North Carolina DCDEE
North Carolina defines child care as a program where three or more children under thirteen, who do not reside where the care is provided, receive care on a regular basis of at least once a week for more than four hours but less than twenty-four hours a day, under G.S. 110-86(2). Two such children sit below the line. Care by a guardian or by someone related to the child by birth, marriage or adoption is not child care at all. A family child care home is a private dwelling occupied by the operator with more than two but fewer than eleven children in care at any one time, and it must hold a license from the Division of Child Development and Early Education, issued as a one- to five-star rated license.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Child Care Homestar rated license | 3 to 10 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the North Carolina home daycare ratios page.
Both conditions belong to the definition. A standing arrangement of three hours a day is not child care; neither is a full-day arrangement that happens less than once a week. Recreational programs under four consecutive months, single-skill classes and drop-in care while parents are on the premises are listed exemptions as well.
G.S. 110-86(2)a takes out arrangements in the home of a child receiving care when all the children are related to each other and no more than two additional children are in care. That is how a nanny in one family’s home stays outside licensing.
G.S. 110-91(7)b gives a family child care home a maximum of eight children with no more than five from birth to five plus three school-age children, or a maximum of three children from birth to twenty-four months plus three from two to five and three school-age children, and other combinations up to ten. The operator’s own preschool children count; the operator’s own school-age children do not.
Offering child care without complying with Article 7 is unlawful under G.S. 110-98(1) and a Class 1 misdemeanor under G.S. 110-103(a). A willful violation while caring for three or more children carries its own sentence.
Two children who do not live in your home, under G.S. 110-86(2). Three or more children under thirteen, cared for more than four hours a day at least once a week, is child care and needs a license.
Not toward the licensing trigger, which counts only children who do not reside where the care is provided. Inside a licensed home the operator’s own preschool-age children count in the capacity groups and the operator’s own school-age children up to thirteen do not.
More than two and fewer than eleven at any one time under G.S. 110-86(3)b, on the age mixes in G.S. 110-91(7)b, such as five preschoolers plus three school-age children, or three under two plus three two-to-five-year-olds plus three school-age children.
Three children from birth to twenty-four months on the mix that pairs them with three children two to five and three school-age children.
North Carolina issues family child care home licenses as one- through five-star rated licenses under 10A NCAC 09 .1702, after a six-month temporary 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.