Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation

How many kids can you watch without a license in Texas?

Verified August 31, 2026

Texas has no unlicensed allowance once you are inside its definition of regular care: compensation, at least 4 hours a day, 3 or more days a week for 3 or more consecutive weeks, or 40-plus days in 12 months. From the first through the third unrelated child you must hold a Listed Family Home listing. Four to six unrelated children take a Registered Child-Care Home, which may add up to 6 school-age children to a 12-child total. Seven to twelve take a Licensed Child-Care Home.

The Texas ladder, tier by tier

Texas home child care tiers with capacity and age limits
Tier	Children	Age limits	Your own kids
Listed Family Homelisting	up to 3	No more than 3 (children not related to the primary caregiver, 13 years of age or younger) 26 TAC §742.307(3)(A) No more than 12 (all children present, related and unrelated) 26 TAC §742.307(3)(B)	Do not count
Registered Child-Care Homeregistration	up to 12	No more than 12 (all children in care, including children related to the caregiver) 26 TAC §747.113(a) No more than 6 children from birth through 13 years (base group) 26 TAC §747.113(a) No more than 6 additional elementary school children, after school hours only 26 TAC §747.113(a) Option 1: up to 12 children, max 0 birth through 17 months, max 6 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701 Option 2: up to 10 children, max 1 birth through 17 months, max 5 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701 Option 3: up to 8 children, max 2 birth through 17 months, max 4 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701 Option 4: up to 7 children, max 3 birth through 17 months, max 3 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701 Option 5: up to 6 children, max 4 birth through 17 months, max 2 18 months and older 26 TAC §747.1701	Count
Licensed Child-Care Homelicense	7 to 12	No more than 12 (all children in care, including children related to the caregiver) 26 TAC §747.115(c) Option 1: up to 12 children, max 0 birth through 17 months, max 8 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option) Option 2: up to 11 children, max 1 birth through 17 months, max 6 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option) Option 3: up to 10 children, max 2 birth through 17 months, max 5 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option) Option 4: up to 7 children, max 3 birth through 17 months, max 3 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option) Option 5: up to 6 children, max 4 birth through 17 months, max 2 18 months through three years 26 TAC §747.1801 (one-caregiver chart transcribed; options grouped by infant count, each row of the chart fits one option)	Count

Age limits and totals for every tier, with row-level citations, live on the Texas home daycare ratios page.

What changes this answer

Below the regularity line you are outside the system

Occasional babysitting that never reaches the 4-hours-a-day, 3-days-a-week pattern, or care without compensation, is not regulated child care under 26 TAC 742.103.

Related children ride along but count in totals

Children, grandchildren, siblings, great-grandchildren, first cousins, nieces and nephews of the caregiver are not part of the unrelated counts, but a listed home is still capped at 12 children present including them, and registered and licensed homes count everyone toward 12.

A second caregiver does not raise a registered home's cap

The 12-child ceiling on a registered home stands regardless of extra adults; only the licensed-home charts scale with caregivers.

Edition and pending changes

We verified the September 2024 chapters with December 2025 revisions of 26 TAC 742 and 747. An amendment cycle closed its comment period on August 31, 2026, so these charts are due a re-check when the adopted texts publish.

Real questions, short answers

How many kids can you watch in Texas without any paperwork?

Inside regular paid care, none: 1 to 3 unrelated children already require a Listed Family Home listing with HHSC. Outside the regularity definition, for example occasional evenings, the chapters do not apply.

What does a listed family home allow?

Up to 3 unrelated children aged 13 or younger for compensation, with no more than 12 children present in the home counting your own and other related children, per 26 TAC 742.307.

How does a registered home get to 12 children?

The base group is 6 children through age 13, and up to 6 additional elementary school children may attend during after-school hours only, for a 12 total that includes the caregiver's own and related children, per 26 TAC 747.113.

How many infants can a registered home have?

The 747.1701 chart shrinks the group as infants join: with any children under 18 months in care the allowed totals drop, and the full 6-child base group applies only when everyone is 18 months or older.

What happens if a home skips the listing or registration?

26 TAC 742.105(b) makes an unpermitted home accountable for meeting the standards anyway, and HHSC enforcement follows from operating without the required permit.

Other states we have verified

Sources for Texas

26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 742, Listed Family Homes, December 2025 revision 742.103, 742.307
26 Tex. Admin. Code Chapter 747, Minimum Standards for Child-Care Homes, December 2025 revision 747.113, 747.115, 747.1701, 747.1801

DaycareRules is an informational reference about home child care licensing rules in the United States. It reprints thresholds, capacity limits, ratios and citations from state statutes and regulations, together with the date each state was last verified. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and rules change. Confirm with your state licensing agency before acting on any number printed here.