A licensed California family child care home must keep, for each child: identification and emergency information (LIC 700), consent for medical treatment (LIC 627), a signed notification of parents' rights (LIC 995A), the caregiver background check notice (LIC 995E) and, for children not enrolled in elementary school, an immunization record (CDPH 286). Child care centers also keep a parent's health history (LIC 702) and, for children not in school, a physician's report (LIC 701), plus an admission agreement and personal rights receipts.
Why these forms exist
California's child care licensing rules, found in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, require a licensed program to keep certain records for every child in care and have them ready for a licensing inspection. They let staff reach a parent, get emergency medical care, know who may collect a child, and confirm the child meets immunization requirements.
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) publishes a checklist of required records for each type of facility: form LIC 311D for family child care homes and LIC 311A for child care centers.
Family child care homes
These apply to small and large family child care homes (care in the provider's own home for up to 8 or up to 14 children).
| Form | What it is | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
LIC 700 | Identification and emergency information: the child, parents, emergency contacts, physician and authorized pickups | Every child |
LIC 627 | Consent for emergency medical treatment, signed by the parent | Every child |
LIC 995A | Notification of parents' rights. Given at admission; the signed portion is kept for three years after the child leaves | Every child |
LIC 995E | The caregiver background check process, explained to parents | Every family |
CDPH 286 | California immunization record (the “blue card”) | Children not enrolled in elementary school |
LIC 9150 | Parental notification that additional school-age children may be in care | When the home uses the 7–8 or 13–14 child capacity |
LIC 282 | Affidavit that the home has no liability insurance or bond | Only if the home has neither |
LIC 9227 | Individual infant sleeping plan | Infants under 12 months |
LIC 9166, LIC 9222 | Consent for inhaled medication; consent for blood glucose testing | Only where these apply |
Child care centers
Centers keep a longer file. In addition to LIC 700, LIC 627 and the immunization record, the CDSS checklist includes:
| Form | What it is |
|---|---|
LIC 702 | Child's preadmission health history, reported by the parent |
LIC 701 | Physician's report of a preadmission health evaluation, for children not enrolled in elementary school |
| Admission agreement | The signed agreement between the family and the center |
LIC 995 | Signed receipt of the notification of parents' rights |
LIC 613A | Signed receipts for personal rights |
LIC 622 | Centrally stored medication and destruction record, if the center handles medications |
Immunization records
Children must meet California's immunization requirements before they are admitted, and the licensee documents each child's immunizations and keeps that record up to date while the child is enrolled. Two points trip people up:
- School-age children. A licensee does not have to document immunizations for a child who is also enrolled in a public or private elementary school.
- Exemptions. Senate Bill 277 (2015) ended personal-belief exemptions for child care and schools in California. Some older regulation text still mentions personal-belief affidavits; that text no longer reflects the law. Medical exemptions remain, under current California Department of Public Health rules.
What about drop-in care?
California has a narrow exception. Under Health and Safety Code section 1596.794, a day care center that exclusively offers care with no contract for regular care and no prearranged schedule does not have to verify immunizations or tuberculosis testing. The parent signs an acknowledgement instead.
The exception is written for centers that offer only that kind of care. A family child care home, or a center that also has regularly enrolled children, is not covered by it, so a drop-in child there needs the same complete file as any other child. That is the gap EnrollPass is built to close: the file travels with the child, so a same-day booking doesn't mean same-day paperwork.
Common questions
Do I have to fill out new forms for every daycare?
Usually yes: each licensed program must keep its own copy of the required records. The information is largely the same from one program to the next, which is why a reusable record saves time.
Does a drop-in child need a complete file?
At a family child care home, or at a center that also has regularly enrolled children, yes. The immunization exception in Health and Safety Code 1596.794 applies only to centers that offer drop-in care exclusively.
What is the CDPH 286?
It's the California School Immunization Record, often called the blue card, used to document a child's immunizations for child care and school entry.
Sources
- CDSS, Forms and records to keep in your family child care home (LIC 311D)
- CDSS, Records to be maintained at the facility: child care centers (LIC 311A)
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 102418, Immunizations (family child care homes)
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 101220.1, Immunizations (centers), including H&S Code § 1596.794
- Senate Bill 277 (2015), California Legislative Information
- Child Care Law Center, Immunization requirements for children in child care