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DaycareRules

Arkansas DHS Child Care Licensing Unit

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

Verified September 5, 2026

Arkansas licenses from the sixth child. Ark. Code 20-78-202(2)(D)(v) excludes from the definition of a childcare facility any arrangement caring for fewer than six children from more than one family at the same time, and both rule books state the trigger the same way: six or more children from more than one family require a Child Care Family Home license, which reaches sixteen children. A home below the line may join the voluntary registry under 20-78-221 as a Registered Child Care Family Home for up to five children. The caregiver’s own preschool children count both when deciding whether a license is needed and inside the five-child registered cap.

The Arkansas ladder, tier by tier

Arkansas home child care tiers with capacity and age limits
TierChildrenAge limitsYour own kids
Child Care Family Home (Licensed Home)licenseup to 16
  • No more than 16 children in care at once PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §102.4
  • Option 1: up to 6 children, max 3 under2 PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §301 Staff to Child Ratios, table row group 301.1, table rows transcribed cell by cell under the column headers "Adult Caregiver(s)" = ONE, "Number of Children", "Ages of Children"
  • Option 2: up to 7 children, max 2 under2 PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §301 Staff to Child Ratios, table row group 301.1, table rows transcribed cell by cell under the column headers "Adult Caregiver(s)" = ONE, "Number of Children", "Ages of Children"
  • Option 3: up to 8 children, max 1 under2 PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §301 Staff to Child Ratios, table row group 301.1, table rows transcribed cell by cell under the column headers "Adult Caregiver(s)" = ONE, "Number of Children", "Ages of Children"
  • Option 4: up to 9 children, max 0 under2, max 3 2to3 PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §301 Staff to Child Ratios, table row group 301.1, table rows transcribed cell by cell under the column headers "Adult Caregiver(s)" = ONE, "Number of Children", "Ages of Children"
  • Option 5: up to 10 children, max 0 under2, max 0 2to3 PUB-001 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §301 Staff to Child Ratios, table row group 301.1, table rows transcribed cell by cell under the column headers "Adult Caregiver(s)" = ONE, "Number of Children", "Ages of Children"
Count
Registered Child Care Family Homeregistration1 to 5
  • No more than 5 children in care at once PUB-003 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §201.6 (Administrative Procedures)
Count
Relative Child Care Family Homeregistrationup to 5
  • No more than 5 children in care at once PUB-003 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §103.2
Count
In-Home Child Care Providerregistrationup to 5
  • No more than 5 children in care at once PUB-003 (Rev. 12/01/2020) §103.3
Count

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

What changes this answer

More than one family

The count is of children from more than one family. Six children who are all siblings are one family and stay outside the definition; six children from two families are inside it.

Own preschoolers count, own school-agers do not

PUB-001 102.7 and PUB-003 103.7 count the caregiver’s own preschool children toward the trigger, and PUB-003 201.6 caps a registered home at five children including the caregiver’s own preschool children. Own school-age children count in neither.

Whether or not you charge

The statutory definition applies whether or not the facility is operated for profit and whether or not it charges for its services.

Class C misdemeanor

Operating or assisting in the operation of an unlicensed childcare facility, or advertising care that is not licensed, approved or exempt, is a Class C misdemeanor under Ark. Code 20-78-203, and the Division may seek an injunction.

Real questions, short answers

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

Five, counting your own preschool children, from more than one family. Six or more children from more than one family at the same time is a childcare facility under Ark. Code 20-78-202 and needs a license.

What is a Registered Child Care Family Home?

A voluntary registration under Ark. Code 20-78-221 and PUB-003 for a home caring for no more than five children at any time including the caregiver’s own preschool children.

How many children can a licensed Arkansas family home have?

A maximum of sixteen under PUB-001 102.4, with two caregivers required above ten and no more than two under two at sixteen.

How many infants can one Arkansas caregiver have?

Three under two in a group of six, two in a group of seven, one in a group of eight, and none in a group of nine or ten, per the PUB-001 section 301 table. A home specializing in infant care runs at one to three.

Do school-age children count in an Arkansas licensed home?

Two school-age children may be cared for up to three hours before or after school without counting in the ratio, and all day on emergency school closings, per PUB-001 301.9. At other times they count.

Other states we have verified

Sources for Arkansas

  • Ark. Code Ann. Title 20, Chapter 78, Subchapter 2, current through the 2025 Regular Session 20-78-202, 20-78-203, 20-78-208, 20-78-221
  • Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Family Homes, PUB-001, revised December 1, 2020 102.4, 102.7, 301, 302.1
  • Registration Requirements for Registered Child Care Family Homes, PUB-003, revised December 1, 2020 103.2, 103.7, 201.6

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.