A DECAL licensing consultant can walk in any day you are open. The visit goes smoothly when the records are in one place, current, and easy to hand over. This checklist covers what the consultant looks at and the records to have ready, with the rule behind each one.
Key facts
- DECAL visits every licensed child care learning center twice a year, unannounced: one licensing study and one monitoring visit.
- Core rules, such as staff:child ratios, are checked on every visit. Each core rule citation gets a risk level of low, medium, high or extreme.
- Daily attendance and arrival and departure records must cover the 12 preceding months (Rule 591-1-1-.08).
- Each child's file stays while the child is enrolled and for one year after they leave.
- Staff files stay for the length of employment plus one calendar year (Rule 591-1-1-.24).
- Fire drills are monthly. Tornado and other emergency drills are every six months. Drill logs are kept for two years.
- Your inspection report is posted on DECAL's website, where parents can read it.
What happens on a DECAL visit
Before the visit, the consultant reviews your program in KOALA: licensed capacity limits, supervision plans, floor plans, and any waivers or variances. They also review your compliance history for the past year so they can check whether earlier citations were fixed.
On site, the consultant walks through each classroom with the licensing or monitoring checklist. They note staff names, adult to child ratios, building hazards, playgrounds and outdoor equipment, lesson plans, equipment, routine care, and how staff interact with and supervise children.
Then they go to the files. DECAL's policy lists staff records, children's records, transportation documentation, swimming and field trip documentation, medication administration, fire and safety drills, emergency preparedness procedures, menus and attendance.
If a rule is cited, you write a plan of correction with specific actions and a timeline. You and the consultant both sign the report. You get a copy, and a copy goes on the DECAL website.
The records checklist
| Record | What it must show | Keep for | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily attendance | Each child's attendance for the day | 12 preceding months | 591-1-1-.08(5) |
| Arrival and departure (sign-in and sign-out) | Date, child's name, arrival and departure times, signature or initials of the parent or authorized person | 12 preceding months | 591-1-1-.08(6) |
| Child file | Child and parent identifying information, people authorized to pick up, emergency contacts, doctor or clinic, allergies and conditions, parent authorizations including emergency medical care | While enrolled plus 1 year | 591-1-1-.08(1) |
| Immunizations | Form 3231, or a signed affidavit against immunization | In the child file | 591-1-1-.08(2) |
| Incident documentation | For incidents needing professional medical attention: child's name, illness or injury, date, how it happened, staff present, how the parent was notified, services provided | In the child file | 591-1-1-.08(3) |
| Personnel file | Identifying information, employment history, education, orientation, each training's title, date, trainer signature, location and clock hours, and a signed accuracy statement | Employment plus 1 calendar year | 591-1-1-.24(1) |
| Staff attendance or payroll | Daily attendance or payroll for each employee | Preceding 6 months | 591-1-1-.24(2) |
| Background checks | A satisfactory comprehensive records check determination before the person is present with children | On file | 591-1-1-.09 |
| Drill log | Dates and times of fire, tornado and other emergency drills | 2 years | 591-1-1-.21(3) |
| Emergency plan | Evacuation, relocation, shelter-in-place, lock-down, communication, reunification and continuity, with accommodations for infants, toddlers and children with disabilities | Current | 591-1-1-.21(1)(p) |
Children's files
DECAL's Indicator Manual says the enrollment form must be filled out with no blank spaces. If something does not apply, the parent writes N/A. Check the newest files first, since those were often rushed during a busy enrollment week.
For immunizations, a letter from a doctor does not count. Medical exemptions are marked on Form 3231 itself and are valid for one year. Religious objections use the notarized DPH Form 2208, which does not expire.
Sign-in and attendance records
The most common gap on paper is a missing departure time or staff initials where the parent's signature should be. The Indicator Manual suggests comparing daily attendance against arrival and departure records each day, so every child in the building is accounted for. If you are thinking about moving off the clipboard, read what a digital sign-in record must keep.
Staff files and training
Two items get checked often. First, CPR and first aid: when any child is present, at least 50 percent of the caregiver staff present must be trained in pediatric CPR and pediatric first aid, and the director must hold current certification (Rule 591-1-1-.14). Second, annual training: after the first year, supervisory and caregiver staff need 10 clock hours each calendar year (Rule 591-1-1-.33). Keep certificates in the file or in Georgia's workforce registry.
Ratios in every room
The consultant counts children and staff in every area where children are present. Ratios are a core rule. See the Georgia ratio and group size table and post it in each classroom.
Posted notices
Near the front entrance, Rule 591-1-1-.27 calls for the current license, a copy of the rules, and the communicable disease chart. The dated weekly menu, emergency plans and the notice about parents' right to see your latest licensing report also need to be posted.
Gaps worth checking before a visit
These are the places paper systems tend to slip. Walk through each one yourself.
- Sign-in sheets with blank departure times, or initials that belong to a teacher.
- Authorized pickup lists that are out of date compared with what the front desk actually allows.
- Form 3231 certificates with an expiration date that has passed.
- Incident forms that do not say how the parent was notified.
- Training certificates missing the trainer's signature or clock hours.
- Drill logs with a missing month.
If most of these live on paper today, one system can hold them together. PlayroomOS keeps kiosk sign-in, live headcounts by room, incident reports and digital enrollment files in one place, and Square A sets it up in your center for you.
What to do this week
- Pull 10 child files at random and check each against the table above.
- Check every Form 3231 for an expiration date that has passed.
- Count the last 12 months of sign-in sheets. Fill any gap in your storage now.
- Confirm at least half of each shift's caregivers have current pediatric CPR and first aid.
- Open the drill log and confirm one fire drill for every month.
- Re-read your written emergency plan and confirm it covers reunification and infants.
- Read your last inspection report on the DECAL website and confirm every past citation is fixed.
Centers that take CAPS or CACFP have a second set of paperwork rules on top of licensing. See CAPS and CACFP paperwork for Georgia daycares.
Frequently asked questions
How often does DECAL inspect a child care center in Georgia?
DECAL's Annual Regulatory Inspection Policy says licensing consultants make unannounced, on-site inspections of every licensed child care learning center twice a year. One is a licensing study that evaluates the whole facility. The other is a monitoring visit that covers core rules and any violations cited at the licensing study. Complaint and incident investigations can happen on top of these two visits.
Are DECAL licensing visits announced ahead of time?
The two yearly regulatory visits are unannounced under DECAL's Annual Regulatory Inspection Policy. Georgia Rule 591-1-1-.37 says a center's license covers entry during operating hours for both scheduled and unscheduled inspections, including access to staff, children and records.
What records does a DECAL consultant check?
DECAL's inspection policy lists staff records, children's records, vehicle and transportation documentation, swimming and field trip documentation, medication administration, fire and safety drills, emergency preparedness procedures, menus and attendance. In each classroom the consultant also notes staff names, adult to child ratios, hazards, playground equipment, lesson plans, routine care and supervision.
How long does a Georgia daycare have to keep sign-in records?
Georgia Rule 591-1-1-.08 requires child care learning centers to keep daily attendance records and arrival and departure records for the 12 preceding months and to make them available to DECAL in printed or written form on request. Centers that take CAPS must keep original arrival and departure records for at least three years from the last date of service.
What happens if a child does not have an immunization certificate on file?
Georgia Rule 591-1-1-.08(2) says no child may continue enrollment for more than 30 days without evidence of age-appropriate immunizations or a signed affidavit against them. DECAL's Indicator Manual says immunizations are documented on the Georgia Certificate of Immunization, Form 3231, and allows up to 90 calendar days only for children still completing a vaccine series or during a vaccine shortage.
Sources
- DECAL Annual Regulatory Inspection Policy: Licensing Study and Monitoring Visits
- DECAL Child Care Learning Centers Rules and Regulations Indicator Manual (Chapter 591-1-1, October 1, 2026)
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 591-1-1, Child Care Learning Centers (Georgia Secretary of State)
- Rule 591-1-1-.08 Children's Records
- Rule 591-1-1-.24 Personnel Records
- Rule 591-1-1-.37 Inspections and Investigations
- Georgia DPH: Immunizations for Schools and Childcare (Form 3231)
Inspection ready
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