How to Start a Home Daycare in BC
Start a home daycare in BC: Licensed Family Child Care ratios (7 children max), the health-authority licensing steps, RLNR, and CCOF funding rates.
How to Start a Home Daycare in Manitoba
Manitoba's rules for home child care: unlicensed care up to 4 children, or a licensed family home (8 children) or group home (12 children). The information session, application package, grants, and the $10-a-day fee cap.
Applies in: Manitoba
The three ways to run child care from your home
Manitoba draws the line at four children. Care for no more than 4 children under 12, including no more than 2 under 2 — counting your own children — and you can operate as unlicensed private home child care with no licence and no inspection. The moment a fifth child receives care, the home must become licensed, reduce the number of children, or close. That rule is set out in A Guide to Child Care in Manitoba.
Licensing opens two larger models, both run from your home for children aged three months to 12 years, under The Community Child Care Standards Act and the Child Care Regulation (M.R. 62/86):
Family child care home. You alone, in your home, for a maximum of 8 children, including no more than 5 less than 6 years of age, of whom not more than 3 are less than 2 years of age — including any children who live in the home.
Group family child care home. Your home plus an additional adult, for a maximum of 12 children, of whom not more than 3 are less than 2 years of age, again including children who live in the home. The additional adult may be a second licence holder, or you may employ assistants.
Licensed homes are inspected by provincial staff on an ongoing basis, and the licence — regular or provisional — must be posted in the home where parents and visitors can easily see it.
Step 1: Decide which path fits
Go unlicensed if you want the simplest start: no application, no inspections, no mandatory course. You still have to stay inside the 4-child limit, and you cannot advertise or operate as though you were licensed.
Go the licensed family-home route if you want the extra space (8 children instead of 4), the credibility of a provincial licence, access to grants, and families who need subsidies or $10-a-day fees — licensed care is where the demand is, and Manitoba's licensed system is the one parents search. Go the group route if you have a second adult in the household who wants to work in the home with you and you want the 12-child ceiling.
One warning that applies to every path: the child limits include your own children, and exceeding them is what turns a legal unlicensed arrangement into an illegal one.
Step 2: Attend the information session (licensed path only)
Every applicant for a home-based child care licence must first participate in an information session. It covers the family or group home development and licensing process, the legislation, financial considerations, and more, with time for questions. You are only eligible to submit a licensing application after completing it.
Sessions are virtual, held on a Wednesday every other month from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The next sessions listed are December 23, 2026 and February 24, 2027. Register by emailing cdcinfo@gov.mb.ca or calling Child Care Information Services at 204-945-0776 or toll-free 1-888-213-4754, giving your first and last names, email address, phone number, and the date you wish to attend.
Step 3: Assemble the licensing application package
Once you have completed the information session, gather the documents for your licensing application package, listed in the province's licensing process flow chart:
- A complete licence application
- A complete Record of Child Care Residents for Licensed Family/Group Child Care Homes, for each resident
- Background checks for each applicable resident — original results of the Criminal Record Check with a vulnerable sector search, plus a Criminal History Self Disclosure Statement and Information Release Consent
- Two reference checks from individuals who have observed you caring for children, provided by someone other than relatives
Submit the package to Early Learning and Child Care, 210-114 Garry Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4V4. Early Learning and Child Care can only start processing your package once all of these documents are received — a missing reference or background check stalls everything.
Step 4: Complete the Child Abuse Registry and Prior Contact checks
These two checks run on a separate track from the rest of your package, so do not bundle them in:
- Request the Child Abuse Registry Check and Prior Contact Check forms from Early Learning and Child Care — they are sent to you by mail. Call 204-945-0776 or toll-free 1-888-213-4754, or email cdcinfo@gov.mb.ca.
- Submit them by mail or in person to the Child Abuse Registry Unit, 1st Floor–777 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 0N3 (office hours 8:30 to 4:30, Monday to Friday). In person you must present two pieces of valid government-issued identification; by mail you send two photocopied pieces, signed and dated by a Commissioner for Oaths, Notary Public, or a professional who witnessed your signature and saw the original identification.
- There is a fee to process the Child Abuse Registry Check for the applicant(s); other unpaid residents in the home have the fee waived. There is no fee for the Prior Contact Check. The province does not publish the fee amount on the licensing pages — ask when you request the forms.
- The results go directly from the Child Abuse Registry to Early Learning and Child Care; you do not forward them yourself.
Step 5: Assessment, inspection, and the coordinator
Once your package is approved, Early Learning and Child Care notifies you of your first licensing inspection — this is when you are first assigned a Child Care Coordinator. At the inspection, expect a basic health and safety check of your home, templates and guidance on policy development, behaviour management, program planning, safety planning, nutrition, and the legislated requirements of the Act, plus observation of you engaged with children. The coordinator completes a personal assessment against 13 competency standards for home-based providers, and the Family or Group Child Care Home Inspection Checklist.
The province is blunt that the licensing process can take a number of months. While you wait, the province suggests you review the Community Child Care Standards Act and the Child Care Regulation, read the Best Practices Licensing Manual for Family and Group Child Care Homes, start writing your policies and procedures, take a CPR/First Aid course, begin the 40-hour early childhood education course, and attend a workshop. After you are licensed, the supports continue: regular monitoring inspections and contact with your coordinator, workshops, mentorship, resources, and networking.
The 40-hour early childhood education course is a licensing requirement, and the province offers up to $400 a year in financial support toward post-secondary early childhood education courses — usable for that required course, and later toward ECE II and ECE III classification if you keep studying. Ask your coordinator about it when you are assigned one.
Step 6: Get the home ready
Walk through your home the way a licensing inspector would, even if you are going unlicensed. The inspection checklist and the province's licensing manual set the bar, but the basics are the same in every province: outlet covers, stair gates, locked cabinets for cleaning products and medication, defined zones for play, meals, naps, and diaper changes, a fenced or directly supervised outdoor space, and posted emergency numbers, your fire escape plan, and allergy and medical information where you can see it.
Take first aid and CPR before your first child arrives, even though no agency requires it of an unlicensed provider. Parents ask about it, and it is the cheapest credibility signal you can buy. Keep in mind that conditions can be written onto your licence — real Manitoba licences carry conditions such as which rooms children may use, direct supervision outdoors, and no use of a woodstove or fireplace during care hours — so treat the inspection as the moment your home's rules get set, not a formality.
Step 7: Fees, grants, and what you earn
This is where licensing pays. Licensed providers who receive the annual provincial operating grant are funded facilities and must charge no more than the regulated maximum fees. Licensed providers who forego the grant are unfunded facilities and set their own fees — but they cannot charge subsidized families more than the regulated maximum. The maximum daily fees, effective September 13, 2026, are set out in the Child Care Regulation (M.R. 62/86):
| Space | Hours of care per day | Maximum fee |
|---|---|---|
| Infant and preschool | Less than 4 hours | $5 |
| Infant and preschool | 4 to 10 hours | $10 |
| Infant and preschool | More than 10 hours | $15 |
| School-age, 3 periods of attendance | Before school, lunch, after school | $10 |
That $10-a-day figure is Manitoba's $10 a Day Child Care program: parents of children in infant, nursery, and preschool programs pay $10 a day for regular hours of care at funded licensed facilities, and school-age children on non-school days also pay $10 a day. Over 1,000 licensed facilities across the province are required to comply with the $10-a-day maximum. The province offsets the lost revenue with a Reduced Parent Fee Revenue Grant paid directly to operators.
The grants available to licensed home providers, per the province's benefits page:
- One-time start-up grant of $300 per child care space at the time of licensing, for age-appropriate equipment or furnishings
- Up to $400 a year toward post-secondary early childhood education courses
- Annual operating grant funding from the provincial government
- Access to a matching RRSP retirement benefit plan and a health and dental benefit plan through a professional association, and the ability to claim child care business expenses on your income taxes
Unlicensed providers set their own rates privately — Manitoba publishes no rate schedule for unlicensed care, so check what other providers in your community charge before you set yours. The province also provides child care subsidies for eligible families to help pay fees; tell prospective parents about the subsidy program, since it widens the families who can afford your care.
Step 8: Set up the business properly
A home daycare is still a business. Register your business name with the Manitoba Companies Office if you operate under any name other than your own personal name — our Manitoba business registration guide walks through it. Get a CRA business number (free), keep a separate bank account for the daycare, and set aside a portion of every payment for income tax and CPP, since as a self-employed provider you owe both on your net earnings.
Child care services are an exempt supply under the GST/HST rules, so you do not add GST or HST to parent fees — and you cannot claim input tax credits on your daycare purchases. Our sole proprietorship and GST/HST guide covers the registration side. Check your municipality's home-based business rules too: most Manitoba cities allow home daycares but may have zoning or signage conditions worth confirming before you advertise.
Put every agreement in writing before the first day. A solid parent contract covers hours and late pickup fees, daily or monthly rate and payment schedule, sick-child policy, statutory holidays and your vacation weeks, notice period for withdrawal, and what happens when you are ill. Verbal agreements are where daycare disputes start.
The numbers worth knowing
- Unlicensed: 4 children under 12 max, 2 under age 2 max, own children included
- Licensed family home: 8 children max, 5 under 6 max, 3 under 2 max, own children included
- Licensed group home: 12 children max, 3 under 2 max, plus an additional adult
- Ages served: 3 months to 12 years
- Required ECE course: 40 hours; course support up to $400 per year
- Start-up grant: $300 per child care space, one-time, at licensing
- Maximum parent fee (funded homes): $10 per day for infant/preschool, 4–10 hours of care, effective September 13, 2026
- Information session: virtual, Wednesday every other month, 1:30–3:30 p.m.; next sessions December 23, 2026 and February 24, 2027
- Child Care Information Services: 204-945-0776, toll-free 1-888-213-4754, cdcinfo@gov.mb.ca
Rules and fees are current as of November 2026. Maximum fees are set in the Child Care Regulation (M.R. 62/86) — check the province's Child Care Fees page for the current schedule before you set your rates.
Related guides
- How to start a daycare in Canada — the Canada-level hub: centre versus home care, province by province, with links to the provincial daycare guides.
- How to start a home daycare in Ontario — the Ontario sibling: unlicensed care up to 5 children, or licensed care through an agency.
- How to start a home daycare in Alberta — the Alberta sibling, for comparison on limits and licensing.
- How to register a business in Manitoba — the business-name and registration side of opening in Manitoba.
- How to register a sole proprietorship and get a GST/HST number in Canada — the business-paperwork side of running a daycare, including the GST/HST exemption for child care.
From deciding to licensed in Manitoba
- Pick your pathUnlicensed (4 children max), licensed family home (8 max), or licensed group home (12 max with a second adult)
- Attend the information sessionMandatory and virtual, on a Wednesday every other month, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. — you can only apply after completing it
- Submit your application packageLicence application, resident records, background checks, and two reference checks to Early Learning and Child Care in Winnipeg
- Inspection and assessmentHome health and safety check, a Child Care Coordinator assigned, and a personal assessment against 13 competency standards — the process takes a number of months
- Open as a licensed homePost your licence where parents can see it; claim the $300-per-space start-up grant and apply for the annual operating grant
Fees parents pay and money providers can claim
| Maximum fee — infant/preschool, 4 to 10 hours (funded homes) | $10 per day |
|---|---|
| Maximum fee — infant/preschool, under 4 hours | $5 per day |
| Maximum fee — infant/preschool, over 10 hours | $15 per day |
| One-time start-up grant at licensing | $300 per child care space |
| Early childhood education course support | Up to $400 per year |
Questions people ask
Do I need a licence to run a home daycare in Manitoba?
Not if you stay small. You can provide private home child care without a licence as long as you care for no more than 4 children under the age of 12, including no more than 2 children under the age of 2 — and those numbers include your own children. If more than 4 children receive care, the home must become licensed as a family or group child care home, reduce the number of children, or close.
What is the difference between a family child care home and a group family child care home?
Both are licensed and run from your home, but the limits differ. A family child care home takes a maximum of 8 children, including no more than 5 under 6 years of age, of whom no more than 3 are under 2. A group family child care home takes a maximum of 12 children, of whom no more than 3 are under 2, and requires an additional adult — either a second licence holder or assistants employed by the licence holder. In both cases the limits include any children who live in the home.
How do I apply for a home child care licence in Manitoba?
First, attend the mandatory information session for new home-based child care — it is virtual, held on a Wednesday every other month from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and only after completing it are you eligible to submit a licensing application. Then submit your licensing application package to Early Learning and Child Care: the licence application, a Record of Child Care Residents for each resident, background checks, and two reference checks. Once the package is approved you get a first licensing inspection and are assigned a Child Care Coordinator. The whole process takes a number of months.
What background checks do I need to become a licensed home daycare provider in Manitoba?
Every applicable resident of the home needs a Criminal Record Check with a vulnerable sector search, plus a Criminal History Self Disclosure Statement and Information Release Consent. All applicable residents must also complete a Child Abuse Registry Check and a Prior Contact Check — you request those forms by mail from Early Learning and Child Care and submit them separately to the Child Abuse Registry Unit, not with the rest of your package. There is a fee to process the Child Abuse Registry Check for the applicant; other unpaid residents have the fee waived, and there is no fee for the Prior Contact Check. You also need two reference checks from people who have observed you caring for children, not relatives.
Is there a licence fee, and what grants can a licensed Manitoba home daycare get?
Manitoba's licensing pages list no licence application fee — confirm this with Child Care Information Services (204-945-0776 or toll-free 1-888-213-4754) before you apply. The money flows the other way: licensed providers can accept a one-time provincial start-up grant of $300 per child care space at licensing, up to $400 a year toward post-secondary early childhood education courses (which can cover the required 40-hour course), and an annual operating grant. If you receive the operating grant you must charge no more than the regulated maximum fees; if you forego it, you set your own fees, but subsidized children can never be charged more than the maximum.
What can I charge parents as a licensed home daycare in Manitoba?
If your home receives the provincial operating grant, you must follow the regulated maximum daily fees set out in the Child Care Regulation. As of September 13, 2026, the maximum for infant and preschool spaces is $10 per day for 4 to 10 hours of care, $5 for less than 4 hours, and $15 for more than 10 hours. That is Manitoba's $10-a-day child care: parents of children in infant, nursery, and preschool programs pay $10 a day for regular hours at funded licensed facilities. If you do not take the operating grant you set your own fees, but families receiving a child care subsidy can never be charged more than the regulated maximum.
Sources
- Government of Manitoba — What is Licensed Home-Based Child Care? — the 4-child licensing threshold, family vs group limits, and the governing Act and regulation
- Government of Manitoba — Home-Based Child Care Licensing Process Flow Chart — the application package checklist, background checks, inspection, and the months-long timeline
- Government of Manitoba — What Are the Benefits of Being a Licensed Home-Based Provider? — $300-per-space start-up grant, up to $400 a year in course support, operating grant, and fee rules
- Government of Manitoba — Information Session for New Home-Based Child Care — mandatory session, virtual schedule, next dates, and registration contacts
- Government of Manitoba — A Guide to Child Care in Manitoba — unlicensed limits, licence types, and subsidies
- Government of Manitoba — Child Care Fees — maximum daily fee schedule effective September 13, 2026
- Government of Manitoba — $10 a Day Child Care — $10-a-day fees at funded licensed facilities