Ontario licenses child care under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA) and O. Reg. 137/15, administered by the Ministry of Education. Here's the practical path from idea to open doors. (General guidance — the ministry's rules pages and your licensing program advisor are the binding sources.)
Step 0 — Pick your model
- Licensed child care centre — what this guide covers. Any group care beyond five children requires it.
- Home daycare — up to five children unlicensed, or six through a licensed home child care agency. Different economics entirely: see our home daycare guide.
Step 1 — Space first (it's the long pole)
Most licensing timelines are really real-estate timelines. Your space needs municipal zoning approval for child care use, fire and health sign-offs, and must meet O. Reg. 137/15 physical requirements — including 2.8 m² of unobstructed indoor play space per child, age-appropriate outdoor play space (5.6 m²/child for most programs), separate rooms per age group, and washroom/diapering provisions. Engage the municipality before signing a lease; a beautiful space that can't be zoned is a very expensive mistake.
Step 2 — Apply through the Child Care Licensing System (CCLS)
Ontario's licensing runs through the online CCLS portal: corporate documents, floor plans, policies (anaphylaxis, safe sleep, behaviour guidance, emergency management, and more), staffing plans, and menus. A program advisor is assigned, reviews everything, and inspects the site. Expect iteration — the advisors are genuinely helpful if you treat the process as collaborative.
Step 3 — Staffing to ratio
Every age group needs qualified staff at Schedule 1 ratios — e.g. infants 3 staff per 10 children, toddlers 1:5, preschool 1:8 — with RECE (Registered Early Childhood Educator) requirements per group, vulnerable sector checks, first aid/CPR-C, and a designated supervisor meeting experience requirements. Recruiting RECEs is currently the hardest part of opening in most Ontario cities; start hiring before your licence lands.
Step 4 — The money
Budget honestly: leasehold improvements, equipment (cribs, tables, playground), licensing/professional fees, insurance, and several months of payroll before enrolment catches up. Then decide on CWELCC enrolment — for under-6 programs it roughly halves your posted fees and transforms fill-up speed, at the cost of fee caps and reporting. Our pricing guide and margin guide cover the unit economics.
Step 5 — Open well
Enrolment momentum comes from waitlists collected during the licensing year, tours that show parents what their phone sees at 2pm, and clean professional invoicing from day one. That operational layer — enrolment, attendance, daily reports, billing, staff hours — is exactly what Mitten handles, free for your first five children, so the software cost arrives only as revenue does.
Run your daycare on Mitten — free to start
Mitten does everything in this guide — daily reports, photos, messaging, billing, even payroll prep — free for your first 5 children, then just $20/mo + $2 per child.
Start free — no card needed → See the live demoFrequently asked questions
- Do I need a licence to run a daycare in Ontario?
- You need a licence under the CCEYA the moment you care for more than five children under 13 (other than your own relatives). Five or fewer can operate as an unlicensed home daycare under strict rules — see our home daycare guide.
- How long does Ontario daycare licensing take?
- Plan for 6–12 months from application to opening for a centre: finding and renovating a compliant space and passing municipal zoning, fire and health approvals usually take longer than the ministry review itself.
- How much does it cost to open a daycare in Ontario?
- Centre build-outs commonly run from tens of thousands (modest leasehold conversion) into the hundreds of thousands (new build-out in a major city) before first revenue — space, renovations to meet O. Reg. 137/15 requirements, equipment, insurance, and staffing through the licensing period are the big lines.
- Should a new Ontario daycare join CWELCC?
- New spaces are subject to Ontario’s managed growth â directed growth plans determine where new CWELCC spaces are approved. Apply early through your municipality; an enrolled program posts fees roughly half of an unenrolled one, which transforms fill-up speed.