Child Care Licensing in Delaware: Prep, Inspection, and Renewal

Child care licensing in Delaware runs through the Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL) inside the Department of Education, and almost every program that cares for other people’s children needs a license before it opens.{¹} The path is the same whether you plan to care for a few children in your home or open a center for a hundred: attend an information session, clear background checks, meet the facility and staffing rules in the Delacare regulations, pass a pre-licensing inspection, and operate under a provisional license until OCCL confirms every correction.

The first choice is which of the three license types you need. A Family Child Care Home operates in a private residence and can serve up to nine unrelated children depending on their ages, with no more than two under 12 months.{²} A Large Family Child Care Home, in a home or a commercial space, is licensed for up to 12, and requires a second staff member once seven or more preschoolers are present.{³} A Child Care Center sits in a commercial building and serves 13 or more. Each category has its own Delacare chapter, so the rules below sometimes differ by setting.

Programs That Don’t Need a License

Before starting the process, confirm you actually need a license. OCCL does not treat the following as child care under Delaware law:

Youth camps serving only school-age children that hold a public health permit, unless the camp accepts Purchase of Care subsidies.
Programs run directly by the State of Delaware.
Short-term religious programs lasting less than a month, such as vacation Bible school.
Programs where parents stay on site and don’t leave their children.
Free drop-in activities for school-age children who come and go freely, with no parent agreement that care is being provided.
Instructional-only programs: tutoring, music, sports, dance, or martial arts.
Schools registered with the Department of Education that provide instruction through at least sixth grade.

One change took effect July 1, 2024: pre-kindergarten programs operated by public or private schools now have to be licensed by OCCL even though the school itself stays exempt.{⁴} If you think your program is exempt, OCCL recommends requesting a formal exemption letter so you have proof you aren’t operating unlicensed.

What to Do Before You Apply

Attend an Information Session

OCCL expects every prospective provider to attend an information session and orientation on the licensing process and the Delacare regulations before applying. Sessions for family and large family homes run on a regular virtual schedule throughout the year.{⁵} Applications submitted without it stall.

Confirm Zoning

You need written certification from your local government that the location is zoned for commercial child care. For home-based providers, that means confirming your residence allows a child care business. Zoning denials are one of the most common early roadblocks, so check with your municipality before spending money on anything else.

Clear Background Checks

Every applicant, staff member, and household member in a home-based program has to complete a comprehensive background check: fingerprinting at a Delaware State Police location, a Delaware and FBI criminal record check, a Delaware child protection registry check, and both state and national sex offender registry checks.{⁶} Anyone who has lived outside Delaware in the past five years must also complete criminal history, child abuse and neglect registry, and sex offender registry checks in each of those states. Results have to be in hand before OCCL will process your application.

Test for Lead Paint and Radon

Any facility built before 1978 needs a lead-paint risk assessment from a certified environmental testing firm showing it’s free of lead-based paint hazards. Intact lead paint has to be monitored at least every six months. Deteriorated lead paint triggers remediation by a certified lead-safe contractor, and children can’t be present until dust clearance testing confirms the space is safe. Every room used for child care also has to be tested for radon under EPA guidelines, with mitigation required above 4.0 pCi/L.{⁷}

Get a Business License, Health Appraisals, and Insurance

Delaware requires a state business license before you begin operating. Staff and household members at home-based programs need a health appraisal that includes a TB test or risk assessment within the past 12 months.{⁸} Centers must carry comprehensive general liability insurance and provide the certificate before the pre-licensing visit, and if the center transports children in its own vehicles, motor vehicle insurance is required too.{⁹}

What Your Space Has to Meet

A child care center must provide at least 35 square feet of usable floor space per child in each room children use, and must comply with all applicable building, safety, sanitation, and fire codes. The licensee needs written certifications from each relevant regulator, including the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for air quality and radon, and the Department of Health and Social Services Office of Drinking Water if a well supplies the facility.{¹⁰}

Outdoor play space must give at least 75 square feet per child for the maximum number using it at once, and must be large enough to hold at least one-fourth of licensed capacity at any given time, with enough open space for running and vigorous activity.{¹¹}

Who Can Run and Staff the Program

The person running a center is the Early Childhood Administrator under Delacare rules. The administrator must be at least 21 and hold at least an associate or bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Regardless of degree level, they need 15 accredited credit hours covering child development and learning, curriculum, social-emotional development, and observation and assessment, plus 18 months of experience with children from birth through second grade in a group setting. Three months of supervised student teaching can substitute for six months of that experience.{¹¹}

Every staff member must keep current CPR and First Aid certification and hold an Administration of Medication certificate from OCCL, which authorizes them to give medication to children in care.{¹²} Full-time staff working 25 or more hours per week complete 18 clock hours of training a year, including at least two hours of health or safety. Part-time staff under 25 hours complete nine clock hours, with at least one hour of health or safety. New employees who have been on the job between six months and a year need to complete at least half of the hours required for their position.{¹³}

Staff-to-Child Ratios

Ratios apply at all times during the day, not just at peak enrollment, and they’re where violations happen most often. Two of the most commonly referenced center ratios: infants under 12 months require one staff member for every four children with a maximum group size of eight, and older preschoolers (four and up, not yet in kindergarten) require one staff member for every 12. Mixed-age groups follow the youngest child present.{¹⁴} Maximum group sizes cannot be exceeded, though some group-size flexibility applies when 12 or fewer children are in the entire center. The full ratio table for every age group is in the Delacare center regulations. In a large family home, a single provider can care for up to nine children alone subject to age limits, and a second staff member must be on site once seven or more preschoolers are present.{³}

Submitting the Application and Getting Inspected

Once the information session is done, background checks are cleared, facility certifications are in hand, and insurance is in place, you can submit the full application package to OCCL by mail or in person. OCCL charges no fees for applications, information sessions, fingerprinting and criminal history reviews, licenses, or technical assistance.{¹⁵}

A Licensing Specialist reviews your package for completeness and schedules an announced pre-licensing inspection. The visit confirms that the physical site, safety equipment, posted emergency plans, and overall setup meet Delacare standards. Anything short of the standard produces a written corrective action plan.

Provisional License, Then Annual License

New providers don’t get a full license right away. OCCL issues a provisional license for up to three months, during which you can legally operate while resolving any remaining non-compliance items from the inspection.{¹⁶} Once OCCL verifies the corrections, the provisional license is replaced with an annual license. If more time is needed, the specialist can request an extension with supervisor approval. All non-compliance has to be fixed before the annual license issues.

Staying Licensed

The annual license is the start of ongoing monitoring. OCCL visits to verify continued compliance with Delacare regulations. Staff training hours have to be completed every year, background checks for new hires have to be processed before they begin working with children, and insurance and safety certifications have to stay current. Slipping during a monitoring visit can produce corrective action plans, a downgrade back to provisional status, or in serious cases, revocation.

1
Delaware Department of Education. Child Care Resources
2
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 14 934-IV-57.0 – Capacity
3
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 14 934-V-68.0 – Capacity and Staff-to-Child Ratios
4
Delaware Department of Education. Regulations and Exemptions
5
Delaware Department of Education. Family Child Care Provider Information Sessions
6
Delaware Regulations. Delaware Administrative Code Title 9 Section 301 – Background Checks for Child-Serving Entities
7
Delaware Regulations. Delaware Administrative Code Title 14 934 – Delacare Regulations for Family and Large Family Child Care Homes
8
Delaware Department of Education. Adult Health Appraisal for Child Care
9
Delaware Regulations. Delaware Administrative Code Title 14 933 – Delacare Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers
10
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 14 933-V-49.0 – Indoor Space
11
Delaware Department of Education. Delacare Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers
12
Delaware Regulations. Delaware Administrative Code 101 – Delacare Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers
13
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 14 933-IV-33.0 – Annual Training
14
Legal Information Institute. Delaware Administrative Code 14 933-IV-27.0 – Ratios, Group Size, and Supervision
15
Delaware Department of Education. Start a Child Care Business
16
Delaware Department of Education. Office of Child Care Licensing Procedures Manual