Palm Beach County, FL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing statute
- Fla. Stat. § 402.313, family child care homes
- Licensed or registered
- Licensed if county ordinance or resolution applies; otherwise register annually
- Introductory training
- 30-clock-hour course with passed competency exam, before caring for children
- Annual training
- 1 continuing education unit or 10 clock hours
- One-time literacy training
- 0.5 continuing education unit, birth to 5 years
- Household screening
- Everyone over 12; ages 12 to 18 screened, not fingerprinted
- Utility rates
- Residential rates only; commercial rates barred
Summary
A family child care home in Palm Beach County must be licensed if a county licensing ordinance or a commission resolution covers it, and otherwise must register annually with the state department. The operator passes a competency exam for a 30-clock-hour course before taking in children, then completes 10 clock hours or 1 continuing education unit every year.
(1) Family child care homes shall be licensed under this act if they are presently being licensed under an existing county licensing ordinance or if the board of county commissioners passes a resolution that family child care homes be licensed. (a) If not subject to license, family child care homes shall register annually with the department, providing the following information: 1. The name and address of the home. ... (4) Operators of family child care homes must successfully complete an approved 30-clock-hour introductory course in child care, as evidenced by passage of a competency examination, before caring for children. (5) In order to further develop their child care skills and, if appropriate, their administrative skills, operators of family child care homes shall be required to complete an additional 1 continuing education unit of approved training or 10 clock hours of equivalent training, as determined by the department, annually. ... (12) Notwithstanding any other state or local law or ordinance, any family child care home licensed pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to a county ordinance shall be charged the utility rates accorded to a residential home.
Full Breakdown
Florida Statutes § 402.313 sets the baseline for every family child care home in Palm Beach County. Subsection (1) splits homes into two tracks. A home must be licensed if it is already licensed under an existing county licensing ordinance or if the board of county commissioners passes a resolution requiring licensure. A home not subject to license must register annually with the department. Subsection (1)(a) lists the registration contents: the home's name and address, the operator's name, the number of children served, a written plan naming a competent substitute adult for emergencies (with that person's address and telephone number), proof of screening and background checks, proof of the 30-hour course, proof that immunization records are kept current, and proof of the required continuing education. Under (1)(b) a home can also volunteer to be licensed.
Training comes first. Subsection (4) requires the operator to pass a competency examination for an approved 30-clock-hour introductory course before caring for children. The course covers state and local child care rules, health, safety and nutrition, identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect, child development, and observing developmental behaviors. Each year afterward subsection (5) requires 1 continuing education unit or 10 clock hours. Subsection (6) adds a one-time 0.5 unit of early literacy and language training for children from birth to 5 years, and the year it is completed it counts toward the 5 clock hours of the annual requirement.
Screening under subsection (3) reaches past the operator. It covers any household member over 12 years old and any person over 12 living in the home. Those between 12 and 18 are screened for delinquency records and are not fingerprinted.
Each year the operator signs a health and safety home inspection self-evaluation checklist and gives it to parents under subsection (7). Under subsection (12) a licensed home is charged residential utility rates, never commercial ones. The department publishes an annual directory of homes (subsection 2) and sets minimum standards by rule for county-licensed homes (subsection 13).
Violations & Fines
Section 402.313 prints no fine schedule. A home that skips annual registration, or lets its training or licensure lapse, answers to the department's rules and, where a county licensing ordinance applies, to that ordinance. Subsection (13) directs the department to set standards by rule covering staffing, training, immunization records, minimum health and safety, and enforcement. The department also tallies complaints against family child care homes every year under subsection (10)(c), recording the nature of each complaint and how it was resolved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a home daycare in Palm Beach County need a license or just registration?
What training must the operator finish before opening?
Who in the household must be background screened?
Can a licensed home be charged commercial utility rates?
What is the yearly self-evaluation checklist?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Beach County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Palm Beach County to another location·View the Florida home business overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.