New Hampshire child care, camp and ratio rules

Child care licensing

CCLU licenses family child care homes, family group child care homes, group child care centers, child care nurseries, preschools, school-age programs, night care and residential programs under RSA 170-E and He-C 4002. A private home caring for its own children plus up to four others is exempt.

After-school and recreation programs: Exempt programs include those run by a public or private school or college; skill-instruction programs such as athletics, crafts, music or dance; and municipal recreation programs, including after-school and summer programs. Also exempt are recreational programs for children 6 and older run by a school, religious group, Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc., YMCA or YWCA, if they notify parents they are unlicensed, have a grievance policy and meet national standards (RSA 170-E:3). Exempt programs serving children on a state child care scholarship must still meet certain health and safety rules, including background checks.

Licensing agency: New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Child Care Licensing Unit (CCLU)

Sources: NH DHHS Child Care Licensing; He-C 4002 NH Child Care Licensing Rule (adopted 8/26/25); 2025 Summary of Major Changes to He-C 4002; NH DHHS Licensing Exemptions

Staff-to-child ratios in licensed centers

Rule: He-C 4002.35 (group child care centers); He-C 4002.38 (school-age programs). Age bands are in months: 36-47 months is 1:8 (group of 24), 48-59 months is 1:12 (group of 24), and 60 months and over is 1:15 (group of 30) in group child care centers. Licensed school-age programs are 1:15 with groups up to 45. In a mixed-age group, ratio and group size are based on the average age of the children. A second staff person must be in the building at 11 or more children (centers) or 13 or more (school-age programs). Rules adopted August 26, 2025.

Work out your staffing with the ratio calculator

Summer camps

Youth recreation camps, both residence camps and seasonal or year-round day camps, need a DHHS license (RSA 170-E:56; He-C 4003). This covers programs running at least 10 days a license year for 10 or more youth a day. Programs licensed as child care, or exempt from child care licensing under RSA 170-E:3, I, don't need a camp license. 'Youth skill camps' (a set curriculum over 3 or more consecutive days) are not licensed but must run criminal background checks on anyone who may be alone with children.

Camp agency: New Hampshire DHHS, Child Care Licensing Unit, Youth Camp Program

Sources: NH DHHS Youth Camp Programs; NH DHHS Youth Recreation Camp Licensing Program; He-C 4003 Youth Recreation Camp rules (adopted 5/21/25)

Background checks

Child care staff, substitutes, other employees, volunteers who may be alone with children or count in ratios, and household members 18 and older need a background check before starting and every five years (He-C 4002.40; RSA 170-E:7). The check covers NH criminal records, the NH abuse/neglect registry, the NH sex offender registry, an FBI fingerprint check, the national sex offender registry, and other states lived in during the past five years. Staff can't be with children until CCLU confirms eligibility, apart from supervised presence after clean fingerprint results. Youth recreation camp staff need criminal checks in every state they have lived in, a national sex offender registry check, an NH central registry check if they lived in NH in the past seven years, and references (He-C 4003.17).

Sources: NH DHHS Background Checks for Child Care Personnel; He-C 4002.40; He-C 4003.17 (youth recreation camps)

Giving medication

Only trained, authorized staff (or a nurse or licensed practitioner) may give medication. They need a medication order (a prescription label or a licensed practitioner's order) plus the parent's written permission. Staff must complete medication training before giving any medicine and again every year. Medicine stays in its original container and out of children's reach, each dose is logged with the date, time and staff signature, and parents are told immediately of any error (He-C 4002.20).

Free medication administration log

Sources: He-C 4002.20 Administration and Storage of Medication; CCLU Authorization to Administer Medication form

Reporting child abuse

Any person who suspects that a child under 18 has been abused or neglected must report it immediately to DCYF (RSA 169-C:29-31). Proof isn't required, and DCYF may ask for a written report within 48 hours.

New Hampshire child abuse hotline: 1-800-894-5533 (in-state only); 603-271-6562 (how to report). In an emergency, call 911.

Sources: NH DHHS Report Child Abuse; Child Welfare Information Gateway, Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (current through May 2023)