A QRIS, or quality rating and improvement system, is the state system that assesses and improves the quality of early care and education programs, and it puts a rating next to your center's name where parents already look.
Where the rating lives is your state's child care search site, which the guide to state child care search sites covers; this page is about what the rating means and how to market it.
What a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) is
Per the ECTA Center's topic page as of October 2026, a QRIS, also called a TQRIS or QRS, is a state system to assess and improve the quality of early care and education programs.
Parents meet the result on the state's consumer website: the federal CCDF rule at 45 CFR 98.33(a)(2)-(3), eCFR version in effect as of October 2026, requires a ZIP-searchable list of licensed providers separated from license-exempt ones, and it must show a provider's quality rating where that information is available.
"Where available" carries weight: not every program has a public rating, and the rule requires the display only when the information exists.
OPRE's August 2025 research review counts QRIS and licensing search tools among the state sites many parents learn about care from, though it notes little evidence on actual use, and in its 2024 parent survey (#2025-099), 48.3% said they very much trust service providers they know and 39.5% said the same of official government websites.
What your state calls its rating
States run their own systems under their own names, and the levels take shapes directors do not expect, so a generic "child care star rating" claim may not match.
Stars
Texas Rising Star certifies Two-Star through Four-Star above Entry Level (Texas Workforce Commission); Georgia's Quality Rated awards one to three stars (DECAL); North Carolina licenses every facility at one star with two to five earnable under rules effective July 1, 2025 (10A NCAC 09 Section .3200); New York's QUALITYstarsNY rates 1 to 5 stars voluntarily.
Metals, not stars
Ohio's Step Up To Quality awards Bronze, Silver or Gold under OAC Chapter 5180:2-17, which replaced its old 1-5 star scale; Illinois' ExceleRate starts every licensed center at the "Licensed" Circle of Quality, with Bronze, Silver or Gold after a full year licensed.
Named levels
Michigan's Great Start to Quality uses five named levels, from Maintaining Health & Safety up to Demonstrating Quality, with no stars in the system.
Designations and scores
Florida's Gold Seal Quality Care designation goes to providers accredited by an approved association (s. 1002.945, Florida Statutes); Tennessee requires agencies to post their QRIS report score card, a 100-point score rather than stars, where parents can see it; Quality Counts California runs locally in all 58 counties with ratings optional, so there is no single statewide star rating.
The naming matters because the mistakes run in one direction: an Ohio rating is Gold, never a five-star SUTQ score, Michigan programs hold levels, not stars, and California has no statewide star rating to cite.
In North Carolina the stars are part of the license itself: every licensed facility first meets one-star standards, so one star says "licensed", not "worse".
Where the rating moves money
The level is not only a badge; in several states it moves what subsidy programs pay and who qualifies.
Texas ties certification to payment: Texas Rising Star's Two-, Three- and Four-Star certifications above Entry Level carry higher CCS payment rates, and since October 2, 2022, every program serving CCS scholarship children must take part at least at Entry Level (Texas Workforce Commission).
Georgia made the rating a gate: since December 31, 2021, providers must be Quality Rated, or Provisional/Probationary, to receive CAPS subsidy funding (DECAL).
Military fee assistance points the same way: under MCCYN-PLUS (Military OneSource fact sheet, January 5, 2026), nationally accredited providers come first, and where none are available, licensed providers with a state quality rating the Department of War has approved can qualify (selected states; the required level varies).
Some states tie national accreditation directly to quality levels or pay: Indiana's Paths to QUALITY Level 4 requires accreditation from an approved body, and Hawaii pays higher subsidy rates to accredited providers instead of running a QRIS (Indiana FSSA; Hawaii's FFY 2024 quality report).
Where accreditation meets your state system, name your tier: NAEYC's redesigned system has three tiers (Recognition, Accreditation, Accreditation+), and some states, Connecticut and West Virginia among them, count only Accreditation+ for their top levels (NAEYC, October 2026).
Pennsylvania ties the two together: since July 1, 2026, NAEYC accreditation plus a regular DHS certificate has been an approved alternate pathway to STAR 4, which the guide to NAEYC accreditation marketing covers in full.
QRIS stars and Google stars are different numbers
The other star rating parents see for a daycare sits on your Google Business Profile: BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 68% of consumers will only use a business with four or more stars, up from 55% in 2025, and 31% hold out for 4.5 or more, up from 17%, stated intent rather than observed behavior.
Two FTC sources box in the shortcuts: the FTC's reviews rule (16 CFR 465, in effect since October 21, 2024) treats paying incentives for 5-star reviews on third-party platforms as a violation even when reviewers disclose the payment, and the Endorsement Guides (16 CFR 255.5(b), Example 6(ii)) add that incentivized reviews materially raising the displayed average may need a disclosure where people see the average.
Keep the two ratings straight: the QRIS level is the state's measurement of your program, the Google average is what parents say about you, and each one helps only while it is accurate.
How to market your QRIS rating without overclaiming
Marketing the rating takes no campaign; it takes accuracy in the few places a parent actually checks.
Name the level the state's way
"Gold" in Ohio, "Demonstrating Quality" in Michigan, Four-Star in Texas: use your state's words, because a generic "5-star rated" badge fits no system.
Link the source
Point to your state's QRIS page or your state search listing so a parent can confirm the level in one click.
Put it where tours are decided
The level belongs near your tour request form and on your program pages, alongside the other proof in our guide to daycare website trust signals.
Say what it means in one plain sentence
Use the state's own description: Ohio's Gold, for example, requires 40% of center classrooms to meet lower ratios and group sizes than licensing, such as 1:11 for 3-year-olds instead of 1:12 (OAC 5101:2-17-01 Appendix), and Gold does not mean every classroom sits below the licensing ratio.
Update it when the state does
Illinois makes centers wait a full licensed year before rising past "Licensed", Pennsylvania's pathway changed on July 1, 2026, and programs accredited through February 2026 stay under NAEYC's old system until renewal, so a stale badge becomes a claim you cannot back.
One controlled test a month, judged by tours booked and children enrolled, is the CRO half of what More Booked Enrollments does, with current prices on the pricing page.
Quality systems and posting rules change state by state: confirm what your system is called, what your level means and what you may publish with your state licensing agency, or a lawyer where the question is specific.
Frequently asked questions
What does QRIS stand for?
Quality Rating and Improvement System: a state system to assess and improve the quality of early care and education programs. Some states call theirs a Quality Recognition and Improvement System or a Quality Improvement System instead.
Do all states have a QRIS?
States run their own systems under their own names, and the federal CCDF rule at 45 CFR 98.33 requires each state's consumer website to display a provider's rating where one exists. Hawaii, for example, pays higher subsidy rates to accredited providers instead of running a rating system.
What is the highest QRIS rating?
It depends on the state: Four-Star tops Texas Rising Star, three stars top Georgia's Quality Rated, five stars top North Carolina's scale, Gold tops Ohio and Illinois, and Demonstrating Quality tops Michigan's levels. Check your state's top level before writing anything like "highest rated".
Is a one-star QRIS rating bad?
In several states the entry level just means licensed: North Carolina licenses every facility at one star before it can earn more, Pennsylvania enters programs that hold a state certificate at STAR 1, and Illinois starts every licensed center at the "Licensed" Circle of Quality. What the bottom level means is a state-by-state question.
Do QRIS ratings affect subsidy payments?
They can: Texas ties its Texas Rising Star certifications above Entry Level to higher CCS payment rates, and Georgia has required Quality Rated status for CAPS subsidy funding since December 31, 2021. Payment rules are set state by state, so confirm yours with your state licensing agency.
Are QRIS stars the same as Google review stars?
No. The QRIS level is the state's measurement of your program, while the Google average is a consumer review score, and the FTC's reviews rule (16 CFR 465) treats paying for 5-star reviews as a violation even when reviewers disclose the payment.