Texas caps every home at 12 children and lets the age mix set the real number. A Registered Child-Care Home runs a base group of 6 through age 13, plus up to 6 school-age children after school, and its chart cuts the total as children under 18 months join. A Licensed Child-Care Home runs 7 to 12 on the 747.1801 charts, which scale with a second caregiver, unlike the registered tier.
Every tier, every cap
Listed Family Home
No more than 3 (children not related to the primary caregiver, 13 years of age or younger) 26 TAC §742.307(3)(A)
No more than 12 (all children present, related and unrelated) 26 TAC §742.307(3)(B)
Your own children: do not count toward the unrelated caps.
Registered Child-Care Home
No more than 12 (all children in care, including children related to the caregiver) 26 TAC §747.113(a)
No more than 6 children from birth through 13 years (base group) 26 TAC §747.113(a)
No more than 6 additional elementary school children, after school hours only 26 TAC §747.113(a)
Option 1: up to 12 children, max 0 birth through 17 months, max 6 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701
Option 2: up to 10 children, max 1 birth through 17 months, max 5 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701
Option 3: up to 8 children, max 2 birth through 17 months, max 4 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701
Option 4: up to 7 children, max 3 birth through 17 months, max 3 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701
Option 5: up to 6 children, max 4 birth through 17 months, max 2 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701
With an assistant: No more than 12 (all children; a second caregiver does NOT raise capacity)
Your own children: count toward these caps.
Licensed Child-Care Home
No more than 12 (all children in care, including children related to the caregiver) 26 TAC §747.115(c)
Option 1: up to 12 children, max 0 birth through 17 months, max 8 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)
Option 2: up to 11 children, max 1 birth through 17 months, max 6 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)
Option 3: up to 10 children, max 2 birth through 17 months, max 5 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)
Option 4: up to 7 children, max 3 birth through 17 months, max 3 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)
Option 5: up to 6 children, max 4 birth through 17 months, max 2 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)
With an assistant: No more than 12 (any age birth through 13 years, when more than two caregivers are present)
Your own children: count toward these caps.
How Texas defines the age bands
Infant (birth through 17 months): 0 to 17 months
Toddler (18 months through 35 months): 18 to 35 months
Pre kindergarten age child (three or four years of age before the beginning of the current school year): 36 to 59 months
School age child (five years of age and older, enrolled in or has completed kindergarten): 60 to open months
Mixed ages in one room
Texas bands are infant (0 to 17 months), toddler (18 to 35), pre-kindergarten and school-age. Every total includes the caregiver's own children and related children in care.
Real questions, short answers
What is the Texas infant rule for home daycare?
There is no single ratio line: the 747.1701 and 747.1801 charts assign a maximum group for each combination of under-18-month and older children, and the totals fall as the infant share rises.
Does hiring an assistant let a registered home take more kids?
No. The registered home ceiling stays 12 with any number of caregivers; only licensed-home charts change with more than two caregivers present.
Whose children count toward the 12?
Everyone's: the caregiver's own children and related children in care count toward the 12-child ceilings on the listed, registered and licensed tiers.
26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 742, Listed Family Homes, December 2025 revision 742.103, 742.307
26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 747, Minimum Standards for Child-Care Homes, December 2025 revision 747.113, 747.115, 747.1701, 747.1801
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.