Relative Care Exempt (RCE) provider
- No more than 2 (children from separate households) ARM 37.96.102(2)(a)
Your own children: see the cited rule.
Montana DPHHS Child Care Licensing
Montana home daycare ratios by age
Verified September 5, 2026Montana sets one ratio for both registered home sizes. ARM 37.96.106(5)(a) lets a family or group child care facility serving mixed ages use eight children to one staff member, with no more than three children under two years old, and requires at least two staff members with the group any time more than three children under two are present. A program serving only children under two runs at four to one under 37.96.106(5)(b). Capacity is fixed by the certificate: three to eight children in a family child care facility, nine to fifteen in a group child care facility, and an approved overlap period may add up to four children three years and older.
Every tier, every cap
Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) provider
- No more than 6 (children from separate households) ARM 37.96.102(2)(b)
Your own children: count toward these caps.
Family child care facility (family day-care home)
- No more than 8 children in care at once ARM 37.96.102(2)(c)
- No more than 3 under two ARM 37.96.106(5)(a)
With an assistant: No more than 8 children in care at once
Your own children: count toward these caps.
Group child care facility (group day-care home)
- No more than 15 (total children on the registration) ARM 37.96.102(2)(d)
- No more than 8 (mixed age group, per staff member) ARM 37.96.106(5)(a)
- No more than 3 under two years old (0 23 months), mixed age group with one staff member ARM 37.96.106(5)(a)
- No more than 4 (program serving solely children under two years old, per staff member) ARM 37.96.106(5)(b)
- No more than 4 (additional children during approved overlap care (three years old and over only)) ARM 37.96.106(6)(c)
With an assistant: an additional adult is required above 8 children. No more than 15 children in care at once
Your own children: count toward these caps.
How Montana defines the age bands
- Infant, a child through 11 months old: 0 to 11 months
- Toddler, a child who is 12 months old through 36 months old: 12 to 36 months
- Children under two years old (band capped at three in a mixed age family or group home): 0 to 23 months
- Children under three years old (excluded from overlap care in family and group homes): 0 to 35 months
- School age child, a child who is five years old or older: 60 to open months
- Child, a person under 13 years of age (special needs children counted to 18, or 19 if a full time student): 0 to 155 months
Mixed ages in one room
Under two is the binding band in a mixed group. An infant is under twelve months and a toddler twelve to thirty-six months in ARM 37.96.101, but the ratio rule turns on the two-year mark.
Real questions, short answers
How many children can one Montana provider supervise?
Eight in a mixed age group, with no more than three of them under two, per ARM 37.96.106(5)(a). Four if every child in care is under two, per 37.96.106(5)(b).
When does a Montana group facility need a second staff member?
Above eight children on the eight-to-one ratio, and any time more than three children under two are present regardless of the total.
What is overlap care in Montana?
An approved period when up to four additional children three years and older may be present beyond the registered capacity, under ARM 37.96.106(6)(c).
Keep reading
Sources for Montana
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, Title 52, chapter 2, part 7 52-2-703, 52-2-713, 52-2-721
- ARM Title 37, chapter 96, Licensure of Day Care Facilities, all 96 rules effective May 1, 2025 37.96.101, 37.96.102, 37.96.103, 37.96.106
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.