Oregon center ratios, by room: the 2026 cheatsheet

Oregon's certified child care centers are licensed by the Child Care Licensing Division of the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). If you learned the rules under the old Office of Child Care or the Division 300 rules, the numbers below are the current ones: Division 305 replaced Division 300 on January 1, 2024, and DELC's compiled rulebook carries updates effective September 1, 2026.¹

This is a working summary, not legal advice. When the rule and this page disagree, the rule wins. Your licensing specialist is the tiebreaker.

The ratios, by age

OAR 414-305-0400 Table 3A, for centers first certified after July 15, 2001.¹

Centers first certified on or before July 15, 2001 may run Table 3B instead: 1:4 (group of 8) from 6 weeks to 30 months, 1:10 (20) from 30 months to school-age, and 1:15 (30) for school-age. A center picks one table, not a mix, needs written approval from the Child Care Licensing Division to switch, and may switch only twice.¹

The five-year-old who isn't school-age yet

This is the most expensive misreading in the table. There is no 1:15 tier for preschoolers. The 1:10 row runs all the way from 36 months to school-age, and school-age isn't a birthday. The rule defines it as a child eligible for kindergarten or above on or before the first day of the current school year, and it counts the summer before kindergarten too.¹

Oregon school districts set their own kindergarten entry date. Most require a child to turn five on or before September 1.³ So a five-year-old with a mid-September birthday is usually still a preschool-age child, on 1:10 with a group of 20, for most of that year.

Mixed-age groups

The default rule is short. In a mixed-age group, you meet the ratio and group size for the youngest child in the group. One 30-month-old in a room of preschoolers puts the whole room on 1:5 with a group of 10.¹

You can combine older toddlers through school-age children in one group, and children in adjacent age ranges can be combined. If you combine infants with younger and older toddlers, non-mobile infants must be kept separate from mobile children, and activities must be safe for everyone in the group.¹

The small-center exception

When there are 16 or fewer children on site, or the center's licensed capacity is 16 or fewer, you may staff from DELC's Mixed-Age Ratio Table instead. It takes two numbers: the total number of children present and how many of them are under two. Some examples straight from the table:²

Excerpt from DELC PTA-0732, Mixed-Age Ratio Table, revised January 27, 2026. Use the full table, not this excerpt.²

Using the table comes with conditions. You still meet every other requirement for the age groups in care, and at least one staff member must be teacher-qualified for one of the ages present. If infants and toddlers are in the group, you also need separation of non-mobile from mobile children, a diaper-changing station and handwashing sink in the room, and a staff member teacher-qualified for infants or toddlers. The children don't have to stay together, but each space has to meet the table for the children in it.²

Where centers slip

Nap time

One teacher, aide II or aide I may supervise a resting room, but only if there are no infants in the group, every child is falling asleep, asleep or waking up, the room is arranged so all children are supervised, and enough staff are on site to be called in. The moment two or more children are restless, vocal, off their mat, sitting up or interacting, full ratio applies again.¹

Outdoor play and field trips

You may exceed group size on field trips, outdoor play, planned large-group activities, napping and eating. The ratio doesn't relax. If two classes mix on the playground, staff it as a mixed-age group: enough adults for the youngest children out there.¹

Who counts

Staff can count toward ratio while driving children, doing minimal cleaning or food service with supervision maintained, or helping a child in a restroom that opens directly into the classroom. Every child counts toward ratio, group size and capacity except a child visiting with a parent who is directly supervising them, and minors who qualify as volunteers.¹ Each group also needs at least one caregiver who meets the qualifications of a teacher.

The first and last hour

When only one staff member is needed for the only group on site, typically at opening and closing, you must meet the ratio and group size for the youngest child and have a second person readily available to respond, unless DELC has approved an alternate plan.¹ A closing teacher alone in the building with three children still needs that second person reachable.

How RoundUp counts it

RoundUp's Ratio Monitoring counts the children checked in to each classroom against the staff clocked in to that room, works out each child's row from their date of birth, and applies the Mixed-Age Ratio Table while 16 or fewer children are present. A birthdate alone can't show kindergarten eligibility, so it keeps a five-year-old on the preschool row (1:10) until they turn six. That errs toward more staff, not fewer. See Ratios for how the count works.