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10 permits · verified 2026-09-10

What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Little Rock?

In short

A childcare centre in Little Rock, AR has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division charges $45 filed online; $50 on paper for the articles of incorporation. 6 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-10 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a childcare centre in Little Rock

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding HomeCity of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management DivisionBusiness Tax classification 131 ('Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home'): $135.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving up to 50 children/persons; $270.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving more than 50.annual — calendar year, due January 12026-09-10
Day Care Fire Prevention Inspection (Little Rock Fire Department)only if it applies to youLittle Rock Fire Department, Fire Prevention DivisionA fee applies: the Fire Prevention Division's page lists 'Daycare & Foster care home Inspections (Fee)'. The amount is not published on that page or in the Fire Department Permits and Inspection Fees section of Ordinance No. 22,204; contact Fire Prevention (501-918-3700) for the current amount.per inspection; the inspection frequency is not stated on the Fire Prevention Division's page2026-09-10
Child Care Centre LicenseArkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education$15–$100 a year, banded by the number of children the facility servesannual2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Little Rock

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Building Permit (Commercial)City of Little Rock, Department of Planning and DevelopmentVaries — formula on the Little Rock pageone-time, per project — permit valid one year from issuance, with extensions available2026-09-10
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Little Rock, Department of Planning and DevelopmentVaries — formula on the Little Rock pageone-time, no expiration (a Temporary Certificate expires 90 days from issuance)2026-09-10
Zoning Verification / Administrative Interpretationonly if it applies to youCity of Little Rock, Department of Planning and DevelopmentNo feenot applicable2026-09-10

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

AR registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division$45 filed online; $50 on paperperpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year2026-09-04
Annual Franchise Tax Reportonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services DivisionVaries — formula on the AR pageannual — due 1 May2026-09-04
Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division$45 filed online; $50 on paperperpetual, but a franchise tax report is due every year2026-09-04
General Business License — Arkansas Secretary of State Guidanceonly if it applies to youArkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services DivisionNo feenot applicable2026-09-04

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a childcare centre in Little Rock?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a childcare centre in Little Rock, AR, 4 apply to every business of this type and 6 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

6 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home: Business Tax classification 131 ('Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home'): $135.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving up to 50 children/persons; $270.00 base plus $20.00 per employee for a facility serving more than 50.

Day Care Fire Prevention Inspection (Little Rock Fire Department): A fee applies: the Fire Prevention Division's page lists 'Daycare & Foster care home Inspections (Fee)'. The amount is not published on that page or in the Fire Department Permits and Inspection Fees section of Ordinance No. 22,204; contact Fire Prevention (501-918-3700) for the current amount.

Child Care Centre License: $15–$100 a year, banded by the number of children the facility serves

The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Little Rock permits page and the AR state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Little Rock?

Permits for a childcare centre in Little Rock, AR come from 5 separate offices: City of Little Rock, Finance Department, Treasury Management Division, City of Little Rock, Department of Planning and Development, Little Rock Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division, Arkansas Secretary of State, Business and Commercial Services Division, Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a childcare centre need in Little Rock that other businesses do not?

3 of the 3 permits particular to a childcare centre here apply to no other business type we cover in Little Rock: Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home, Day Care Fire Prevention Inspection (Little Rock Fire Department) and Child Care Centre License.

Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home

This is the City's own genuine local business-license classification for a child care centre — on top of, not instead of, the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education license recorded at the state layer.

Day Care Fire Prevention Inspection (Little Rock Fire Department)

The Fire Prevention Division's own page lists 'Daycare & Foster care home Inspections' among its named services and marks them '(Fee)', so the Fire Department charges for this inspection. The page publishes no amount, and Ordinance No. 22,204's itemized Fire Department Permits and Inspection Fees section, which prices sprinkler installs, fire alarm tests, tent, Ansul system and Knox-box inspections by name, lists no day-care inspection line, so no dollar figure is given here. Contact Fire Prevention (501-918-3700) for the current fee and for how the inspection fits a facility's Arkansas child care licensing.

Child Care Centre License

A capacity-banded fee running from $15 a year for a facility serving up to seventeen children, through $50 for seventeen to ninety-nine, up to $100 for a hundred or more — modest at every tier compared with most states' child care fees. One caution on currency: the regulation these figures come from carries an older codification, and Arkansas has since issued newer recodifications of its child care rules that could not be checked to confirm the same fee bands survived unchanged, so confirm the current figures with the agency before relying on them for a large centre.

The other 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Little Rock, AR; what each one involves is set out on the Little Rock permits page. The 4 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across AR and are covered on the AR state page.

How does a childcare centre compare with other businesses in Little Rock?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Privilege (Business) License — Kindergarten, Nursery School and Boarding Home, Day Care Fire Prevention Inspection (Little Rock Fire Department) and Child Care Centre License. A auto repair shop needs Privilege (Business) License — Automobile/Truck Repair, On-Premises Sign Permit and Automotive Repair Shop — Arkansas State Obligations, which a childcare centre does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Little Rock, AR, compared with a childcare centre
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a childcare centreOnly a childcare centre needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops3033
Coffee shops4034
Contractors and trades6036
Fitness studios2032
Food trucks3033
Restaurants4034
Retail stores2032
Salons and barbers4034
Veterinary clinics3033

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Little Rock permits page and the AR state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Code of Ordinances, Chapter 17 (Licenses, Taxation and Miscellaneous Business Regulations), Article II — Business Tax, § 17-52, the complete Schedule of License Taxes by trade classification (including Restaurants/Cafes item 195, Kindergarten/Nursery School item 131, Barbers/Beauty Operators item 39, Health Spa/Fitness Center item 118, Professionals/Veterinarians item 187, General Building Contractors item 73, Automobile/Truck Repair item 227(a), Retail Inventory Operations item 229, and Mobile Canteen item 154), due each January 1 with escalating late penaltiesCity of Little Rock, Finance Department (Treasury Management Division) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  2. Fire Prevention Division page, listing new-commercial-building inspections, Certificate of Occupancy inspections, 'Daycare & Foster care home Inspections (Fee)', and commercial/residential burn, fireworks and tent permits among its services, with no fee amounts published on the page itselfLittle Rock Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  3. Ordinance No. 22,204 (passed December 6, 2022), amending Little Rock Code § 8-31(c) — the complete current fee schedule for Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fire Department permits, including the valuation-based Building Permit Fee table, the five-tier Certificate of Occupancy fee list, and the itemized Fire Department Permits and Inspection Fees sectionCity of Little Rock, Planning and Development Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-10
  4. Arkansas Code of Rules 016.22.02, rule 3 — child care centre license fees by capacityArkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.