Home daycare licensing / Tennessee
Home daycare licensing in Tennessee
What it takes to run a licensed home daycare in Tennessee — who regulates it, how many children you can care for, and what an inspector checks.
Who regulates home daycare in Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) is the state agency responsible for licensing or registering home child care in Tennessee.
Tennessee licenses home care in two sizes — a Family Child Care Home for five to seven children and a Group Child Care Home for eight to twelve. What sets Tennessee apart is its Report Card and Star-Quality system: every licensed provider gets an annual evaluation, receives a star rating, and must post both the license and the Report Card where parents can see them. Quality here isn't optional paperwork — it's literally on the wall.
Visit Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) →License types and capacity
Family Child Care Home
5 to 7 children — the typical solo-provider home.
Group Child Care Home
8 to 12 children, which requires more staff and a fuller standard.
Child-to-caregiver ratios
Tennessee's ratios run from 1:4 for infants up to 1:20 for school-age children; a solo Family Child Care Home is bounded first by the seven-child cap and the infant sub-limits.
Background checks
Fingerprint-based state and federal criminal background checks plus a child abuse registry check for the provider and household members, through DHS.
Advantages of running a home daycare in Tennessee
- The posted Report Card and star rating give every compliant provider a visible, state-verified quality badge that parents are taught to look for.
- A clean two-tier structure (5–7 vs 8–12) makes it simple to know which category and staffing you need.
- Annual evaluation, while work, creates a regular feedback loop that can steadily push your program's quality — and rating — upward.
Risks and things to watch
- The mandatory annual evaluation means your rating is always current and public — a low score is visible to every parent who walks in.
- The Family Home cap of seven is modest; crossing to eight moves you into Group Home rules and staffing.
- Because the Report Card must be posted, a rough evaluation year has immediate marketing consequences, not just regulatory ones.
Practical tips for Tennessee providers
- Prepare for the annual evaluation like a marketing event, because it is one — the resulting star rating goes straight on your wall for parents to see.
- Aim for the top of the 1–3 star scale early; in Tennessee the rating is a visible differentiator, not just a compliance number.
- If you're near the seven-child line, decide deliberately whether to stay a Family Home or staff up for a Group Home before you over-enroll.
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 Tennessee compares:
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