Become a Registered Legal Nonlicensed Provider

CCAP cannot pay legal nonlicensed providers:

• To care for children that live in the same home as the provider,
• To care for children that are in a public assistance case household with the provider, or
• Who have been excluded or debarred in another publicly funded program.

All registered providers must meet minimum health and safety requirements to get payments from CCAP:

• Follow all health and safety standards defined in Keeping children safe in your home (5192B), including:
  • Develop and document an emergency preparedness plan.
  • Follow best practices in handwashing, diaper changing, and behavior guidance.
• Comply with background study requirements.
• Comply with group size, composition and age limit requirements
• Complete required training and meet on-going training requirements.
• Participate in an annual monitoring visit if you care for children who are not related to you.

The LNL provider and each household member age 13 and over must have a background study done as part of the registration process. Currently, no background study fees are charged to legal nonlicensed providers.

All LNL providers must have current pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid certification before they can register. This training typically costs money.

Providers who care for children under age 5 and/or children who are not related to them have to take additional training requirements to be paid by CCAP. Related means you are the sibling, grandparent, aunt or uncle of the child.

Providers must take ongoing training to renew their registration. Starting October 1, 2025, legal nonlicensed providers must complete at least two hours of training each year if they care for unrelated children (the provider is not the child’s sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the child, based on blood relationship, marriage or court decree).

For more information about training requirements for LNL providers, see Training requirements for legal nonlicensed providers (DHS-6419). Some required trainings are available for free on www.developtoolmn.org.

To register as a LNL provider, you must meet requirements based on the number, age, and group composition of the children you care for. You can care for up to eight children age 12 and younger at one time. You cannot care for children from more than one unrelated family at a time.

For CCAP, “related” means the provider is the child’s sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the child, based on blood relationship, marriage, or court decree.

For more information, see Group size and age limits for legal nonlicensed providers (DHS-5192G). This document is also available in:

• Hmong
• Spanish
• Somali

If a legal nonlicensed provider is unrelated to the child they are caring for, the CCAP Agency will schedule a home monitoring visit with the LNL provider within 12 months of when the child care was authorized to start. Results of these visits must be posted publicly.

For CCAP, “related” means the provider is the child’s sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the child, based on blood relationship, marriage, or court decree.

For more information about annual monitoring visits, see the Child Care Assistance Program Legal Nonlicensed Provider Handbook (DHS-5260A).

Navigators are available to help you through the process of becoming a legal nonlicensed provider! They will walk you through every step of the way. Support is available in multiple languages too.

• Step One: Contact a Navigator! Navigators can help anyone located in Minnesota or the 11 Tribal Nations. Navigators will talk you through the benefits and application process and answer any question you have. They will be able to walk you through the remaining steps. We highly recommend working with a Navigator.
• Step Two: Ensure you are eligible to participate and take required trainings.
• Step Three: Gather information needed to register.
• Step Four: Register for the Child Care Assistance Program.
• Step Five: Complete a background check.
• Step Six: Verify that you’ve completed the required training.

Connect with a Navigator 

As part of the CCAP registration process, a legal nonlicensed provider must submit a W-9 form. Requirements of the W-9 include:

• Providing either a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
• Certifying you are a U.S. person. A U.S. person means you are a U.S. citizen, or a resident alien. For more information on what it means to be a resident alien:
  • https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc851
  • https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/resident-aliens