Daycare Licence Lookup: Check Any Provider's State Record

Every US state publishes a free, public database of licensed child-care providers — including inspection visits and the violations cited at them. Pick your state below for the official lookup, what that state actually publishes, and how to read the record once you've found it.

Adding states as we verify each official lookup is live. Don't see yours? Search "<your state> child care licensing lookup" — and check the URL is a .gov agency site, not a directory.

What real licensing records look like

We pull these records ourselves. Across 40 schools we have verified against California's official database (46 licences in total), 31 have a completely clean record — no serious deficiencies, no minor ones, no substantiated complaints. 2 carry a serious (Type A) deficiency, 7 carry at least one minor (Type B) one, and 9 have at least one substantiated complaint.

That ratio is the useful context: most licensed preschools have nothing on their record, so when one does, it is worth a question — and equally, a clean record is the normal case rather than a distinguishing feature.

How to read a child-care licensing record

Finding the record is the easy part. Most parents stall on what it means. Four things matter:

• Licence status. "Licensed" means the facility is currently authorised to operate. Anything else — probation, suspended, closed, pending — is worth asking about directly.
• Serious vs minor deficiencies. States grade citations. California calls them Type A (a direct risk to a child's health or safety) and Type B (everything else — paperwork, posting, minor facility issues). Florida uses Class I/II/III; other states use their own scale. A Type A is the one to ask about. A single Type B usually isn't a red flag — well-run schools collect them.
• Substantiated vs unsubstantiated complaints. Anyone can file a complaint. Substantiated means the state investigated and found it true. Unsubstantiated complaints are common and mean very little on their own; a substantiated one is a real finding.
• Recency and pattern. One citation five years ago is different from three in the last year. Look at the trend, not the total.

What the state will not tell you: almost no state publishes the narrative of the allegation online — only counts and outcomes. To read what actually happened, request the full report from the licensing agency using the control or case number shown on the record. That's a normal public-records request, and you're entitled to make it.

What to ask the school

A licensing record is a conversation starter, not a verdict. If you see something, ask — a good director will answer plainly:

• "I saw a citation from [date] on your licensing record. What happened, and what changed afterwards?"
• "What's your current licensed capacity, and how many children are enrolled right now?"
• "What are your actual staff-to-child ratios in my child's room today?" — state law sets a minimum; many schools run better than it, and almost none publish the number.
• "When was your last licensing visit, and may I see the report?"

A defensive answer to any of these tells you more than the citation did.

Related: how to find daycare violations and inspection reports · what to ask on a tour · what daycare costs by state.