Grandparents and other regular caregivers at daycare pickup

A grandparent who does pickup every Tuesday and Thursday needs the same written authorization as someone doing it once. There is no rule that repetition earns trust on its own. The good news is that setting this up properly takes ten minutes and then the arrangement runs itself.

This post is about the case that comes up constantly: a family with a grandparent, an aunt, a close friend, or a nanny who does pickup on a regular schedule, not just once in an emergency. What the paperwork actually needs to say, how to add or remove someone as your routine changes, and what happens on the rare day someone who is not on the list shows up at the door.

If you have not read our post on who is allowed to pick your child up from daycare, it covers the legal basics: the written consent requirement, why staff check ID even for people they recognize, and what to do when a plan changes at four in the afternoon. This post goes further into the specific situation of someone doing it as part of your regular week.

The rule does not get softer with repetition

The Child Care Licensing Regulation, the provincial rulebook every licensed centre in British Columbia follows, requires a licensee to have written consent from a parent, kept on file at the centre, before releasing a child to anyone other than the parent. That is section 57(3)(b). It applies the same way to a grandparent who has done pickup fifty times as it does to someone doing it for the first time.

This surprises some families. A grandparent who has been coming for months, who every educator in the building knows by name, can still feel singled out when asked for identification again. The check is the same procedure applied identically to everyone, whether staff recognize the person or not. A procedure that bends for people who seem familiar has stopped being a procedure.

Think about why a centre would want to relax the check for someone it knows well. Staff change. A substitute educator might be covering a shift and has never met your mother-in-law. Your family might have two grandmothers who visit, and the substitute cannot tell which one is on the list from memory alone. The centre's whole system for keeping children safe depends on checking the same thing every time rather than on any one person's memory of a face.

Two documents that do different jobs

There is a second part of the regulation worth understanding, because it explains why a recurring caregiver sometimes gets asked for different paperwork than a one-time pickup would.

Section 20 of the regulation requires a licensee to get a criminal record check for anyone over 12 who is "ordinarily present" at the centre while children are there. That is a real requirement, and it is meant for adults who are around the centre regularly, such as staff.

Section 20(2) then carves out a specific exception. A person is not treated as "ordinarily present" if they are only picking up or dropping off a child, and they are a parent or a person the parent has designated in writing to do that job. In plain words, someone whose only role at the centre is walking in the door, collecting your child, and walking back out does not fall under the ordinarily-present rule, provided the parent's written designation exists.

That matters for a grandparent doing regular pickup. Their role stays inside that narrow exception as long as they are only ever picking up or dropping off, and as long as the written designation from you is on file. If that same grandparent started spending hours at the centre for other reasons, a different part of the regulation could apply. For ordinary pickup duty, the written authorization is the document that matters, not a criminal record check.

What the written authorization actually covers

BC does not publish one standard form every licensed centre must use for authorizing a pickup person. Each centre builds its own, inside what the regulation requires: written consent from a parent, kept at the facility.

In common practice, a centre's own authorization form typically asks for the full name of the person being authorized, their relationship to your child, and a way to reach them. Some centres ask for a copy of photo identification to keep on file, so staff have something to compare against later. Some ask the parent to initial or sign next to each name individually, particularly if the list has several people on it.

Since this varies by centre, the useful thing is to ask your own centre directly what its form covers and how it wants updates submitted. Do not assume every centre works the same way, and do not assume the form you filled out at a previous daycare matches what a new one expects.

Setting up a regular caregiver before the first pickup

The single best thing you can do is finish this paperwork before the arrangement starts, not on the day of the first pickup.

Name the person clearly and completely, using their full legal name as it appears on identification, not a nickname. "Grandma Susan" is not something a substitute educator can match against a driver's licence.

State the relationship, even though it is not strictly required by the regulation. It gives staff useful context and makes the list easier to review later.

Tell the person what to expect. A grandparent who knows in advance that they will be asked for ID treats it as routine. A grandparent who is caught by surprise can feel like their word was not trusted, which is an unnecessary friction that a two-minute conversation prevents.

Bring photo identification the first several times, and be ready to keep bringing it. Some centres check every time regardless of history, and that is a reasonable policy, not a memory lapse on the centre's part.

If your family includes a grandparent visiting from outside Canada for a few weeks at a time, the same process applies. Get them added before the visit starts, have them bring a passport or another government photo ID for the first pickup, and remove them from the list once the visit ends if they will not be doing pickup again for a while. A list with an outdated name on it is one of the more common gaps in an otherwise well-run system.

Adding or removing someone as your routine changes

Family routines change. A grandparent who did pickup twice a week moves to once a month. A friend who helped out during a busy season is no longer part of the plan. A new nanny joins.

Contact the centre directly, in writing, whenever a change happens. Most licensed centres accept updates at any point in the year, not only at enrollment, though the exact process, whether that is an updated form, an email, or a conversation with a note added to your file, depends on the individual centre. Ask what your centre wants.

Removing someone matters as much as adding them, and it is the step families forget. Nobody feels urgency about deleting a name from a list. But a list that still authorizes a former nanny, or an ex-partner's relative from an arrangement that has since changed, is a list that no longer reflects who you actually want collecting your child. Set a reminder to review the whole list once a year, even if nothing has obviously changed, the same way you would check any other piece of paperwork tied to your child's care.

What happens if someone not on the list shows up

This is rare, and it is worth knowing exactly what happens so it does not feel alarming if it ever does.

Provincial guidance for licensed centres in BC describes the expectation clearly: a centre does not release a child to anyone who is not authorized. Staff attempt to contact the parent. If the situation raises a genuine safety concern rather than a simple mix-up, guidance for licensees also points them toward considering whether the Ministry of Children and Family Development or the police need to be involved, and documenting what happened.

For a family, the practical version of this is: expect a delay while the centre works through its process, and expect a phone call. That delay is the exact outcome the written-consent requirement is designed to produce. A centre that would release a child to an unlisted person because they seemed fine does not have a policy worth the name.

If you know in advance about a situation that could create confusion, such as a change in custody or a person you specifically do not want collecting your child, tell the centre in writing rather than leaving it to come up on the day. The regulation requires centres to keep a record of anyone who is not permitted access to a child, and staff can only act on that if you have told them.

Pickup authorization is not the same as an emergency contact

These two roles get confused often enough that it is worth stating plainly. Being listed as your child's emergency contact and being authorized to collect your child are two separate permissions under the regulation, and a person can hold one without automatically holding the other.

An emergency contact is someone the centre calls if it cannot reach you. Being authorized to collect your child is a different written consent entirely. If you want the same grandparent to be both, say so explicitly when you fill out the paperwork, and confirm with the centre that both boxes are checked. Assuming one covers the other is an easy way to end up with a person who can be called but cannot be handed your child.

How records get kept, and for how long

The regulation requires a centre to keep the records tied to your child, including the written pickup authorization, for at least two years after your child leaves the centre. This is why a centre asks for updated paperwork in writing rather than relying on something you mentioned verbally a year or two earlier. A written record outlasts memory, on both sides.

If you would like to see how the rest of the day connects to pickup, from the morning welcome at the door to the end of the afternoon, our post on a day at our centre, hour by hour walks through the full schedule.

The short version for a busy family

Get your regular caregiver on the written list before their first pickup, not after. Expect ID checks to continue even after months of the same routine, because that consistency is the point. Update the list in writing the moment something changes, in both directions, adding and removing. Know that emergency contact and pickup authorization are different permissions. And trust that if someone unlisted ever shows up, the delay that follows is the system doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Frequently asked questions

My mother-in-law does pickup every Tuesday and Thursday. Does she still need to be on a written list?

Yes. The Child Care Licensing Regulation requires written consent from a parent before a centre releases a child to anyone other than the parent, and that requirement does not soften with repetition. A regular pickup person needs the same written authorization on file as someone doing it once. Set it up before her first Tuesday rather than after.

Will the centre keep asking a grandparent for ID after months of the same routine?

Many centres do, and it is a reasonable practice rather than a sign the centre has forgotten who someone is. A centre that only checks new faces has trained its staff to rely on memory, which fails on the day a substitute educator is covering or a different grandparent than usual arrives. Checking every time removes that gap.

What actually goes on the written authorization form?

Practice varies by centre, since BC does not prescribe one province-wide form. Typically it asks for the person's full name, their relationship to the child, and contact information, and the parent's signature. Some centres also ask for a copy of photo ID on file. Ask your centre directly what its own form covers, since the regulation sets the requirement for written consent without dictating its layout.

How do I add a new caregiver to the approved list partway through the year?

Contact the centre directly and ask for its process, since this is not something the regulation standardizes. Most centres accept a written update at any time rather than only at enrollment. Give the person's full name and relationship to your child, and expect the centre to ask for photo identification the first time they collect your child.

How do I remove someone from the approved list?

Tell the centre in writing as soon as the arrangement ends, the same way you would add someone. A name that stays on a list after it no longer belongs there is a common gap, mostly because removing someone rarely feels urgent the way adding someone does. Review the whole list once a year even if nothing has obviously changed.

What happens if someone who is not authorized shows up to collect my child?

The centre does not release the child. Provincial guidance for licensed centres describes staff contacting the parent, and considering the safety of everyone present, including whether the Ministry of Children and Family Development or the police need to be told. Expect a delay while staff work through it. That delay is the system working as intended, not a failure of it.

Can I set an age minimum for who is allowed to collect my child?

A centre can choose to have its own policy about this, since BC's regulation does not set a minimum age for an authorized pickup person, leaving each centre to decide. If you want a rule such as no one under 16, or no one under 18, tell your centre directly and ask whether its policy already covers it.

Does a regular caregiver need a criminal record check to do pickup?

No, not for pickup and drop-off alone. The regulation defines a narrow exception: a person who is only picking up or dropping off a child, and who is designated in writing by the parent, is not treated as "ordinarily present" at the centre, so the criminal record check that applies to adults present for other reasons does not apply to them for that role. Section 20(2).

My child's grandparent does not live in Canada and visits for a few weeks a year. Can they still do pickup during that time?

Yes, the same written authorization process applies regardless of where someone normally lives. Set it up before the visit starts, bring photo identification, such as a passport, for the first pickup, and remove them from the list once the visit ends if they will not be doing pickup again for a while.

Does the same written authorization also let someone pick my child up in an emergency, like if I am in an accident?

Being on your pickup authorization and being your emergency contact are two different things under the regulation, and a person can hold one without the other. A centre's record for your child separately requires the name and phone number of an emergency contact. If you want the same person to fill both roles, say so clearly to the centre and confirm they are listed both ways.

Before you visit

We will walk you through setting up your authorized pickup list at enrollment, including any grandparent or regular caregiver who will be part of your week. If you would like to see the entryway where drop-off and pickup happen, contact us to arrange a tour outside the busiest times of day.