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Department of Early Learning and Care

certified-family

A Certified Family Child Care Home is defined by the Child Care Licensing Division (CCLD) as a child care facility that is certified to care for no more than 16 children, and is located in a building constructed as a single‐family dwelling.

The Certified Family License

The Child Care Licensing Division issues three types of licenses:

While all three licenses have health and safety requirements, they are three very different licenses. In most cases, both Registered Family and Certified Family Child Care licenses are in residential homes, and Certified Center licenses are in commercial buildings. This guide will focus on the Certified Family Child Care Homes. If you are interested in operating a child care program in a commercial building and not in your home, you can contact the Child Care Licensing Division.

Each type of license operates under a different set of Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs). Certified Family Child Care Homes operate under OAR 414‐350‐0000 – through 414‐350‐0405. Your program will be regulated according to these requirements.

Guide to Certified Family Child Care Home (CCLD-0106)

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Before You Apply

Before you apply for a child care license, you must first determine if you are qualified to be a child care provider with a certified family license, and your home is appropriate to do so. The home must meet local planning and zoning requirements, building codes, and environmental health requirements. Water faucets used for drinking, cooking, and preparing infant formula and food must be tested for lead. In addition, it must meet requirements in CCLD's Certified Family Child Care Homes rule book. This portion of the guide will walk you through the steps you need to take in order to acquire an application for a Certified Family Child Care Home license.

Am I Qualified to be a Certified Family Child Care Provider?

“Provider” means the person in the certified family child care home who is responsible for the children in care, is the children’s primary caregiver, and in whose name the certificate is issued. In a certified family child care home, the provider is the operator.

There are requirements a provider must meet in order to have a Certified Family license. To be qualified you must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age if the facility is certified for 12 children, or at least 21 years of age if the facility is certified for more than 12 children
  • Have at least one year of qualifying teaching experience in the care of a group of children in an ongoing group setting such as a kindergarten, preschool, child care center, certified family child care home, registered family child care home, or Head Start program; or prior to applying to be certified for up to 16 children, completed one year of successful operation as a certified family child care facility for 12 if the qualifying teaching experience is based on registered family child care; OR

  • Completion of 20 semester credits or 30 quarter credits in a college or university in early childhood education or development
  • Documentation of attaining at least step eight in the Oregon Registry

If you do not meet any of these requirements, you may still be able to do child care in your home with a Registered Family Child Care license. You may call 1‐800‐556‐6616 if you have questions about the Registered Family Child Care license or visit the Registered Family Child Care page on our website.

child playing with blocks in group  

Planning, Zoning and Building Codes

The Child Care Licensing Division  requires family child care homes to comply with all planning and zoning laws. If you plan on being the child care provider and you are living in the home you are providing care in, you do not need to take any action.

If you are not living in the home where care will be provided or the home is not located in a commercial or residential zone, you will need to verify with your local municipality that governs planning and zoning your home will be in compliance with local laws.

This is usually the county or city where the home is located. You will be asked to provide documentation to CCLD that the home is approved for care before initial licensing.

If you are not living in the home where care will be provided or the home is not located in a commercial or residential zone, you will also need to ensure that the building meets the codes or be willing to complete the necessary renovations in order to obtain a proper permit. Contact your local building codes agency for more information.

Floor Plan Review

To be licensed for the first time as a Certified Family Child Care Home, or if you are planning to remodel, you must submit a building floor plan or drawing of your facility to CCLD. It must show the dimensions of all rooms to be used (length and width), the placement of the kitchen and bathrooms, the locations of toilets, hand washing sinks, and fixtures and plumbing in the kitchen. It must also include a description of how each room will be used. If only part of the building will be used for child care, you may limit your floor plan to that area; however, the licensing specialist will conduct a brief review of all areas of the home.

child playing with legos  

The Pre‐Certification Visit

After you acquire documentation that you have met planning, zoning, and building codes (if applicable), and you determine that you are qualified to be a provider, you may call CCLD to set up a pre‐certification visit. At the pre‐ certification visit, your licensing specialist will visit your space, and determine how many children the space can accommodate. In addition, your licensing specialist will provide guidance to you regarding any changes you may need to make to the home as you prepare for your initial licensing inspection.

The licensing specialist will take measurements of the rooms and outdoor space that you plan to use for child care. The square footage of each room will be calculated to determine the facility’s capacity. The licensing specialist will also inspect the bathroom facilities, ensuring that there are enough toilets and hand washing sinks available for use. Outdoor space will be inspected to ensure it meets the minimum size requirements and that the space is hazard free.

The licensing specialist will discuss rules relating to staff qualifications, caregiver‐to‐staff ratios and group size, enrollment in the Central Background Registry and rules specific to age groups you plan to accommodate. During the precertification visit, we encourage you to ask questions about the licensing process and how you can meet licensing requirements.

Other Laws that Affect Child Care

As a licensed child care provider in Oregon, you will be required to follow several laws regulated by other agencies. More information on these laws is available upon request, or you may contact the agency directly to learn more about their requirements:

  • Immunizations (Oregon Health Authority)
  • Child Care Restrictable Diseases (Oregon Health Authority)
  • Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting (Oregon Department of Human Services)
  • Vehicle Child Safety Systems and Seat Belts (Oregon Department of Transportation)
  • Bicycle Safety (Oregon Department of Transportation)
  • Civil Rights Laws (Bureau of Labor and Industries)
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (www.ada.gov)


Application Materials

When your licensing specialist determines you are ready to apply for a license, they will provide you an application packet. You will usually receive this packet at the pre‐certification visit. This packet will contain information on how to get your environmental health inspection scheduled. It will also include your application for a child care license, and applications for enrollment in the Central Background Registry. The packet will also have other important materials for the licensing process, such as a sample checklist. Use this checklist as a guide to prepare for your initial inspection.

Environmental Health Inspections

It is your responsibility to request the sanitation inspection. If an inspection report calls for corrections, the corrections must be made before an annual license will be issued.

It is prudent to ask for a sanitation inspection as soon as possible. It may take an agency several weeks to be able to act on your request. The applicant is responsible for any fees associated with these inspections.

The Child Care Licensing Division, and most environmental health specialists are able to give technical assistance to prospective child care providers. This means they can help you before you invest money in a home or remodeling. You should use their expertise whenever you have questions, which could help avoid costly errors.

Application Form

The application should be submitted at least 45 days before you plan to operate. You must fill it out, sign it, and return it to the Child Care Licensing Division with the appropriate fee. This needs to be completed before the Child Care Licensing Division can act on your application. If you are a new applicant, you must also submit an application for enrollment in the Central Background Registry for yourself, any adults over 18 living in the home, frequent visitors to your home, and any staff planning on working at your facility. Forms must be correctly and completely filled out and signed. An incomplete application may delay the licensing of the facility. Feel free to call your licensing specialist if you have any questions.

boy playing with toy  

Enrollment in the Central Background Registry

The Child Care Licensing Division requires all individuals including administrative, child care and support staff in child care facilities be enrolled in the Central Background Registry. Other individuals who are not employed by the facility may also be required to be enrolled if their presence or role permits unsupervised access to the children. Federal and state law requires the Child Care Licensing Division perform FBI fingerprint background checks and obtain other criminal history information on all applicants. After individuals apply for enrollment in the Central Background Registry, the Child Care Licensing Division must approve the individual for enrollment before they are allowed to work or reside in the child care facility. There is a non‐refundable fee for each application. For more information on who needs to be enrolled in the CBR in your facility, please contact your licensing specialist or call Child Care Licensing Division customer service at 1‐800‐556‐6616.

The CBR is CCLD's Registry of individuals who have been approved to be associated with a child care facility in Oregon pursuant to ORS 329A.030 and OAR 414‐061‐0000 through 414‐061‐0120. Individuals who are actively enrolled in the CBR can work in child care facilities and can live in the home where child care is provided. In order to enroll in the CBR individual must be 18 years of age*. An application must be received and the individual must be fingerprinted. The provider and all individuals 18 years and older that live in the child care home must be actively enrolled in the CBR before a Certified Family Child Care License can be issued.

An application for enrollment in the CBR is available in either paper format or can be completed online. At the Introduction to Registered Family Child Care, you will receive a copy of the paper application. Once a CBR application has been processed, the individual will receive a letter in the mail with instructions on how the fingerprint process will be completed.

*Individuals can apply within six weeks of turning 18 to ensure that they are enrolled prior to turning 18.

Visit the Central Background Registry (CBR) Page for more information

Testing for Lead in Drinking Water and Fixture Identification

The Department of Early Learning and Care requires all applicants for licensing to test the water supply for lead if the plumbing fixture is used for drinking, cooking, or preparing infant formula or food. All sample collection and testing must be in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities, Revised Manual from October 2018, adopted by reference. Test results must be submitted with the application. Fixtures must be tested every six years.

If certain fixtures or all fixtures fail this test, you will be required to submit and comply with a mitigation plan.

If the facility does not use any of the on‐site plumbing fixtures to obtain water for drinking, cooking, preparing infant formula, or preparing food, the provider must submit a written statement to CCLD identifying the alternative source of water and confirming that the provider does not use any on‐site plumbing fixtures for drinking, cooking, preparing infant formula or preparing food.

Visit the Lead Resources Page

Application Fees

To apply for an initial application, a renewal, a change of owner, or a change of location, the fees for a Certified Family Child Care license are:

  • NEW: $25.00 plus $2.00 x licensed capacity (e.g. the fee for a Certified Family Child Care licensed to care for 16 children is $25.00 + $32.00 = $57.00).
  • RENEWAL: $2.00 x licensed capacity

*APPLICATION FEES ARE NON‐REFUNDABLE

The Initial Inspection

When you have approval or approval with corrections for your sanitation inspection, the licensing specialist will conduct your initial inspection. They will inspect the facility for compliance with the requirements in your Child Care Licensing Division, Certified Family Child Care homes rule book. Prior to operation, a facility must meet only those requirements that do not relate to the presence of children. For example, CCLD will not inspect children’s enrollment records if you have no children enrolled yet.

The licensing specialist will check for health and safety requirements, and review any written information and required policies. They will verify the location of the faucets that have been identified as being tested for lead. They will also check staff qualifications. If the licensing specialist observes any noncompliance with the rules, you will be informed and given an opportunity to correct the issue.

A temporary license is issued if the facility shows the majority of CCLD’s requirements are met. Once you receive a temporary license, you may begin to care for children. Temporary licenses may also be issued when a facility moves or changes ownership, and when an applicant is renewing their child care license. A temporary license can be issued for up to 180 days.

An application will be denied if the facility does not show majority compliance with the statutes or the administrative rules.

Man playing with child on swing  

From Temporary to Annual Child Care License

Within 180 days, a new facility must show that it can meet requirements on a continuing basis in order to qualify to move from a temporary license to an annual license.

While the applicant has a temporary license, the licensing specialist will visit the site to evaluate the facility’s compliance with the requirements, including those which apply to the presence of children. During this visit, the licensing specialist will also conduct a program review to look at your curriculum. The applicant will be informed on the areas being checked along with any subsequent findings.

After determining that the facility is in compliance with the rules, the licensing specialist will issue an annual license.

The annual license replaces the temporary license and is valid for one year from the effective date of the temporary license unless it is voluntarily closed, the facility changes location or ownership, or legal action is taken by the Child Care Licensing Division.

If the facility does not meet requirements during the temporary licensing period, the annual license may be denied. In addition, the temporary license may expire during this process. If this happens, the facility must cease providing child care.

Sample CF Health and Safety Review Checklist (CCLD-0091)

English | Spanish

Withdrawing an Application

To withdraw an application before the licensing process is completed, inform your licensing specialist, and they will give/send you a voluntary withdrawal form to fill out, sign, and return to the Child Care Licensing Division. This will close out your pending application.

Monitoring

During your licensing year, you will receive at least one unannounced visit from your licensing specialist. During this visit, the licensing specialist may arrive any time during the hours you have children in care.

Your licensing specialist will, at minimum, look at the following:

  • How many children you have in the entire facility (capacity)
  • If all adults are enrolled in the CBR
  • If children are appropriately supervised
  • If staff‐to‐child ratio requirements are met
  • If all hazards are inaccessible to children
  • If qualified staff are with each group of children
  • Upcoming training requirements
  • Are all children and staff attendance records up to date

Your licensing specialist may also check for compliance with any other rules in the book.

Monitor Visit Checklist SAMPLE (CCLD-0093)

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Renewal

The child care license must be renewed annually. The renewal process includes on‐site visits by the licensing specialist, and the environmental health specialist. You will receive your renewal packet by mail four months before your expiration date. You MUST submit your application to CCLD at least 30 days in advance of your license expiration date in order to have your application considered timely. The expiration date of the current certificate, unless officially revoked, remains in force until CCLD has acted on the application for renewal and has given notice of the action taken.

Similar to your initial inspection, at the time of renewal you will need an approved inspection from environmental health prior to a visit from CCLD.

In addition, you and each of your staff in the home may have on‐going training requirements. You will need to ensure this training is completed and submitted to the Oregon Registry Online (ORO) before the renewal date. Please consult your rule book for more details on the training requirements, or talk to your licensing specialist.

After your renewal visit, a temporary or annual license may be issued. The type of license you receive will depend on whether there are corrections that need to be made.

Sample CF Health and Safety Review Checklist (CCLD-0091)

English | Spanish


Exceptions to the Rules

The Child Care Licensing Division may grant an exception to an individual rule for a specified period of time when a requirement does not apply to a facility, or when the intent of the requirement can be met by a method not specified in the applicable rule. Until an exception is approved by the Child Care Licensing Division, the facility must comply with the rule as written. 

Exception Request Form (EXC-0032)

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