---
title: "Add a room"
description: "Create a room with its capacity and staff ratio. Rooms are where children are enrolled and grouped."
type: setup
updated: 2026-10-09
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/centers/add-a-room
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
A **room** is where children are enrolled and grouped: Babies, Toddlers, Pre-K. Signing up already created your first room (**Room 1**); here's how to rename it or add more. Rooms live under **Organization → Rooms**, shown as cards.

<VideoEmbed
  src="set-up-rooms"
  title="Set up your rooms and move a child (narrated, 55 seconds)"
  captions={false}
/>

## Add a room

1. Go to **Organization → Rooms**. If you have more than one center, pick the center at the top of the page first. The new room goes into that center.
2. Click **Add Room** in the top right.
3. Fill in the **Add Room** form:
   - **Name** (required), like `Butterfly Room`
   - **Age group**
   - **Capacity** (required): the licensed maximum for the room
   - **Min age (mo)** and **Max age (mo)** (optional)
   - **Ratio (1:N)**: the staff-to-child ratio you're required to keep
4. Click **Create Room**.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/owners/centers/add-room-modal.png"
  alt="The Add Room form with name, age group, capacity, min and max age, and ratio fields"
  caption="Add Room. Name and Capacity are required; set the ratio your local regulators require."
/>

The room appears as a card showing its occupancy, staff, enrolled children, and ratio.

## Capacity and ratio

- **Capacity** is the licensed maximum. It drives the occupancy ring and the count on the room card (like `9/10`). NestliCare does not stop you enrolling past it, so keep an eye on the count.
- **Ratio** is what you enter for your own region's rules. NestliCare shows your live ratio (children present versus staff present) on the dashboard and in [Room Insights](/owners/centers/room-insights), and in [Reports](/owners/reports/reports-overview) for a licensing visit. Enter whatever your local regulators require; there's no built-in assumption about your area.

## Next steps

- [Assign staff to the room](/owners/staff/assign-to-a-room) so it becomes their home room. Teachers can see every room at their center either way.
- Enroll children from the room card, or when you [add a child to a family](/owners/families/add-a-child-to-a-family).

## Troubleshooting

**I want to rename Room 1.** Click the pencil (**Edit room**) on its card, change the name, and click **Save Changes**. Room 1 is just a starter name.

**I can't enroll a child into this room.** If the child is already in another room, change their room instead of enrolling them twice. See [Move a child from one room to another](/owners/centers/move-a-child-between-rooms). If the room is marked **Inactive**, turn it back on first. See [Deactivate or delete a room](/owners/centers/deactivate-or-delete-a-room).

**I added the room to the wrong center.** Rooms are created in the center picked at the top of the Rooms page. Check the picker before you click **Add Room**.