New Hampshire

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

18 hours of professional development within the first 12 months of hire and annually thereafter for the center director, administrators, and all child care staff (12 hours for certain reduced-hour staff) (He-C 4002.33).

Lead teacher

Lead teachers must be at least 18 with a high school diploma and meet one of several options, e.g., 18 credits of related coursework (including at least 3 credits in child or human growth and development) plus 1,000 hours of experience, or a CDA credential (He-C 4002.35).

Director

Center directors must be at least 21 with a high school diploma, have 3 college credits in management or supervision, at least 1,500 hours of experience working with children in licensed child care or elementary school, and a qualifying education option such as a related associate degree or current early childhood certification (He-C 4002.35).

Worth knowing

Ratios are expressed as staffing tiers per group (e.g., 1 staff up to 4 infants; 3 staff for 9-12). Other bands: 25-35 months 1:6 (group 18); 48-59 months 1:12 (group 24); school-age programs (56+ months) 1:15 with max group 45. Mixed-age rooms use the average age. CAUTION: He-C 4002 was readopted effective Aug. 26, 2025; figures above are from the codification published by Cornell LII (sections marked effective April 22, 2022). The DHHS adopted-rule PDF could not be fetched (HTTP 403), so verify these values against the 2025 rule text at dhhs.nh.gov before relying on them.