How to Start an Au Pair Agency in 8 Steps

An au pair agency name works best when it signals trust, cultural connection, and family warmth, and reads clearly to both domestic parents and young adults abroad. Words like “bridge,” “home,” “global,” “care,” and “kinship” appear often in this space because they speak to what host families and au pairs look for.

The name appears on the Department of State designation application, state business registration documents, and the agency’s host family and au pair portals, so a matching domain is worth confirming early. State business databases show whether a name is already registered, and in many states, entrepreneurs can reserve a business name with the secretary of state before formally registering the entity.

Examples of au pair agency names:

A business plan for an au pair agency covers the pre-revenue designation period, the two-sided recruitment model, and the coordinator compensation structure. The federal designation process asks applicants to show they can meet their financial obligations before any placement. The plan works as both an internal roadmap and supporting material for the application.

Revenue does not arrive until after designation is granted. The plan maps out how the agency funds operations, recruits local coordinators, and builds its host family pipeline before the first au pair arrives. It also accounts for the two sides of the business: the agency markets to domestic families and recruits internationally at the same time, with different costs and timelines on each side.

Building out financial projections for an au pair agency means accounting for placement fees, annual program fees, and coordinator compensation, which varies by sponsor. The operations section details how coordinators handle monthly contact with au pairs and host families, a federal requirement that calls for a staffing and tracking system from the start.

Startup costs for an au pair agency depend mostly on two decisions: how much legal help the owner hires for the designation application, and whether the agency builds its own matching platform or licenses existing software. An agency that prepares the Department of State application with minimal outside counsel and uses off-the-shelf management software can start closer to the low end of the range. One that hires specialized immigration counsel and builds a custom applicant portal can spend significantly more before the first placement.

Liability insurance is a fixed line item. Agencies place young international adults in private homes with children, and professional liability and errors and omissions coverage address the exposure on both sides of that relationship.

Apart from the federal designation application fee, the figures below are illustrative estimates.

An au pair agency’s vetting protocols screen both au pair candidates and host families against Department of State program requirements. Under those regulations, au pair candidates are generally 18 to 26 years old, hold a secondary school diploma, pass a background check, and demonstrate spoken English proficiency. Au pairs placed with families who have a child under two generally need at least 200 hours of documented infant childcare experience. The agency is responsible for verifying each item.

On the host family side, the agency confirms that the home has a private bedroom for the au pair, that the family can meet the program’s financial obligations, and that the childcare schedule falls within the program’s weekly hour limits.

Standardized interview scripts, document checklists, and reference verification procedures give both sides of the match a consistent process. Detailed written protocols also support the designation review, which evaluates whether the applicant has the operational infrastructure to support exchange visitors.

A legal business entity separates the owner’s personal assets from placement risks, such as a host family contract dispute or an injury during the program year. Many business owners in this space form an LLC or another entity type. An LLC also keeps tax treatment flexible in the early years, when revenue is unpredictable.

Designation generally requires the entity or its proposed Responsible Officer to meet a three-year international exchange experience requirement. For that reason, new entrants without that experience may consider working with an existing sponsor, for example as a local coordinator. As coordinators spread across states, the agency may require foreign qualification in each one, and an LLC can expand without a full reorganization.

An au pair agency requires federal designation from the U.S. Department of State as a J-1 Exchange Visitor Program sponsor, plus state and local business licenses. Only designated sponsors can issue the DS-2019 form that au pairs use to obtain a J-1 visa, the legal mechanism that permits au pairs to live and work in the United States.

Applicants must be reputable U.S. organizations under 22 CFR 62.3. The organization or its proposed Responsible Officer must also show at least three years of international exchange experience.

Sponsors work in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the Department of Homeland Security’s web-based system holding information on sponsors and J-1 participants. Responsible officers use SEVIS to issue DS-2019 forms, and keeping its records accurate is an ongoing compliance obligation.

The designation application is Form DS-3036, submitted in SEVIS with proof of legal status, a Certificate of Good Standing, and an EIN. Newly formed entities also provide a compilation prepared by an independent certified public accounting firm (22 CFR 62.5). The application fee is $3,982 (22 CFR 62.17).

State and local requirements vary. A general business license is typically required in the state where the agency is headquartered. Some states classify au pair placement under employment agency or domestic staffing regulations, which may trigger additional licensing, and a state’s labor or consumer affairs department can confirm what applies.

Department of State regulations require each au pair to be placed within one hour’s driving time of a local coordinator. An au pair agency recruits coordinators who live near its host families for that reason.

Coordinator compensation varies by sponsor, region, and caseload, and federal worker classification rules shape how the agency classifies its coordinators. Recruiting coordinators before designation gives the agency a geographic footprint to reference in the application. Coordinator responsibilities include:

An au pair agency’s marketing strategy targets host families and au pair candidates at the same time, since a placement fee arrives only when both sides of a match are in place. A host family pipeline with no candidates, or a roster of screened candidates with no families ready to host, produces no revenue.

On the host family side, search engine optimization for city-specific childcare searches reaches parents comparing childcare options. Parenting Facebook groups and local family networks carry referrals from other host families, which many parents trust more than paid ads.

On the recruitment side, partnerships with international language schools and university career centers in countries such as Germany, Brazil, and Colombia can build a steady candidate pipeline at a lower cost than paid international advertising.

Informational webinars give prospective host families a chance to learn the J-1 program requirements early. Referral incentives for current host families, such as a discount on the next program year, often bring in well-informed new leads because the referring family has already explained how the program works.