License Exempt Providers

An adult reading a book to a child.

  What is a License Exempt Provider?

Finding appropriate child care can be difficult for families. Especially when they have special circumstances such as needing non-traditional care hours. License Exempt Providers can help address many of these difficulties. Providers are adults who care for children in either their home (related providers) or the child’s home (unrelated providers). ​

Fire extinguisher mounted on a blue wall.

Providers are required to complete a one-time License Exempt Provider Preservice Training (LEPPT) and an annual Health and Safety refresher course by registering through MiRegistry. These courses can be found on the Statewide Training Calendar. LEPPT is a seven-hour course, and the cost is $10. The Health and Safety Refresher takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete. In addition, each year, a Health and Safety visit from their License Exempt Provider Coach is required.  ​

Assistance payments are available through the state of Michigan’s Child Development and Care Program (CDC) through the Michigan Department of Education-Office of Great Start for those families who qualify. ​

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Requirements

All providers are required to attend initial and ongoing health and safety training. The initial 7 hour LEPPT training ($10) and the annual Health and Safety training are both required. Completion of these trainings qualifies providers as Level 1. Step by step instructions can be found here.

There is an opportunity for license exempt-related and license exempt-unrelated providers to earn a higher hourly rate from CDC (Level 2) by completing 10 more hours of approved training per year in the following topics.

Group of adults sitting. Some adults have notebooks on their laps.
  • Child Development
    • Interactions and Guidance
    • Teaching and Learning
    • Observation, Documentation and Assessment
    • Health, Safety and Nutrition
    • Family and Community Engagement
    • Professionalism
    • Management

These trainings must be completed through MiRegistry. In order to keep Level 2 status, providers must complete 10 hours of training each year. Visit the Statewide Training Calendar to find available trainings.

Interested in becoming a License Exempt Provider?

Learn more by clicking the links below.

Child Development and Care (CDC) Program
health And safety visits
license Exempt Process

Visit LARA to learn more about becoming a licensed provider. There may be grant opportunities available to offset the costs of getting started.

LEP Grant Update

Grant payments were sent in March 2023.

Tax Information:

Here are a few resources to support Licensed Exempt Provider with tax questions: 

2022 Tax Workbooks for Home-based Child Care

Additionally, Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services (WEESSN), a program of Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA), partnered with Civitas Strategies to create a revolutionary new set of free tax resources specifically for child care businesses. This package, listed below, includes tax guides to empower providers to take advantage of efficient, cost-effective online methods of tax preparation and complete their own tax submissions. Additionally, an online app runs through key business questions and provides a printout of information so that family child care providers that use a tax preparer can ensure the tax preparer has all the correct info they need so that the filing is done correctly. Lastly, an additional app focused on the Employee Retention Tax Credit runs through a series of questions to help child care providers assess whether they are eligible for the tax credit and how to go about applying for it.   

TAX GUIDES: The IRS believes online tax programs are more accurate, so electronically prepared returns are audited at a lower rate. Additionally, tax preparers who use online tax preparation software often have more accurate, positive outcomes. 

Explainer Guide
Online Tax Preparation Buyer’s Guide for Child Care Businesses
Guía del usuario para la preparación de impuestos en línea para empresas de cuidado infantil 

Turbo Tax Guide
Turbo Tax Self-Employed Online Tax Preparation Guide for Child Care Businesses
Guía de preparación de impuestos en línea para propietarios por cuenta propia de TurboTax para empresas de cuidado infantil 

H & R Block
H&R Block Self-Employed Online Tax Preparation Guide for Child Care Businesses
Guía de preparación de impuestos en línea para trabajadores autónomos de H&R Block para empresas de cuidado infantil 

Tax Act
TaxAct Self-Employed Online Tax Preparation Guide for Child Care Businesses
TaxAct Autónomo Guía de preparación de impuestos en línea para empresas de cuidado infantil 

APP FOR TAX FILING ASSISTANCE: The Automation of the Confidence in Quality Tax Rubric gives child care providers the specific knowledge they need to provide accurate information about their business and understand where to enter data on their tax forms, a printout can be given to tax preparers who may not understand the complexities of child care tax law:  

English: https://civitas-rubric-eng.glideapp.io  
Spanish: https://civitas-rubric-esp.glideapp.io  

AUTOMATION OF STIMULUS TAX CREDIT ASSESSMENTS: This app will help providers determine if they are likely to be eligible for Employee Retention Tax Credit funding and what the next steps are to claim funding.    

English: ertc-eng.glideapp.io  
Spanish: ertc-espanol.glideapp.io