Wisconsin DCF Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Wisconsin licenses from the fourth child. Wis. Stat. 48.65(1) requires a license from the Department of Children and Families for anyone who for compensation provides care and supervision for four or more children under seven for less than twenty-four hours a day. Three unrelated children under seven, or any number of children seven and older, sit outside. A licensed home is called a family child care center, and since April 1, 2026 DCF 250 sets its capacity at eight or twelve children depending on the license, with staffing decided by a numerical weight table rather than a flat ratio. County certification under DCF 202 is a separate subsidy instrument for homes that are below the licensing line.
| Tier | Children | Age limits | Your own kids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certified family child care operatorcertification | 1 to 6 |
| Count |
| Family child care center licensed to provide care and supervision for 4 to 8 childrenlicense | 4 to 8 |
| Count |
| Family child care center licensed to provide care and supervision for 4 to 12 childrenlicense | 4 to 12 |
| Count |
Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Wisconsin home daycare ratios page.
Wis. Stat. 48.65(2)(a) exempts a parent, grandparent, greatgrandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, first cousin, nephew, niece, uncle or aunt of a child, by blood, marriage or adoption, so those children are outside the licensing count. Inside a licensed home every child under seven counts toward capacity, the provider’s own included.
DCF 250.02(1)(a) excludes a program that operates no more than four hours a week, and 250.11(1) treats care on a regular basis to four or more children under seven as care for compensation whether or not money changes hands for every child.
Table DCF 250.055 gives each child a weight by age, and one provider may care for a group whose total weight is at or under 1.2. A provider caring for four children under eighteen months may add only children five and older.
A certified family child care operator under DCF 202 may care for up to three non-related children under seven and six children in all, and Wis. Stat. 48.651 makes certification the condition for Wisconsin Shares payments. It does not lift the four-child licensing line.
Three children under seven who are not your relatives, for less than twenty-four hours a day, per Wis. Stat. 48.65(1). The fourth unrelated child under seven requires a license.
The licensed home under DCF 250, in the licensee’s residence, licensed for four to eight children or, since 2026, four to twelve children with up to two providers at one time under Wis. Stat. 48.67(2m).
DCF 250.055(2) allows four children under eighteen months per provider, eight with two providers, within the 1.2 weight limit for each provider.
Not toward the four-child licensing line. Once licensed, all children under seven count toward capacity including your own, and children seven and older count only when they are not your own, per DCF 250.055(2)(a).
County or tribal certification under DCF 202 for a home below the licensing line: three non-related children under seven, six children in total, needed to receive Wisconsin Shares subsidy payments.
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.