Florida

Permit types

Florida uses the categories below. Your numbers decide which one applies, and the category sets the fee and the inspection schedule.

Fees

State fees are listed below. Local inspections, fingerprint vendors and tests can add costs that the state does not set.

Forms index

The forms the agency publishes for this path. Links open the official form or the agency’s form page. Confirm the current version with your licensing office before you submit.

Background screening

Florida uses level 2 screening, the same standard as other positions of trust under chapter 435.

Screening includes employment history checks, criminal history, sexual predator and sexual offender registries, and the child abuse and neglect registry of any state where the person lived in the past five years.

For family child care homes the definition of child care personnel includes household members over 12. Members between 12 and 18 are screened for delinquency records but are not fingerprinted.

A 45-day provisional hire status is available while out-of-state records are requested, but the person must be supervised by screened and trained staff during that period.

Training hours

Training is front-loaded: 35 hours before registration, then 10 hours a year.

• 30-hour family day care home course, passed by competency exam or educational exemption.
• 5-hour early literacy and language development course for children birth to five.
• All 35 hours complete before registration.
• 10 clock hours or one CEU of in-service training each 12-month licensing period.
• The early literacy course counts once toward the annual requirement in the year it is completed.
• Additional safe sleep, fire extinguisher and medication training apply where relevant.

Capacity and supervision

A family day care home may care for one of four groups. Household children under 13 count toward the limit.

The operator must be present and supervising. A large family child care home needs two full-time child care personnel, one of whom is the owner or occupant.

During swimming, staff to child ratios apply: 1 to 4 for preschoolers and 1 to 6 for older children who cannot swim 15 yards unassisted.

Space requirements

Florida publishes a numeric space standard for large family child care homes, not for the small home.

• Large family child care home: 35 square feet of usable indoor floor space per child, excluding bedrooms unless they are used as multipurpose activity rooms.
• Large family child care home: at least 270 square feet of usable outdoor play area on the property.
• Usable indoor space excludes stairways, toilets, permanent fixtures, kitchens, offices, laundry, storage and hallways.
• A small family day care home must still keep the home clean, in good repair and free from hazards; the handbook reviewed does not set a per-child square footage number for it.

Inspections

Registered homes are not inspected by DCF. Licensed homes are inspected and reexamined at renewal.

• Registered family day care homes are not inspected by DCF; they certify information annually instead.
• A licensed home gives the department or local agency access at reasonable times during business hours.
• Before renewing a licence, the department reexamines the premises and records to confirm the standards are still met.
• A licence is issued or renewed only after the fee is received and the standards are met.

Renewal and the annual cycle

Both paths renew every year. The licensed path adds a premises reexamination.

• Registered home: renew annually with the $25 fee and the registration packet.
• Licensed home: renew annually with the $50 fee and a reexamination of the premises and records.
• Complete 10 hours or one CEU of in-service training in each 12-month licensing period.
• Sign and give parents the annual health and safety self-evaluation checklist.

Contacts and complaints

Who to call for the application, a complaint about a home, or a question about the license.