Florida rulebook · checked October 2026
Watching Kids at Home in Florida: How Many Before You Need a License?
In Florida, the line is families, not children: your own children plus the children of one other family — any number of them — sit below the line. The moment a second unrelated family joins, you are in family day care home territory and the state's rules apply.
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The Florida line, in facts
Licensing agency: Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) — Child Care Regulation (some counties license locally)
The line: In Florida, the line is families, not children: your own children plus the children of one other family — any number of them — sit below the line. The moment a second unrelated family joins, you are in family day care home territory and the state's rules apply.
Your own children: counted — Florida includes your own children (under 13) in the numbers that decide your category.
The categories above the line
| Category | Capacity | What it means |
|---|
| Family Day Care Home | up to 10 | Care at home for children from two or more unrelated families, for pay. Up to 10 children total including your own under 13 — with no more than 5 preschool-age children and no more than 2 under 12 months. Registered or licensed depending on your county. |
| Large Family Child Care Home | up to 12 | Up to 12 children with two providers, after experience as a family day care home and a full license. |
What comes with the license
- Ratios: Family day care home: 10 children maximum in total — your own children under 13 count — with sub-caps of 5 children under age 5 and 2 infants under 12 months. The infant cap is the one that binds first.
- Training before you open: The 30-hour Family Child Care Home training (Parts I and II) before or within the first year, plus literacy and safe-sleep modules (F.A.C. 65C-20).
- Training to stay open: 10 hours of in-service training every year, plus active credential/CPR maintenance.
- State fees: Registration and licensure fees are set at the state/county level and vary — DCF publishes the current schedule for your county's door.
- Realistic timeline: Background screening (Level 2, fingerprint-based) is the long pole; registration moves faster than licensure counties.
The local check you cannot skip
Florida forks by county: in many counties a family day care home must be LICENSED; in others, registration with DCF is the door; and several counties (including Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Pinellas) run licensing themselves. Which door applies to you is decided by your county — confirm with DCF or your county licensing office before you open, not after.
Your path in Florida, step by step
- Find your door first: ask DCF (or your county licensing office, if your county runs its own) whether your address registers or licenses — the county decides.
- Complete Level 2 fingerprint background screening for yourself and every adult household member and substitute.
- Finish the 30-hour Family Child Care Home training (or enroll within the allowed window) and the early-literacy and safe-sleep modules.
- File the registration or license application for a family day care home with your household roster — your own children under 13 count toward the 10-child cap.
- Pass the home inspection: sleeping areas, water safety (pool rules are strict in Florida), pets, firearms storage, emergency plans.
- Open at your category: family day care home (up to 10 total), and only step up to a large family home (12, two providers) after the experience requirement is met.
What catches people in Florida
- Florida's line is FAMILIES, not children: one family's five kids = outside the definition; two families' one child each = a family day care home.
- Whether you register or license is a county decision, not a state one — the single most-missed fact in Florida home daycare.
Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: Fla. Stat. §402.302(8) (family day care home definition); Fla. Stat. §402.313 (family day care homes); F.A.C. 65C-20 (family day care homes); Florida DCF — Child Care Regulation. This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) — Child Care Regulation (some counties license locally) is the final word.
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