To get a child care license in Texas, you attend a pre-application orientation with Health and Human Services (HHSC), clear fingerprint-based background checks for everyone connected to your operation, prepare a facility that meets the minimum safety standards, and submit Form 2910 with a $35 fee. HHSC then inspects your site and, if you pass, issues a six-month initial license. During those six months, unannounced inspections determine whether your permit converts to a full license. Start-to-finish, plan on roughly a year.
Decide Which Type of Operation You’re Licensing
Texas doesn’t issue a single license. The category you apply under sets your capacity, your paperwork, and how strictly the state regulates you.1Texas Health and Human Services. Licensed, Registered, and Listed Family Child Care Homes
- Listed family home: up to 3 unrelated children in your own home. Lightest oversight.
- Registered child care home: up to 6 unrelated children during school hours, with up to 6 school-age children added after school, capped at 12 at any time.
- Licensed child care home: 7 to 12 children age 13 or younger, in your home.
- Licensed child care center: 13 or more children in a commercial or institutional setting.
The steps below describe the full licensed process for centers and licensed homes. Smaller home-based operations follow a scaled-down version of the same path.
Attend the HHSC Pre-Application Orientation
You cannot submit paperwork until you complete a pre-application orientation class through your local HHSC Child Care Regulation office.2Texas Health and Human Services. Become a Child Care Center-Based Provider The class walks through the application process, the minimum standards your facility must meet, and what inspectors look for. HHSC schedules sessions regionally, and dates are posted on the agency’s website.
Meet the Director and Caregiver Qualifications
For a licensed center, your director must be at least 21 years old and hold a high school diploma or equivalent. On top of that baseline, the director needs a qualifying combination of college coursework in child development or a related field and hands-on experience in a licensed child care setting.3Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 746.1015 – What Are the Qualifications for a Director of a Child-Care Center Licensed for 13 or More Children Several combinations qualify: a bachelor’s in early childhood education requires less documented experience than a shorter academic background. The orientation class covers the specific pairings.
For licensed child care homes, the primary caregiver must generally also be at least 21 and meet education and experience thresholds, though the bar is lower than for center directors.
Clear Background Checks for Everyone Involved
Before HHSC will issue any permit, every person who will have contact with children in your operation must be cleared. That includes all employees, the director, anyone with ownership or controlling interest, regularly present volunteers, and anyone 14 or older who lives in a home where care is provided.4Texas Health and Human Services. Background Check Rules – Subchapter F
- Fingerprint-based criminal history check searching state and FBI databases, required for directors, owners, employees, and household residents.
- Central Registry check against the Texas database of confirmed child abuse and neglect findings.
- National Sex Offender Registry check for anyone required to have a fingerprint-based check at a child day care operation.
- Out-of-state criminal history, child abuse registry, and sex offender registry checks for anyone who has lived outside Texas.
Certain criminal convictions and confirmed abuse findings disqualify a person automatically. Start this process early. Fingerprint results can take weeks, and a single uncleared person will hold up your entire application.
Prepare Your Facility to Meet the Minimum Standards
Indoor Space
Plan on at least 30 square feet of indoor activity space for each child you want to be licensed to serve.5Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 744.2901 – How Many Square Feet of Indoor Activity Space Must I Have for Children Only usable play and learning areas count. Hallways, bathrooms, kitchens, offices, and storage don’t. A 50-child center therefore needs at least 1,500 qualifying square feet. Your application package includes floor plans showing room dimensions.
Outdoor Play Area
Outdoor activity space must be enclosed by a fence or wall at least four feet high, with no gaps a child could squeeze through.6Texas Health and Human Services. Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers – Section 746.4305 Exceptions apply to programs serving only children five and older, after-school programs housed in public schools, and certain specialty care operations.
Fire Marshal and Gas Line Sign-Off
You’ll need written documentation from your local fire marshal confirming the facility meets fire safety codes before HHSC will process your application. Facilities with gas lines also need a gas leak pressure test. Both are done at your expense and on your schedule, so book them as soon as the facility is physically ready.
Zoning and the Lease
You’ll submit proof that you own the property or hold a lease that explicitly permits child care use, plus zoning clearance from your local authority confirming the site is approved for commercial or home-business activity. Zoning approval moves slowly in some Texas cities. Talk to the local planning office before you commit to a lease.
Liability Insurance
Every child care operation must carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence, covering injury to children on your premises or in your care.7Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 747.209 – What Are the Liability Insurance Requirements Submit a certificate of insurance with your application and provide updated proof each year on your permit anniversary.
If you have an acceptable reason for not carrying insurance, you must notify every parent in writing that your operation is uninsured, using HHSC Form 2962.
Know the Ratios and Training You’ll Need to Meet From Day One
Your facility can be spotless and still fail an inspection if you’re understaffed. For licensed centers serving 13 or more children, the maximum children per caregiver by age group are:8Texas Health and Human Services. Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers – Section 746.1601
- 0 to 11 months: 1 caregiver per 4 children
- 12 to 17 months: 1 caregiver per 5 children
- 18 to 23 months: 1 caregiver per 9 children
- 2 years: 1 caregiver per 11 children
- 3 years: 1 caregiver per 15 children
- 4 years: 1 caregiver per 18 children
- 5 years: 1 caregiver per 22 children
- 6 to 13 years: 1 caregiver per 26 children
These ratios apply at all times, including nap time and outdoor play. Ratio violations are the most common finding during unannounced inspections.
Every caregiver and your director must hold a current certificate in pediatric first aid (covering rescue breathing and choking) and pediatric CPR. A new caregiver doesn’t need CPR certification before their first day, but at least one person with a current pediatric CPR certificate must be on-site any time children are in care.9Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 746.1315 – Who Must Have Pediatric First-Aid and Pediatric CPR
Center directors also complete 30 clock hours of training each year. At least 6 hours must be instructor-led, and no more than 3 of the remaining hours can be self-study. All training must be relevant to the ages of children in your program.10Cornell Law Institute. Texas Administrative Code 746.1311 – What Areas of Training Must the Director of a Child-Care Center Complete Caregivers have their own annual training obligations covering child development, health and safety, and recognizing signs of abuse.
Submit the Application
The core application is Form 2910, Application for a License or Certification to Operate a Child Day Care Facility. Along with it, you file:2Texas Health and Human Services. Become a Child Care Center-Based Provider
- Form 2911, Governing Body/Director Designation.
- Form 2948, Plan of Operation, describing program structure, hours, ages served, and services offered.
- Form 2760, Controlling Person, identifying anyone with legal control over the operation.
You can submit through the HHSC e-Provider portal or by mail to your local Child Care Regulation office. The application fee is $35 for licensed centers, licensed homes, and registered homes, or $20 for listed family homes. The fee is nonrefundable whether or not your application is approved.11Texas Health and Human Services. 5200, Fees
Once HHSC has your application, a licensing inspector is assigned to your file. The inspector reviews your paperwork for completeness and schedules a physical walkthrough of the facility. They verify that the space matches your floor plans, safety equipment works, and the facility meets minimum standards. You’ll get a chance to correct small issues, but significant deficiencies can push your timeline back by weeks.
Operate Under the Six-Month Initial License
If your facility passes inspection, HHSC issues an initial license valid for six months.12Texas Health and Human Services. 3400, Issuance of a Permit This is standard. Every new operation in Texas starts here. It lets you open and serve children while the state evaluates real-world performance.
During those six months, your inspector conducts at least three unannounced inspections while children are present, checking staffing ratios, health protocols, and safety on ordinary operating days.13Texas Health and Human Services. 3500, Steps to Take After Issuing the Initial License Consistent compliance moves you to a full license at the end of the period. If you need more time, the initial license can be renewed once for another six months with supervisory approval, but no operation can stay in initial status for more than a year total.
Renew and Stay in Compliance
A full license renews every two years, starting on the second anniversary of issuance. Your renewal window opens 60 days before that anniversary, and HHSC will notify you. Submit online through your provider account or by mail.14Texas Health and Human Services. 3900, Permit Renewal
If you miss the deadline, a 30-day late renewal period follows. After that, your permit expires, and operating without a valid permit is a serious violation. The renewal application asks you to verify that your operation’s information is current, confirm your background check roster is up to date, and indicate whether you still need any existing waivers or variances.
Unannounced inspections continue between renewals. Routine monitoring is a permanent feature of running a licensed operation, not something that ends once you’ve earned full status.
What Happens if You Fall Out of Compliance
HHSC scales its response to the severity and frequency of the violation. The mildest measure is a written plan of action describing how you’ll correct the deficiency. From there, HHSC can place your operation on probation, impose administrative penalties (financial fines, which can come before probation for background check failures or high-risk violations), or take adverse actions such as involuntary permit amendments, denial of renewal, revocation, or emergency suspension. The most serious cases go to court.15Texas Health and Human Services. CCR Enforcement Actions
Repeat violations and anything that directly threatens children’s safety speed the timeline up. Emergency suspensions take effect immediately, without the usual notice-and-response process.