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

Fire Prevention Permit (Alarm System / Burning / Incinerator)

A permit from the Fire Chief is required before installing or operating a fire alarm/monitoring system connected to the Fire Department, before any open-air burning, and before operating an outdoor incinerator — real, codified requirements under Chapter 38, Article III. A burning permit specifically carries no fee: the Fire Department's own current FAQ page states that once Central Station personnel inspect the proposed site, 'the permit will be issued immediately on site. There is no fee for the permit.' Chapter 38 states no dollar fee for the alarm-system and incinerator permit categories: its general provision, § 38-30(b), makes a permit invalid until 'the fees prescribed by the Lewiston City Council' have been paid, and § 38-30(c) applies the same council-schedule phrasing to permits for buildings, structures or alterations. No permit fee for either category appears in Chapter 38 or in the City's business license fee schedule (updated 4/21/2026), unlike the Building Permit Fee Schedule listed separately. The Council's separate Fire Alarms policy (updated 4/5/2016) does set an annual $350 fee for each building connected to the municipal fire alarm system through a master fire alarm box, which covers the Fire Alarm Division's inspection, cleaning, testing and battery replacement. Applies conditionally, only to a building or activity that independently triggers one of these Chapter 38 requirements, not as a flat charge every small business pays automatically.

Family Child Care Home — Zoning Treatment Under State Law (Home Occupation Use Permit does not apply) (Lewiston)

The City's current Home Occupation Application form, at Question 8, explicitly names 'family daycare' among the activities that disqualify an applicant from that permit altogether ('Does this activity not include the following: ...family daycare...?'), with the form stating that a 'No' answer to any Question 8 item means the activity 'does not qualify as a Home Occupation.' Under Maine's statewide statute, 30-A M.R.S. § 4364-D, no additional Lewiston zoning permit reaches a licensed family child care provider, so this record carries no fee: the statute makes such a provider 'a permitted use in a municipal area that is zoned for residential purposes, subject to the same requirements for other residential property,' consistent with the City's own form carving family daycare out of its discretionary Home Occupation review rather than leaving it unaddressed. This is beyond Maine OCFS's own state Child Care Facility License, recorded at the state layer. A stand-alone commercial child care center is not a family child care home and is not shielded by this statute; it instead follows the ordinary Building Permit, Certificate of Occupancy, and Development Review path listed separately for any other commercial use of comparable size. Chapter 22's own 'Group care facility' license category (§ 22-2) remains a separate, residential group-home/boarding-care category for more than eight individuals, unrelated to an ordinary daytime child care business.

Child Care Facility License

The identical fee structure applies whether a facility cares for a handful of children or well over a dozen — $240 for a full two-year license, $120 for a provisional or temporary one, with a much cheaper $10 fee for a nursery school specifically. A family child care provider, caring for a smaller number of children in their own home, is licensed separately and more cheaply: $160 for a full two-year license, $80 provisional, $10 temporary. Operating without a license where one is required carries a real civil penalty, not less than $500 and not more than $10,000 for every day of violation.

Shared with other businesses in Lewiston

• Municipal Business License — City of Lewiston position (enumerated categories only) — City of Lewiston, City Clerk's Department, No fee, not applicable. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, veterinary clinics, fitness studios and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.