North Carolina rulebook · checked October 2026

Watching Kids at Home in North Carolina: How Many Before You Need a License?

In North Carolina, you may watch up to 2 counted children before a license is required.

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The categories above the line

What comes with the license

• Ratios: No separate ratio table — the G.S. 110-91(7)b capacity groups ARE the limit: (1) up to 8 children with no more than 5 from birth to age 5, plus 3 school-age; or (2) up to 3 children birth–24 months + 3 children ages 2–5 + 3 school-age (9 total); or (3) up to 10 children if every child is older than 24 months. Your own preschool-age children count in capacity; your own school-age children (to age 13) do not.
• Training before you open: The one-day Family Child Care Home Pre-Licensing Workshop is mandatory before licensure. The operator must be 21 or older with a high school diploma or equivalent, hold current CPR and First Aid, and — if caring for infants 12 months and under — complete ITS-SIDS safe-sleep training within the 12 months before applying.
• Training to stay open: Scaled by credential under 10A NCAC 09 .1703 — from 5 hours (4-year child-care degree) up to 20 clock hours a year for a new operator with no credential.
• State fees: Annual Family Child Care Home license fee: $52 per year (G.S. 110-90(1a)), paid online only.
• Realistic timeline: DCDEE publishes no total timeline. After the pre-licensing consultation, when you request an Initial Assessment and meet every requirement, a temporary license valid for 6 months is issued.

Your path in North Carolina, step by step

1. Complete the one-day Family Child Care Home Pre-Licensing Workshop.
2. Contact local zoning/planning to confirm your residence can host a FCCH; line up any locally required inspections (sanitation, fire, building).
3. If you rent or have an HOA, get written owner/HOA permission first — DCDEE will not proceed without it.
4. Complete the DCDEE criminal background check through the applicant portal.
5. Gather your file: ITS-SIDS proof (if infants), negative TB screen, health questionnaire, pet vaccination records, and well-water and lead-in-water test results where they apply.
6. Prepare a floor plan designating the rooms used for child care.
7. Submit the completed FCCH application with all documentation.
8. Host the pre-licensing consultation — your county's lead child care consultant reviews the requirements and observes your indoor and outdoor areas.
9. Request an Initial Assessment when ready; if all requirements are met, a 6-month temporary license issues.

What catches people in North Carolina

• The pay test surprises people: North Carolina's definition applies 'whether or not operated for profit' — regular unpaid care of 3 or more unrelated children still reads as child care under the statute (a parents' cooperative run as a convenience is a listed exclusion).
• You must live in the home you license.
• The annual fee is paid online only, and lead-in-water testing runs through the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids program.

If you skip the line

Operating a child care facility without a license is a Class 1 misdemeanor (G.S. 110-103), with civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation on any given date (G.S. 110-103.1); willfully operating unlicensed for 3 or more children is a Class I felony.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-86(2)–(3) (child care and family child care home definitions); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-91(7)b, as rewritten by Session Law 2025-36 (capacity groups; own children); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-90(1a) (annual fee); §§ 110-103, 110-103.1 (penalties); 10A NCAC 09 .1703 (training); NC DCDEE, ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov. This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services — Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) is the final word.

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