Indiana FSSA Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning
Indiana moved its line in 2026. Under IC 12-7-2.1-57, added by P.L.145-2026, a residential structure becomes a child care home when at least eight children, or at least four children under twelve months, receive care there for regular compensation, unattended by a parent, for more than six hours a day on ten consecutive days. Children the provider is a parent, guardian, custodian or other relative of are not counted. Below that line no license applies. From it, a Class I child care home license covers up to twelve children plus three school-year children in grade one or above, and a Class II home covers thirteen to sixteen.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class I Child Care Homelicense child care home | up to 15 |
| Count |
| Class II Child Care Homelicense child care home | 13 to 16 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Indiana home daycare ratios page.
470 IAC 3-1.1-7 has not been conformed to the 2026 statute: it still defines a child care home at six children and more than four hours a day. The statute is the later text and controls. Any source that prints six for Indiana is quoting a rule the statute has overtaken.
Four children under twelve months make a child care home on their own, even with fewer than eight children in total. A provider with three infants and four toddlers is below both triggers; a fourth infant crosses the line.
470 IAC 3-1.1-36.5 sets a mixed infant and toddler ratio of six to one, provided two of the six are at least sixteen months and walking, otherwise four to one; a mixed group from birth to six years at ten to one with no more than three under sixteen months; and twelve to one for children three and older. Each figure is per direct child care provider.
A child care ministry operated by a church is exempt from licensure if it complies with IC 12-17.2-6, but an unlicensed ministry may not operate unless registered with the division. That registration is its own instrument, not a home license.
Seven, provided fewer than four of them are under twelve months, counting only children who are not your relatives, under IC 12-7-2.1-57. The trigger also requires care for more than six hours a day on ten consecutive days for regular compensation.
No. The statute excludes children for whom the provider is a parent, stepparent, guardian, custodian or other relative from the count that creates a child care home.
A licensed home serving up to twelve children at one time, plus three children during the school year who are enrolled in at least grade one, per 470 IAC 3-1.1-36.5(a). The three cannot be added during a school break longer than four weeks.
A licensed home serving more than twelve and not more than sixteen full-time and part-time children at one time, per 470 IAC 3-1.3-1. It must meet the Class I rules as well as its own.
The attorney general or a county attorney may seek a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars a day for each day a child care home operates without a required license.
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.