Tennessee DHS Child Care Services
Tennessee regulates a child care agency only when care is given for three or more hours a day to five or more children who are not related to the primary educator, under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-04-01-.02. Four unrelated children, or care under three hours a day, is outside the chapter. A family child care home is licensed for five to seven unrelated children, and a group child care home for eight to twelve, with up to three additional school-age children before and after school, on holidays, snow days and in summer. Licenses begin as a provisional license for one hundred twenty days and continue as a continuous license from the Department of Human Services.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Child Care Homelicense | 5 to 7 |
| Count |
| Group Child Care Homelicense | 8 to 15 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Tennessee home daycare ratios page.
Related means the primary educator’s children, step-children, grandchildren, step-grandchildren, siblings of the whole or half blood, step-siblings, nieces, nephews or foster children. They are outside the five-child trigger, but related children under nine count in the educator chart once a home is licensed.
A family home may have seven children present, or up to twelve when everyone above seven is related to the primary educator, under 1240-04-01-.20(1)(c)1. Related children nine and older with their own space in the educator’s residence are not counted.
One educator covers up to seven children with no more than four under two. Five or more under two, or more than seven children, requires two educators; more than seven with five or more under two requires three. A group home needs two educators unless every child is three or older, and three when ten or more are under three.
A drop-in program providing care no more than two hours a day and ten hours a week, without compensation, while the parent is engaged in a short-term activity, is casual care and outside licensing.
Four unrelated children, or any number for under three hours a day. Five or more unrelated children for three or more hours a day is a child care agency under 1240-04-01-.02.
Five to seven unrelated children, with up to twelve present when everyone above seven is related to the primary educator, per 1240-04-01-.20(1)(c).
Four under two among seven children. Five or more under two requires a second educator.
A home licensed for eight to twelve unrelated children, plus up to three additional school-age children only outside school hours, per 1240-04-01-.21.
Not toward the five-child trigger. Once licensed, your children under nine count toward the educator chart, and those nine and older with separate space do not.
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.