tell parents about the plan when each child enrolls.3 The department posts a Disaster Planning Form for family child care.4
Applying, step by step
Read the rule and the department’s materials
The Family Child Care Homes page asks you to read the information packet and the 78CSR19 registration requirements.4 The “Family Child Care Information Packet” linked there (form ECE-CC-14A, June 2018) is written for the seven-to-12-child facility license, with a $25 State Fire Marshal inspection fee and a facility Letter of Intent, so it does not describe home registration. Use 78CSR19 as your guide and ask your regulatory specialist which Letter of Intent form applies to a home.
Send the Needs Assessment and Letter of Intent
Mail the completed Family Child Care Needs Assessment and Letter of Intent to the address given.4 The division’s address is 350 Capitol Street, Room 730, Charleston, WV 25301, and its page links a map of regional Family Child Care regulatory staff.4
Submit the application
The Family Child Care Homes Initial and Renewal Application is posted on the same page.4 The rule requires the medical exam and TB screening within 30 days of applying, and accepts an exam done up to six months earlier.3 The posted application is a scanned form, so ask your specialist what must accompany it.4
Run the WV CARES checks
for yourself and every adult in the home. Consent forms must be in the system by your approval date.37
Get a decision within 60 days
Within 60 days of receiving your application, the secretary must issue a regular certificate (you certify full compliance), a provisional certificate (you temporarily cannot), or a denial (you do not certify substantial compliance).3
Finish training within three months
See the next section.3
A provisional certificate lasts six months and cannot be reissued unless the State Fire Marshal recommends it.3 If you cannot meet a requirement, you can ask the secretary in writing for a waiver or variance. Say which rule it concerns and why the children’s health, safety and well-being are not affected.3
Training after you open
The training deadlines run from your registration date, so you can open before finishing them:3
- Within three months: pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid, plus the federally based pre-service health and safety course. The course has 10 modules: Safe Spaces, Emergency Preparedness, Hazardous Materials, Shaken Baby, Safe Sleep/SUIDs, Infectious Diseases, Medication Administration, Food Allergies, Transportation, and Child Development.
- Within 12 months: four more hours in at least one other Core Knowledge/Core Competency area.
- Every year after: eight hours in at least two core competency areas. Hours above eight in a single long module can carry over to the next year. This includes West Virginia Infant and Toddler Professional Development Program hours and Apprentice for Child Development Specialist coursework.
Training counts only if the secretary approved it or a trainer approved or sponsored through WV STARS delivered it.3 Keep certificates in a training record for the registration period. Renew first aid and rescue breathing certification 30 days before it expires.3
Inspections, reporting and renewal
Inspections. Expect monitoring visits, announced or unannounced. Give inspectors access to the home and your records, and cooperate with complaint investigations.3 The department keeps a record of substantiated complaints against registered homes and shows it to parents and the public on request.3
Reports. Report suspected abuse or neglect immediately. Report any accident or illness that leads to emergency treatment, hospitalization or death immediately as well, followed by a written report within 72 hours.3 Report major fire, flood or storm damage within 72 hours.3
Children’s records. Parents must provide a medical exam for each child within 30 days of admission, updated every two years until age six. Keep immunization records on the department’s schedule.3
Renewal. A regular certificate lasts up to two years.35 Apply for renewal at least 30 days before it expires, with a new medical exam and TB screening.3 By statute, a registration is reinstated on application with a statement of assurance that you still comply.5
Enforcement. The department can revoke a certificate, order immediate closure, or both. You may request a hearing within 30 days of the notice.3 You may also petition the Kanawha County circuit court or your own county’s circuit court for immediate relief.3 Where children face serious harm, the state may seek a court injunction against a family child care home.6
Getting paid through child care subsidy
Families receiving West Virginia child care assistance can use registered homes. Every registered family child care home is a Tier I provider.9 Daily rates per child, effective October 1, 2024, as published on 2026-10-12:8
| Tier | Infant (0-24 mo) | Toddler (25-36 mo) | Preschool (37-59 mo) | School-age (60 mo+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier I (registered) | $30 | $30 | $29 | $26 |
| Tier II | $33 | $33 | $32 | $29 |
| Tier III (accredited) | $36 | $36 | $35 | $32 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
The rate structure adds $3.00 a day for a child with documented special needs and $6.00 per qualifying day for non-traditional hours.8 Informal and relative caregivers receive $7.50 a day for infants and $6.00 for older children.8 The October 2025 tiered reimbursement application prints $31 for Tier II school-age, but it also says Tier II pays $3.00 extra daily, which on its own $26 Tier I figure gives $29, the rate-structure amount.89 Treat $29 as the published rate and confirm with your regulatory specialist before budgeting on $31.
Tier II requires a regular certificate of registration for at least one year in West Virginia, enrollment of subsidized children, and documentation of the additional standards in the department’s application. Qualifying training must be registered with WV STARS or approved by your regulatory specialist.9 Tier III requires national accreditation from the National Association for Family Child Care or NAEYC. Since NAEYC’s new model took effect March 1, 2025, only its top Accreditation+ level qualifies.9
What changed recently and what is pending
- April 1, 2023: 78CSR19 in its present form took effect. It sunsets August 1, 2028, so a revised home rule is due before then.3 The facility rule (78CSR18) took effect the same day.10
- Agency name: the Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) is now the Department of Human Services (DoHS).7 Rule 78CSR19 and some older forms still say DHHR.3
- 2026 session: Senate Bill 1056 proposed amending § 49-1-206 to raise informal family child care from three or fewer children to up to 12 and stop counting the caregiver’s own children under six. Its last action was referral to the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 21, 2026.1213 The definitions in force on 2026-10-12 still set four to six children for a registered home.1
Running a home for seven or more children without the facility license is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.6
Sources
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- 13
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West Virginia and neighboring states
Compare all 51| State | License | Who needs it | State fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia (this guide) | Family Child Care Home certificate of registration (4-6 children); Family Child Care Facility statement of certification (7-12 children) | 4-6 children in your home register; 7-12 need certification | See guide |
| Ohio | Type A Family Child Care Home license; licensed Type B Family Child Care Home | Own home: Type B 1-7 children, Type A 8-14; Type A needs a license | $25, nonrefundable |
| Pennsylvania | Certificate of compliance: family child care home (group child care home for 7 to 12) | 4-6 unrelated children; 7-12 need a group home certificate | None for child care certificates (55 Pa. Code 20.42, as published on 2026-10-12) |
| Maryland | Family Child Care Home Certificate of Registration | Up to 8 children in your home; 9 to 12 is a large family child care home | See guide |
| Virginia | Licensed Home-Based Child Care (formerly Licensed Family Day Home) | 5 to 12 children in a home needs a license; 4 or fewer may register voluntarily | $28 per two years (rule); not collected through December 2027 |
| Kentucky | Certified Family Child-Care Home (certificate) | 4-6 unrelated children in your home need certification; 10 total with own | $10 initial, $10 every two years |
Shortened from each state's guide and our 51-state table, as of each guide's last review. Fees are the state's own; local permits and background checks cost extra.