How to Check a California Child Care Center's License

How to look up a child care center in the state's Care Facility Search, read what it shows and use it before you enroll.

In California, child care centers are licensed by the Department of Social Services (CDSS), Community Care Licensing Division. A license means the provider has applied to the state, been approved and is subject to state rules and inspections. Checking it takes a few minutes and is the first step before you tour or enroll. This guide explains how.

Find the license

1. On each listing on this site, note the facility number and name.
2. Open the state's Care Facility Search, or use the "Official record" link on the profile, which goes straight to that facility.
3. Check that the name, address and facility number match what the provider told you.
4. Read the status. A current license is shown as licensed. Other statuses, such as pending, inactive or closed, mean something different; ask the provider to explain.

What the state's page shows

The Care Facility Search shows the facility's type, capacity, status and licensee, and posts inspection reports and citations from visits by licensing analysts. Reports may include deficiencies, which are rule violations that licensing found, and the date by which the provider had to correct them. A report with findings does not necessarily mean a program is unsafe, and a report with no findings does not guarantee safety; they are records of what a licensing analyst saw on a given date. Read several, look at the dates and see whether problems were corrected. The state's glossary on the search site explains its terms and the way citations are classified.

What this directory shows and does not

Listings on this site come from the CDSS open-data file of child care centers, a snapshot dated May 2025. Each shows facility type, capacity, licensee, administrator and the date of first license, and links to the state record. We include centers whose status in that file was licensed, and centers on probation, with the status shown exactly as the state recorded it. We do not describe, rate or rank providers. Because the file is a snapshot, a license could have changed since: always check the state record for the current status.

Types of centers

• Child care center: the general license for a center-based program.
• Infant center: a center licensed to care for infants.
• School-age child care center: care for school-age children before and after school.
• Single licensed child care center: a license type listed that way in the CDSS file.

Family child care homes, which are run in a provider's own home, are a separate license type and are not in this directory.

Exempt and unlicensed care

Some kinds of care are exempt from licensing under California law, and some providers operate without a license when they should have one. If a provider tells you a license is not required, ask why and ask which state agency confirmed that. If you believe someone is running an unlicensed program, you can report it to Community Care Licensing.

Questions to ask after you check

• Who is the director, and how long has the program operated?
• What is the adult-to-child ratio for my child's age group, and how is it maintained during breaks and outdoor play?
• How are staff screened and trained, including in first aid and CPR for children?
• What is the sick-child and emergency policy?
• May I see the latest inspection report? Ask the director to walk you through any findings.

Complaints

To file a complaint about a licensed child care facility, use the contact information on the CDSS child care licensing page. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.

This site presents state records. It does not rate, vet or recommend any child care program.

Updated 2026-10-01.

General information only, current as of the date above. The information on California Daycare License Check is not a safety rating or recommendation. Inspection records show what the state found on the dates shown; problems may since have been corrected, and a clean record does not guarantee future safety. Visit any program in person and check the state's own records before you choose. Rules and programs change; check the official sources linked in this guide.