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DaycareRules

Vermont DCF Child Development Division

How many kids can you watch without a license in Vermont?

Verified September 5, 2026

Vermont’s trigger is a family count. Under 33 V.S.A. 3502, a person who provides child care for children of more than two families other than their own must hold a registration or license from the Department for Children and Families, whether or not any money changes hands. Care for the children of two families is outside. A Registered Family Child Care Home holds up to ten children year round, or twelve in a summer vacation option, and a Licensed Family Child Care Home holds up to twelve with three staff. Both operate in the caregiver’s own residence, and both follow the capacity charts in the Family Child Care Home rules.

The Vermont ladder, tier by tier

Vermont home child care tiers with capacity and age limits
TierChildrenAge limitsYour own kids
Registered Family Child Care Homeregistrationup to 12
  • Option 1: up to 10 children CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.1.2
  • Option 2: up to 12 children CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.1.2
Count
Licensed Family Child Care Homelicenseup to 12
  • Option 1: up to 3 children, max 3 under 24 months, max 0 age 2, max 0 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 2: up to 6 children, max 2 under 24 months, max 4 age 2, max 0 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 3: up to 6 children, max 2 under 24 months, max 3 age 2, max 1 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 4: up to 6 children, max 2 under 24 months, max 2 age 2, max 2 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 5: up to 6 children, max 2 under 24 months, max 1 age 2, max 3 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 6: up to 6 children, max 2 under 24 months, max 0 age 2, max 4 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 7: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 5 age 2, max 0 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 8: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 4 age 2, max 1 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 9: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 3 age 2, max 2 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 10: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 2 age 2, max 3 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 11: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 1 age 2, max 4 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 12: up to 6 children, max 1 under 24 months, max 0 age 2, max 5 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 13: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 6 age 2, max 0 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 14: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 5 age 2, max 1 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 15: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 4 age 2, max 2 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 16: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 3 age 2, max 3 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 17: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 2 age 2, max 4 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 18: up to 6 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 1 age 2, max 5 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
  • Option 19: up to 8 children, max 0 under 24 months, max 0 age 2, max 8 age 3 to 12 CVR 13-171-005 rule 6.2.2.4, chart "Licensed FCCH: Capacity with one (1) staff"
Count

Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Vermont home daycare ratios page.

What changes this answer

Compensation does not matter

33 V.S.A. 3511(2) defines a child care facility as one operated on a regular or continuous basis, whether for compensation or not. Unpaid care for three families is still registrable.

Ten year round, twelve in summer

Rule 6.2.1.2 caps a registered home at ten children under Option one, year round care, and twelve under Option two, summer vacation, which adds school-age children to the original six.

Charts, not a ratio

Every row of the Vermont charts couples the number under twenty-four months to the number aged two to five and school age and to a total. A registered provider alone: three under two and nobody else, or two under two with up to eight others to ten. With an assistant: up to six under two, or four under two with six others.

Own children count differently by tier

In a registered home under year round care, the provider’s own children under twenty-four months count against the under-two column but not the total. In a licensed home every child present unaccompanied by a parent counts, including the provider’s own children living there.

Real questions, short answers

How many kids can you watch in Vermont without registering?

Vermont sets no child count. Care for the children of two families other than your own is outside; children of a third family require registration or a license under 33 V.S.A. 3502.

What is the difference between a registered and a licensed home in Vermont?

Both are mandatory alternatives under Rule 2.2.26. The registered home holds ten year round or twelve in summer; the licensed home holds up to twelve with three staff and carries the boxed licensed-only rules on space and qualifications.

How many babies can a Vermont registered provider have alone?

Three under twenty-four months if no other children are present, or two under twenty-four months in a group of up to ten, per the Rule 6.2.1.5 chart.

Do my own children count in Vermont?

In a registered home year round, own children under twenty-four months count in the under-two column only. In summer vacation, own children younger than school age count in the total. In a licensed home all own children residing in the home count.

What is the penalty for unregistered care in Vermont?

33 V.S.A. 3502 carries no penalty subsection in the text we read; enforcement runs through the Department’s administrative actions in the rules.

Other states we have verified

Sources for Vermont

  • 33 V.S.A. chapter 35, Child Care, Vermont Statutes Online 3502, 3511
  • Licensing Regulations for Registered and Licensed Family Child Care Homes, CVR 13-171-005, effective April 17, 2022, with the DCF memo of September 24, 2024 1.1, 2.2.26, 6.2.1, 6.2.2

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.