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Texas family child care licensing: Types of licenses

This post is a part of our series on Texas family child care licensing. For more on licensing in Texas, see the following posts:

Texas Family Child Care Licensing: An Overview
The Licensing Process
Eligibility
Training Requirements
Home Requirements

In Texas, you will need a different permit (what we usually call “license”) depending on the type of child care program you plan to open. The DFPS breaks down family child cares into the following three types:

Listed Family Homes

Age: You must be at least 18 years old.

Capacity: If you are paid to provide regular child care in your own homes for 1-3 children who are not related, you will need to become, in the DFPS’s words, a “Listed Family Home”.

Schedule: You need to become a Listed Family Home in Texas if you provide care for at least four hours per day, three or more days a week, for three or more consecutive weeks OR four hours a day for 40 or more days in a 12 month period.

Application process: There are no minimum standards or training requirements for Listed Family Homes. You will have to file an application and pass a background check.

Your home is not inspected unless the department receives a report alleging child abuse or neglect, an immediate risk of danger to the health or safety of a child, and/or if you begin providing child care subject to further regulation.

Registered Child Care Homes

Age: You must be at least 21 years old to open a Registered Child Care Home in Texas.

Capacity: Registered Child Care Homes provide care in the caregiver’s home for up to six children under age 14 in exchange for compensation. You may also care for up to six additional school-age children after school hours.

The number of children allowed in a home is determined by the ages of the children. No more than 12 children can be in care at any time, including any of your own children. You can’t care for more than 6 children who are unrelated to you.

Schedule: You qualify as a Registered Child Care Home if you care for at least 4 hours a day, 3 or more days a week, and for more than 3 consecutive weeks.

Application process: You must complete a pre-application class and have cleared background checks. You will get your registration certificate after licensing staff completes an onsite inspection to ensure minimum standards are met.

Registered homes are inspected every 1 – 2 years and to investigate any reports alleging violations of standards or child abuse/neglect.

Licensed Child Care Homes

Age: As a caregiver in a Licensed Child Care Home, you must be at least 21 years old.

Capacity: Licensed Child Care Homes provide care in exchange for compensation for 7 – 12 children under 14 years old in the permit holder’s own home. You can’t have more than 12 children in total, including your own children.

Schedule: Provide care for less than 24 hours a day

Application process: Licensed facilities must follow published standards and are routinely monitored and inspected. To receive your license, you must complete onsite inspections to ensure minimum standards are met, as well as background checks. Licensed facilities are inspected at least once every 12 months and to investigate reports alleging violations of standards or child abuse or neglect.


This post is a part of our series on Texas family child care licensing. For more on licensing in Texas, see the following posts:

Texas Family Child Care Licensing: An Overview
The Licensing Process
Eligibility
Training Requirements
Home Requirements

wonderschool

Wonderschool is a network of quality in-home early childhood programs. Our mission is to ensure that every child has access to a home away from home that helps them realize their full potential. We work with experienced educators and child care providers to help them start their own child care or preschool out of their homes, whether they live in apartments, condos, or homes that they rent or own.