MSDE Office of Child Care
Maryland has no unlicensed headcount: paid care in your home is family child care and must be registered, unless you are a relative of each child in care, or you are a friend of the parent providing care on a nonregular basis under 20 hours a month. A registered Family Child Care Home takes up to 8 children; a Large Family Child Care Home takes 9 to 12 with center-style staffing rows.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Child Care Homemd fcc registration | up to 8 |
| Count |
| Large Family Child Care Homemd lfcch registration | 9 to 12 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Maryland home daycare ratios page.
Relative of each child means related by blood, marriage or adoption, including parent, grandparent and the listed aunts, uncles and siblings. The friend exemption fails the moment care becomes regular or crosses 20 hours in a month.
The office counts a resident of the home younger than 6 years old as a child in care on both tiers, so your own preschooler takes a slot.
A single provider may have at most 2 children under 24 months. More than 2 requires an additional approved adult, and even then the under-2 cap is 4.
COMAR 13A.15 carries July 6, 2026 amendments, and the new chapter for nursery-school programs inside registered homes (13A.15.16) is reflected here. Older copies of the rules that rank in search predate this.
The registration requirement does not apply when the provider is a relative of each child in care, and both relationships are on the COMAR relative list.
The friend exemption in COMAR 13A.15.02.01A(2) covers nonregular care for less than 20 hours a month. Past that, registration applies.
Up to 8 children present in care, counting residents under 6, with at most 2 under 24 months for a lone provider, per COMAR 13A.15.04.03.
A separately registered home for 9 to 12 children, staffed by group-size rows: for example 8 children with 1 adult in a mixed group with at most 2 under 24 months, or 12 with 2 adults.
Operating a family child care home without a valid registration is a misdemeanor with fines that the enforcement subtitle sets out. We print the thresholds; enforcement is the office's call.
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.