The history of day care licensing standards in Texas was traced from the beginnings in voluntary welfare organizations to the 1976 revisions. The jurisdictional foundations of day care licensing was presented in a summary of the related legislation passed in Texas during the years from 1848 to 1975. Categories of licensing requirements in the different sets of standards promulgated in Texas were compared. The attempt was made to derive a contextual milieu of social, political and educational factors which influenced Texas day care legislation and the development of licensing standards. It was recommended that funds are essential to adequate enforcement of licensing standards. In addition, to facilitate acculturation of day care licensing, consultation and training efforts should expand proportionately to the expansion of day care. The fact that issues related to specific requirements surfaced repeatedly in the different decades studied, a need for carefully controlled research to validate the individual requirements was indicated.