Table of contents
Introduction
Getting started
Regulations
Taxation
Financing
Other resources
Introduction
Daycare businesses provide care for infants and children. Your daycare can be a home-based operation, or a commercial centre that serves a particular area or community. The choice of daycare size, location and specific services you provide are up to you.
Some examples of daycare services include:
- babysitting
- care for older children (before and after school care)
- unlicensed or licensed home-based daycare
- licensed centre-based daycare
- licensed child care agency
- nanny services (work in home of employer as a live-in or live-out nanny)
- early childhood education services
Caring for someone else's children involves a lot of responsibility and a serious commitment. When the children are in your custody you are legally responsible for their safety and well-being.
Getting started
Regulations
Some common licences, permits and regulations that may apply to starting your daycare include:
General child care licensing standards
The licensing included in this section applies to:
- unlicensed child care providers
- licensed child care centres and home child care agencies
- home child care providers and in-home service providers that are overseen by a licensed agency
It does not apply to:
- relatives that provide care for children
- nannies or babysitters who are not overseen by a licensed agency and hired directly by parents to provide care in the children's home
- camps and private schools for children four years old and over
Child care centres and home child care agencies must be licensed through the Ministry of Education.
If you plan to provide licensed home child care or in-home services, you must be contracted through a licensed agency.
Unlicensed home child care
Unlicensed home child care providers can care for a maximum of 5 children, regardless of how many adults are present. The maximum includes:
- the provider's own children under the age of 4
- no more than 3 children under the age of 2
As an unlicensed home based daycare, you must inform parents/guardians in writing that you are an unlicensed provider.
Licensed home child care
Individual licensed home daycare providers can care for a maximum of 6 children under the age of 13 and must be contracted to a licensed child care agency. The maximum includes:
- the provider's own children under the age of 4
- no more than 3 children under the age of 2
A home visitor will meet with licensed home-based daycare providers on a regular basis to conduct general inspections and provide support.
Additional licensing may be required if you want to care for children with a physical, visual or auditory disability, or if the child has a developmental, communication, behavioural or a chronic medical problem.
If you are planning to provide daycare or child care services, you can email the Ministry of Education to confirm whether you need to be licensed.
In your email, include the following information about your program:
- description of the program, equipment and facilities
- hours of operation
- number of children served and their ages
- schedule of activities
- list of other programs offered
- if transportation to or from the program is offered
Contact the Ministry of Education:
1-877-510-5333
uccv@ontario.ca
Read online:
Start a child care program
Types of child care
Home child care and unlicensed child care: how many children are allowed?
Operating a licensed child care program
Before and after school programs: what parents and providers need to know
Caregiver requirements for licensed home child care
You need to meet provincial health, safety and caregiver training standards, including:
- Caregivers must be over the age of 18
- Caregivers must have valid first-aid certification, including infant and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
People working or living in licensed home child care settings must also get vulnerable sector checks every 5 years.
Contact the Ministry of Education:
1-800-387-5514
Read online:
Child care rules in Ontario
Day camps or summer camps
Day camps can operate without a child care licence if the program or service:
- Operates for up to 13 weeks in a calendar year
- Does not operate on school days
- Does not operate in a person's home
- Only cares for children who are 4 years or older – or, if the program is offered on or after September 1, for children who will turn 4 by the end of the calendar year
Day camps in Ontario that want to offer programs for children under 4 years of age need a child care licence, or need to follow the rules for unlicensed child care.
Consult the Ministry of Education's web page and fact sheet for more on day camps in Ontario:
Read online:
Day camps: what parents and providers need to know
If you plan on preparing or serving food as part of the daycare services you provide, the following food safety regulations may apply:
Taxation
Financing
Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC)
If you are running a licensed daycare in Ontario, you may be eligible to participate in the CWELCC system. Successful applicants will enter into a service agreement that outlines the amount of funding they will receive and guidelines they must follow to receive funding. The funding is provided to help you reduce your fees for parents.
Unlicensed child care providers are not eligible. This includes:
- unlicensed home child care providers
- authorized recreation programs
- school board-operated extended day programs
Contact your local service system manager to apply:
Service system managers for child care and early years programs
Read online:
Canada-Ontario early years and child care agreement
Business Benefits Finder
Business Benefits Finder
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Other resources
Industry-specific information