Ohio Department of Children and Youth
Ohio sorts home care into two types by size. A type B family child care home is a residence caring for 1 to 7 children at one time with no more than 3 under two years of age. A type A home is 8 to 14 children, or 4 to 14 when four or more of them are under two. The licensing prohibition in Ohio Rev. Code 5104.02(A) names a child care centre and a type A home: no person shall operate one without a licence. Type B homes are licensed too, and the chapter calls the licensed ones "licensed type B homes", but that prohibition sentence does not reach them. A type B licence is what a provider takes on to serve publicly funded children.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type A family child care homelicense type a | 8 to 14 |
| Count |
| Type B family child care homelicense type b | 1 to 7 |
| Count |
| In-Home Aidecert in home aide | see rule | See rule |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Ohio home daycare ratios page.
When counting children for either type, any child under six years of age who is related to the provider and is on the premises is counted. Ohio Admin. Code 5180:2-13-01 lists the relationships that count for group size: grandchildren, sons, daughters, step and half siblings, nieces, nephews and first cousins by blood, marriage or adoption.
The type A definition has a second branch: a residence caring for 4 to 14 children at one time is a type A home if four or more of those children are under two years of age. A small home with four babies is therefore in the licensed tier at four children, not eight.
Ohio Admin. Code 5180:2-13-18, effective July 1, 2026, gives each child care staff member no more than 7 children at one time and no more than 3 of them under two years of age. A type A home stops at 14 children at any one time, a type B home at 7.
The rules set ceilings, not entitlements. Licensed capacity is determined for each home and printed on its licence, so a type A home is not automatically licensed for 14.
Up to seven, with no more than three of them under two years of age. That range is a type B family child care home, and the prohibition in Ohio Rev. Code 5104.02(A) covers only child care centres and type A homes. A licence for a type B home is available and is required to serve publicly funded children.
At eight children at one time, and earlier when four or more of the children are under two years of age, because the type A definition covers 4 to 14 children in that case, per Ohio Rev. Code 5104.01.
Children under six years of age who are related to the provider and are on the premises count toward the total. Older related children are outside the count.
Three. Each child care staff member cares for no more than seven children at any one time and no more than three of them may be under two years of age, per Ohio Admin. Code 5180:2-13-18(A).
A person who does not live with the child and provides care in the child’s own home, certified by a county director rather than licensed as a home. Ohio Rev. Code 5104.01 defines the role; its capacity rules sit in section 5104.12, outside the chapter we read.
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.