1. (1) Applicant. The owner or owner’s representative who is required, pursuant to the provisions of these rules, to sign the application for a license.
2. (2) Application. The form for, and the process of, applying for a license from the Department of Human Services.
3. (3) Child care agency. A place or facility, regardless of whether it is currently licensed, that is operated as a “family child care home”, a “group child care home”, a “child care center”, or a “drop-in child care center”, that provides child care for three (3) or more hours per day to five
4. (5) or more children who are not related to the primary educator.
5. (4) Child Care Agency Board of Review, Board of Review or Board. A committee established to review actions initiated by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children’s Services to deny an application for licensure, revoke a license, or otherwise limit any license, except for summary suspension of, or probation involving, a license; any civil penalties imposed by the Department of Human Services; or any safety plan implemented by the Department of Human Services that will be, or has been, in effect ninety (90) days or more.
6. (5) Civil Penalty. A financial sanction imposed by the Department of Human Services against a child care agency that has violated a licensing regulation.
7. (6) Commissioner. The Commissioner of the Department of Human Services.
8. (7) Continuous License. A license issued to a child care agency following its provisional licensure period and after the agency has demonstrated its ability to attain and maintain compliance with all licensing laws and regulations.
9. (8) Denial. The decision of the Department of Human Services not to issue a provisional or continuous license.
10. (9) Department (DHS). The Tennessee Department of Human Services and its authorized representatives.
11. (10) Hearing Official. The administrative judge assigned to conduct summary suspension hearings or for Child Care Agency Board of Review hearings as may be permitted by law.
12. (11) Law. The statutory or regulatory provisions affecting the operation of a child care agency.
13. (12) License. A permit issued by the Department to a child care agency, authorizing the licensee to provide child care in accordance with provisions of the license, the law, and the regulations of the Department. Issuance of a license is not an endorsement by the Department of child care methods or of an agency's operational philosophy.
14. (13) Licensee. The person, agency, group, or entity to whom or to which a license to operate a child care agency is issued by the Department.
15. (14) Provisional license. A license issued to a child care agency for one hundred twenty (120) days for the purpose of allowing the child care agency to demonstrate their ability to attain and maintain compliance with all licensing laws and regulations. Such provisional license may continue in effect, unless suspended if the Department fails to issue a continuous license after the one hundred twenty (120) day period if the Department determines an extension is necessary to allow the child care agency to demonstrate ability to maintain compliance with licensing laws and regulations.
16. (15) Reapplication. Application for a new license following denial or revocation of a license.
17. (16) Restricted license. A license which, either at the time of issuance, or during the license’s existence, is reduced in its operational authority by the Department so that the child care agency’s ability to provide certain child care related services are limited because the Department has determined that one or more areas of the agency’s operations are not in compliance with child care laws or regulations or the agency’s operations are, or have posed, a risk to the health, safety or welfare of children in the agency’s care or the agency’s operations pose the potential of such risk. A restricted license may also be imposed by the Child Care Agency Board of Review as part of its review of the licensing status of a child care agency in the same manner and for the same reasons as such a license is issued or imposed by the Department. A restricted license may be appealed to the Child Care Agency Board of Review.
18. (17) Revocation. The permanent removal of an existing license.
19. (18) Summary Suspension. The emergency suspension of a license for violation(s) of licensing laws or regulations needed to adequately protect the health, safety, or welfare of children in a child care agency. Summary suspension may be ordered in circumstances that have resulted in death, injury, or harm to a child or that have posed or threatened to pose a serious and immediate threat of harm or injury to a child based upon the intentional or negligent failure to comply with licensing laws or regulations.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 71-1-105(a)(5); 71-3-501, et seq.; and 71-3-509(e). Administrative History: Chapter 1240-04-05 has been assigned a new control number, removed and renumbered to chapter 0250-04-05 filed and effective March 25, 1999. New rule filed September 29, 2000; effective December 13, 2000. Amendments filed May 1, 2018; effective July 30, 2018. Amendments filed August 22, 2025; effective November 20, 2025.