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11 permits · verified 2026-10-12

What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Douglas County Ks?

In short

A childcare centre in Douglas County Ks, KS has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 9 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Kansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division charges $90 one-time filing for the articles of organization (llc). 5 of the 11 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-12 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a childcare centre in Douglas County Ks

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Child Care Licensing Local County Fees (Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health)Lawrence-Douglas County Public HealthAs published on LDCPH's Childcare Licensing Fees page: orientation $40.00; home providers $100.00 initial, $75.00 annual; child care centers, preschools and school-age programs (1-100 children) $150.00 initial, $150.00 annual; (101+ children) $300.00 initial, $300.00 annual; youth development programs (1-100 children) $200.00 initial, $200.00 annual; (101+ children) $400.00 initial, $400.00 annual; amendment visit $50.00.annual; the annual fee is invoiced around the time the state license expires2026-10-12
Child Care LicenseKansas Office of Early Childhood, Child Care LicensingNo feeannual renewal, with no state license fee at application or at renewal2026-09-04

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 Douglas County Ks

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Building Permit (unincorporated Douglas County)only if it applies to youDouglas County Zoning and Codes DepartmentVaries — formula on the Douglas County Ks pagepermit becomes invalid if work does not begin within 180 days of issuance or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days; written extensions of up to 180 days each (§13-107)2026-10-12
On-Site Sewage Management System (Septic) Permit (unincorporated Douglas County)only if it applies to youLawrence-Douglas County Public HealthVaries — formula on the Douglas County Ks pagevalid two years from the date issued (Sanitary Code §2-6.1)2026-10-12
Rezoning, Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan Approval (unincorporated Douglas County)only if it applies to youLawrence/Douglas County Planning & Development Services (joint office)Varies — formula on the Douglas County Ks pageper project2026-10-12
Floodplain Development Permit (unincorporated Douglas County)only if it applies to youDouglas County Zoning and Codes DepartmentVaries — formula on the Douglas County Ks pageper project2026-10-12

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

KS 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 Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youKansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division$90 one-time filingperpetual, but an information report is due every two years2026-09-04
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youKansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division$85 filed online; $90 on paperperpetual, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-04
Corporation Annual Reportonly if it applies to youKansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division$53 filed online; $55 on paperannual — due within three and a half months of the close of the entity's tax year, commonly 15 April2026-09-04
LLC Information Reportonly if it applies to youKansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division$90 filed online, every two years; $110 on paperbiennial — an entity formed in an even year files in each succeeding even year, and the same pattern holds for odd years2026-09-04
General Business License — Kansas Business Portal Positiononly if it applies to youKansas Secretary of State, Business 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 Douglas County Ks?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 11 records listed for a childcare centre in Douglas County Ks, KS, 2 apply to every business of this type and 9 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

5 of the 11 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:

Child Care Licensing Local County Fees (Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health): As published on LDCPH's Childcare Licensing Fees page: orientation $40.00; home providers $100.00 initial, $75.00 annual; child care centers, preschools and school-age programs (1-100 children) $150.00 initial, $150.00 annual; (101+ children) $300.00 initial, $300.00 annual; youth development programs (1-100 children) $200.00 initial, $200.00 annual; (101+ children) $400.00 initial, $400.00 annual; amendment visit $50.00.

The other 4 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Douglas County Ks permits page and the KS state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Douglas County Ks?

Permits for a childcare centre in Douglas County Ks, KS come from 5 separate offices: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Douglas County Zoning and Codes Department, Lawrence/Douglas County Planning & Development Services (joint office), Kansas Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Kansas Office of Early Childhood, Child Care Licensing. 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 Douglas County Ks that other businesses do not?

2 of the 2 permits particular to a childcare centre here apply to no other business type we cover in Douglas County Ks: Child Care Licensing Local County Fees (Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health) and Child Care License.

Child Care Licensing Local County Fees (Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health)

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health (LDCPH) surveys licensed child care providers throughout Douglas County, inside Lawrence, Eudora, Baldwin City and Lecompton as well as the unincorporated area; its Childcare Licensing page states that the program "oversees about 150 home care providers, child care centers, preschools and drop-in day care programs in Douglas County." LDCPH's Childcare Licensing Fees page states that it collects annual fees so its surveyors can provide the annual, compliance, complaint and amendment surveys the state requires, and describes them as local county fees, separate from any state fees. As published on that page: orientation $40.00; home providers $100.00 initial and $75.00 annual; child care centers, preschools and school-age programs $150.00 initial and annual for 1-100 children, $300.00 for 101 or more; youth development programs $200.00 for 1-100 children, $400.00 for 101 or more; amendment visit $50.00. The orientation fee is invoiced after the online orientation application, the initial fee when a new provider moves forward with a temporary license, the annual fee around the time the state license expires, and the amendment fee after an on-site amendment visit such as room measurements. LDCPH's New Home Providers page says Douglas County residents who want to operate a child care home attend the orientation class before applying. The state license is issued by the Kansas Office of Early Childhood, which took over child care licensing on 1 July 2026; it is a separate state record. Fee questions go to the LDCPH Finance Department, 785-856-5381.

Child Care License

Kansas licenses both family child care homes, capped at twelve children, and larger child care centres, preschools and school-age programmes, as a genuine requirement rather than an optional registration — but the state charges nothing for the license itself. 2025 House Bill 2045 rewrote the fee statute so that, from 1 July 2025, 'there shall be no annual fee for a license to conduct a child care facility', and because that statute's license fee is the one paid when the license is applied for and annually thereafter, the old capacity-based charge of $75 plus $1 a child is gone at application and renewal alike. The same Act moved licensing from the health department to the Kansas Office of Early Childhood on 1 July 2026 and repeats the rule there: for any day care facility, there shall be no annual fee. What still costs money is the background check — the applicant or licensee pays $48 for each fingerprint-based check its owners, staff and adult household members need, a charge the health department resumed on 1 January 2026 and which carries over to the new office as its rule until revised. The Act also lets the office set a fee of up to $35 for an amended license, and keeps a $75 late fee for a license not renewed within 30 days of expiring.

The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Douglas County Ks, KS; what each one involves is set out on the Douglas County Ks permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across KS and are covered on the KS state page.

How does a childcare centre compare with other businesses in Douglas County Ks?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Child Care Licensing Local County Fees (Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health) and Child Care License. A auto repair shop needs Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Kansas Business Portal Position, which a childcare centre does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Douglas County Ks, KS, compared with a childcare centre
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a childcare centreOnly a childcare centre needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops1021
Coffee shops3023
Contractors and trades5025
Fitness studios1021
Restaurants3023
Retail stores2022
Salons and barbers2022
Veterinary clinics1021

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 Douglas County Ks permits page and the KS state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Childcare Licensing Fees pageLawrence-Douglas County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-12
  2. Childcare Licensing pageLawrence-Douglas County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-12
  3. New Home Providers page (orientation class)Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-12
  4. Kansas Statutes section 65-505, as amended by 2025 House Bill 2045 (L. 2025, ch. 118, § 43) — no annual fee for a license to conduct a child care facilityOffice of Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  5. 2025 House Bill 2045, enrolled — New Section 18, no license fee for any day care facility under the Kansas Office of Early Childhood from 1 July 2026, and New Section 13, carrying existing rules over to the new officeKansas Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  6. Kansas Legislative Research Department — Day Care Licensing and Surveying in Kansas (8 September 2026), confirming the Kansas Office of Early Childhood has run licensing since 1 July 2026Kansas Legislative Research Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  7. Kansas Department of Health and Environment — Child Care Licensing, fees tab: the $48 fingerprint-based background check resumed on 1 January 2026 (Internet Archive capture, 3 June 2026)Kansas Department of Health and Environment · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
  8. Kansas Department of Health and Environment — CCL 008, licensing child care in Kansas (revised October 2025), the licence categories and the twelve-child ceiling for a family child care homeKansas Department of Health and Environment · 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.