How to start a daycare in West Virginia

1. Choose a daycare center or a home daycare

States license daycare centers and home daycares (often called family child care homes) under different rules, with different limits on how many children you can care for. Decide which one you're starting before anything else.

West Virginia's license types are described in Who needs a daycare license above. Learn what families near you need, too: your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency (CCR&R) can tell you which ages and hours are hard to find.

2. Contact DoHS

Daycare licensing in West Virginia is handled by the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS), Bureau for Family Assistance, Early Care and Education (child care licensing). Contact it before you sign a lease or buy equipment, and ask, in writing if you can:

• Which license type fits our plans, and how many children can it cover?
• Is there an orientation or pre-licensing training, and when is the next one?
• Which inspections and clearances do we need (licensing, fire, health and zoning)?
• What does it cost to apply, and how long does approval usually take?
• What do we need to do to accept families who use childcare assistance?

3. Choose a business structure

A daycare can run as a business (such as an LLC) or as a nonprofit, or under an existing nonprofit such as a church. Talk with an accountant or lawyer before you file anything, and get an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS. It's free.

4. Find a space that can pass inspection

Check zoning before you sign a lease. Then ask the building department, the fire marshal and DoHS what the space needs, including how much indoor and outdoor space per child West Virginia requires. Since December 28, 2012, cribs in daycares must meet federal Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.

5. Plan your rooms around the ratios

West Virginia's ratios for the ages it confirmed are in the table above. They decide how many staff each room needs, so they shape your whole budget. For infants and toddlers, ask DoHS.

• Work out your staffing with the staff ratio calculator.

6. Hire staff and run background checks

Run the checks in Background checks for daycare staff above before anyone starts.

Federal rules also require comprehensive background checks for staff of every licensed, regulated or registered childcare provider and every provider that can take childcare assistance. Teach every staff member how to report suspected abuse or neglect (see Reporting child abuse above).

7. Get insured

Talk early to an insurance broker who works with childcare programs. Ask about general liability, abuse and molestation coverage, property coverage and workers' compensation, plus auto coverage if you'll transport children. A home daycare should tell its homeowner's or renter's insurer, since those policies may limit business use.

8. Build a budget and set tuition

Start with payroll (see step 5), then add rent, food, supplies and insurance. Compare your numbers with what other daycares near you charge, and set prices for the enrollment you expect, not a full room. Write down your deposit, late payment, late pickup and absence policies before you enroll anyone.

• Plan payments with the payment plan calculator and the sibling discount calculator.
• Give a receipt for every payment. Parents may need it for a dependent care FSA or tax credit (childcare receipt generator).

9. Add childcare assistance and the food program

Ask West Virginia's childcare assistance office how to become an approved provider for families who get help paying for care, and ask about the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which reimburses eligible daycares for meals and snacks. Programs that take childcare assistance must meet federal health and safety requirements, including background checks, training and inspections.

10. Prepare your enrollment forms and policies

Ask DoHS which records you must keep for each child. Have your forms ready before you enroll anyone, and collect everything before a child's first day.

Medication in West Virginia. Centers may give medicine only with the parent's written, signed instructions (child's name, medicine, reason, dose, time and route) and, except for limited over-the-counter use, a prescription or written order from a licensed health care provider; prescription medicine must be in its original pharmacy-labeled package, and medicine is kept in a locked container out of children's reach (sunscreen, diaper ointment and emergency medicine need not be locked but must be out of reach). Only staff who have passed approved medication administration training may give it, each dose is recorded in ink in a cumulative medication log, and medication errors must be reported to the director and parent (78 CSR 1 §§8.6.g, 15.4.h).

• Registration form, medical and allergy form and authorized pickup form
• Medication administration log and allergy alert roster
• Incident and accident report, parent handbook and emergency action plan
• A safe sleep policy: babies under 12 months sleep on their backs, on a firm, flat surface, with no blankets, pillows, toys or other soft items in the crib

11. Fill your spots

Start enrolling before you open, so you aren't paying staff for empty rooms. Tell your CCR&R you're open, check your listing in the state's childcare search once you're licensed, offer tours and keep a waitlist for each age group.

12. Pass your inspections and open

For licensed programs that can take childcare assistance, federal rules require at least one inspection for health, safety and fire standards before licensing, then an unannounced inspection at least once a year. Schedule yours early, train staff on your policies, emergency plan, safe sleep, allergies, medication and pickup rules, and check every child's file before their first day.

What we couldn't confirm

Check these points with the state before you rely on them.

• Mandated reporting conflict: the DoHS Centralized Intake page says any person over 18 who witnesses, or hears from a credible witness about, sexual abuse of a child must report within 24 hours, but the current W. Va. Code §49-2-803 text (last amended 2024, HB 4274) contains no such universal duty. The JSON follows the code; confirm with DoHS.
• 78 CSR 1 and 78 CSR 21 sunset on August 1, 2028, so expect replacement rules before then.

How BackPR helps

BackPR handles registration, enrollment and health forms, recurring tuition with autopay and check-in against each family's authorized pickup list. Families can register and fill in forms in English or Spanish, and parents get receipts and year-end dependent care statements. It's free for nonprofits, with no subscription and no BackPR fees. Payments run on Stripe, and Stripe's processing fees apply. Other programs get pricing by quote. More on BackPR for childcare.