How to Start a Daycare Business in California

October 29, 2026

This guide is informational, not legal or tax advice. Licensing rules, fees and deadlines change, so confirm each figure with the agency named before you commit money. Talk to a qualified California attorney and a CPA before you form an entity, sign a lease or hire staff.

If you want to know how to start a daycare center in California, the process begins with one agency: the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing (CCL). State law requires a license to operate a child day care facility (Health and Safety Code 1596.80). This guide covers licensed child care centers only. If you plan to care for children in your own home, that program has its own law and its own page, so use the separate home daycare guide instead. Many programs marketed as preschools operate under the same center license, but confirm with CCL which category your program falls into. Searching for a California preschool license or a CCL daycare center license leads to the same core steps below.

What You Need Before You Apply

Gather these items before you file anything. Several take weeks to arrange, and a missing piece can stall your application.

• A legal business entity, if you want one. An LLC files Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) for $70. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation for $100. You can reserve an entity name with the Secretary of State for $10 for 60 days. Check name availability at https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business.
• A California agent for service of process. An LLC or corporation must keep one: an individual who lives in California, or a corporation that holds the required certificate. An LLC must also keep an office in California.
• Ongoing Secretary of State filings. An LLC files a Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) for $20 within 90 days of filing its articles, then every two years. A corporation files Form SI-550 for $25 within 90 days, then every year. A missed Statement of Information carries a $250 penalty.
• Franchise tax planning. Every LLC organized or registered in California in 2024 through 2026 owes the $800 minimum annual franchise tax from its first year. An LLC whose first taxable year begins in 2027, 2028 or 2029 may owe a lower first-year amount, so confirm it with the Franchise Tax Board. A newly incorporated corporation or S corporation owes no $800 minimum in its first taxable year. Ask your CPA how this applies to your entity.
• A fictitious business name, if needed. If you operate under a name other than your legal name, file a Fictitious Business Name Statement with the county clerk within 40 days of starting, publish it in a newspaper once a week for four weeks, and renew it before it expires after five years. The statutory filing fee is $10 plus $2 per additional name or owner, but counties charge more and publication is a separate cost.
• A confirmed site. A location where zoning allows child care, verified in writing (see Step 3).
• A fee budget. The CCL original application fee and the annual fee (see Step 1).
• Training certificates. Proof of the required director or teacher training (see Step 2).
• An EDD employer registration if you will have employees, and a local business tax registration if your city requires one.
• Insurance quotes. This guide does not state insurance minimums. Get quotes and ask your insurer what a child care center needs.

Step 1: Understand the CCL License and Its Fees

Your fee depends on the licensed capacity you request, which is the maximum number of children you will care for at one time. Under Health and Safety Code 1596.803, you pay an original application fee when you apply, then an annual fee on each anniversary of the license.

Licensed capacity (children)	Original application fee	Annual fee
1 to 30	$484	$242
31 to 60	$968	$484
61 to 75	$1,210	$605
76 to 90	$1,452	$726
91 to 120	$1,936	$968
121 or more	$2,420	$1,210

The same section sets these additional fees:

• $25 to change your licensed capacity.
• 50 percent of the application fee if the licensee moves to a new address.
• $50 for the department's child day care center orientation session.

Request the capacity you can realistically staff and space for. Changing it later costs $25 under this section, but you still need the staff and the space to support the new number. Put the annual fee on your calendar so it is paid on each anniversary date.

Step 2: Meet the Training Requirements

Under Health and Safety Code 1596.866, at least one director or teacher at each center must have 15 hours of health and safety training. That training must include:

• Pediatric first aid.
• Pediatric CPR.
• A preventive health practices course covering the recognition, management and prevention of infectious diseases, including immunizations; the prevention of childhood injuries; and lead exposure prevention.

For licenses issued on or after January 1, 2016, the same director or teacher also needs one hour of childhood nutrition training.

Two changes are coming. Starting January 1, 2026, the first aid or CPR course must include anaphylaxis and epinephrine auto-injector instruction. A minimum of 12 hours of continuing education each year is scheduled to start on October 1, 2027. Confirm the current requirements with CCL before you buy a course, because course content and rules can change.

Schedule the training early, and keep the certificates in your licensing file. Do not assume an existing teaching credential or an unrelated first aid card satisfies the rule. Check the course content against the list above.

Step 3: Choose a Location and Check Zoning

Location is where most of the risk sits, so settle it before you sign anything. Health and Safety Code 1597.45 bars local business licenses and fees for family daycare homes. That protection applies to homes, not to centers. A center does not get the same treatment, so do not assume a city will leave you alone.

Before you sign a lease, ask the city or county planning department these questions:

• Does the site's zoning allow a child care center?
• Do you need a use permit or other discretionary approval? Ask how that process works in that jurisdiction and how long it typically takes.
• Does the city charge a local business tax or registration certificate? Most do: 445 of 483 California cities report revenue from one. There is no common formula, so the answer depends on the city. Counties license only regulated activities, so ask the county too if the site is outside city limits.

Make the lease contingent on zoning and permit approval. Signing before those answers are in writing is one of the most expensive mistakes in this process.

Open Items to Confirm Before You Commit

The following items depend on your building, your program and current agency rules, so this guide does not state them as settled figures. Get written answers from the agency named:

• Fire clearance: ask the local fire authority what it requires for your building and planned occupancy.
• Teacher education and unit requirements under Title 22: ask CCL which education and unit requirements apply to your staff and your program. Ask for the current California child care center requirements under Title 22 in writing.
• Staff to child ratios: ask CCL for the ratios that apply to each age group you plan to serve.
• Building and plan review: ask CCL and your local building department which reviews apply to your remodel or new construction.
• Background checks and Live Scan costs: ask CCL which checks each owner and staff member must complete and what Live Scan fees you will pay. Do not budget from a figure you read online.
• Licensing timeline: ask CCL for its current processing time. Do not plan a lease or payroll around any single estimate you find elsewhere.
• Insurance: ask licensed insurers what coverage a child care center needs.
• Minimum wage: California's state minimum wage is $16.90 in 2026 and $17.40 starting January 1, 2027, according to a secondary source. Verify both figures with the state before you build your payroll budget.
• LLC first-year franchise tax: if your LLC's first taxable year begins in 2027, 2028 or 2029, confirm the first-year amount with the Franchise Tax Board.

Tips for a Smoother Application

• Call CCL early. Ask for the current application packet and the name of the licensing contact before you buy property or sign a lease.
• Build a licensing file as you go. Keep training certificates, zoning letters, fire clearance, and fee receipts in one place.
• Get answers in writing. A phone answer from a city, county or agency is a starting point, not protection.
• Use free business advising. The California Small Business Development Center network at https://californiasbdc.org/ offers business advising that can help you organize the steps above.
• Calendar every recurring deadline. Track the Statement of Information, franchise tax, the CCL annual fee and any training renewals. Your CPA can help set this up.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying home daycare rules to a center. Home daycare has its own law, and the local business license and fee protection in Health and Safety Code 1597.45 does not carry over to a center.
• Signing a lease before zoning and permits are confirmed. Make the lease contingent on those approvals.
• Choosing a capacity you cannot staff or space. The capacity you request sets your fee tier.
• Assuming any training course counts. Match your course to the 15 hours and the nutrition hour described in Step 2.
• Missing Secretary of State deadlines. A missed Statement of Information costs a $250 penalty, and an LLC without a California agent or office is out of compliance.
• Budgeting from unverified numbers. Check each fee on the agency's own page before you commit.
• Skipping professional advice. Consult a qualified California attorney for the entity, lease and licensing questions, and a CPA for tax and franchise questions.

Expected Results

Completing these steps may give you a clear compliance checklist, a defined fee schedule and a site that has been checked against local rules before you sign. Results depend on your location, your staffing, your program design and CCL's review, so no particular outcome is guaranteed. Treat this guide as a way to reduce surprises, not as a promise of license approval or enrollment.

Official Resources

• California Secretary of State, Business Programs: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs
• bizfile Online for filings: https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/
• Business name search: https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business
• California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (only if you sell taxable goods; the seller's permit is free): https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/
• California Small Business Development Center network: https://californiasbdc.org/

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Child care licensing, zoning, entity and tax rules depend on your facts and your location. Consult a qualified California attorney and a CPA before you make decisions, and confirm every figure with the agency named.