Child Care Director Resources Child Care Licensing & Legislation How To Get Your Florida Child Care License: The Wonderschool Guide

How To Get Your Florida Child Care License: The Wonderschool Guide

31st March 2022

Many preschool teachers in Florida find that starting a small preschool in their own home offers lots of opportunities and freedoms. We suggest getting a Florida state child care license for protection and credibility.

Wonderschool helps you with the process of getting your family childcare license and more.

By starting a Wonderschool child care program in Florida, you get all support you need to launch with success. Each year we update licensing guidelines and share it with anyone in need of a user-friendly instructions. Below is our easy guide to getting a Florida child care license for 2022.

If you want further support in completing the process and starting your business with success, join us today!

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How to use this guide

First of all, congratulations on taking this exciting step in your licensing journey! Trust us, we know how confusing state websites can be. Hopefully, this guide will demystify some of the requirements.

Keep this guide close and check things off as you go ✅
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Family Child Care Home Registration

Florida law requires that anyone who provides child care in their home for more than one unrelated family must be either registered or licensed through the Department of Children and Families. You can learn more about registration here, but if you live in the following counties, you need to get licensed:

First, review the basic requirements for opening a licensed family child care home program in Florida:

Operator must be 18 years of age or older
Operator must reside in the home
Operator cannot work outside the home during the hours of operation of the family day care home
The family day care home operator must have proof of a written Substitute Plan to provide at least one other competent adult, 18 years or older, to be available to substitute for the operator in an emergency
Operators must have an outdoor play space that is clean, free of hazards, and provides adequate ground cover or other protective surface around play equipment that is securely anchored. (Note: homes that provide care for infants younger than 12 months only are not required to have an outdoor play area)
Full guide here

Second, we recommend completing the three-hour online course, “Opening a Family Child Care Home Program.”

The goal of this course is to provide individuals with an overview of opening a family child care home program in Florida

Third, look up your local licensing region! There might be additional local requirements.

Let's Get Started!

Step 1: Complete Online Training - *Time Needed: 30 hours*

- Review Licensed Family Day Care Home Training Requirements to see what courses you need to take prior to licensure. For those looking to operate 40+ hours a month, you will need:

Introductory Training

- - - Family Child Care Home Rules and Regulations (6 hours)
    - Health, Safety and Nutrition (8 hours)
    - Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect (4 hours)
    - Child Growth and Development (6 hours)
    - Behavioral Observation and Screening (6 hours)
    - Review Exemption Guidelines to see if your past educational credentials or passage of competency examinations can bypass these courses
      - “Child care personnel have one opportunity to be exempted from one or more courses prior to attending the training by passing the competency exam associated with the course. If the individual fails the competency exam, they must complete the course offered by a state-approved trainer or online before attempting to pass the competency exam again.”
      - Registration for child care exemption exams must be made through the Child Care Training Information Center by calling 1-888-FL-CCTIC (1-888-352-2842) between the hours of 8 am – 5 pm (EST) Monday – Friday

Additional Training

- - 5 hours of Early Literacy training
  - First Aid and Pediatric CPR
  - Universal Precautions/Exposure Plan
Register for courses

If you’re stuck, see video guide on how to register for online courses and instructor-led courses

When you’re done, schedule a Competency Exam (FAQ)

Exams are 45 minutes each and cost $1 per course hour (e.g., 6-hour course costs $6)

Step 2: Complete Background Screening

The operator, adult household members and children 12 to 17 years of age and the substitute must be cleared through background screening prior to the licensure of a family day care home. The screening components below will be completed as part of your application process:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Required for operator, adult household members and substitute. All electronic fingerprinting must be submitted and processed through the Background Screening Clearinghouse.

Instructions for registering as a user in the Clearinghouse can be found here.

Guidance on initiating screenings through the Clearinghouse can be found here. Note: Operators must initiate all screenings through the Clearinghouse prior to fingerprinting. Failure to initiate the screening prior to fingerprinting may result in screening delays, an invalid screening, or the individual may have to be re-fingerprinted at an additional cost.

- - Get OCA number from local licensing office
  - $75 for fingerprints

Out-of-State Criminal Record Checks. Required for operator, adult household members and substitutes that have lived outside of the state of Florida in the preceding five years.

The background screening unit is able to utilize the FBI criminal history results to satisfy the out-of-state criminal record check requirement for individuals whose out-of-state residency was in a state that participates in the FBI National Fingerprint File (NFF) program. A list of states participating in the National Fingerprint File (NFF) program can be found here

If the individual’s prior state of residency does not participate in the FBI National Fingerprint File (NFF) program, an out-of-state criminal history record must be submitted to background screening unit for review. The results may be:

Faxed to: (850) 487-6030

Emailed to: [email protected]

Mailed to: Department of Children and Families Background Screening Program 1317 Winewood Blvd, Tallahassee, FL 32301

Child Abuse and Neglect Registry Checks. Required for operator, adult household members and substitute that have lived outside of the state of Florida in the preceding five years. Nationwide abuse and neglect registry record request information can be found here.

Sex Offender Registry Checks. Required for operator, adult household members and substitute that have lived outside of the state of Florida in the preceding five years. For nationwide sex offender searches, please visit this link.

Juvenile Records Check (FDLE). Required for all juvenile household members 12 to 17 years of age. Request must be submitted online through the FDLE public portal. The ORI number FL721911Z must be used at the time of request. Complete instructions on how to request a juvenile record can be found here

Child Care Attestation of Good Moral Character (AGMC). Required for operator, adult household members and substitute. This form can be found here.

Employment History Checks. Required for operator and substitute. A sample form can be reviewed here.

Central Abuse Hotline Records Search (CAHRS). Required for operator and household members. This form can be found here.

Mandatory Abuse and Neglect Reporting Requirements Form. Required for operator and substitute. This form must be completed on an annual basis and can be found here.

Step 3: Complete Your Application Online!

Create an account to start your online application for child care licensing. The following links are step-by-step guides on how to create an account, and fill out which application is appropriate for your program.
For most applicants, they will apply for a Family Day Care Home License which is a small capacity license that will allow you to care for up to ten children to start
Child Care Facility License are for larger centers that will need to be inspected and have a commercial building permit. These are commonly known as Centers
Large Family Child Care Home License is for large child care homes that can take ten or more children but require more inspections and experience than the smallest license type
Not sure about which type you are? Use their Licensing Questionnaire to find out what fits best for your prospective program. This requires mailing your questionnaire to your local licensing office
The online account is where you will start your application and it will take you through Florida’s licensing process flow. The step-by-step instructions are available above

Step 4: Success!

Pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath, and get some rest-- the real work is just beginning!

Step 5: Success!

Pat yourself on the back, take a deep breath, and get some rest-- the real work is just beginning!

Start, run, and grow your child care business with Wonderschool

Join Wonderschool for support throughout the licensing process, setting up your environment, making critical business decisions, and running the day-to-day of your program. You don’t have to do this alone!

Minimum Requirements

Operator must be 18 years of age
Operator must reside in the home
Operator cannot work outside the home during the hours of operation of the family day care home
The family day care operator must have a proof of a written Substitute Plan to provide at least one other competent adult over the age of 18 to be available to substitute for the operator in an emergency
All child care providers regardless of the type must carry liability insurance for their business/sole proprietorship

Other Things to Consider

Review the licensing requirements for a Family Day Care Home Application here
The PDF that is linked will go over all required trainings (30 hours)
Passing the background check (including a multi-state check) for all adults living in the child care home
At a local county level, call your local licensing office to see if you need to obtain any inspections or approval from local zoning, building code offices, or Homeowners Associations (varies by region)
- HOA and Property Management may have covenants or clauses in their agreements that does not allow the opening of a child care in the home
Radon inspection of the home
Although some applicants’ may meet all the requirements, Florida licensing does have discretion to look at the home’s and location’s prior history to determine if children could be exposed to environmental harm*

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