Virginia In-Home Daycare Requirements: Licensing, Zoning, and Safety

To operate an in-home daycare in Virginia, you need a state license from the Virginia Department of Education if you care for five or more unrelated children under age thirteen, and you must meet requirements covering zoning, background checks, training, tuberculosis screening, and the physical safety of your home. Homes caring for four or fewer children can operate without a license, though a voluntary registration option exists. Virginia in-home daycare requirements are set primarily under Title 22.1 of the Virginia Code and the family day home regulations at 8VAC20-800.

Do You Need a License

Virginia defines a “family day home” as child care offered in the provider’s residence for one through twelve children under age thirteen, with at least one child receiving care for pay. Your own children and any children who live in the home do not count toward that number.¹

Where you fall on the capacity scale decides your path:

One through four children (not counting your own): no license required. Voluntary registration with the state is available but optional.
Five through twelve children (not counting your own): a state license is mandatory. Operating at this level without one is illegal.
More than four children under age two, counting your own and any who live in the home: you must be either licensed or voluntarily registered regardless of your total count.¹

One exemption applies at any capacity: if every child in your care is related to you by blood or marriage, no license is required.¹ Note also that Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Norfolk regulate unlicensed care through local ordinances, so providers there follow the local rules rather than the state voluntary registration process.²

Get Zoning Approval First

You need zoning clearance from your local government before applying for a state license. For a family day home serving one through four children, Virginia law treats the operation as residential occupancy by a single family, and localities cannot impose conditions more restrictive than they place on any other residence.³

For homes serving five through twelve children, localities may allow the zoning administrator to issue a permit administratively. The locality sends a certified letter to every adjacent property owner, and if no written objection arrives within 30 days and the home otherwise complies with local ordinances, the permit is issued.³ Build that 30-day neighbor notification window into your timeline.

Background Checks

Every applicant for employment, every employee, and every volunteer at a licensed family day home must clear a background check before starting work and again every five years. The check has several parts:⁴

A fingerprint-based criminal history search routed through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI.
A search of Virginia’s central registry for any founded complaint of child abuse or neglect.
A sex offender registry check in Virginia and in any state where you have lived in the past five years.
Out-of-state criminal history, sex offender, and child abuse registry checks for any state you lived in during the preceding five years.⁵

As of January 2026, processing fees run $12 for a Virginia Central Registry search and $63.23 for a national fingerprint check ($43.23 for volunteers). An out-of-state portability request adds $17.⁶ Every adult in the household needs clearance, so budget accordingly.

Tuberculosis Screening

Every caregiver and every adult household member must have a current tuberculosis screening on file. The screening uses the Virginia Department of Health form, must be signed by a physician or health department official, and must be completed within the 30 days before the person comes into contact with children in care.⁷

Training and Orientation

Licensed providers must document current First Aid and CPR certification, orientation completion, annual training, and medication administration training where applicable, for every caregiver in the home.⁸ First Aid and CPR must cover infants and children and stay current the entire time you operate.

When you bring on a substitute or assistant, orient them by the end of their first week. Orientation covers job responsibilities, emergency evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures, the location of emergency supplies and first aid kits, confidentiality, and the legal duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Both you and the substitute or assistant must sign and date the orientation record.⁹

Home Safety Standards

Inspectors check the physical environment during the initial visit and on follow-ups. Falling short on any of these can hold up your license.

Firearms and Ammunition

Every firearm in the home, of any type, must be stored unloaded in a locked container, compartment, or cabinet, apart from ammunition. Ammunition itself must be in its own locked storage during operating hours. If you use a key lock, the key must be inaccessible to children.¹⁰ This is one of the most commonly cited violations, and it applies even if you hold a concealed carry permit.

Safe Sleep and Cribs

Cribs are required for all children from birth through twelve months and for older children not developmentally ready for a cot or mat. Every crib must meet Consumer Product Safety Commission standards from its manufacture date and must not have been recalled. Bumper pads, mesh-sided cribs, and double-deck cribs are prohibited. Mattresses must fit snugly enough that you cannot wedge more than two fingers between the mattress edge and the crib frame, and crib sides must stay up and fastened whenever a child is inside.¹¹

Outdoor Play Areas

Any outdoor play space within 30 feet of a hazard, such as a street posted above 25 miles per hour, heavy traffic, or railroad tracks, must be surrounded by a nonclimbable barrier at least four feet high. A fence works, and so does a dense, impenetrable hedge.¹²

Poisonous Materials

Cleaning agents, disinfectants, pesticides, petroleum-based products, and similar substances must be stored away from food and inaccessible to children. The regulation does not specifically require a locked cabinet, but the materials must be genuinely out of reach. A high shelf a determined toddler could climb to is not enough.

The License Application

The application goes to the Superintendent of Public Instruction through the Virginia Department of Education. It must include the applicant’s name and address, a description of the proposed activities and facilities, and, for any business entity, the names and addresses of officers and agents.¹³ Along with the form itself, you submit:

Tuberculosis screening results for every caregiver and adult household member.
Background check clearances for the provider, all adult household members, and any caregivers.
Zoning approval documentation from your locality.
First Aid and CPR certifications, orientation records, and any required medication administration training documentation.

Application forms are on the Department of Education’s Child Care VA website.¹⁴ As of March 2026, Virginia has repealed the regulation governing application processing fees, so the state is not currently collecting them. That could change, so check the site before you apply.⁶

After your paperwork clears review, a licensing inspector schedules an on-site visit. The inspector walks through the entire home, reviews your records and certifications, and verifies that the physical environment meets every standard above. Have binders organized, cabinets secured, and cribs inspection-ready.

Insurance

Virginia’s Department of Education includes a Liability Insurance Declaration form among its licensing paperwork, and carrying coverage is a practical necessity. Standard homeowners insurance almost always excludes claims arising from commercial activity in your home, which means an injury to a child in your care could leave you personally exposed for medical bills and legal costs.

A typical home daycare liability policy covers bodily injury to children, property damage, and legal defense costs if a parent sues. Annual premiums generally run from a few hundred dollars to roughly $1,200, depending on capacity, location, and coverage limits. The cost is fully deductible as a business expense.

Taxes and the Food Program

Running an in-home daycare is running a business, and the IRS treats it that way. Home daycare providers get one significant break other home businesses do not: the IRS waives the “exclusive use” requirement for the home office deduction. Because daycare inherently shares living space, you can deduct a proportional share of mortgage interest or rent, utilities, insurance, and repairs based on square footage and hours used for care. IRS Publication 587 walks through the calculation and includes special rules for daycare providers.¹⁵ Track attendance hours, food costs, supply purchases, and the percentage of your home devoted to care from day one.

Licensed or approved family day homes can also participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a USDA program that reimburses providers for nutritious meals and snacks served to children in care.¹⁶ Providers enroll through a sponsoring organization rather than dealing with the federal government directly. Contact the Virginia Department of Education or your regional CACFP sponsor for current reimbursement rates and enrollment details.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 22.1 Chapter 14.1 – Early Childhood Care and Education
2
Virginia Department of Education. Voluntary Registration for Family Day Homes
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 15.2-2292 – Zoning Provisions for Family Day Homes
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 22.1-289.035 – Background Check Requirements
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 22.1-289.035 – Background Check Requirements
6
Virginia Department of Education. Latest Updates for Virginia Child Care
7
Cornell Law Institute. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-170 – Initial Tuberculosis Screening
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-230 – Documentation of Education and Training
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-200 – Orientation
10
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-270 – Firearms and Ammunition
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-520 – Cribs
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-800-500 – Outdoor Play Area and Equipment
13
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 22.1-289.011 – Licenses Required
14
Virginia Department of Education. Provider Portal Updates and Revised Initial and Renewal Applications for Licensure
15
Internal Revenue Service. About Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
16
Food and Nutrition Service. Child and Adult Care Food Program