Sample Contract for Home Daycare

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The first thing you need when opening a home daycare is a contract. This sample contract for home daycare will make it a cinch. And you’ll avoid a lot of frustration. There are many forms necessary for running a home daycare, but the contract is at the top of the list. If you do one thing for yourself, do this.

A contract is a simple form, but the most important form for running a home daycare business. The contract covers time and money. That’s it. Nothing else.

It is always a good idea to seek legal advice when making your childcare contract if you are a family child care provider. You can also use this basic structure and sample contract to give yourself peace of mind before accepting children into your childcare.

A written contract is a must have and that is learned by 29 years of experience providing care for children in my home and following the expert advice of childcare provider advocate and lawyer Tom Copeland who has now retired. He always promoted contracts for childcare to protect yourself and the families you serve.

You need to lay out expectations for payment terms, late pick-ups, late payments, payment amounts, hours of care, start date, and vacation time for parents and provider to keep from having problems that could end up in small claims court or worse.

The sample contracts below and article will help you with any additional information that needs to go in your final contract or if it belongs in other child care forms like your policy handbook. There is specific information that belongs in your contract and other information that belongs in your policies. 

In home daycare forms

Policies are different than contracts. They cover how your daycare is run. Click here to see (and use if you like) my policies. We have some silly things in ours in Oklahoma that are required by the state, feel free to take out what’s stupid. I would if I could.

Without a contract, you are unprotected. Problems arise in this business. A contract will help deter a lot of them and get you out of trouble sometimes as well. The contract lays out your expectations and helps you find families that are a good fit for your program. And you have to know your limits as a home daycare provider.

• The contract covers what hours you are open each day and what days. If you have contracted hours that differ for different children, it will be noted in the contract as well.
• The contract covers holidays and vacation procedures. Do parents pay when you close? Do they pay when kids are sick or on vacation? Are parents expected to give you notice of absences?
• The contract covers emergency closures.
• The contract covers the price you charge for care.
• The contract covers when payday is.
• The contract covers returned check fees or procedures.
• The contract covers late fees, supply fees, curriculum fees, deposits, or whatever kind of fees you will be charging. There are no surprises.

Home daycare contract

• The contract covers what supplies parents must provide.
• The contract covers illness procedures. Picking up sick kids. Symptoms that children must be out of care for and for how long.

Child care agreement between parents

• The contract covers any touchy subjects such as if you have animals the kids will have contact with or others that live in your home. It could be religious beliefs taught. Whatever you have going on that may not be a good fit for some people. Let them know before care and let them sign off they are okay with it.
• The contract covers discrimination policies and reporting of abuse/neglect procedures.
• The contract covers notice to cancel services and what period it covers. Do you do contracts yearly or are they in effect until they are canceled or renewed?
• The contract has signatures of both provider and parents. I do a set for each parent if they are not together and just one if they are together.
• Everything else goes in policies.  
• The contract review will let you know if parents are going to be respectful of your facility. You can go over each item on the contract with them to make sure they know what you expect. If they act like they don’t like what you have, that may be a red flag that you won’t work well together. It weeds out a lot of things you don’t want to deal with in your business.

Sample contract for home daycare

This is the contract I use for my business. It’s very similar to the one I created over 20 years ago. It serves me well. It’s short so parents will read it. And it covers what I care about. You can download the pdf, edit it to work for you, and use it for your own.

There are other items I could add such as late fees, and if you are going to enforce those, you should add them. But I already know I’m not. So, I don’t put them in the contract.

Home Daycare Contract-Blog copy PDF

I hope if you don’t currently use a contract for your home daycare business, you will consider adding one today. It is a professional way to run your business and it protects you and the clients you serve.

And if you come up with problems you can’t fix, you may have to terminate care. This is a last resort, but if you need to do it, here are some ideas on how to terminate daycare for a child.

For more home daycare help check out:

• a daycare business plan to fill out and see if this business is right for you
• daycare meal planning sheets
• how to plan a daycare menu
• daycare activities
• lesson plans

For more expert contract advice, visit Tom Copeland. 

​My hope is that this information will help you avoid needing legal counsel if something goes wrong in your daycare center or daycare home. Of course, you also need to consider the state law for your state because each state has different legal requirements. You are a business owner and you need this legally binding contract to help you navigate business with the parents of the children you care for on a regular basis. Your business is important and it’s important to protect it. A contract and parent handbook is a great way to do that!