Georgia DECAL
Georgia licenses home care from the third child. Any person who provides care for pay for at least three but not more than six unrelated children under thirteen, whose parents do not live in the residence, must hold a Family Child Care Learning Home license from DECAL under Chapter 290-2-3. Two unrelated children for pay sit below that line. Above six children for pay, related or unrelated, the program needs a Child Care Learning Center license instead. The rules count related children separately: the unrelated children cannot exceed six, and with related and resident children present the total under thirteen cannot exceed twelve.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Child Care Learning Homega license fcclh | 3 to 6 |
| Do not count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Georgia home daycare ratios page.
Related children are those within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity by blood or marriage, which the rule spells out as sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and first cousins, or a child under the provider’s legal guardianship. Children of a parent who lives in the same residence as the provider are outside the definition of child altogether.
With DECAL approval a provider may care for two additional children three years of age or older for two designated one-hour periods daily, which takes the unrelated count to eight for those windows and no longer.
Rule 290-2-3-.09(19) requires an employee at least sixteen years old to assist with supervision whenever more than three children under twelve months, more than six children under three years, or more than eight children under five years are present. There is no single number of children that triggers it.
Georgia publishes the O.C.G.A. only through a viewer that blocks automated reading, so every figure here comes from DECAL’s own chapter, edition dated July 1, 2025, which carries the licensing trigger in rule 290-2-3-.04. We say so rather than quote a statute we did not read.
Two unrelated children under thirteen for pay. Rule 290-2-3-.04(1)(c) requires a Family Child Care Learning Home license from any person caring for at least three unrelated children for pay.
Not toward the six unrelated children. They do count toward the twelve-child ceiling on all children under thirteen present in the home under rule 290-2-3-.07(17).
Six unrelated children under thirteen at one time, eight during two approved one-hour periods a day, and no more than twelve children under thirteen in the home in total when related and resident children are counted.
When more than three children under twelve months, more than six children under three years, or more than eight children under five years are present, per rule 290-2-3-.09(19).
Care for more than six children for pay, related or unrelated, requires a Child Care Learning Center license under rule 290-2-3-.04(1)(d). DECAL may also impose fines of up to 25,000 dollars in total under rule 290-2-3-.15.
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.