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What background check do I need for family day care in Florida?

Use the free tool — Child Care License Check FL

Who needs a background check

If you plan to care for children who are not your relatives, in your home, for pay, you are likely running a "family day care home" as described in Fla. Stat. 402.302. Before you take in any child, you and certain other people in your household must pass a background check.

Rule 65C-20, F.A.C. requires Level 2 background screening for:

• You, the operator
• Any substitute caregiver
• Every household member 18 or older
• Household members 12 to 17, as required

What "Level 2" means

Level 2 screening means fingerprints, checked through Florida DCF's Background Screening Clearinghouse. It is a broader check than a simple local record search. You go through the Clearinghouse, and DCF or your local licensing agency reviews the result before your application can move forward.

Training you also need before day one

The background check is not the only step. Rule 65C-20, F.A.C. also requires:

• The 30-hour Family Child Care Home training course
• Current infant/child CPR and first aid
• Annual in-service training after you are operating

Your application is not approved until screening clears. Do not accept children before that happens.

License or registration — it depends on your county

Under Fla. Stat. 402.313, a family day care home must be licensed in counties that have adopted licensing for family day care homes, and registered with DCF everywhere else. Some counties license through a local agency instead of DCF, and local rules there can be stricter. The DCF Child Care website lists which counties license locally — check that list if you are unsure about your county.

If you plan to care for 7 to 12 children with a second caregiver, that is a large family child care home under Fla. Stat. 402.3131, and it must be licensed. An operator must first have run a licensed family day care home for two consecutive years before opening a large home.

Care for relatives only

If you only watch nieces, nephews, or grandchildren, this generally falls outside the "family day care home" definition in Fla. Stat. 402.302. You may still choose voluntary registration or licensing, which can open eligibility for subsidies through your local Early Learning Coalition. DCF confirms whether that path fits your situation.

What this guide does not tell you

We do not know fees, processing times, or phone numbers for background screening — the source material does not give them, so we do not guess. Confirm those details with DCF or your county licensing agency.

What to do next

This is general information, not legal advice, and it can be wrong. The free tool reads your own numbers — how many children, what ages, whose children — and tells you, in seconds, whether you likely need a license or registration, your ratio limit, and the screening and training steps before your first day. Nothing you enter is stored. Confirm the result with DCF, your county licensing agency, or the DCF Background Screening Clearinghouse before you care for any child.

Child Care License Check FL explains Florida's family child care rules in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. Definitions and ratios are from Fla. Stat. 402.302–402.3131 and Rule 65C-20 as published; some counties license locally with stricter rules. Nothing you enter is stored.