How to Start a Daycare in PA: Clearances, PELICAN, and Ratios

To start a daycare in PA, you need a Certificate of Compliance from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). Getting one means choosing the correct facility category for your operation, clearing background checks for everyone who will be near the children, meeting space and staffing rules under 55 Pa. Code Chapters 3270, 3280, or 3290, carrying liability insurance, and passing an on-site inspection. Federal law layers on top of that from day one, and a few optional programs can meaningfully change your revenue once you open.

Pick the Right Facility Category First

Pennsylvania recognizes three types of child care operations, and the category you fall into decides which chapter of the code governs you, what your inspection looks like, and how the state counts your capacity.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Child Care Regulations

  • A Family Child Care Home (Chapter 3290) is run out of the caregiver’s residence and serves four to six unrelated children.
  • A Group Child Care Home (Chapter 3280) serves seven to twelve unrelated children and may operate in a residence or a separate building.
  • A Child Care Center (Chapter 3270) serves seven or more unrelated children, usually in a commercial or non-residential space.

The count is the maximum number of children present at any one time, not enrollment. If your home-based program briefly climbs above six, you need a Group Home license, not a Family Home license. And any facility in a non-residential building is treated as a Center regardless of how few children attend. Operating under the wrong category is a compliance violation, so settle this before you sign a lease, renovate, or file anything.

Background Clearances for Every Adult

Anyone who will have direct contact with children — staff, volunteers, and adult household members in home-based programs — has to complete clearances before they start. Pennsylvania bundles them into the Child Care Employee Listing (CEL), which costs $59.95, plus any out-of-state fees.2Department of Human Services. Child Care Employees

  • Pennsylvania State Police Criminal History Check, which includes the state sex offender registry.
  • Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance through the ChildLine system.
  • FBI Criminal History Clearance, which requires fingerprinting.
  • National Sex Offender Registry verification.
  • Additional criminal history, sex offender registry, and child abuse registry checks from any state the applicant recently lived in.

No employee should have unsupervised access to children before their CEL is finalized. Keep a folder for each hire with clearance results, health documentation, and training records; it makes every inspection easier.

Director Qualifications, Health Checks, and Training

For a Child Care Center, the director must meet one of four qualification pathways under 55 Pa. Code 3270.34:3Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 55 Pa Code 3270.34 – Director Qualifications and Responsibilities

  • A bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field (child development, special education, elementary education) plus one year of experience with children.
  • A bachelor’s degree in any field with at least 30 credit hours in early childhood or a related field, plus two years of experience with children.
  • An associate’s degree in early childhood or a related field, plus three years of experience with children.
  • An associate’s degree in any field with at least 30 credit hours in a related field, plus four years of experience with children.

Group Child Care Homes and Family Child Care Homes have their own qualification tracks under Chapters 3280 and 3290, with somewhat lower thresholds.

Every staff person providing direct care needs a health assessment completed within the 12 months before their start date, including a physical exam and a tuberculosis screening. The assessment stays valid for 24 months and has to be repeated on that cycle, or sooner if the person develops a communicable disease or medical condition.4Legal Information Institute. 55 Pa Code 3270.151 – Health Assessment

Staff must complete at least 12 clock hours of child care training each year.5Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 55 Pa Code 3290.31 – Age and Training Topics should track the federal health and safety standards under the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which include safe sleep, medication administration, emergency preparedness, pediatric first aid and CPR, and recognizing and reporting child abuse. If you plan to accept subsidy families, meeting the federal training standards is not optional.

Staffing Ratios Will Shape Your Budget

Ratios drive your labor cost more than anything else, so run the numbers before you sign a lease. For Group Child Care Homes, the ratios under 55 Pa. Code 3280.52 are:6Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 55 Pa Code 3280.52 – Ratio Requirements

  • Infants: 1 staff per 4 children
  • Young toddlers: 1 staff per 5
  • Older toddlers: 1 staff per 6
  • Preschool: 1 staff per 10
  • Young school-age: 1 staff per 12
  • Older school-age: 1 staff per 15

Maximum group size is 12 in every age band except older school-age, which is capped at 15. Child Care Centers under Chapter 3270 have their own ratio table with similar age breakdowns and potentially different maximums for larger operations. Infant care is the most staff-intensive service you can offer: a room of 12 infants requires three staff at all times, and you also need to budget coverage for breaks, absences, and shift changes.

Space, Fire Safety, Zoning, and Cribs

The physical space has to clear two separate measurements. Indoor child care space requires at least 40 square feet per child, measured within permanent walls or partitions.7Legal Information Institute. 55 Pa Code 3280.61 – Measurement and Use of Indoor Child Care Space Play space, indoor or outdoor, requires 65 square feet per child for preschool-age and older, 50 for toddlers, and 40 for infants.8Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 55 Pa Code 3270.62 – Measurement and Use of Play Space Divide your total footage by the applicable per-child figure to find your legal capacity. Outdoor areas near roads or other hazards must be securely fenced, and indoor space needs adequate lighting, ventilation, and enough toilets and sinks for capacity.

Fire safety is a gatekeeper. You need a fire safety approval, typically a certificate from the Department of Labor and Industry or your local fire marshal, before DHS will issue your license. Separately, your municipality must confirm that the property’s zoning allows child care use. Zoning categories generally track the state’s three facility types. Confirm zoning with your local office before you commit to a space.

If you’ll care for infants, every crib must meet the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s federal standard. Child care facilities have been required to comply with the ASTM standards for full-size and non-full-size cribs since December 2012, and used cribs are allowed only if they meet current rules; older drop-side cribs are banned.9eCFR. Part 1220 Safety Standard for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs This is a common inspection finding, and replacing non-compliant cribs after you’ve bought them is an avoidable expense.

Liability Insurance

Pennsylvania requires every child care facility to carry comprehensive general liability insurance covering all persons on the premises, with a current copy of the policy kept on file at the facility.10Legal Information Institute. 55 Pa Code 3270.18 – Liability Insurance The regulation does not set a minimum coverage amount, though insurers specializing in child care generally recommend at least $1 million per occurrence. Have the policy active before the inspection, not after.

Application and Inspection Through PELICAN

Once clearances are in hand, your space meets code, and your insurance is bound, you apply through the Provider Electronic Liaison and Information System (PELICAN), the DHS online portal for child care licensing, or by mailing a paper application to the regional DHS office serving your county.11Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. PELICAN Provider Self-Service The application asks for your Employer Identification Number, the facility location and intended capacity, a floor plan, and any prior involvement in child care licensing.

After DHS reviews your paperwork, a certification representative is assigned to your file and schedules the initial on-site inspection. The inspector will look at play equipment safety, hazardous material storage, your records system, and whether your physical space matches the capacity you applied for. If there are deficiencies, you’ll get a written list to correct before a follow-up visit.

Once you pass, DHS issues the Certificate of Compliance. Post it where parents can see it. DHS then conducts annual unannounced inspections to confirm ongoing compliance, and failing one can lead to citations, a corrective action plan, or license suspension.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Child Care Regulations

ADA Obligations Apply From Day One

The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to privately run child care providers regardless of size, including home-based programs. You cannot exclude a child based on disability or separate a child with a disability from their peers. The only exceptions are a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or a fundamental alteration of your program, and both require an individualized assessment based on current medical evidence rather than assumptions.12ADA.gov. Equal Access to Child Care

In practice, you may need to adjust a toilet-training policy for a child with developmental delays, train staff on de-escalation for a child with autism, or allow trained staff to administer insulin. Removing architectural barriers is required when readily achievable, meaning without much cost or difficulty; adding grab bars or updating playground surfaces are typical examples.12ADA.gov. Equal Access to Child Care Programs run by religious organizations are exempt from ADA coverage; other private providers are not.

Programs You Can Layer On After Licensure

Keystone STARS is Pennsylvania’s voluntary quality rating system, ranking programs from STAR 1 through STAR 4 based on staff qualifications, curriculum, family engagement, and business practices. Participation isn’t required to operate, but it opens grants, professional development, and technical assistance, and parents use the ratings when choosing providers.13Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Keystone STARS Quality Initiative

If you want to serve families using state child care assistance through Child Care Works, you sign an agreement with your regional Early Learning Resource Center, provide a current W-9, and agree to the state’s subsidy rates, which may be lower than your private rates. Attendance invoices go through PELICAN, and payments arrive around the 20th of each month, so plan cash flow for the gap between service and reimbursement.

Licensed providers can also join the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a federal reimbursement program for meals and snacks served to enrolled children. Meals must meet the nutritional standards at 7 CFR 226.20.14Food and Nutrition Service. Nutrition Standards for CACFP Meals and Snacks Eligibility uses the federal poverty guidelines, and the application runs through a sponsoring organization in your area.15Food and Nutrition Service. Child Nutrition Programs – Income Eligibility Guidelines (2025-2026) For home-based providers especially, CACFP reimbursements can noticeably improve operating margins and are one of the more underused resources available to new operators.