The Maine home inspection checklist
What will Maine inspectors check in my home before licensing it?
Space: thirty-five square feet per child
Maine measures usable indoor space at thirty-five square feet per child in care. The capacity on your license is constrained by the room you actually have.
The fire marshal's office sets the capacity at its inspection, and Child Care Licensing checks the space figure again, so measure before you apply rather than after.
Count the space the children use, not the whole floor plan. Hallways and kitchen counters do not count toward the usable figure the way a play room does.
35 square feetChild Care Licensing determines capacity partly by ensuring each child has a minimum of 35 square feet of usable indoor space, and the State Fire Marshal's Office determines capacity at inspection. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
Heat, and the two-foot sleep rule
The licensing rule sets a floor of at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit, measured within two feet of the floor. That is the height where a crawling child actually is.
Sleeping arrangements have their own ruler. Cribs, cots, beds, mats and play yards used for sleeping must be spaced at least two feet apart, and beds arranged side by side need the same two feet between them.
Neither item costs much to fix in advance. A thermometer and a tape measure are the whole toolkit, and both inspectors check them against the rule, not against your layout instincts.
65 degrees FahrenheitMaine's family child care rule requires a minimum temperature of at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit measured within two feet of the floor. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
two feet apartCribs, cots, beds, mats or play yards used for sleeping must be spaced at least two feet apart under Maine's family child care rule. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
Water: one draw on town water, a panel on a well
On a municipal water supply, one first-draw lead sample is required before the license. On a private well, a full panel is: fluoride, uranium, arsenic, first-draw lead, nitrates and total coliform bacteria.
The well panel does not end at licensing. A home on a private supply must have the water tested every year, by a certified laboratory, for as long as the license runs.
Order the test early. The FAQ lists the approved labs, and a failed sample means a retest and a delay. This is one of the items best cleared before the inspections are scheduled. Budget it alongside the other first-year costs on the cost breakdown.
Homes on a private water source must test for fluoride, uranium, arsenic, first-draw lead, nitrates and total coliform before a license is issued, and every year after. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
one first-draw lead sampleHomes serving municipal water must demonstrate satisfactory water quality with one first-draw lead sample before receiving a license. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
Pools, pets and the yard
Any above-ground pool must have non-climbable sidewalls at least four feet high, or be enclosed by a fence at least four feet high with a locked gate. The numbers are in the rule, not in the inspector's judgment.
A wading pool is defined separately — water maintained at 24 inches or less and no more than four feet in diameter. It may not contain chemically treated water. It does not require a filter.
Pets have one requirement, and it comes from the statute rather than the rule: vaccinations against rabies. If the family dog shares the yard with the children, its rabies vaccination record is part of a compliant home.
four feetMaine's family child care rule requires above-ground pools to have non-climbable sidewalls at least four feet high or be enclosed with a fence at least four feet high secured with a locked gate. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
Rules adopted for family child care providers must include rabies vaccinations for pets. — Maine Legislature, 22 M.R.S. §8302-A, retrieved 2026-09-29
The fire marshal's list, and the heating system
The State Fire Marshal's Office inspects and approves family child care programs every two years, and its written approval must reach the department. No fire approval, no license — and no renewal either.
One change reopens the fire file on its own. Inspection is required again whenever you change or augment a heating system or make major structural alterations to the home. A furnace replacement between inspections is not a private matter.
Work through the deficiency process rather than around it. After an inspection the fire marshal may send a list of deficiencies and ask for a plan of corrections, and licensing cannot proceed until the home passes. The state's own checklist says so plainly. If a structural change is coming, the zoning page covers the town's side of it.
every two yearsThe State Fire Marshal's Office must inspect and approve family child care programs every two years, and sends a written approval statement when the home complies with fire safety rules. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
Fire safety inspection is required whenever a family child care provider changes or augments a heating system or makes major structural alterations to the home. — Maine Legislature, 22 M.R.S. §8304-A, retrieved 2026-09-29
What must be posted on your wall
The inspection does not end the state's presence in your home. Four things must be posted where easily seen on the premises. The current license, the results of the most recent inspection showing any violations, any enforcement actions including a directed plan of action or conditional license, and any notices the department requires — water test results or a lead hazard assessment included.
The department also posts inspection reports to a public website for three years. Your compliance record is public in both directions: on your wall for the parents who walk in, and online for anyone who looks.
Treat the posting rule as part of the inspection, not paperwork after it. An inspector who cannot find the license posted will write it up. So end your preparation by taping everything beside the front door, then schedule the inspections.
A Maine family child care provider must post the current license, the most recent inspection results, any enforcement actions and required notices where easily seen on the premises. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
three yearsThe department posts family child care inspection reports to a public website for a running period of three years. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Will the inspector look at the whole house or just the care space?
The whole home and the grounds. The licensing specialist inspects the entire home and grounds for safety and performs a lead hazards survey, not only the rooms where the children spend the day.
What happens if the fire marshal finds problems?
You receive a list of deficiencies and are asked for a plan of corrections. Licensing cannot proceed until the home passes the fire inspection, and the fire marshal's office can be reached directly for questions about what it wants fixed.
Do I need outdoor play space to pass inspection?
Not necessarily. A provider may operate without an outdoor recreational space as long as an outside public recreational space is available within a reasonable distance. That is a rule the legislature added in 2025.
Are smoke detectors and fire extinguishers part of the Maine checklist?
The state's pre-licensing checklist does not name them, but the fire marshal's office applies the fire safety rules adopted under Title 25, section 2452, and it sends a list of deficiencies when a home does not comply. Ask the office directly for the current requirements before the inspection rather than assuming a fixture count.