---
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: 2026-09-14
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: Infant Nursery, 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="add-a-room"
  title="Adding a room with capacity and ratio"
/>

## Add a room

1. Go to **Organization → Rooms**.
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** caps how many children can enroll in the room.
- **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 a teacher sees its children.
- 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.** Open the room card and edit it. Room 1 is just a starter name.

**A room won't let me enroll more children.** It's at capacity. Raise the capacity, or move a child out first. See [Move a child from one room to another](/owners/centers/move-a-child-between-rooms).