HOW TO GET A FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME LICENSE
In order to get a Family Child Care Home License:
- You must attend an orientation
- Orientations are scheduled on a regular basis all over California.
- There is an orientation fee and it is nonrefundable , so be sure that you meet the qualifications for a license before you sign up for an orientation.
- To review the qualifications for a license and Pre-Orientation Registration Information, click on the appropriate link: (English) , (Espanol/Spanish) , (Chinese) .
- You may sign up for an orientation by contacting the State Licensing Agency nearest you. To see a list of Child Care Licensing Agencies in California, click here: Regional Offices . The Regional Offices Directory will show you what counties each Child Care Licensing office covers. To see an orientation schedule for your area, click here: Orientation Schedules .
- To preview a sample of some of the information that will be covered at the orientation, click here: Preview of Orientation .
NOTE: If you live in any of the following counties, you need to contact your local County Family Child Care Home licensing office:
Del Norte
InyoMendocino
SacramentoYou can get the telephone number from your local telephone directory under Government Listings, County Government Offices, or by clicking here: County Offices That License Family Child Care Homes . Click here to view Orientation Schedules for county licensed Family Child Care Homes .
- You must be familiar with all Family Child Care Home licensing laws and regulations.
- You can read the Family Child Care Home licensing requirements by clicking here: Family Child Care Home Licensing Requirements (Title 22) .
- The licensing requirements are not available from the Department of Social Services Warehouse. You must print your own hard copy. Be sure to have plenty of paper in your printer-there are 80 pages!
- You can read a short summary of these requirements, by clicking here: Regulation Highlights
- The Regulation Highlights are not available from the Department of Social Services Warehouse. You must print your own hard copy.
- You can read the Family Child Care Home licensing requirements by clicking here: Family Child Care Home Licensing Requirements (Title 22) .
- You must pass a home inspection. A Licensing Program Analyst will contact you to schedule an inspection of your home. The LIC 9217(3/05) - Pre-Licensing Readiness Guide - Family Child Care Home is a helpful tool to get you ready for this inspection. To see this form, click on the above link.
- You must complete and submit all the information and forms required in the application packet. We will not accept your application until after you have completed the orientation . There is an application fee that is nonrefundable . Click on this blue link for licensing fee information . If you are ready to sign up for an orientation, please contact your local licensing office: Regional Offices or County Offices . Click here to view the Orientation Schedules .
- Prior to attending an orientation, you must download and print the Family Child Care Home Regulation Highlights and all of the forms contained in the Application Instructions for a Family Child Care Home License (LIC 279A) . To access these documents, please click on the preceding blue links.
You must bring all of these forms to the orientation.

