Home daycare licensing / Georgia
Home daycare licensing in Georgia
What it takes to run a licensed home daycare in Georgia — who regulates it, how many children you can care for, and what an inspector checks.
Who regulates home daycare in Georgia
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) — Bright from the Start is the state agency responsible for licensing or registering home child care in Georgia.
Georgia runs its child care licensing through DECAL, which brands itself 'Bright from the Start.' Home-based care here is a Family Child Care Learning Home (FCCLH) — the word 'Learning' in the license name is deliberate and reflects Georgia's push to frame home providers as early educators, not babysitters. The FCCLH rules live in Chapter 591-1-1.
Visit Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) — Bright from the Start →License types and capacity
Family Child Care Learning Home (FCCLH)
3–6 children in your residence. Caring for 7 or more moves you into Child Care Learning Center territory.
Caring for fewer than 3 unrelated children is generally not required to be licensed.
Child-to-caregiver ratios
Georgia's statewide ratios (used as the reference point) run from 1:6 for infants up to 1:20 for older school-age children; a solo FCCLH provider is bounded first by the 6-child home cap.
Background checks
Comprehensive Records Check through DECAL, including fingerprint-based state and national criminal history and a check against the child abuse registry, for the provider and household members and staff.
Advantages of running a home daycare in Georgia
- The 'Learning Home' framing is a marketing gift: Georgia's own license positions you as an educator, which fits DaycareFlow's whole 'you're a small business owner, not a babysitter' message.
- Georgia's Quality Rated system (its QRIS) lets a home provider earn a public star-style quality rating that parents can look up — a credibility signal you can advertise.
- A clean 3–6 child definition makes it simple to know when you must be licensed and when you're exempt.
Risks and things to watch
- The 6-child cap is firm; there's no solo 'large home' equivalent to California's 14 — to grow past 6 you're looking at a Learning Center, which is a different regulatory world.
- DECAL's Comprehensive Records Check covers the household, so an adult in your home with a disqualifying record can block your license even if the care itself is fine.
- Quality Rated participation is valuable but time-consuming — treat it as a growth project, not a day-one requirement.
Practical tips for Georgia providers
- Use the exact phrase 'Family Child Care Learning Home' in your own marketing and paperwork — it's Georgia's official term and signals to parents (and inspectors) that you know the system.
- Plan for Quality Rated once you're stable: the star rating is a durable trust badge that outlasts any single ad.
- Confirm every adult in your household is ready for the Comprehensive Records Check before you apply, since the check reaches beyond just you.
See the full record set every inspector checks for what to have ready regardless of state.
Curious about licensing in other states?
Home daycare rules — capacity limits, ratios, background checks — vary a lot from state to state. You might want to check how Georgia compares:
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