North Carolina writes home capacity as age mixes in G.S. 110-91(7)b rather than a ratio. A family child care home may have a maximum of eight children with no more than five from birth to five years plus three school-age children, or a maximum of three children from birth to twenty-four months plus three children from two to five years and three school-age children up to thirteen, with the total never reaching eleven. The operator’s own preschool-age children are inside the groups; the operator’s own school-age children up to thirteen are outside them.
Every tier, every cap
Family Child Care Home
No more than 10 (under 13) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-86(3)b (Definitions, "Child care facility")
Option 1: up to 8 children, max 5 birth to 5, max 3 school age N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-91(7)b (Family Child Care Home Capacity)
Option 2: up to 9 children, max 3 birth to 24m, max 3 2 to 5, max 3 school age N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-91(7)b (Family Child Care Home Capacity)
Option 3: up to 10 children, max 0 birth to 24m N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-91(7)b (Family Child Care Home Capacity)
Your own children: count toward these caps.
How North Carolina defines the age bands
children younger than 13 years old (all counted for staff child ratio): 0 to 156 months
children who are from birth to 5 years of age: 0 to 60 months
children from birth to 24 months of age: 0 to 24 months
children from 2 to 5 years of age: 24 to 60 months
children older than 24 months of age: 24 to open months
school age children up to 13 years of age: 60 to 156 months
Infant any child from birth through 12 months of age: 0 to 12 months
Toddler any child ages 13 months to 35 months of age: 13 to 35 months
Preschooler or preschool age child at least three years of age and not school age: 36 to open months
Mixed ages in one room
Birth to twenty-four months is the binding band: three infants and toddlers fill that slot on the ten-child mix, and the five-under-five mix leaves the split between infants and preschoolers to the operator.
Real questions, short answers
How many children under five can a North Carolina home have?
Five, on the eight-child mix, with three school-age children alongside them.
Can a North Carolina family child care home reach ten children?
Yes, on the mix of three children from birth to twenty-four months, three from two to five, and school-age children, keeping the total under eleven per G.S. 110-86(3)b.
Are the operator’s children counted in North Carolina ratios?
Preschool-age own children count in the groups. School-age own children up to thirteen years of age do not, per the opening sentence of G.S. 110-91(7)b.
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.