Illinois requires a Certificate of Child Health Examination and up-to-date immunizations before your child starts at a licensed child care facility. The state also requires lead screening for young children. Here's every form, the deadlines, and where to find what you need.
Last verified: August 26, 2026
Illinois Child Care Act (225 ILCS 10/) and DCFS licensing standards (89 Ill. Admin. Code 407) require a Certificate of Child Health Examination for every child entering licensed child care. This is the same form used for school entry.
The health exam must be completed no earlier than 6 months before enrollment and must be on file at the child care center. After the initial exam, Illinois requires updated physicals on a schedule matching well-child visit recommendations — typically annually for children under 2, and every 2 years after age 2.
The Certificate includes a physical examination, developmental assessment, and screening for lead exposure, vision, and hearing as age-appropriate.
(Source: IDPH — Immunization Program; 225 ILCS 10/; 89 Ill. Admin. Code 407.310, accessed Aug 26, 2026)
Illinois requires all children in licensed child care to be age-appropriately immunized per the IDPH immunization schedule (77 Ill. Admin. Code 695). The child care immunization requirements match the school-entry requirements for the child's age.
Required immunizations for child care (age-appropriate doses):
Illinois is one of the few states that requires lead screening for children in child care. Under the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act (410 ILCS 45/), children must have a blood lead test at the following ages:
The lead screening results must be documented on the Certificate of Child Health Examination. If your child hasn't been tested, your pediatrician can order the blood test at the same visit as the physical exam.
(Source: IDPH — Lead Poisoning Prevention; 410 ILCS 45/, accessed Aug 26, 2026)
Illinois camp health form requirements depend on the type of camp:
(Source: IDPH — Youth Camp Program; 77 Ill. Admin. Code 820, accessed Aug 26, 2026)
Licensed child care centers need the Certificate of Child Health Examination + immunization records + lead screening. Camps vary. Call ahead and get the exact list.
Bring the Certificate of Child Health Examination form. Your pediatrician can complete the physical, update immunizations, run the lead screening, and fill out everything in one visit.
Ask your pediatrician to pull your child's I-CARE record. This shows exactly which doses are documented and whether any catch-up vaccines are needed before enrollment.
Turn in the completed Certificate and immunization records before the first day. Keep copies of everything — you'll need them again for kindergarten and every school transition.
Every person in your family gets a private @familystork.com email address. Give it to your pediatrician — they send records to it, and the health story builds itself. Every vaccine date, every health exam result, every lead screening — all filed automatically into one timeline.
When the next camp asks for immunization records? When you switch daycares? When kindergarten enrollment starts? It's all already in one place.
$99/year — or about $10 a month.
Illinois allows medical exemptions (physician certification that immunization is medically contraindicated) and religious exemptions (parent's written statement on the grounds of religious belief) for child care immunization requirements.
Governing statutes: Child Care Act (225 ILCS 10/); 77 Ill. Admin. Code 695.
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