NC Daycare Attendance Log and Enrollment Forms Requirements

Your DCDEE consultant can walk in unannounced on any operating day and ask to see your attendance log. If the log is incomplete — missing a child's arrival time from that morning, or blank for yesterday — that is a compliance deficiency in writing. North Carolina's family child care home recordkeeping rules are not suggestions, and attendance documentation is the one they check first.

Daily Attendance Log

Under 10A NCAC 09 .1721(e)(6), you must record the actual arrival and departure time for every child every day. Not the scheduled time — the real time a parent walks in and signs.

The parent or authorized pickup person signs the child in and out. You do not fill in times on their behalf. If a parent forgets to sign out during a chaotic afternoon pickup, note the time yourself and have them initial it at the next drop-off.

Keep completed logs for at least one year from the date of entry. Paper binders work fine. If you use a digital system (Brightwheel, Procare, HiMama), make sure it captures actual timestamps and can produce a printout on demand — your consultant may not want to scroll through your tablet.

Enrollment Forms and Child Records

For each enrolled child, you must maintain a file containing:

• Health assessment from a licensed healthcare provider, completed before admission or within 30 days after admission
• Immunization record — current, or a signed religious/medical exemption
• Emergency medical care plan signed by the parent and their physician, updated at least annually and whenever the child's health status changes
• Emergency contacts and authorized pickups — names of individuals authorized to receive the child, plus names and phone numbers of persons to contact in an emergency
• Signed Written Plan of Care acknowledgement — this document explains how you will handle routine tasks, including timing, responsible caregivers, transportation, and parent notification. The parent signs it on or before the child's first day.

Retain all child records for the duration of enrollment plus one year after the child's last day. If a family leaves in March 2027, you hold that file until at least March 2028.

Parent Handbook

DCDEE does not mandate a specific parent handbook format, but the Written Plan of Care that you are required to have parents sign effectively becomes your handbook's backbone. At minimum, your handbook should address:

• Operating hours and holiday closures
• Your discipline policy (North Carolina prohibits corporal punishment and any form of humiliation in licensed care)
• Illness and exclusion policies (when you will send a child home)
• Meals and snack schedules
• Nap and rest time procedures
• Fee schedule, payment terms, and late pickup fees
• Your emergency procedures — fire drills, lockdowns, severe weather

The handbook itself is not a form your consultant audits line by line, but the signed Written Plan of Care acknowledgement is. Make sure the acknowledgement references or attaches the handbook so parents cannot later claim they were unaware of your policies.

Keeping It Organized

A three-ring binder per child is still the simplest system. Tab sections for health records, emergency contacts, Written Plan of Care, and daily attendance. Keep a master attendance binder at the front door where parents sign in and out.

If you accept state subsidy families, you also need to track attendance through the NC FAST Provider Portal with monthly roster submissions — that is a separate digital requirement on top of your on-site paper records.

The North Carolina Home Daycare Licensing Guide includes printable templates for attendance logs, enrollment checklists, and the Written Plan of Care.

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