Alaska rulebook · checked October 2026

Watching Kids at Home in Alaska: How Many Before You Need a License?

In Alaska, you may watch up to 4 counted children before a license is required — and Alaska counts your own children (younger than 13) in that number.

Run the free Alaska check

The Alaska line, in facts

Licensing agency: Alaska Department of Health — Child Care Program Office (CCPO), Child Care Licensing

The line: In Alaska, you may watch up to 4 counted children before a license is required — and Alaska counts your own children (younger than 13) in that number.

Your own children: counted — Alaska includes your own children (younger than 13) in the numbers that decide your category.

The categories above the line

Category	Capacity	What it means
Child Care Home	up to 8	Up to and including 8 children total younger than 13 — including your own children under 13. Of the total: at most 3 children younger than 30 months, and at most 2 nonambulatory.
Child Care Group Home	up to 12	9 to 12 children total younger than 13 including your own, with at least 2 caregivers (one the administrator); at most 5 under 30 months and 4 nonambulatory. At 13 or more children the program is a child care center.

What comes with the license

Ratios: Child care home: at least 1 caregiver, maximum 8 children under 13 (1:8), with the 3-under-30-months and 2-nonambulatory sub-caps. Group home: at least 2 caregivers for up to 12 (7 AAC 57.505).
Training before you open: Facility orientation and department-approved health & safety pre-service training, plus first aid and CPR (7 AAC 57.350).
Training to stay open: At least 24 hours of training a year for each administrator and caregiver (12 hours for part-time caregivers working 15 hours a week or less), including at least 1 hour on a listed health & safety topic.
State fees: No state fee: the Alaska Child Care Program Office does not charge for a child care license.
Realistic timeline: Published: approval or denial of a provisional license within 90 days of a complete application packet. A provisional license runs up to 1 year; the biennial license follows.

The local check you cannot skip

Inside the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Health Department licenses child care under Anchorage Municipal Code 16.55 (applying 7 AAC 57) — and there, facilities over 8 children are centers, not group homes.

What catches people in Alaska

Ignore the ghost rule: a 2018 proposal would have rewritten the exemption as '5 children total including your own.' It was never adopted — the current published rule is 4 or fewer NON-RELATIVE children.
Exempt providers may still join Child Care Assistance voluntarily (7 AAC 41) without a license — approval for payment is not a license.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: 7 AAC 57.015(a)(7)–(9) (exempt: 4 or fewer non-relative children; relative of all children; child's own home); 7 AAC 57.505 (home and group home capacity and ratios); 7 AAC 57.350 (training); AS 47.32.020 (entities exempt from licensure); Alaska CCPO Child Care Licensing. This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the Alaska Department of Health — Child Care Program Office (CCPO), Child Care Licensing is the final word.

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