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DaycareRules

Arizona DHS and DES

How many kids can you watch without a license in Arizona?

Verified September 5, 2026

Arizona runs two home programs under two agencies. The Department of Health Services certifies a child care group home under A.R.S. 36-897 for a residence where five to ten children through age twelve receive care for compensation for less than twenty-four hours a day, and 36-897.01 makes the certificate mandatory. A home caring for four or fewer children for compensation is below that line. The Department of Economic Security separately certifies a family child care home provider under 6 A.A.C. 5 Article 52, for up to four children for compensation and six in total, and that certification is the route to DES child care assistance payments, not a permit to run above four.

The Arizona ladder, tier by tier

Arizona home child care tiers with capacity and age limits
TierChildrenAge limitsYour own kids
Child Care Group Homeadhs group home certificate5 to 10
  • No more than 10 children in care at once A.R.S. § 36-897(1)
Do not count
Family Child Care Home Provider (provider in a home facility)des family child care home certificationup to 6
  • No more than 4 children in care at once A.A.C. R6-5-5220(A)
  • No more than 6 children in care at once A.A.C. R6-5-5220(D)
  • Option 1: up to 4 children A.A.C. R6-5-5220(A)
  • Option 2: up to 6 children, max 4 for compensation, max 2 des younger than age 1 A.A.C. R6-5-5220(A)
Count
In-Home Providerdes in home provider certificationup to 6
  • No more than 6 children in care at once A.A.C. R6-5-5220(B)(1)-(2)
  • No more than 6 children in care at once A.A.C. R6-5-5220(B)(3)
Count

Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Arizona home daycare ratios page.

What changes this answer

Compensation and regular

Both DHS thresholds turn on care regularly provided for compensation. A.R.S. 36-881(3) counts only children not related to the proprietor, and 36-884(1) exempts care in the homes of parents or blood relatives.

Ten through age twelve

A child care group home holds no more than ten children through the age of twelve, and R9-3-301(D)(2) requires one adult staff member in addition to the provider on the premises when six or more enrolled children are present. There is no age-weighted ratio in the group home chapter; those tables were repealed in 2011, and space at thirty square feet per child is the other lever.

DES six is a mixed count

R6-5-5220 lets a DES-certified provider care for up to six children at a time from birth through twelve provided no more than four are in care for compensation and no more than two are younger than one unless they are a sibling group. Children residing in the home are counted.

Rules read at older supplements

9 A.A.C. 3 was read at Supp. 22-3 and 6 A.A.C. 5 at Supp. 19-1, with R6-5-5220 confirmed word for word against the DES provider handbook dated August 2025. The A.R.S. sections are the 2025 legislature text.

Real questions, short answers

How many kids can you watch in Arizona without a certificate?

Four children for compensation. Five or more children through age twelve cared for regularly for compensation in a residence is a child care group home under A.R.S. 36-897 and needs a DHS certificate.

How many children can an Arizona child care group home have?

No more than ten children through the age of twelve, per A.R.S. 36-897(1), with a second adult on the premises when six or more are present.

What does DES certification do?

It qualifies a family child care home provider to be paid by DES child care assistance for up to four children for compensation, six total, under R6-5-5220. It is not a license to exceed the DHS line.

Do my own children count in Arizona?

Not toward the five-child DHS line, which counts children not related to the proprietor. In a DES-certified home children residing in the home are counted within the six.

How many infants can a DES-certified home have?

Two younger than one at a time, unless they are a sibling group, per R6-5-5220(A).

Other states we have verified

Sources for Arizona

  • Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, Chapter 7.1, Articles 1 and 4 36-881, 36-884, 36-897, 36-897.01
  • 9 A.A.C. 3, Child Care Group Homes, Supp. 22-3 R9-3-101, R9-3-301, R9-3-501
  • 6 A.A.C. 5, Article 52, Certification and Supervision of Family Child Care Home Providers, confirmed against DES handbook HPY-330 (08/25) R6-5-5201, R6-5-5220

DaycareRules is an informational reference about home child care licensing rules in the United States. It reprints thresholds, capacity limits, ratios and citations from state statutes and regulations, together with the date each state was last verified. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and rules change. Confirm with your state licensing agency before acting on any number printed here.