DRAFT. This guide is part of our Ontario daycare resource hub — your full path to funding, licensing and equipping a centre. Here we walk the licensing steps in order.
Before you apply
Every program caring for more than five unrelated children must be licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Education under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. Confirm premises, zoning and occupancy first — these block more applications than anything else.
The licensing steps
- Confirm zoning + building occupancy for child care use
- Create your CCLS (Child Care Licensing System) account
- Submit the application + licensing fee [VERIFY current fee]
- Pass fire, public-health and building inspections
- Submit required policies: programming & pedagogy, safe-arrival, medication, anaphylaxis, emergency management, serious-occurrence
- Confirm staff qualifications + ratios meet Ontario ratio requirements
- Host the on-site licensing visit → licence issued
Common reasons applications stall
- Occupancy/zoning not approved before applying
- Insufficient unobstructed play space per child
- Incomplete policy set
- Furniture that fails stability/sanitation review — see inspection prep
Want this handled end-to-end? Our setup consulting takes you from floor plan to licence.
