Rules and license types
On this page you'll find the rules for and a brief description of each type of child care license, certificate and exemption issued by the Office of Licensing (OL). If you would like to apply for a license, certificate, or exemption, visit the license application page.
General requirements
The purpose of this rule is to protect clients from abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and exploitation and clarify the expectation of conduct for department providers, their staff, and volunteers who interact with clients.
The purpose of this rule is to provide consolidated procedures and enforcements for the licensing entities within the Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC).
Interpretation manual (coming Soon)
This rule defines what constitutes child care that is excluded from any of the regulatory requirements of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Child Care Licensing Program.
Program specific requirements
Licensed commercial preschool programs are able to provide care for preschool-age children (ages 2-4 years old). This license is typically issued to commercially-based preschool programs that care for each individual child for no more than 4 hours a day.
Licensed hourly child care centers are able to provide care for children of all ages. This license is typically issued to commercially-based drop-in child care programs (meaning that care is provided only on a sporadic basis). This license is similar to the license for child care centers, but children attending an hourly child care may not be assigned a regular schedule for care.
Licensed out-of-school-time programs are able to provide care for school-age children (ages 5-12 years old). This license is typically issued to commercially-based programs that operate before or after school, during school holidays, or during the summer.
Licensed child care centers are able to provide care for children of all ages. This license is typically issued to commercially-based child care programs. This license has the greatest amount of requirements for a commercially-based child care program, but also allows the most flexibility in terms of how many children can be in care, how long children can be in care, and what ages of children can be cared for.
Residential certificate child care providers are able to provide care for children of all ages. This certificate is typically issued to residentially-based child care programs that care for up to 8 children.
Licensed family child care providers are able to provide care for children of all ages. This license is typically issued to residentially-based child care programs that care for up to 16 children.
Commercially-based child care programs exempt from licensing requirements may be granted an approval to receive Department of Workforce Services (DWS) child care subsidy payments and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) grants. Approvals are contingent on compliance with requirements established by DWS and OL.
Residentially-based child care programs exempt from licensing requirements may be granted an approval to receive Department of Workforce Services (DWS) child care subsidy payments and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) grants. Approvals are contingent on compliance with requirements established by DWS and OL.