Washington State In-Home Daycare Licensing Requirements

To meet Washington State in-home daycare licensing requirements, you need to be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED, pass a background check, prepare your home to meet state space and safety standards, complete a stack of required trainings, submit an application and emergency plan to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), pass a pre-licensing inspection, and pay a $30 annual fee. A family home child care license covers up to 12 children at a time, from birth through age 12, with your actual capacity tied to your experience and whether you have an assistant.¹

Who Has to Get Licensed

If you regularly care for other people’s children in your home for pay, DCYF considers you a family home early learning provider and you need a license.² Washington carves out narrow exemptions, including care for children you’re related to and occasional, irregular babysitting. The threshold for “regular” is low. If you’re watching someone else’s children on a recurring schedule and taking payment, assume you need the license.

Personal Qualifications

You must be at least 18 and hold a high school diploma or GED to be a family home licensee.¹ All preservice training has to be done before DCYF issues your license.

Washington also requires an Early Childhood Education (ECE) initial certificate within five years of becoming licensed, followed by an ECE short certificate two years after that. Starting August 1, 2026, these timelines apply to every new licensee. If you were licensed before that date, you have until the later of August 1, 2026, or five years after your license date to earn the initial certificate.¹ You earn these through community colleges or equivalent programs, and they’re verified through DCYF’s electronic workforce registry.

Every applicant registers in the Managed Education and Registry Information Tool (MERIT), DCYF’s online system for credentials and background checks.³ Through MERIT you apply for a Portable Background Check, good for five years. Anyone who fails cannot be licensed, and every adult living in your home who is 16 or older must also clear a check before you can operate.

How Many Children You Can Enroll

Your licensed capacity depends on your experience and whether you work alone or with an assistant. New providers are often surprised to find they don’t start at 12 children.

Less than one year of experience: up to 6 children birth through 12. No more than 3 may be under age 2, and if you have 3 under 2, at least one must be walking independently.
One to two years, working alone: up to 8 children ages 2 through 12, maximum 4 under age 3.
One to two years, with an assistant: up to 9 children birth through 12, maximum 4 under age 2.
Two or more years, working alone: up to 10 children ages 3 through 12, or up to 12 if all are school-age.
Two or more years, with an assistant: up to 12 children birth through 12, maximum 6 under age 2, at least 2 of whom must walk independently.

You need a second staff member any time more than 6 children are present and any child is under 2, more than 8 are present and any child is under 3, or more than 10 are present and any child is below school age.⁴ Exceeding ratios during an unannounced inspection is a licensing violation, so plan enrollment around them.

What Your Home Has to Meet

Indoor Space

You need at least 35 square feet of usable indoor space per child in attendance. Several areas don’t count toward that total: hallways used for evacuation, bathrooms and diaper-changing areas, laundry rooms, closets, stairways, and floor space taken up by shelving, file cabinets, or office furniture children can’t access.⁵ A 12-child license requires at least 420 usable square feet of licensed indoor space. Measure carefully; most living rooms alone won’t get you there once the excluded areas come out.

Outdoor Space and Fencing

Outdoor play areas need at least 75 square feet of usable space per child using the area at a time. If your yard can’t fit everyone at once, you can submit a DCYF-approved alternate plan that rotates groups outside or uses an off-site play area.⁴

The play area must be enclosed by a fence or barrier at least 48 inches high, or whatever your local code requires if higher. Gaps in the fence, gates, and posts cannot be wide enough for a 3½-inch sphere to pass through. Gates leading to unlicensed areas need self-closing and self-latching mechanisms, and non-emergency gates must lock. You need shade from trees or structures, and the outdoor area must have two exits, at least one not leading back into the house. Playground equipment must meet Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines, including proper surfacing underneath.⁴

Water Testing and Environmental Health

Before your license is approved, every water fixture used for drinking, cooking, or preparing formula must be tested for lead and copper by a Washington-certified laboratory, with retesting at least every six years. If lead comes back at or above the EPA action level, you have 24 hours to shut down or switch to bottled water and must notify parents, the Department of Health, and DCYF.⁴

Private wells have to be tested annually for E. coli and nitrates. Any detection of E. coli, or nitrate above 10 parts per million, means stopping use of the well water within 24 hours and reporting to local and state authorities. You also have to make sure children aren’t exposed to known hazards like lead-based paint, asbestos, or toxic mold anywhere on the property.⁴

Fire Safety

Functional smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are required on every level of the home and in every sleeping area. All exits must stay unobstructed, and hazardous materials have to be stored out of children’s reach. Your licensor verifies these at the pre-licensing inspection and at every subsequent visit.

Trainings and Certifications You Need First

Washington front-loads a significant amount of training. All of these must be done before your license is issued:

Current certification in adult and pediatric first aid, adult and pediatric CPR, and infant CPR if you’ll care for infants. Training must include a hands-on component demonstrated in front of a certified instructor from the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or American Safety and Health Institute.⁶
Blood-borne pathogens training meeting Department of Labor and Industries requirements.
Tuberculosis screening documentation signed within the last 12 months by a licensed health care professional, showing either a negative TB screen and risk assessment or appropriate follow-up if positive. Every household member age 14 and older also needs TB documentation.⁷
A current Washington State Food Worker Card, obtained through an approved course and exam, for anyone preparing or serving food.⁸
Child abuse recognition and reporting training, covering mandatory reporting obligations.
Emergency preparedness training specific to your early learning program.
Safe sleep training before caring for infants, repeated annually.
Medication management training before you administer any medication to an enrolled child.

After your first 12 months, you must complete 10 hours of in-service training every year. New licensees also complete a course called Enhancing Quality of Early Learning (EQEL) within 36 months of starting, and those hours can count toward the annual 10.⁴

Your Emergency Preparedness Plan

Before licensing, you submit a written emergency preparedness plan that DCYF reviews and approves. It isn’t a one-page checkbox. The plan must address fires and evacuation with a floor plan identifying exit pathways and windows, earthquakes, lockdown scenarios involving a threatening individual, and what happens if parents can’t pick up their children for up to three days.⁴

It must also cover how you’ll keep staff-to-child ratios during an emergency, what you’ll take during an evacuation (first aid kit, emergency contacts, children’s medications), how you’ll account for every child, and how parents will reach you and reunite with their children. You review the plan with staff annually with documented signatures, and with every parent at enrollment.

Feeding Children on Schedule

You’re responsible for feeding children on a schedule set by regulation. Children in your care for five to nine hours get at least one meal and two snacks (or two meals and one snack). Children in care more than nine hours get two meals and two snacks, or one meal and three snacks. All food served must comply with USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program nutrition standards, menus must be dated and posted, and at least one fruit or vegetable has to appear at snack time daily.⁴

Insurance Disclosure

Washington does not require family home daycare providers to carry liability insurance, but you must disclose your insurance status. At licensing and renewal, you either provide proof you carry daycare insurance or give written notice to every enrolled family that you don’t, on a standard form developed by DCYF.⁹ If you do carry it and it later lapses or is terminated, you must notify DCYF, post a notice in your home where parents will see it, and send written notice to every enrolled family within 30 days. Standard homeowners insurance almost never covers commercial child care activity, so a separate daycare liability policy is worth looking into even though the state doesn’t mandate one.

Applying and Passing the Inspection

Once your training and documents are in order, you file your application through the DCYF online portal or mail the package to your regional licensing office. The annual licensing fee is $30, based on licensed capacity rather than enrollment.¹⁰ DCYF also requires you to attend a licensing orientation covering state-specific operational rules before granting the license.¹¹

Your application must include a detailed floor plan of the entire residence, clearly labeling every room and identifying which spaces will be used for child care, plus a list of every adult living in the home so each can be background-checked. Having everything assembled before you submit prevents the most common delays.

After the application comes in, a state licensor schedules a pre-licensing inspection. The licensor verifies that your physical space matches your floor plan, measures usable square footage, checks smoke detectors and fencing, reviews your emergency plan, and confirms that hazardous materials are stored safely. If deficiencies are found, you’ll get a specific timeframe to correct them before a follow-up visit. Expect the full process from initial application to final license approval to take several months, depending on how quickly you clear the background check and pass inspection.

Keeping Your License Current

Licensing isn’t a one-time event. Every year, at least 30 days before your license anniversary date, you pay the $30 annual fee, submit an Annual Declaration of Compliance, and keep all required background checks current. Background checks renew every five years, and a new check is needed whenever you hire new staff or a household member turns 13.¹⁰

Beginning January 29, 2026, you can complete all annual compliance forms through the DCYF Provider Portal, which makes forms available 90 days before your anniversary date. Paper forms are still accepted if you contact your local Early Learning and Child Care Office. Missing the renewal deadline is costly: if your license expires, it closes entirely and you must start a new application from scratch.¹⁰

Zoning and Local Permits

Washington state law prohibits cities and counties from banning family home child care businesses in residential or commercial zones. Local governments can impose conditions, but not conditions more restrictive than what applies to other residences in the same zone. You may still need a general business license from your city or county, and some municipalities require a home occupation permit. Check with your local planning or licensing department before you open, because fees and requirements vary.

Taxes to Plan For

Licensed child care providers are currently exempt from Washington’s Business and Occupation (B&O) tax. The exemption took effect October 1, 2024, and runs through December 31, 2034, covering businesses primarily engaged in providing child care for children under 13 (or under 19 with verified special needs). To qualify, more than 50 percent of your business activity must be child care.¹²

At the federal level, a sole proprietor running a home daycare owes 15.3 percent self-employment tax on net earnings (12.4 percent Social Security plus 2.9 percent Medicare), with half deductible when calculating adjusted gross income.¹³ Home daycare providers also get an IRS exception to the normal “exclusive use” rule for the home office deduction: you can deduct a portion of housing costs for space used regularly for daycare even when your family uses the same rooms outside business hours, with the deduction calculated on a time-space percentage.¹⁴ Once licensed, you can also apply to participate in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program through a sponsoring organization, which reimburses meals and snacks served to enrolled children.¹⁵

1
Washington State Legislature. WAC 110-300-0100
2
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Become a Licensed Child Care and Early Learning Provider
3
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. MERIT Workforce Registry
4
Washington State Legislature. Chapter 110-300 WAC – Foundational Quality Standards
5
Washington State Legislature. WAC 110-300-0354
6
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. CPR and First Aid Information for Licensed Child Care Providers
7
Washington State Legislature. WAC 110-300-0105
8
Washington State Food Worker Course. Washington State Food Worker Course
9
Washington State Legislature. RCW 43.216.700
10
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Maintain Your License – Annual Compliance
11
Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Child Care Providers
12
Washington Department of Revenue. Child Care Business B&O Tax Exemption
13
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax – Social Security and Medicare Taxes
14
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 587 – Business Use of Your Home
15
Food and Nutrition Service. Child and Adult Care Food Program