How to Fill Out the California CCD-26 Child Development Services Application

The California CCD-26 form, formally the Confidential Application for Child Development Services and Certification of Eligibility, is completed at your local CDSS-contracted child care agency during an eligibility appointment. You do not fill it out at home or mail it to the state. Your job is to get on the right waiting list, show up to the appointment when the agency calls, and bring documents proving your income, your reason for needing care, and your children’s basic records. The agency representative walks you through the seven sections of the form and files it in your case record. The current version is dated August 2025 and is published by the California Department of Social Services in English and Spanish.¹

Who Qualifies for Subsidized Child Care Through CCD-26

Two things have to be true: your income is low enough, and you have a documented reason you need child care.

Income

Your family’s adjusted monthly income must be at or below 85 percent of the state median income (SMI) for your family size at the time of your initial certification or recertification.² The dollar thresholds change each fiscal year, and CDSS publishes the current Income Ranking Table on its fiscal resources page. If your income is above that 85 percent ceiling, you are not eligible.

Need for Care

You also have to show why you need child care. Qualifying reasons include employment, job searching, attending school or vocational training, parental incapacity (documented on a separate CDSS Form CCD-27), or a child protective services referral.

Priority

Meeting the requirements does not mean you get a slot right away. Most programs have waiting lists, and openings are filled by priority category rather than in the order you applied. Children in child protective services or at risk of abuse and neglect are enrolled first. Children with disabilities from lower-income families come next. Remaining slots go to other eligible children, ranked by income from lowest to highest, with time on the waiting list used as a tiebreaker.³

What to Bring to Your Eligibility Appointment

Gathering documents ahead of time keeps you from having to reschedule. Plan to bring:

Proof of income: recent pay stubs (usually the last two to four), tax returns, self-employment profit and loss records, or documentation of public benefits such as CalWORKs or SSI.
Proof of your reason for needing care: an employer letter or work schedule, school enrollment or class schedule, a signed CCD-27 for parental incapacity, or a child protective services referral letter. If you are looking for work, California allows a limited period of job-search eligibility, sometimes documented separately on Form CCD-21 (Parent Plan for Seeking Employment).
Children’s records: birth certificates or other proof of date of birth, immunization records, and an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) if your child has exceptional needs.
Identification: a government-issued photo ID for the parent or caretaker.

Children must have a physical examination and age-appropriate immunizations before enrollment or within six weeks after enrollment starts. Families whose religious beliefs conflict with medical examination or immunization can file a letter to that effect.⁴

If you are missing something, ask the agency whether you can submit it within a set timeframe rather than losing the appointment.

What Each Section of Form CCD-26 Asks For

The agency representative fills in the form with you. Knowing what each section covers helps you answer confidently and spot which documents come out of your folder when.

Section I: Family Identification

Basic contact information: parent or caretaker name, address, and phone number. The agency also enters a FIPS code based on your county, which you do not need to look up yourself.

Section II: Reason for Needing Service

This is where the agency records which qualifying reason applies to you — work, training, job search, parental incapacity, or a CPS referral — and where your supporting document for that reason goes into the file.

Section III: Family Income and Size

You report your adjusted gross monthly income and the number of people in your household. The agency compares this against the 85 percent SMI threshold and, if you qualify, places your family on the income ranking table. If only one parent signs the application and the information indicates a second parent exists, the signing parent has to self-certify under penalty of perjury whether the second parent is present or absent. No additional documentation about the second parent is required.⁴

Section IV: Data on Children

For each child who will receive services, you provide full legal name including middle initial, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, race, native language, and whether the child has any exceptional needs.⁵ The agency separately enters program and care-type codes based on your schedule and the program enrolling you.

Section V: Parent Certification and Signature

You read, initial, and sign a certification confirming your information is accurate and that you understand the program’s rules on reporting income changes and maintaining eligibility. Read it before signing. It carries legal weight.

Section VI: Family Fee

The agency calculates your family fee from your income and family size. Families with income below 75 percent of SMI owe no fee. Families at or above 75 percent of SMI have their fee capped at one percent of monthly income. CDSS provides an online Family Fee Rate Calculator that contractors use for the 2025–26 fiscal year.⁶

Section VII: Office Use Only

You do not fill this in. The representative records the eligibility determination, site name, service start and end dates, and signs off. The Initial Subsidized Service Date entered here becomes the official start of your services and stays in your file as long as you are enrolled.⁷

How to Get to an Eligibility Appointment in the First Place

You cannot submit CCD-26 on your own. The form lives at the child care agency, and getting an appointment means getting on the right list first.

For most non-CalWORKs programs, families sign up through a Centralized Eligibility Waiting List (CEWL) run by a local child care resource and referral agency. When a slot opens and your name comes up, the contracting agency contacts you by phone or mail to schedule the eligibility appointment. That is when CCD-26 gets filled out.⁸

For CalWORKs Stage One child care, the path runs through your county welfare eligibility worker. Tell them you need child care, and they refer you to the CalWORKs Stage One contractor, who handles the application.⁹

To find the resource and referral agency or contractor serving your area, contact the CDSS Child Care and Development Division or check the contractor resources page on the CDSS website. The programs that use CCD-26 include General Child Care and Development, Family Child Care Home Education Networks, Migrant Child Care, CalWORKs Stages One through Three, and the Alternative Payment Programs.⁹ The California State Preschool Program uses a similar process under its own regulations.

After You’re Certified: The 12-Month Rule

Once the agency certifies your family as eligible, you are locked in for at least 12 months. During that window, you are treated as meeting all eligibility and need requirements, and you do not have to report income changes. The one exception: if your income rises above 85 percent of SMI, you must report it, and the agency will recertify at that point.⁴

You can voluntarily report income decreases or other changes any time. The agency will use that information to lower your family fee, increase your authorized hours, or extend your eligibility. It will not be used against you.

When the 12 months end, the agency schedules a recertification appointment and completes a new CCD-26 with your updated information. For California State Preschool Programs, recertification typically happens between June and August, and the agency must notify you in writing on or after May 1 of the requirement and the appointment date.¹⁰ Agencies have to offer flexible appointment times, including early morning, evening, and weekend options.

Keep Your Contact Information Current

Even though you do not have to report most changes during your 12 months, keeping the agency able to reach you protects your slot. If you move and do not update your address, you risk being dropped from services. Call your agency whenever your name, address, phone number, or marital status changes. The same applies if you are still on a waiting list: an outdated application can get your name removed before a slot ever opens.

1
California Department of Social Services. On-line Forms and Publications A – D
2
California Department of Social Services. State Median Income Level
3
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, 17747 – Enrollment Priorities for Full-Day California State Preschool Programs
4
California Legislative Information. California Education Code 8263
5
California Department of Social Services. CDSS CDMIS User Manual Appendix A – Child Middle Initial
6
California Department of Social Services. Child Care Family Fee Rate Calculator
7
California Department of Social Services. CDSS CDMIS User Manual Appendix A – Family Start Date
8
California Department of Social Services. CDSS CDMIS User Manual Appendix A – Family Start Date
9
California Department of Social Services. Child Care and Development Programs
10
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, 17753 – Recertification of Eligibility for Full-Day California State Preschool Programs