Louisiana home care has one number: six. A family child care provider is a sole caregiver for six or fewer children under 13 in a private residence, counting the provider's own children under 13, at a flat 6 to 1 ratio. There is no infant sub-cap, no assistant tier and no large-home license; a seventh unrelated child in regular care makes the place a licensed early learning center with the center ratio table.
Every tier, every cap
Family Child Care Provider
No more than 6 children in care at once LAC 28:CLXV §309.A.2 (Bulletin 139, last amended LR 51:525, April 2025)
No more than 6 children in care at once LAC 28:CLXV §309.A.15-16 (Bulletin 139, last amended LR 51:525, April 2025)
Your own children: count toward these caps (under 13 years).
In-Home Child Care Provider
No more than 6 children in care at once LAC 28:CLXV §311.A.14-15 (Bulletin 139, last amended LR 51:526, April 2025)
Your own children: see the cited rule.
How Louisiana defines the age bands
Child (under age 13): 0 to 156 months
Child with special needs (under age 18): 0 to 216 months
Infant (under first birthday; used in Bulletin 139 safe sleep rules, defined only in Bulletin 137): 0 to 12 months
1 year (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 12 to 24 months
2 years (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 24 to 36 months
3 years (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 36 to 48 months
4 years (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 48 to 60 months
5 years (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 60 to 72 months
6 years and up (center ratio band, Bulletin 137): 72 to open months
Mixed ages in one room
The yearly bands on this page belong to the center ratio table in Bulletin 137 section 1711; home providers work under the flat six-child cap only.
Real questions, short answers
How many infants can a Louisiana family child care provider have?
The home rule sets no infant sub-cap: up to six children under 13 in total with one caregiver, per Bulletin 139 section 309.
Is there a large family home license in Louisiana?
No. Above six children in regular care the place is an early learning center under Bulletin 137 with Type I, II or III licensing.
What ratios apply at seven or more children?
The center staff-to-child table in Bulletin 137 section 1711, by age band, which is a center rule rather than a home one.
LAC 28:CLXV, Bulletin 139, Louisiana Child Care Assistance Program provider regulations, amended January 2026 309, 311
LAC 28:CLXI, Bulletin 137, early learning center licensing, amended January 2026 103, 301, 303, 1711
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.