What a Maine home day care license costs
What does it cost to get and keep a Maine family child care license?
The state's own fees, in one table
The state's licensing fees are set in the rule itself, not by local offices, and they are small relative to everything around them. The full license and its biennial renewal cost $160; the provisional license that every new program starts on costs $80.
Every fee is non-refundable and payable to the Treasurer, State of Maine. A returned check suspends the licensing process until payment is received and processed.
The full fee schedule as the rule states it:
| Fee item | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional license application | $80 | Every new program's first year |
| Full license or biennial renewal | $160 | After the provisional year, every two years |
| Revised license | $10 | Capacity increase, construction approval, heating replacement |
| Temporary license | $10 | Relocation or emergency circumstances defined in statute |
$80 and $160Maine's family child care rule sets the application fee for a provisional license at $80 and for a full license or its biennial renewal at $160. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
Fees for family child care licensing in Maine are non-refundable, and the check must be made payable to the Treasurer, State of Maine. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
What the department pays for you
The most expensive-sounding requirement is free. Fees for the required criminal background checks — provider, staff, and the adults in the home. They are paid by the department from federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds, not by the applicant.
The training is likewise not a state fee. The required six-hour orientation runs through Maine Roads to Quality, and the state sets no price for it in its licensing materials.
So the state's out-of-pocket total for a first license is the $80 provisional fee plus the market items below. That is the honest budget: eighty dollars to the state, and everything else to the market.
Fees for the required criminal background checks are paid by the department from federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds, capped at actual processing and administration costs. — Maine Legislature, 22 M.R.S. §8302-A, retrieved 2026-09-29
six hoursAn applicant must complete six hours of approved orientation training in the operation of a family child care program, offered through Maine Roads to Quality and available online. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
CPR and first aid: a market item, not a state fee
Certification in infant, child and adult CPR and first aid is required, with proof provided to your licensing specialist. Courses that do not include a hands-on skills assessment are not accepted.
The state does not price the course. The Red Cross, the American Heart Association, local hospitals and rescue organizations all offer it, and the choice of provider is yours.
Budget it as a market line, and budget its renewal too. Certification lapses, and the renewal cycle does not wait for your CPR card to be reissued.
Maine's pre-licensing checklist requires certification in infant, child and adult CPR and first aid training, and states that courses without a hands-on skills assessment are not accepted. — Maine DHHS, Children's Licensing and Investigation Services, retrieved 2026-09-29
Water tests: one draw or a full panel
Water testing is a budget line that depends on your supply. On town water, one first-draw lead sample is required. On a well, the full panel is: fluoride, uranium, arsenic, first-draw lead, nitrates and total coliform. The test repeats every year the license runs.
The department does not set the lab's price, and the labs are certified commercial laboratories listed by the state. Get the quote before the application, not after.
A failed sample is a retest and a delay, so run the well panel early enough to retest without moving your inspection dates. The inspection checklist covers what each test is for.
A Maine family child care home on a private water source must test for fluoride, uranium, arsenic, first-draw lead, nitrates and total coliform before licensure, and every year after. — Maine DHHS, Child Care Licensing FAQs, retrieved 2026-09-29
The insurance line the state leaves to you
The department does not require liability insurance to license a family child care home. That is stated plainly in the Maine Bureau of Insurance's own guide. Your homeowners insurer is the one who may require it.
This is the budget line with no published price, because it is priced per home, per capacity and per policy. The bureau's guide notes one factor worth controlling. Premium is based on the number of children the facility is licensed for, not the number actually in care.
That detail cuts both ways. Licensing for more children than you will ever enroll raises the premium, so the capacity decision is an insurance decision too. The insurance page covers what the policy excludes and the 2009 law that protects your homeowners policy.
The Maine Bureau of Insurance states that anyone who provides child care in their own home is not required by DHHS to have liability insurance to become licensed. — Maine Bureau of Insurance, retrieved 2026-09-29
The Maine Bureau of Insurance notes that if a provider becomes licensed, the premium will be based on the number of children the facility is licensed for, not the number actually receiving care. — Maine Bureau of Insurance, retrieved 2026-09-29
The two-year picture, and the calendar that runs it
Year one is the $80 provisional license. Year two begins the biennial cycle: $160 for the two-year license, then $160 at each renewal, submitted at least sixty days before expiry.
Add the recurring items — annual well testing if you are on one, CPR renewal, and the insurance premium if you carry it. The state's fixed share stays the smallest line in the budget.
Put both clocks on the calendar now: the license's sixty-day renewal deadline, and, if you form an LLC for the business, its annual report due June 1. The LLC page prices that side, and the licensing guide prices nothing you have not seen here.
sixty daysA Maine family child care renewal application must be submitted at least sixty days before the license expires, with the $160 renewal fee. — Maine DHHS, 10-148 CMR Ch. 33, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Is there an expedited license option in Maine?
The licensing rule for family child care providers lists no expedited fee. Expedited filing fees exist at the Secretary of State for LLC paperwork, but not in the child care rule. The gating items are inspections, not queue position.
Does the fee change with the number of children I am licensed for?
The license fee itself does not — $160 is $160 at any licensed capacity. Your liability insurance premium, if you carry it, is another matter: the bureau notes it is priced on licensed capacity, not enrollment.
What does a nursery school pay, for comparison?
The statute caps nursery school licensing fees at $40 for an initial or renewal license — a different program type with its own rules. The family child care fees are the $80 and $160 set in the rule.
Are the licensing fees tax deductible?
License and renewal fees are ordinary business expenses of operating the program, like supplies and training costs. Keep the receipts with your business records and raise them with your preparer — see the tax page for how the home itself is deducted.