Hawaii Childcare Square Footage Requirements (2026)

Hawaii requires a minimum of thirty-five square feet of unencumbered indoor instructional or play area per child for daytime care and fifty square feet per child in rooms used for sleeping (nighttime/night care), across family child care homes, group child care centers, and infant/toddler centers

nighttime/night care

outdoor space must be at least seventy-five square feet per child for family child care homes (children twelve months or older, with a 150-square-foot minimum total) and for infant/toddler centers, while group child care centers use a graduated outdoor-area formula (e.g., 720 sq ft for 6 children plus 70 sq ft per additional child) (HAR §§ 17-891.1-38

HAR §§ 17-891.1-38

A Hawaii family child care home may provide care for no more than six children at the same time during any part of a twenty-four hour day, with no more than two children under eighteen months of age — increasing to up to four children under eighteen months if there is additional adult help in the home

HAR § 17-891.1-18

the provider's own children age six or older (and those under six who are in school or another child care facility more than six hours per day) are not counted in the total (HAR § 17-891.1-18

six or older (and those under six who are in school or another child care facility more than six hours per day) are not counted in the total (HAR § 1

Hawaii DOES impose a maximum group size in addition to staff-child ratios: group child care centers are capped at 16 children for two-year-olds, 24 for three-year-olds, 32 for four-year-olds, and 40 for five-and-older (with corresponding ratios of 1:8, 1:12, 1:16, and 1:20, and infants under 24 months not permitted in group child care centers), and 'the maximum group size of the number of children in one group shall not be exceeded' (HAR § 17-892.2-36(d)-(e)).

HAR § 17-892.2-36(d)-(e)

Infant and toddler child care centers have maximum group sizes of 6, 8, 10, or 12 depending on age (HAR § 17-895-17(f)).

HAR § 17-895-17(f)

How much indoor space per child does Hawaii require?

Hawaii requires a minimum of thirty-five square feet of unencumbered indoor instructional or play area per child for daytime care and fifty square feet per child in rooms used for sleeping (nighttime/night care), across family child care homes, group child care centers, and infant/toddler centers; outdoor space must be at least seventy-five square feet per child for family child care homes (children twelve months or older, with a 150-square-foot minimum total) and for infant/toddler centers, while group child care centers use a graduated outdoor-area formula (e.g., 720 sq ft for 6 children plus 70 sq ft per additional child) (HAR §§ 17-891.1-38; 17-892.2-80(d); 17-895.1-85).

Does Hawaii require outdoor play space too?

Hawaii requires a minimum of thirty-five square feet of unencumbered indoor instructional or play area per child for daytime care and fifty square feet per child in rooms used for sleeping (nighttime/night care), across family child care homes, group child care centers, and infant/toddler centers; outdoor space must be at least seventy-five square feet per child for family child care homes (children twelve months or older, with a 150-square-foot minimum total) and for infant/toddler centers, while group child care centers use a graduated outdoor-area formula (e.g., 720 sq ft for 6 children plus 70 sq ft per additional child) (HAR §§ 17-891.1-38; 17-892.2-80(d); 17-895.1-85).

What space is excluded when calculating capacity in Hawaii?

Most states exclude hallways, bathrooms, kitchens, offices, and storage from the usable indoor activity space used to compute capacity. Confirm the exact exclusions in the cited Hawaii rule above.