How to Prepare for a Maryland Childcare Licensing Inspection
You just got the call — or maybe you didn’t, because Maryland’s Office of Child Care can show up unannounced. Either way, a licensing inspection is coming, and the clock is ticking. If the thought of an inspector walking through your center makes your stomach drop, this guide is for you.
Here’s exactly what Maryland licensing specialists look at during an inspection, the areas where centers most commonly get cited, and a step-by-step preparation plan you can execute even if your inspection is next week.
How Maryland Childcare Inspections Work
Maryland’s Office of Child Care (OCC), operating under the Maryland State Department of Education, is responsible for all child care licensing and regulation in the state. The OCC’s Licensing Branch has 13 Regional Offices across the state, and each one is responsible for inspecting the child care facilities in its area.
There are a few things every director should know about how inspections work.
First, licensed child care centers receive at least one inspection per year. These can be scheduled or unannounced — and complaint-driven inspections are always unannounced. Second, inspectors use a standardized system called ELIS (Electronic Licensing Inspection System) to record compliance or noncompliance with specific COMAR regulations. Every finding ends up on a report that becomes publicly available on CheckCCMD.org, the state’s searchable inspection database. Third, if you’re found out of compliance, your licensing specialist may issue a compliance agreement. Depending on the severity, this can range from a corrective action plan to an intermediate sanction, all the way up to suspension or revocation of your license.
The inspection results are public. Parents can look them up. Prospective families can see your track record. Your compliance history follows your center.
The 8 Areas Inspectors Evaluate
Maryland licensing inspections cover virtually every aspect of your operation. Under COMAR 13A.16, the major regulatory chapters correspond directly to what inspectors assess. Here are the areas, in the order they’re typically reviewed.
1. Management and Administration (COMAR 13A.16.03)
Inspectors review your administrative records, including your current license posted visibly, liability insurance documentation, your emergency preparedness plan, parent handbooks, enrollment agreements, and staff records. They check that you’re properly notifying OCC of changes (new staff, incidents, address changes) within the required timeframes.
The common trip-up here is incomplete staff files. Every staff member needs a complete file with their application, background check clearance, health inventory, training documentation, and professional development plan — all current and organized for review.
2. Operational Requirements (COMAR 13A.16.04)
This covers your hours of operation, your policies on admissions and enrollment, attendance records, transportation policies, and your fee schedule. Inspectors verify that your posted hours match your actual operations, and that your enrollment doesn’t exceed your licensed capacity at any point during the day.
3. Physical Plant and Equipment (COMAR 13A.16.05)
Your facility is inspected for compliance with space requirements (at least 35 square feet of indoor space per child, 75 square feet of outdoor play space per child), safety of equipment, maintenance conditions, bathroom ratios (one toilet and sink per 15 children), temperature and ventilation, and absence of hazards like peeling paint, exposed wiring, or unsecured cleaning supplies.
Centers in buildings constructed before 1978 need lead risk reduction certificates. Outdoor play areas must be fenced if near traffic or other hazards, with barriers at least four feet tall.
4. Staff Requirements (COMAR 13A.16.06)
This is where credential compliance lives — and where many centers get cited. Inspectors review every staff member’s qualifications, including background checks, CPS clearances, health inventories, preservice training, continued training hours, CPR/First Aid certifications, and (if applicable) SIDS training and Medication Administration Training (MAT).
For each staff member, the inspector checks that all credentials are current as of the date of inspection. If a background check expired three days ago, it’s a finding. If a CPR cert lapsed last month, it’s a finding. There’s no grace period.
5. Child Protection (COMAR 13A.16.07)
Inspectors verify that your center has written policies on child abuse reporting, that staff know their mandated reporter obligations, and that your discipline policies comply with state regulations (no corporal punishment, no withholding of food, no isolation as discipline). They may interview staff to confirm they understand reporting procedures.
6. Child Supervision (COMAR 13A.16.08)
This is the staff-to-child ratio check. Inspectors count heads — both children and staff — to verify you’re meeting the required ratios at the moment of inspection. Maryland’s ratios under COMAR 13A.16.08.03 are strict: one adult per three infants (6 weeks to 18 months), one per six toddlers (18 months to 2 years), one per ten for children aged 2–4, and one per fifteen for school-age children. Mixed-age groups default to the ratio for the youngest child present.
Inspectors also review your daily attendance records and staffing logs to verify that ratios were maintained not just at the moment of inspection, but consistently.
7. Safety (COMAR 13A.16.10)
Beyond CPR certification (which falls here as well as under staff requirements), inspectors check your first aid supplies, fire drill records (monthly drills are required), emergency evacuation plans, and medication administration procedures. If you transport children, they verify that a CPR-certified adult is present in the vehicle.
8. Health and Nutrition (COMAR 13A.16.11–12)
Inspectors review your health policies, including procedures for handling sick children, medication storage and administration logs, and whether child health records (immunizations, lead screening for children under 6, medical evaluations) are current and on file. Nutrition requirements include meal and snack schedules, menu postings, and compliance with USDA guidelines if you participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
The 5 Most Common Inspection Failures
Based on the COMAR regulatory structure and enforcement patterns, these are the areas where Maryland child care centers most frequently receive citations.
Lapsed staff credentials. A background check, CPR cert, or health inventory that expired before the inspection date. This is the single most preventable citation, and it happens constantly because directors are tracking dozens of dates across multiple staff members.
Incomplete staff files. Missing documentation in personnel files — a training certificate that was completed but never filed, a health inventory form that was partially filled out, a professional development plan that was never updated.
Ratio violations. Being one staff member short during a transition period (drop-off, pick-up, lunch, nap transition) when someone is on break or stepped out. Inspectors check ratios at the moment they walk in, not when you’re fully staffed.
Facility maintenance issues. Items that seem minor but are technically non-compliant: a broken latch on a supply cabinet containing cleaning products, an outdoor fence with a gap, a bathroom without a working soap dispenser, a playground surface that needs replacing.
Record-keeping gaps. Missing or incomplete fire drill logs, attendance records that don’t match the children present, medication logs without proper signatures, or food allergy documentation that isn’t readily accessible to all staff.
Your Pre-Inspection Preparation Checklist
Whether your inspection is in two weeks or two days, here’s the systematic approach.
Week-before actions: Pull every staff member’s personnel file and verify that background checks, CPR/First Aid certifications, health inventories, and training hours are all current. If anything is expired or about to expire, get the renewal process started immediately. Review your fire drill log — you need documentation of monthly drills. Walk through every room and the outdoor area looking for maintenance issues, unsecured chemicals, and equipment in disrepair.
Day-before actions: Verify that your license is visibly posted. Confirm that your staffing schedule for tomorrow meets ratio requirements with margin — assume someone calls out. Check that child records (immunizations, emergency contacts, enrollment forms) are complete and accessible. Make sure your parent handbook, emergency plan, and discipline policies are available for the inspector to review.
Day-of mindset: An inspection is not adversarial. Licensing specialists are there to assess compliance, but they’re also a resource. If they identify an issue, they’ll typically explain the specific regulation you’re not meeting and give you a path to correct it. Be cooperative, be organized, and have your documentation ready to present.
The Ongoing Approach: Stay Inspection-Ready Year-Round
The directors who sail through inspections aren’t doing anything heroic. They’ve simply built compliance into their weekly operations instead of treating it as an event to prepare for.
That means checking credential expirations monthly (at minimum), running through your fire drill documentation after every drill, keeping staff files updated in real-time rather than in batches, and conducting your own informal facility walkthrough on a regular schedule.
The most effective tool is a system that tracks all of your staff credential expiration dates in one place and alerts you automatically — at 30 days, 14 days, and 3 days before anything lapses. If you get a reminder a month out, you have time to act. If you find out during the inspection, you have a citation.
Key Resources
- CheckCCMD.org — Search any licensed Maryland child care program’s inspection history
- COMAR 13A.16 — Full text of Maryland’s child care center regulations (available at dsd.maryland.gov)
- OCC Regional Licensing Offices — Contact your regional office for questions (find yours at earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org)
- OCC Licensing Forms — All required forms, including the Health Inventory (OCC 1204), are available at the Division of Early Childhood website
Download: [Maryland Childcare Licensing Inspection Checklist (PDF) →]
A printable, one-page compliance checklist covering all 8 inspection areas. Keep it in your office and review it monthly to stay inspection-ready year-round.
KinderFile is a compliance management tool built for Maryland daycare directors. It tracks staff credential expirations and sends automated SMS reminders before anything lapses — so you’re never caught off guard during an inspection.