Registered home-based child care (regulatory term: registered family day home)
- No more than 4 (under 13) Va. Code § 22.1-289.02
Your own children: do not count toward the unrelated caps.
VDOE Early Childhood Care and Education
Virginia home daycare ratios by age
Verified September 1, 2026Virginia does not print a ratio table for licensed family day homes. It prints a point budget: every caregiver may carry at most 16 points, where a child through 15 months costs 4 points, 16 through 23 months costs 3, two through four years costs 2, five through nine costs 1, and ten and older cost nothing. Four infants max out one adult; so do five toddlers with a school-age helper-aged child; a mixed group of two infants, two two-year-olds and four young school-age children lands exactly on 16.
Every tier, every cap
Licensed family day home (statutory term: licensed home-based child care)
- No more than 12 (under 13) Va. Code § 22.1-289.02
- Point budget: at most 16 points per caregiver (birth through 15 months 4, 16 through 23 months 3, two through four years 2, five through nine years 1; older children 0) 8VAC20-800-570(A)
Your own children: do not count toward the unrelated caps.
Home-based child care provider that is a member of a licensed home-based child care system (regulatory term: family day system member)
- No more than 12 (under 13) Va. Code § 22.1-289.02
- No more than 4 under 2 Va. Code § 22.1-289.02 (a system member home is neither licensed nor voluntarily registered, so the statutory under-two cap applies; this band counts the provider's own and resident children)
Your own children: do not count toward the unrelated caps.
How Virginia defines the age bands
- children under the age of two: 0 to 24 months
- children under the age of 13: 0 to 156 months
Mixed ages in one room
The point ledger counts the caregiver's own and resident children under eight, while the home's licensed capacity of up to 12 counts children exclusive of the provider's own and residents. Two different counting rules on one page, and both are quoted from the chapter.
Real questions, short answers
What is the infant ratio for a Virginia home daycare?
One caregiver to four children through 15 months: each costs 4 points against the 16-point cap in 8VAC20-800-570(A).
When does a Virginia home need a second caregiver?
The moment the age-weighted point total of children present exceeds 16 for a single caregiver, counting the caregiver's own and resident children under eight.
How many two-year-olds can one caregiver watch?
Eight on points alone: two through four years cost 2 points each against the 16-point budget. The home's overall licensed range of 5 to 12 children still applies.
Keep reading
Sources for Virginia
- Va. Code Title 22.1, Chapter 14.1, home-based child care definitions and exemptions 22.1-289.02, 22.1-289.030
- 8VAC20-800, Standards for Licensed Family Day Homes, sections read August 31, 2026 800-40, 800-560, 800-570
- 8VAC20-850, Voluntary Registration of Family Day Homes 850-40, 850-50
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.