An individual or an agency shall not provide child foster care unless the individual or agency is a licensee. However, a license under this chapter is not required of the following:

1. 1. An individual providing child foster care for a total of not more than twenty days in one calendar year.
2. 2. A residential care facility licensed under chapter 135C which is approved for the care of children.
3. 3. A hospital licensed under chapter 135B.
4. 4. A health care facility licensed under chapter 135C.
5. 5. A juvenile detention home or juvenile shelter care home approved under section 232.142.
6. 6. An institution listed in section 218.1.
7. 7. A facility licensed under chapter 125.
8. 8. An individual providing child care as a babysitter at the request of a parent, guardian, fictive kin, or relative having lawful custody of the child.

Unnumbered paragraph 1 amended Subsection 8 amended

[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a49; C39, §3661.063; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.8; C81, §237.4; 82 Acts, ch 1016, §2] 84 Acts, ch 1050, §1; 87 Acts, ch 44, §2; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §728; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §15, 16