How many kids can you watch without a license in Wyoming?
Verified September 5, 2026
Wyoming licenses from the third child. Wyo. Stat. 14-4-102(a) requires a certificate from the Department of Family Services for a person who operates a business to keep or care for three or more minors, and the Department describes the same line as more than two children. Care by a legal parent or relative, occasional care of a neighbor’s or friend’s child by someone not regularly in the business, parents exchanging care, and a person employed in the child’s own home are all exempt under 14-4-102(b). A family child care home is licensed for up to ten children and a family child care center for up to fifteen, in a residence or another building. Sixteen or more is a child care center in a non-residence.
The Wyoming ladder, tier by tier
Wyoming home child care tiers with capacity and age limits
Tier
Children
Age limits
Your own kids
Family Child Care Homelicense
up to 10
No more than 10 children in care at once DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(a)(i)
No more than 3 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §10(a)(i)
Option 1: up to 4 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 2: up to 5 children, max 0 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 3: up to 8 children, max 2 infant, max 2 one year old DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 4: up to 10 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Count
Family Child Care Center in the Director's homelicense
up to 15
No more than 15 children in care at once DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(a)(ii)
No more than 3 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §10(a)(i)
Option 1: up to 4 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 2: up to 5 children, max 0 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 3: up to 8 children, max 2 infant, max 2 one year old DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 4: up to 10 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 5: up to 12 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 6: up to 15 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Count
Family Child Care Center not in the Director's homelicense
up to 15
No more than 15 children in care at once DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(a)(ii)
No more than 3 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §10(a)(i)
Option 1: up to 4 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 2: up to 5 children, max 0 infant DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 3: up to 8 children, max 2 infant, max 2 one year old DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 4: up to 10 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 5: up to 12 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
Option 6: up to 15 children DFS Child Care Licensing Rules ch. 11 §2(b)(i), the staff-to-child ratio and group size table, one-staff column
The statute reaches a person who operates a business to keep or care for minors and, in its catch-all, a person receiving payment for it. Two statutory exemptions carry their own counts: part-time care of fewer than eight children all over three, or fewer than ten all over four, for no more than ten hours a week, and a shared nanny at a parent’s home with no more than four children and two under two.
Own children count while under five
Children of a family child care home owner, or of a family child care center director in the director’s own home, count in capacity and ratios only while under age five. Up to two friends aged five or older of the director’s own children may be present without counting when the director is on site.
Scenarios may not be combined
The chapter 11 ratio table lists scenarios such as one staff member for four infants, five one-year-olds, or eight mixed-age children with no more than two infants and two one-year-olds, and says the scenarios may not be combined. Open spots may be filled by older children.
Misdemeanor, fifty to two hundred dollars a day
Any child caring facility operating without certification is guilty of a misdemeanor under Wyo. Stat. 14-4-111 and fined not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars for each offense, each day a separate offense.
Real questions, short answers
How many kids can you watch in Wyoming without a license?
Two. Keeping or caring for three or more minors as a business requires a certificate under Wyo. Stat. 14-4-102(a), subject to the exemptions in 14-4-102(b).
Do my own children count in Wyoming?
Only while under five, in the capacity and ratios of a family child care home or a family child care center in the director’s home, per chapter 11 section 2(a)(vi)(A).
How many children can a Wyoming family child care home have?
Up to ten, per chapter 11 section 2(a)(i), with staffing by the ratio table and licensed capacity limited by indoor and outdoor square footage.
What is a family child care center in Wyoming?
A facility licensed for up to fifteen children, in a residence or a commercial building, with a director at least twenty-one and on site at least half of the operating hours.
How many infants can one Wyoming provider have?
Four when the group is all infants, or two infants and two one-year-olds in a mixed group of eight. Four or more infants present requires two staff at all times.
Wyoming Statutes Title 14, Chapter 4, Article 1, Child Care Facilities 14-4-101, 14-4-102, 14-4-105, 14-4-111
DFS Child Care Licensing Rules, Chapter 11, Health and Safety Requirements for All Facility Types, updated April 2026 ch. 11 sections 2, 3, 10, 13
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.