Home daycare licensing / Kentucky
Home daycare licensing in Kentucky
What it takes to run a licensed home daycare in Kentucky — who regulates it, how many children you can care for, and what an inspector checks.
Who regulates home daycare in Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Division of Child Care (DCC) is the state agency responsible for licensing or registering home child care in Kentucky.
Kentucky's Certified Family Child-Care Home structure has one of the more generous 'related children' rules in the country: on top of a 6-unrelated-child cap, a provider can add up to 4 of her own or related children for a 10-child total — meaningfully higher than states like Louisiana, where a provider's own children eat directly into a flat 6-child cap. The tradeoff is a hard, specific assistant trigger tied to infant count rather than just total headcount.
Visit Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Division of Child Care (DCC) →License types and capacity
Certified Family Child-Care Home
Maximum of 6 unrelated children at any one time, plus up to 4 related children in addition, for a total maximum of 10 children at any one time.
An assistant is required if the provider cares for more than 4 infants (including her own or related infants) or more than 6 children total.
Background checks
Every adult (18+) living in the home must complete a criminal background check with no disqualifying offenses, plus TB-free documentation. Applicants must hold a high school diploma or the Commonwealth Child Care Credential and be certified in infant/child CPR and first aid.
Advantages of running a home daycare in Kentucky
- The 6-unrelated + 4-related = 10 structure lets a provider with her own kids at home reach a genuinely higher total capacity than flat 6-child caps elsewhere.
- Certification requirements are relatively achievable — a high school diploma or the state's own Commonwealth Child Care Credential satisfies the education bar.
- A 90-day post-application window to complete the 6-hour Kentucky Orientation for Child Care gives new providers time to get certified and start earning.
Risks and things to watch
- The infant-specific assistant trigger (more than 4 infants) is easy to miss if you're only tracking total headcount.
- All adults 18+ in the household need clean background checks and current TB documentation — a single non-compliant housemate can block or revoke certification.
- 'Certified' is a specific regulatory term distinct from 'licensed' child care centers — using the wrong terminology with parents can cause confusion.
Practical tips for Kentucky providers
- Factor the related-children allowance into your business plan early — you can legally run near a 10-child operation, changing your revenue math substantially.
- Get the Commonwealth Child Care Credential track lined up before applying if you don't have a diploma.
- Track infant headcount separately from your general roster since it has its own independent assistant trigger.
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 Kentucky compares:
Keep inspection-ready records without the binder.
DaycareFlow keeps your children, attendance, and family info in one place — built for solo home daycare. Free during early access.
Get started free