To get a Texas daycare license, you apply through the Health and Human Services Commission’s Child Care Regulation division: attend a required orientation, submit an application with a $35 fee and supporting documents, pass an initial inspection, and then keep up with training, background checks, insurance, and biennial renewal. The Texas daycare license requirements vary by permit type, with separate rules for commercial centers, licensed homes, and registered homes, but every path runs through the same CCR process. Operating without the right permit is a Class B misdemeanor under Texas Human Resources Code Section 42.076.
Do You Actually Need a License
Texas Human Resources Code Section 42.041 requires a license for anyone operating a child-care facility, but the statute carves out exemptions that matter before you file anything.
You generally do not need a permit if your situation is one of the following:
- Drop-in care tied to a shopping center, business, or religious organization, where parents stay on or near the premises, the operation does not advertise as a child-care facility, and parents are told it is unlicensed.
- A religious instruction class or school run by a religious organization during the summer and lasting no more than two weeks.
- A private school accredited by the Texas Education Agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or a member of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, operating primarily for educational purposes at the prekindergarten level and above.
- A facility operated by a state agency or already licensed, certified, or registered through another state agency.
- A home that cares exclusively for children related to the caregiver.
If none of these fit, you need a permit, and the next question is which one.
Which Permit Fits Your Operation
Texas recognizes three permit categories, and the right one depends on how many children you plan to serve and where.
- Licensed child-care center. Cares for seven or more children for less than 24 hours a day at a commercial location or any site other than the permit holder’s home. Centers follow the minimum standards in Texas Administrative Code Chapter 746.
- Licensed child-care home. The caregiver provides care in their own residence for children from birth through age 13. Total children in care at any time, including the caregiver’s own, cannot exceed 12, and the exact cap depends on the ages present. Chapter 747 governs these homes.
- Registered child-care home. The caregiver provides care in their own residence for no more than six children from birth through age 13. After school hours, up to six additional elementary-school-age children may be added, but the total at any time cannot exceed 12, including the caregiver’s own.
The split between a licensed home and a registered home turns on whether you regularly care for more than six unrelated children. Picking the wrong category creates problems from day one, so match the permit to what you actually plan to do.
What You Need in Place Before Applying
Most of the work happens before CCR ever sees your paperwork. The requirements below apply to licensed centers unless noted; home-based permits have overlapping obligations around background checks and insurance.
Director Qualifications
Every licensed child-care center must have a qualified director. For a center licensed to care for 13 or more children, the director must be at least 21, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and meet one of several education-and-experience combinations. At the top end, a bachelor’s degree with 12 credit hours in child development plus six in management qualifies a director with one year of experience in a licensed center. At the entry end, nine credit hours in child development and nine in management qualifies a director with at least three years of experience. The director is designated by the operation’s owner or governing body and then submits transcripts, training records, and several forms to the CCR representative to earn the Director Certificate.
Staff Training
Every caregiver at a child-care center must complete 30 clock hours of training each year on topics relevant to the ages of children in their care. At least six of those hours must cover core child development subjects such as guidance and discipline, age-appropriate curriculum, or teacher-child interaction. At least one hour must address recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. Centers that serve children younger than 24 months must dedicate one annual training hour to safe sleep practices, shaken baby syndrome prevention, and early brain development.
Of the 30 hours, at least six must be instructor-led. The remaining 24 can be self-instructional, and no more than three of those can come from self-study materials. Other required annual topics include emergency preparedness, communicable disease prevention, medication administration, food allergy response, and building safety.
Every caregiver and the director must also hold current certificates in pediatric first aid (including rescue breathing and choking) and pediatric CPR. CPR training must follow American Heart Association guidelines and include hands-on practice with a manikin. A new caregiver does not need CPR certification before starting, but at least one certified person must be on the premises whenever children are present.
Background Checks
Texas screens a wide range of people connected to a child-care operation. Anyone age 14 or older who provides direct care, has unsupervised access to children, lives in the operation, or is regularly present at the facility must be checked. That includes employees, contract workers, volunteers, and household members in home-based operations. When a resident turns 14, the operation has a 90-day window on either side of the birthday to submit the request.
The request goes in on Form 2971, submitted electronically through the operation’s Child Care Licensing account. The HHSC Central Background Check Unit processes it and returns results to the operation and the individual.
Liability Insurance
Licensed operations, registered child-care homes, and listed family homes must carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence of negligence covering injury to a child on the premises or in the provider’s care. Proof of coverage goes to CCR each year on the permit’s anniversary date. A listed family home that serves only related children is exempt.
Space, Pools, and Fire Safety
A child-care center must provide at least 30 square feet of indoor activity space per child it is licensed to serve. Centers licensed before September 2003 as kindergarten or nursery schools may operate under the older 20-square-foot standard; everyone else is at 30. Outdoor activity space must provide at least 80 square feet per child using the area at the same time, and total outdoor square footage must equal at least 25 percent of the center’s licensed indoor capacity. Programs that exclusively provide alternate care or get-well care are exempt from the outdoor rule.
Pool rules are stricter than many new providers expect. Any swimming pool at a center must be enclosed by a fence or wall at least six feet tall. Gates to the pool area need self-closing, self-latching hardware placed out of children’s reach, and they must stay locked whenever the pool is not in active use. Any door from the center leading to the pool area needs a lock only an adult can open, and neither doors nor gates around the pool can double as fire exits.
Every center must pass a fire inspection before CCR issues the initial permit and then at least once every 12 months. A state or local fire marshal conducts the inspection. If no fire marshal is available in your area, you need documentation of that unavailability from the fire marshal’s office or a county judge.
The Application Sequence
CCR builds the process around a specific order. You cannot shortcut it.
1. Attend an orientation class. Before you submit anything, schedule and attend a Licensed Center Orientation Class through your local CCR office. The session walks through the application process and what it takes to become a provider, and you leave with an information packet of supplemental forms and local CCR contacts. Orientation is mandatory.
2. Assemble your application. Using the materials from orientation, gather director transcripts and experience records, Form 2971 background check requests for all required individuals, proof of $300,000 liability insurance, and your business structure details. Names on every form must match legal identification exactly.
3. Submit the application and fee. The completed packet goes to HHSC with a $35 application fee. The fee is the same for a licensed child-care operation and a registered child-care home.
4. Pass the initial inspection. A CCR inspector visits to verify indoor and outdoor square footage, fire safety compliance, pool barriers where applicable, and overall operational readiness.
5. Receive your license. If the facility meets all requirements, CCR issues the permit. New operations often receive an initial license rather than a full one because CCR has not yet observed the facility caring for actual children. That typically happens when the operation is not yet serving children at approval, when a change in ownership brings new staff or policies, or when the operation adds a new type of care. The initial license lets you begin operating while CCR continues evaluating compliance.
Keeping the License
A Texas child care permit must be renewed every two years, on the second anniversary of the full permit’s issuance date and every two years after. The renewal window opens 60 days before the anniversary date, and you cannot submit before it opens.
A complete renewal application verifies that your operation’s information is current on the Search Texas Child Care website, confirms the list of controlling persons and governing body members, validates that all required background checks are up to date, and indicates whether you still need any existing waivers or variances.
Miss the anniversary date and you have a 30-day late renewal period: submit within those 30 days and the permit stays alive but late. Miss that window entirely and the permit expires, which means starting the application process over. CCR has 30 days from receiving a complete renewal application to approve or reject it.
Penalties for Operating Without a License
Running a child-care operation without a license is a Class B misdemeanor under Texas Human Resources Code Section 42.076, and the same charge applies to operating a family home without a required listing or registration. A Class B misdemeanor in Texas carries up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. CCR actively investigates reports of unlicensed operations and can seek court orders to shut them down.