Virginia rulebook · checked October 2026
Watching Kids at Home in Virginia: How Many Before You Need a License?
In Virginia, you may watch up to 4 counted children before a license is required.
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The Virginia line, in facts
Licensing agency: Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) — Office of Child Care Health and Safety
The line: In Virginia, you may watch up to 4 counted children before a license is required.
The categories above the line
| Category | Capacity | What it means |
|---|
| Licensed Family Day Home (from July 1, 2026: 'home-based child care') | up to 12 | 5 to 12 children under 13, not counting your own children or children who reside in the home. The 16-point rule also decides when a second caregiver is required. |
What comes with the license
- Ratios: Virginia uses a point system instead of ratios (8VAC20-800-570): one caregiver may not exceed 16 points — birth through 15 months = 4 points each, 16–23 months = 3, ages 2–4 = 2, ages 5–9 = 1, age 10 and older = 0. One caregiver alone can therefore supervise at most 4 young infants, and only with no other counted children present.
- Training before you open: Complete VDOE's required Pre-Licensure Orientation — Phase 2 (the online Phase 1 is strongly encouraged first). The provider must be 18 or older, have completed high school or an equivalent, show 3 months of programmatic experience, and hold current CPR and First Aid. There is no fixed pre-service clock-hour course for family day homes.
- Training to stay open: 16 clock hours of training every year (8VAC20-800-210), on top of current First Aid and CPR.
- State fees: Licensing fee: $28 for the two-year license at capacity 1–12 (8VAC20-821-150, effective February 1, 2026).
- Realistic timeline: VDOE publishes no end-to-end timeline. State guidance: file the complete application at least 60 days before your planned opening — and an application left incomplete 6 months after the fee is received is closed.
The local check you cannot skip
Four localities regulate family day homes themselves — Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County and the City of Norfolk. If your home is in one of them, you deal with the locality instead of VDOE, and voluntary registration is not available there.
Your path in Virginia, step by step
- Read the licensing requirements — the Code of Virginia and the family day home standards (8VAC20-800).
- Complete the online Pre-Application Orientation — Phase 1 (strongly encouraged).
- Attend the required Pre-Licensure Orientation — Phase 2, run by VDOE's Office of Child Care Health and Safety in your region.
- Ask your local zoning office how many children you may request to care for, and get the zoning form signed.
- Submit the complete application in VDOE's online Child Care Application Processing System — budget form, signed zoning form, Phase 2 proof, age/education/experience documents, First Aid/CPR, TB screening, and background checks for you, your caregivers and adult household members.
- Host the pre-licensure inspection of your home.
- License issued for a 2-year term.
What catches people in Virginia
- The name changes under you: from July 1, 2026, 'family day home' becomes 'home-based child care' — both terms appear in state materials for a while.
- Your zoning office, not VDOE, effectively sets the count you may request — go there before you apply.
- A general county business license is NOT a child care license — VDOE says so expressly.
- At 4 or fewer children you may choose Voluntary Registration instead of staying unregistered; VDOE's program page says no application fee is currently charged for it.
If you skip the line
Operating a child day program without a required license is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and every day is a separate offense (Va. Code § 22.1-289.027). Knowingly operating unlicensed when a child is seriously injured is a Class 4 felony (§ 18.2-371.1).
Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: Va. Code § 22.1-289.02 (family day home definition; licensure at 5–12; under-2 rule; all-related exemption); Va. Code § 22.1-289.011 (licensure required); § 22.1-289.027 (penalties); 8VAC20-800-40 (capacity), 8VAC20-800-570 (point system), 8VAC20-800-210 (annual training); 8VAC20-821-150 (fees, eff. 2/1/2026); VDOE, childcare.virginia.gov. This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) — Office of Child Care Health and Safety is the final word.
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