How to Get a Daycare License in NC: Steps, Inspections, and Costs

To get a daycare license in NC, you apply through the Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), the branch of the state Department of Health and Human Services that regulates every licensed childcare operation in North Carolina.¹ The path runs through a mandatory pre-licensing workshop, criminal background checks, an administrator credential, facility inspections, and a multi-part application. Plan on several months from first inquiry to open doors. DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license first; if you keep clean, it converts to a permanent star-rated license.

Decide Which License You Need

North Carolina splits licensed childcare into two tracks. A Family Child Care Home (FCCH) operates out of your own residence and serves more than two but fewer than nine children at any one time. A Child Care Center license covers nine or more children, or any operation run from a commercial space rather than a home.¹

Choose before you do anything else. Fee amounts, space requirements, staffing ratios, and even the pre-licensing workshop you sign up for differ between the two. If you’re starting small from home, the FCCH path carries a lighter regulatory load. If you’re renting commercial space or planning for more than eight children, you’re on the center track.

Set Up the Business Side First

Form your business entity before you start interacting with DCDEE. Most daycare operators in North Carolina file as an LLC through the Secretary of State; articles of organization cost $125 to file. Get a federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS at no cost through IRS.gov/EIN; you’ll need it for tax filings and for hiring staff.²

Having the legal entity, EIN, and a business bank account in place up front saves you from scrambling when the license comes through and you suddenly need to run payroll, pay vendors, and sign a lease.

Register for the Pre-Licensing Workshop

Every prospective operator must attend a DCDEE pre-licensing workshop before applying. The center workshop runs two days and covers administrative duties, regulatory requirements, and DCDEE’s expectations for your operation. Family child care homes attend a separate workshop. The fee is $135 per person.³

Schedules are posted on the DCDEE website in quarterly blocks, and seats fill up. Register as soon as a slot opens for your area. No workshop certificate, no application — there is no waiver for this step.

Clear Background Checks for Everyone Required

Under N.C.G.S. § 110-90.2, a criminal background check is required for every employee (including substitutes), every owner or operator of the facility, and, if you’re running an FCCH, every household member over age 15.⁴ The household-member rule catches home-based providers off guard. An adult child or roommate living in the home where you plan to operate needs clearance too.

The check includes fingerprinting and a review of county, state, and federal records. The statute lists a broad range of disqualifying offenses, from violent crimes and sex offenses to drug charges and fraud. Expect roughly $25 plus a convenience fee for the application and another $15 to $20 for fingerprinting per person.⁵ Multiply by every person who needs clearance and budget accordingly. These checks must stay current for the life of the license, and every new hire goes through the same process before working with children.

Earn the Administrator Credential

If you’ll serve as the administrator of a center, you need at least a Level I North Carolina Early Childhood Administration Credential (NCECAC).⁶ Level I has three components: completion of Child Care Administration I and II (EDU 261 and 262), seven semester hours of early childhood coursework, and a portfolio demonstrating competency. All 58 North Carolina community colleges offer the required courses.

Equivalency options exist for each component if you don’t have the exact coursework; meeting the requirements through equivalencies produces an “administration equivalency,” which DCDEE accepts in place of the credential itself.⁶ Start the coursework early. Finishing EDU 261 and 262 alone takes at least one semester, and a license application can’t move without this piece in place.

Prepare the Facility and Pass Inspections

Your physical space has to clear local zoning, state safety codes, federal accessibility rules, and environmental health standards. This is where applicants lose the most time, so start as soon as you have a location in mind.

Zoning and Building

Call your local planning department before you sign a lease or buy. Confirm the property is zoned for childcare and ask whether a special use permit is required, which is common in residential districts. The facility also has to pass a building inspection to confirm it meets occupancy standards for children, as required under N.C.G.S. § 110-91.⁷

Fire and Environmental Health

Your local fire marshal performs a mandatory fire inspection that looks at exits, fire suppression, alarm placement, and evacuation routes. A separate environmental health inspection reviews sanitation, water, food preparation areas, and potential hazards such as lead paint.⁷ A failed inspection stops the licensing process. Schedule early so you have time to fix problems.

Space Requirements

North Carolina requires at least 30 square feet of indoor space per child based on licensed capacity, and 100 square feet of outdoor space per child using the outdoor area at any one time. You also need an area set aside for administrative work and private conferences.⁸ These numbers set your maximum licensed capacity, so measure accurately. Underestimating square footage means a smaller license than you planned for.

ADA Accessibility

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to nearly all private childcare centers; the only exception is centers run by religious entities.⁹ New construction and substantial renovations must fully meet the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Existing buildings face a lower bar: remove architectural barriers where doing so is “readily achievable” without significant difficulty or expense. Offset hinges to widen doorways, grab bars in bathrooms, and rearranged furniture are typical examples.

ADA obligations go beyond the building. You cannot exclude a child with a disability unless the child’s presence would pose a direct threat or require a fundamental change to the program, and you’re expected to make reasonable modifications for things like medication administration or diapering an older child whose disability requires it.⁹ Write these into your operating policies from day one.

Lead Paint Rules in Older Buildings

If your facility was built before 1978, EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule applies. Any work that disturbs painted surfaces must be done by a Lead-Safe Certified firm using certified renovators.¹⁰ If your own staff handles renovation work, your business has to become a Lead-Safe Certified firm. Hiring out? Verify the contractor’s certification before work starts.

Build a Staffing Plan That Meets Ratios

North Carolina enforces staff-to-child ratios by age group, and falling below ratio at any point during operating hours is a compliance violation. The ratios for single-age groups in centers are:¹¹

Birth to 12 months: 1 staff per 5 children, group size 10
12 to 24 months: 1 per 6, group size 12
2 to 3 years: 1 per 10, group size 20
3 to 4 years: 1 per 15, group size 25
4 to 5 years: 1 per 20, group size 25
5 and older: 1 per 25, group size 25

Mixed-age groups use tighter ratios; a room with children from birth to 36 months, for example, requires 1 staff per 4 children with a group size cap of 8.¹¹ When the ratio allows only one caregiver on site, you must post the name and phone number of an adult who has agreed in writing to provide emergency relief. Your application’s staffing plan has to show how you’ll maintain ratios through breaks, transitions, and absences.

Carry Liability Insurance

Licensed childcare centers in North Carolina must carry general liability insurance covering bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses, and legal costs tied to incidents at the facility. Get quotes from several insurers; premiums vary widely by capacity, location, and coverage limits. A commercial umbrella policy on top is worth pricing, because a single serious injury claim can run past the limits of a standard policy.

Assemble and Submit the Application

With your workshop certificate, background clearances, administrator credential, inspection sign-offs, and insurance in place, you can build the application package. Forms come from the DCDEE website or your regional licensing consultant.⁵ The package has to include:

Detailed floor plans with precise measurements of every room used for childcare — DCDEE uses these to set your licensed capacity under the 30-square-foot-per-child rule.
A staffing plan listing each position, its qualifications, and how you’ll hold ratios through the operating day.
An emergency preparedness plan covering evacuations, lockdowns, severe weather, and other emergencies, written for your specific facility layout.
Proof you’ve passed fire, building, and environmental health inspections.

Submit the package with the annual license fee, which depends on facility type and licensed capacity:¹²

Family child care homes: $52
Centers, capacity 0–12: $52
Centers, capacity 13–50: $187
Centers, capacity 51–100: $375
Centers, capacity 101+: $600

Missing or incomplete documents are the single most common cause of delay. Your regional consultant will review a draft before formal submission if you ask. Take them up on it.

What Happens After You Submit

DCDEE assigns a licensing consultant who schedules a pre-licensing inspection visit. The consultant walks through the facility and verifies that the physical space, safety systems, and operational plans match what you submitted. If everything checks out, DCDEE issues a six-month temporary license, and you can open and begin serving children while the state monitors your early compliance.¹³

At the end of those six months, if you’ve held minimum standards, the temporary license converts to a permanent one-star rated license. Stars two through five are voluntary and reflect higher levels of program quality and staff education, scored under N.C.G.S. § 110-90.¹⁴ If you’ve already met those higher standards by the end of the temporary period, you can receive a two- through five-star rating at that point.¹³ Otherwise you start at one star and apply to move up after at least six consecutive months of operation.¹⁵ Higher ratings matter for enrollment and for some subsidy reimbursement rates.

Keeping the License

DCDEE makes unannounced visits once you’re open. Your program must hold a compliance history of at least 75% over the most recent 18 months.¹ The license fee is annual, and background checks have to stay current for every staff member, with new hires cleared before they ever work with children. Operating without a valid license, or after one has been revoked, violates North Carolina law and can bring administrative penalties, fines, and forced closure.¹⁶

1
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Child Care License Requirements Overview
2
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 926 (2026), Household Employer’s Tax Guide
3
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Regulated Child Care in NC – Regulatory Services
4
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 110-90.2 – Mandatory Child Care Providers Criminal History Checks
5
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Getting a License
6
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. North Carolina Early Childhood and Administration Credentials
7
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 110-91 – Mandatory Standards for a License
8
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Staff-Child Ratio and Space Requirements for Child Care Centers
9
ADA.gov. Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act
10
US EPA. Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Operators of Child Care Facilities
11
Cornell Law School. 10A NC Admin Code 09 .0713 – Staff/Child Ratios for Centers
12
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Annual License Fee
13
North Carolina Administrative Code. 10A NCAC 09 .1702 – Issuance of License
14
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 110-90 – Powers and Duties of Secretary of Health and Human Services
15
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Star Rated License
16
NC DHHS: Division of Child Development and Early Education. Division of Child Development and Early Education Portal