Licensing rules · Georgia
Daycare ratios in Georgia
In a Georgia daycare center, one adult may care for up to 6 babies, 8 children at 18 months, 15 three-year-olds or 18 four-year-olds. Rooms also have a size limit, from 12 babies up to 36 children at age 4.
- Babies (6 weeks)
- 1:6
- Toddlers (18 months)
- 1:8
- 3-year-olds
- 1:15
- 4-year-olds
- 1:18
Daycare centers
Ratios and group sizes in Georgia centers
The most children one adult may care for, and the largest group allowed in one room, at each age. From Georgia's licensing rules as compiled in the 2025 national database.
| Child's age | Adults to children | Largest group |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks | 1:61 adult for 6 children | 12 children |
| 11 months | 1:61 adult for 6 children | 12 children |
| 18 months | 1:81 adult for 8 children | 16 children |
| 35 months | 1:101 adult for 10 children | 20 children |
| 3 years | 1:151 adult for 15 children | 30 children |
| 4 years | 1:181 adult for 18 children | 36 children |
| 5 years | 1:201 adult for 20 children | 40 children |
| 6 years | 1:251 adult for 25 children | 50 children |
| 7 years | 1:251 adult for 25 children | 50 children |
| 8 to 9 years | 1:251 adult for 25 children | 50 children |
| 10 years and older | 1:251 adult for 25 children | 50 children |
The national database reads each state's rule at these sample ages; Georgia's own rules give the exact age bands.
In the room
What the ratio means for your child
The ratio is the largest number of children one adult may look after at once. At 1:6 for babies, a full infant room of 12, the most Georgia allows in one group, needs at least 2 caregivers. At 18 months one adult may have 8 children, in a room of up to 16, and by age 4 one teacher may have 18 children in a group of up to 36.
These numbers are the floor, not a target. Some centers staff above them, but the hours when staff arrive and leave, early morning and late afternoon, are when a room can most easily fall short. On a tour, count the adults and the children yourself, and ask how the center covers breaks and lunch.
Georgia's rules cover mixed-age groups; ask the daycare which ratio it follows when ages mix.
Home daycares
Rules for home daycares in Georgia
A Georgia family home daycare is a small setting: one provider may care for up to 6 children, plus 2 more who are 3 or older. Group day care homes, with more than one caregiver, follow age-based ratios close to the center rules.
Because a home daycare often mixes babies, toddlers and older children, ask how many children under 18 months are in the group, and who steps in when the provider has to leave the room.
- As the national database records them
- Family child care home (one provider): up to 6 children (plus 2 children 3 years and older).
- Group child care home (two or more providers): the rule reads (children to adults): “6:1 for children younger than 1 year and younger than 18 months and not walking; 8:1 for 1-year-olds who walk; 10:1 for 2 years; 15:1 for 3 years; 18:1 for 4 years and older.”
Enforcement
How Georgia checks these rules
- Centers: Georgia reported routine inspections twice a year, without notice.
- Family child care homes: routine inspections twice a year, without notice.
- In the inspection records: rules on supervision and ratios were 6.9% of the rules Georgia inspectors cited since October 2023, and 30% of the daycares visited had one cited.
What Georgia inspectors cite shows the rule areas cited most often.
Inspection schedules are from a 2017 national survey of state licensing agencies.
On the tour
Ask about ratios on a tour
- of the 1,203 Georgia daycare websites we read post a staff-to-child ratio
- 2.8%
- How many adults are in my child's room, and how many children?
- How do staff keep track of every child during outdoor play, nap and pick-up?
- Who may pick up my child, and how do you check?
- Is the ratio the same at the start and end of the day, when fewer staff are in?
More questions: the daycare tour checklist.
Questions
Questions about daycare ratios in Georgia
What is the infant ratio for daycare centers in Georgia?
1:6. One adult may care for up to 6 babies, and a room of babies may hold no more than 12.
What is the toddler ratio in Georgia?
1:8 at 18 months, with groups of up to 16, and 1:10 at 35 months, just before age 3, with groups of up to 20.
What is the ratio for 4-year-olds in Georgia daycares?
1:18, with up to 36 children in a group. For 3-year-olds it is 1:15, with up to 30 in a group.
How many children can a Georgia home daycare have?
One provider in a family home daycare may care for up to 6 children, plus 2 more children who are 3 or older.
How do I check whether a daycare keeps to the ratio?
Count the adults and children in the room on your tour, and read the daycare's inspection record. Georgia inspectors cited a supervision or ratio rule at 30% of the daycares they visited since October 2023. Only 2.8% of the Georgia daycare websites we read post their ratios, so ask.
Rules change. Before you rely on a number here, check Georgia's current licensing rules or ask the state licensing agency.
Source: National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations, Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families (licensingregulations.acf.hhs.gov), 2025 tables, retrieved October 7, 2026. Website figure: daycare websites read in 2026.