OSSE Licensing and Compliance
The District draws its line at two: a child development facility is anyone providing care on a regular basis for more than 2 infants, toddlers or children who are not related, and no one may operate one without an OSSE license, per 5-A DCMR sections 101.3 and 101.4. Below that, and inside a long list of exemptions led by occasional babysitting for one family's children and care by related persons, no license applies. A Child Development Home takes up to 6 children and an Expanded Child Development Home up to 12.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Development Homelicense | up to 6 |
| Count |
| Expanded Child Development Homelicense | up to 12 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the District of Columbia home daycare ratios page.
A related person is a legal guardian or a parent, step-parent, grandparent, sibling, step-sibling, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew by marriage, adoption or blood to the fifth degree, per 5-A DCMR section 199. Care by a related person is exempt under section 101.5(i).
Section 101.5 exempts occasional babysitting in a babysitter's or child's home for the children of one family, care in a child's home by a caregiver the family pays, nanny-shares, informal parent-supervised play groups, and care in places of worship during services, among others.
A Child Development Home may have at most 2 children under 2; an Expanded Child Development Home at most 4 under 2, or 6 with the staffing rows in section 121.3(c). The provider's own children under 6 count in capacity.
The final rulemaking effective August 1, 2025 changed educator qualification sections 164 to 175; capacity and ratio sections date from the December 2016 rulemaking and were read from the published final text.
Up to 2 children who are not related to you on a regular basis. Providing care for more than 2 unrelated children on a regular basis makes you a child development facility that needs an OSSE license, per 5-A DCMR 101.3(a).
Occasional babysitting in a babysitter's home or the child's home for the children of one family is exempt under 5-A DCMR 101.5(a). The exemption is written around occasional care, not a standing daily arrangement.
A licensed home for up to 6 children with at most 2 under age two; an Expanded Child Development Home is licensed for up to 12 with its own under-two rows, per 5-A DCMR sections 167 to 169 and 121.3.
The provider's own children under 6 count toward capacity in both home tiers under the definitions used in chapter 1.
Violations of the Child Development Facilities Regulation Act and 5-A DCMR chapter 1 are subject to civil fines under the Civil Infractions Act, and OSSE may pursue enforcement against the facility.
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.