Wyoming child care center license: DFS rules, ratios and the application

Center, family child care center or home: which Wyoming license fits

Wyoming has three child care license types, and the line between them is set by the number of children and the kind of building. A family child care home is in the owner’s primary residence and can be licensed for up to 10 children. A family child care center is in a residence or a commercial building and can be licensed for up to 15. A child care center is in a non-residence and can be licensed for 16 or more.⁠⁸ The DFS provider page adds that a center needs enough staff to meet the ratio requirements, while a family child care center needs one additional staff member once more than 10 children are present.⁠¹³ If you plan to stay at 15 or fewer children, see the Wyoming family child care home and center guide.

Being in the 16-plus tier does not lift your capacity on its own. The number on your license is set by measured indoor and outdoor square footage, and in a center the capacity of each room has to be posted in that room.⁠⁸ One application form, the CCL-100, covers all three types. You tick “Child Care Center (CCC) - 16 or more children.”⁠¹²

Wyoming law uses the word “certification.” DFS rules state that certification and licensing are used interchangeably.⁠³ The statute requires certification before a facility exercises care, custody or control of any minor, so you cannot open and apply later.⁠¹

Who is exempt, and what happens if you operate unlicensed

DFS rules require a license for anyone caring for more than two children unless an exemption in W.S. 14-4-102 applies.⁠⁴ Statutory “child caring facilities” include day or hourly nurseries, nursery schools, kindergartens and other preschools not accredited by the state board of education.⁠¹ The exemptions most relevant to someone planning a center-sized program are:⁠⁹

• Facilities supervised by the state, a local government, a school district or another political subdivision.
• Summer camps run by nonprofit organizations.
• After-school programs that operate mainly when school is out, serve only children of compulsory school age, are organized around learning, youth development or recreation, and follow local health, safety and fire codes.
• Part-time programs with fewer than eight children all over 36 months old, or fewer than 10 children all over 48 months old. They must not give medication, prepare food, or accept children in diapers, and attendance is limited to 10 hours a week per child. Staff must still pass Central Registry and sex offender screenings and keep first aid and CPR current, and parents must be told at enrollment that the program is not licensed.

Running a non-exempt facility without certification is a misdemeanor. The fine is $50 to $200 per offense, and each day is a separate offense.⁠¹ A court can also stop you from operating.⁠¹ DFS tells uncertain operators to contact the child care licenser for their county.⁠⁹

Site work first: fire code class, plan review and food inspection

Your building decisions come before the application, because the fire and sanitation approvals have to be filed with it.⁠⁴

Occupancy class. Chapter 10 classifies care for more than 10 children as Group E (educational). Care for more than five children aged 2½ or younger is classed as Institutional Group I-4. The exception is a facility with up to 100 such children whose infant and toddler rooms are on the level of exit discharge and each have a door directly to the outside. That facility stays in Group E.⁠⁷ Putting infant rooms on the ground floor with exterior doors can therefore change which code requirements apply.

Codes and plan review. New centers must meet the building, fire, electrical and mechanical codes currently adopted by the local jurisdiction.⁠⁷ Send plans to the Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety before work starts on new construction, remodeling or additions that cost more than $40,000 for a facility serving more than 10 children. Inside a local enforcement jurisdiction, follow the local permit and plan review process instead. Fire alarm, sprinkler and commercial hood systems each need plan approval before installation.⁠⁷

Fire protection basics for Group E under Chapter 10:⁠⁷

• A manual fire alarm system.
• Automatic sprinklers throughout any Group E fire area over 20,000 square feet, and in every part of the building below the level of exit discharge. Sprinklers are not required where each classroom has at least one exterior exit door at ground level.
• At least two exits. Windows and garages do not count as exits.
• Portable extinguishers rated at least 2A-10:BC, plus a class K extinguisher within 30 feet of travel from any commercial-type cooking equipment.
• An approved fire safety and evacuation plan, reviewed at least once a year.

Food safety. Centers, unlike family child care homes and family child care centers (which DFS or local public health inspect), are inspected as food establishments by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and/or the local public health department. The inspection happens before licensure and at least once a year after that.⁠⁶

Water. If you are on a private well, you need a bacterial test before opening and every six months after that. If you care for infants under one year, the well also needs a nitrate test every three years.⁠⁸ DFS’s application checklist asks for both test results.⁠¹¹

Zoning and business license. Submit zoning approval or a business license where your city or county requires one.⁠⁴⁠¹¹

Space, playground and building standards

Sources for the table: Chapter 11, Sections 10, 12, 13 and 14.⁠⁸

A kitchen’s dining area can count toward indoor space if children can use it throughout the day.⁠⁸ If you are short on outdoor space, Wyoming allows an approved plan to rotate children through the playground. You can also use the same amount of indoor large-muscle space, with a posted schedule.⁠⁸ Walls, doors and windows painted with lead-based paint must have the paint removed or covered, or be tested for dust lead levels.⁠⁸ A program that is not in the owner’s residence must ban firearms, ammunition and other weapons anywhere children are, including vehicles. The only exception is law enforcement personnel.⁠⁸

The director and staff Wyoming requires

Source: Chapter 11, Section 3(f).⁠⁸

Center directors must be on site at least 50% of operating hours. When the director is away, the assistant director, or an adult staff member who meets the assistant director qualifications, is in charge. A director who will be off site for more than two weeks, or who cannot meet the 50% rule regularly, needs an approved variance on file. If the director leaves, notify Child Care Licensing immediately and hire a replacement within 90 days.⁠⁸ The application checklist asks the applicant for a copy of a diploma and a resume of child care experience.⁠¹¹

Background checks

Owners, directors, staff, substitutes and volunteers present during operating hours must clear all four checks before working:⁠⁸

• A Central Registry (child abuse and neglect) check in Wyoming and every state lived in during the past five years.
• National and state sex offender registry checks.
• An FBI fingerprint-based national criminal history check.
• State criminal history checks for the same five-year period.

The Central Registry and state sex offender checks repeat every year, and the FBI and national registry checks every five years.⁠⁸ For the fingerprint check, the application guide asks for two DCI FBI fingerprint cards, a cover letter (CCL-108) and the DCI waiver form.⁠¹¹

Disqualifying convictions include violent, sexual and child-related offenses. They also include felony drug or alcohol offenses within the last 10 years, and misdemeanor drug or DUI offenses within the last five years, though a first misdemeanor DUI does not count. A disqualified person has 10 days to ask for a rehabilitation review of certain older or lesser offenses, and DFS answers within 20 days.⁠⁸

Ratios and group size

Wyoming defines an infant as birth to 12 months, a toddler as 12 to 36 months and a school-age child as five or older.⁠³ Chapter 11 sets these ratios and maximum group sizes, which apply during all hours of operation:⁠⁸

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

In a mixed group of children aged two and older, the youngest child’s ratio applies. The rule also sets two mixed-age options for groups that include infants and one-year-olds.⁠⁸ Rooms may also be limited by their measured capacity.⁠⁸

Supervision rules that shape a center’s schedule:⁠⁸

• Staff must supervise children directly at all times.
• Video and audio monitors cannot be used to meet supervision requirements.
• Children must be on the same floor of the building as staff.
• At nap time, one staff member can cover a measured room if every child is asleep and in clear view, as long as the facility as a whole stays in ratio.
• Group size can exceed the maximum for no more than one hour, during opening and closing, meals and snacks, and special events. Room capacity and ratios still apply during that time.

Care after 7:00 p.m. adds requirements: a full evening meal, breakfast for children who stay overnight unless a parent picks them up before 8:00 a.m., a separate crib, cot or bed for each child, and an awake staff member supervising sleeping children.⁠⁸

Training before the license and every year after

The owner or director must finish DFS-approved pre-service training before the license is issued. They must also complete an approved new director training plan and an on-site visit within three months of taking over the facility.⁠⁸ Other staff have three months from their start date, and must finish before they care for children unsupervised.⁠⁸ Pre-service topics include:⁠⁸

• Emergency preparedness, including violence at a facility.
• Pediatric and adult first aid and CPR, with an in-person skills demonstration.
• Medication administration.
• Safe sleep and preventing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Preventing shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma.
• Allergy response and transportation safety.
• The Wyoming Early Learning Standards.

Ongoing training is 12 credits a year in early learning or child development for anyone who gives direct care or counts in ratio for more than 24 hours a month. Eight health and safety credits are due every two years.⁠⁸ Training taken before the initial license does not count toward the first year’s ongoing hours.⁠⁸ Staff who care for infants need two specialized infant credits a year. Once four or more infants are present, at least one staff member working with them must hold an Infant/Toddler Credential recognized by DFS and complete four infant credits a year.⁠⁸ One college credit hour equals 15 training credits, and one CEU equals 10.⁠⁸ The DFS application guide points applicants to the state’s STARS system to complete and document approved training.⁠¹¹

Assembling the application

1. Talk to your licenser. DFS assigns licensers by area. For questions, the toolkit lists a licensing support line at 307-777-3540 and a spreadsheet of area licensers.⁠¹⁰

2. Line up the site approvals. Get the fire inspection and approval, the sanitation or food establishment inspection, zoning or business license approval where required, and private well test results.⁠⁴⁠⁶⁠¹¹

3. Start background checks for everyone. Fingerprint cards, Central Registry checks from each state lived in during the past five years, and registry checks for the owner, director and all staff.⁠⁴⁠¹¹

4. Finish pre-service training. Include proof that staff reviewed the current licensing rules, either a signed statement or a STARS transcript.⁠⁴⁠¹¹

5. Write the required documents. The CCL-105B guide (02/26) asks for:⁠¹¹

   • a policy statement or parent handbook
   • an emergency preparedness plan
   • attendance, child record and staff record forms
   • an infant feeding and diapering log
   • a sample menu
   • a list of the governing body, owners and shareholders

   DFS posts samples of each on its site-specific information page. The policies must cover, among other things, expulsion and suspension, medication, emergency preparedness, any weapons on the premises, and how parents can get the facility’s inspection history.⁠⁸

6. File the CCL-100. Send the signed, dated, fully completed application with the fee. The 03/24 form also lists a TB risk self-assessment and a physician’s statement.⁠¹² An application counts as filed once the licenser has the complete signed form. All required items are due with it or within 30 days, or the application is denied.⁠⁴⁠¹¹

7. Pass the DFS inspection. The licenser does a scheduled inspection within 30 days of filing, measures indoor and outdoor space, and then issues a one-year license or a provisional license, or denies the application.⁠⁴

DFS issues the license only after reviewing all inspection reports and program documents. It must find that the facility meets federal, state and local law, that there are no open investigations involving the owner, director or staff, and that any earlier non-compliance has been resolved.⁠⁴ A provisional license can last up to six months for a facility making a good-faith effort to comply, and it can carry conditions such as lower ratios or a cap on enrollment.⁠⁴ Under the statute, a provisional certificate cannot be renewed.⁠¹

Fees, as published

Chapter 2 sets a $25 licensing fee at application and a $25 renewal fee when the license expires.⁠⁴ The CCL-105B guide (02/26) also says $25, payable to DFS by check or money order.⁠¹¹ However, the CCL-100 application form linked from the DFS toolkit, dated 03/24, still says “$50 check or money order.”⁠¹² The rule and the newer checklist agree on $25, so $25 is the amount the regulation requires, but the DFS pages do not say why the older form still prints $50. Ask your licenser which amount to send before you mail the check, and ask for the current version of the CCL-100. The application guide also says to include a check or money order payable to the State of Wyoming with the fingerprint cards. It does not state that amount.⁠¹¹

After opening: inspections, changes and renewal

Each year a center gets at least one announced and one unannounced DFS inspection, plus annual fire, food safety and health inspections. Local ordinances can add more.⁠⁴ When an inspection or complaint finds non-compliance, you have 10 days to submit a corrective action plan. Correction dates cannot be more than 30 days out, and DFS reviews the plan within 10 days.⁠⁴

Tell licensing in writing as soon as you know of any of these changes:⁠⁴

• a new facility name, director or board members
• a change in capacity or classification
• structural changes or new uses for rooms
• a new mailing address or phone number
• closure

A change of ownership or location requires a new application, because the license is tied to the address, owner and facility named on it and cannot be transferred.⁠⁴ DFS will not issue two licenses for the same or adjacent locations unless the programs operate independently, with separate records and no shared equipment in use at the same time.⁠⁴

Drills are monthly for evacuation, every six months for shelter-in-place, and yearly for lockdown.⁠⁸ Renewal requires a renewal request, the fee, and a review of program documents and licensing, fire and health inspection reports.⁠⁴ Children over 18 months must be fully immunized, and the operator is responsible for auditing their immunization status.⁠¹ DFS can deny, revoke or suspend a license for reasons that include false statements to a licenser and failure to cooperate with an investigation.⁠⁵

Getting paid through child care assistance

To be paid for children in Wyoming’s child care subsidy program, a licensed provider files DFS form 203a, the Registration Form for Licensed Child Care Providers, along with an IRS W-9. DFS lists both under “Items Related to Subsidy Payments” in its new provider toolkit.⁠¹⁴ The CCL-105B guide lists the same two forms at the end of the application checklist.⁠¹¹

Sources

1. 1
   Wyoming State Legislature, Wyoming Statutes Title 14, W.S. 14-4-101 through 14-4-116 (child caring facilities) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Licensing Rules (Child Care Licensing Rules, updated April 2026) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 1: General Provisions Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 2: Licensing Process Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 3: Denial, Revocation, Immediate Suspension or Suspension of License Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 8: Food Safety Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 10: Fire Standards for Child Care Centers and Family Child Care Centers (Group E) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 11: Health and Safety Requirements for All Facility Types Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Wyoming Department of Family Services, Who Needs to be Licensed? Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Wyoming Department of Family Services, New Provider Child Care Digital Toolkit Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Wyoming Department of Family Services, CCL-105B Application for Child Care Certification Guide (02/26) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    Wyoming Department of Family Services, CCL-100 Application for Child Care Certification (03/24) Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
13. 13
    Wyoming Department of Family Services, Licensed Child Care Providers Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
14. 14
    Wyoming Department of Family Services, Items Related to Subsidy Payments Checked 12 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

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