Oregon rulebook · checked October 2026
Watching Kids at Home in Oregon: How Many Before You Need a License?
In Oregon, you may watch up to 3 counted children before a license is required. Care for one household's children, and care for relatives, sits outside the line entirely.
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The Oregon line, in facts
Licensing agency: Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) — Child Care Licensing Division (CCLD)
The line: In Oregon, you may watch up to 3 counted children before a license is required. Care for one household's children, and care for relatives, sits outside the line entirely.
The categories above the line
| Category | Capacity | What it means |
|---|
| Registered Family Child Care Home | up to 10 | Maximum 10 children in total: of the 10, at most 6 preschool-age or younger, and of those at most 2 under 24 months, plus up to 4 school-age. The 10 counts your own and foster children age 9 or younger and any other children 12 or younger you are responsible for. No child under 6 weeks may be in care (your own excepted). |
| Certified Family Child Care Home | up to 16 | Maximum 16 children in total, with capacity set by square footage, toilets, and your education and experience, and additional caregivers to hold ratios. Registered providers can generally move up to certified after a year. |
What comes with the license
- Ratios: Registered family: effectively 1 provider to 10 children maximum, inside the 6-preschool / 2-under-24-months structure above. Certified family: ratios are set by the youngest child in the group (OAR 414-360-0400 Table A) — one caregiver may care for 10 children of 6 weeks to school age within the same preschool/infant sub-caps, and 15 when all children are school-age.
- Training before you open: Registered family, before approval: the Family Child Care Overview session, 2 hours of Oregon-specific child abuse/neglect training, current infant/child first aid and CPR (hands-on), food handler certification, CCLD-approved health & safety training, and approved safe sleep training (OAR 414-205-0055).
- Training to stay open: Registered family: 10 hours per 2-year license cycle (at least 6 in child development/early childhood education). Certified family: 15 hours a year (at least 8 in child development).
- State fees: Registered family: $30 filing fee per application (not returned if you withdraw) (reducible below 100% of the federal poverty level). Certified family: $25 plus $2 per licensed-capacity child to open; renewals $2 per capacity child (OAR 414-205-0020).
- Realistic timeline: One published piece: the on-site review must happen within 30 days of a satisfactory initial or renewal application (ORS 329A.330(3)(b)). No total application-to-license timeline is published.
What catches people in Oregon
- Oregon has FOUR exempt doors, not one: 3 or fewer children, one other family, related within the fourth degree, or occasional care up to 70 days a year — and your own children never count toward the 3.
- Registered and certified are both state doors run by the Child Care Licensing Division — 'recorded' programs are a different, narrower category (mostly subsidy and school-age programs).
Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: ORS 329A.250 (exclusions: 3 or fewer children; one other family; relatives within the 4th degree; occasional care); ORS 329A.330 (registration; 10-child cap; fee; 30-day on-site review); OAR 414-205-0020, -0055, -0065 (registered family: fees, training, capacity); OAR 414-360-0400 (certified family ratios). This page reads the published rules; it is not legal advice, and the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) — Child Care Licensing Division (CCLD) is the final word.
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