---
title: "Check your child in and out"
description: "Scan the daycare's QR code with the app or type your pickup code on the door tablet, and what to do when a button is missing."
type: guide
updated: 2026-09-18
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/parents/check-in/check-in-and-out-at-the-door
roles: ["parent"]
platforms: [ios, android, kiosk]
---
Your daycare decides how drop-off and pickup are recorded. Most centers give parents one or both of these: **scan the daycare's QR code** with the NestliCare app, or **type your 4-digit pickup code** on a tablet at the door. Teachers can always record it for you from their own app, so nothing is lost if neither works one morning.

Whichever way you use, the record is the same: the time, which child, and who did it. Your child's teacher sees it right away, and it shows in your child's feed.

## Scan the QR code with the app

Your daycare prints its code as a poster by the door, or shows it on the tablet there.

1. Open the NestliCare app and go to the **Dashboard** tab.
2. Tap **Check In** (or **Check In All** when you have more than one child there). The card says *Scan QR code* underneath.
3. Point the camera at the code. The check-in completes on its own; you'll see the confirmation and your child's card flips to checked in.
4. At pickup, do the same with **Check Out** / **Check Out All**.

With several children, the *All* buttons cover every child who is due that day in one scan. A child who is already checked in, or marked absent, is left out automatically.

<Callout kind="tip" title="The scanner also shows your pickup code">
Under the camera view you'll find **YOUR PICKUP CODE**. If the code won't scan, walk to the tablet and type it instead. Same result.
</Callout>

## Type your pickup code on the door tablet

1. On the tablet, enter your 4-digit pickup code.
2. Your children appear with a **Check in** or **Check out** button each. Tap the one you need for each child.
3. Tap **Done**. The tablet clears itself after a short pause so the next family never sees your children.

Some centers ask for a quick signature on the tablet. Sign with your finger and tap **Confirm**; one signature covers all your children for that visit.

Your pickup code is yours alone: it identifies you at the door, like a bank PIN. Grandparents, partners and babysitters use their own code. See [Use your pickup code](/parents/account/use-your-pickup-code) for where to find it and how to reset it, and [Add a pickup contact](/parents/account/add-a-pickup-contact) to give someone else theirs.

## Keeping your child home

You don't have to tell the app, but it helps. On the **Dashboard** tab, open your child's card and tap **Mark Absent**; add a short reason if you like. The teacher sees it before the day starts. A message to the teacher works too; see [Running late or changing plans](/parents/check-in/running-late-or-changing-plans).

## If you forget to check out

Tell your child's teacher. Staff can set the real pickup time on the record; you don't need to do anything in the app. If your child is on a state subsidy program, the rules are different and you fix it yourself within six days: see [Signing in a child on a state subsidy program](/parents/check-in/child-on-a-state-subsidy-program).

## Troubleshooting

**There is no Check In button on my Dashboard.** Your daycare has turned phone scanning off. Use your pickup code on the tablet at the door, or ask a teacher to check your child in.

**Check In is greyed out.** Your child is already checked in, or has been marked absent for today. Check Out is greyed out the same way when there is nobody to check out.

**The code won't scan.** Make sure the app has camera permission (the scanner tells you if not), and that you are scanning the daycare's current code. Some centers use a code that changes every few minutes and only shows on their tablet; a printed copy of that one will never scan.

**The tablet says "Kiosk check-in is turned off."** Your daycare has switched the door tablet off. Scan the poster with the app, or ask a teacher.

**The tablet doesn't accept my code.** Codes stop working when they are reset. Check the current one under **YOUR PICKUP CODE** on the Dashboard tab (or the **CODE** button on the Home tab if you're a family member with limited access), and if it still fails, ask the daycare to look it up for you.

**I checked the wrong child in.** Tell the teacher; they can undo it in seconds.