Kentucky rulebook · checked October 2026

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

In Kentucky, you may watch up to 3 counted children before a license is required.

The Kentucky line, in facts

Licensing agency: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Division of Regulated Child Care

The line: In Kentucky, you may watch up to 3 counted children before a license is required.

The categories above the line

Category	Capacity	What it means
Certified Family Child-Care Home	up to 6	4 to 6 unrelated children — plus up to 4 related children, for a maximum total capacity of 10. No more than 6 children under age 6 in the home at once, counting your own and related children, and an assistant is required above 4 infants (counting your own and related infants).
Licensed Type II Child-Care Center	up to 12	A licensed center in your own primary residence: 7 to 12 children including children related to you (922 KAR 2:090). At 13 or more, or outside a residence, it is a Type I center.

What comes with the license

Ratios: One provider for up to 6 unrelated / 10 total, subject to the under-6 cap of 6 (including your own and related children) and the infant rule: an assistant is required when more than 4 infants are present, counting your own and related infants.
Training before you open: At least 6 hours within 3 months of applying for certification — basic health, safety and sanitation, recognizing and reporting child abuse, and developmentally appropriate practice (KRS 199.8982(1)(a)6).
Training to stay open: At least 6 hours of training in child development every year, including 1.5 hours on pediatric abusive head trauma once every 5 years (KRS 199.8982(2)).
State fees:
Realistic timeline:

What catches people in Kentucky

Kentucky lets a provider at 3 or fewer unrelated children certify VOLUNTARILY — worth it if you want Child Care Assistance Program families, who can only use licensed, certified or registered-relative providers.
The certified home's real ceiling is a sandwich: 6 unrelated on the bottom, 4 related on top, 10 total — with the under-6 and infant caps cutting across both.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: KRS 199.8982 (certification required at 4–6 unrelated children; 3 or fewer may certify voluntarily; training); 922 KAR 2:100 (Certification of Family Child-Care Homes); 922 KAR 2:090 (Licensed Type II centers in a residence). This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services — Division of Regulated Child Care is the final word.

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