Illinois Department of Early Childhood
Illinois draws its line at three. In-home early care and education for no more than 3 children under the age of 12 sits outside licensure, and that count includes the provider’s own children and every other child under 12 in the home, related or not, per 225 ILCS 10/3(d-5)(1). One widening exists: up to 6 children when all of them come from the same household. From the fourth child a day care home licence applies, covering more than 3 and up to 12 children, and a group day care home reaches 16. Licensing moved from DCFS to the Department of Early Childhood in 2026, and the home standards now sit at 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2007 and 2009.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day Care Homelicense | 4 to 12 |
| Count |
| Group Day Care Homelicense | 4 to 16 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Illinois home daycare ratios page.
The three-child figure counts the provider’s natural or adopted children along with any other person under 12 in the home, whether related or unrelated. Illinois writes no relative carve-out for home-based care, so a grandchild counts the same as a neighbour’s child.
A provider operating under the exemption must notify the parent or guardian of each child that the program runs under an exemption from licensure. That notice is part of the exemption, not an optional courtesy.
23 Ill. Adm. Code 2007.13 caps a caregiver working alone at 8 children under 12, on one of three mixes: 8 with at most 5 under age 5 and 3 under 24 months; 8 with at most 6 under age 5 and 2 under 30 months; or 8 school-age children. The 12-child figure needs an assistant and 4 of the children attending school full time.
Parts 406 and 408 of the DCFS code became Parts 2007 and 2009 of the Department of Early Childhood code, recodified at 50 Ill. Reg. 9917 and 10183. Older citations to 89 Ill. Adm. Code 406 point at the predecessor text. Part 2006 is the Day Care Information Line and Part 2008 is the centre standards, so neither carries home capacity.
Three children under the age of 12, counting your own children and any other child under 12 living in the home. Up to 6 if every child comes from the same household, per 225 ILCS 10/3(d-5)(1).
Yes. The statute counts the provider’s natural or adopted children and any other persons under the age of 12, whether related or unrelated to the operator.
A day care home receives more than 3 and up to 12 children, a group day care home more than 3 and up to 16, both for less than 24 hours a day. The group home needs a second caregiver on its larger mixes.
Working alone, 3 children under 24 months inside a group of 8, or 2 children under 30 months if the group holds 6 children under age 5. With an assistant aged 18 or older the home may hold 8 children under 5 with up to 5 of them under 24 months.
Operating a child care facility without a licence is a Class A misdemeanor under 225 ILCS 10/11, followed by a business offence with a fine of up to 10,000 dollars if operation continues with no effort to get a licence.
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.