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

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 8 records listed for a childcare centre in Columbus, OH, 4 apply to every business of this type and 4 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

Of the 4 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $900.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 8 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

Commercial Building Permit: $700 plus $7 for each 10 gross square feet, or portion of it, over 1,000 square feet, capped at $500,000. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work runs $550 with one inspection or $700 with two. A minor work permit is $275.

Sign Permit: $100–$600 $500 for a sign under 100 square feet needing no plan review, $600 for a larger sign or one that does; a temporary sign permit is $300, and a small miscellaneous sign of 32 square feet or less is $100

Permits for a childcare centre in Columbus, OH come from 5 separate offices: City of Columbus License Section, Department of Building and Zoning Services, City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, City of Columbus Division of Fire, Fire Prevention Bureau, Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Ohio Department of Children and Youth. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

• City of Columbus License Section, Department of Building and Zoning ServicesIssues 1 permit on this page: City Income Tax Registration4252 Groves Rd, Columbus, OH 43232 · (614) 645-8366www.columbus.gov/Business-Development/Business-Licenses-Resources
• City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning ServicesIssues 3 permits on this page: Certificate of Occupancy, Commercial Building Permit, Sign Permit111 N Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215 · (614) 645-7433www.columbus.gov/bzs
• City of Columbus Division of Fire, Fire Prevention BureauIssues 1 permit on this page: Day Care Fire Safety Inspection3639 Parsons Ave, Columbus, Ohio 43207 · (614) 645-7641www.columbus.gov/Services/Public-Safety/Fire/Inspections
• Ohio Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), Initial Articles of Incorporation22 North Fourth Street, Columbus, OH 43215 · (877) 767-6446bsportal.ohiosos.gov
• Ohio Department of Children and YouthIssues 1 permit on this page: Child Care Centre Licenceoclqs.force.com

No fee, because there is no general business licence here — what stands in its place is a real 2.5% local income tax on business activity conducted within Columbus, filed as a tax return rather than paid for as a permit.

Occupying a space without one costs $2,500 — steep enough to function as a real deterrent rather than a nominal fine. A time-limited occupancy is $650, and a partial occupancy runs $250 residential or $450 commercial.

Fire protection work is priced separately on the same schedule: a fire suppression system review is $400 plus $2.50 per sprinkler head, and a fire alarm system review is $400 plus $3.25 per device. Demolition runs $200 plus $80 per 1,000 square feet, capped at $3,000.

A billboard sits well above ordinary commercial signage at $2,500 for its own permit.

The Fire Prevention Bureau's own current FAQ page states this figure as effective January 1, 2015 — an unusually old effective date for a still-live page — so it is worth confirming directly with the Bureau that no unpublished update has superseded it. A child care center serving food also goes through Columbus Public Health's own plan review process, at the fees recorded on the Food Establishment Licence entry above.

$99 once, and then nothing. Ohio is one of the few states with no annual report and no annual fee for an LLC — the Secretary of State's own guidance says business entities are not required to file one, and the fee schedule carries no report line under either the LLC or the for-profit corporation heading. Standard processing is free and takes three to seven business days; expediting costs $100 for two days, $200 for one day or $300 for four hours with in-person delivery. Form 610 replaced the older form 533A in September 2025, so a downloaded 533A will be rejected.

$99 is a minimum, not a flat fee. It covers one to 990 authorised shares; above that the Secretary of State charges on a graduated scale, ten cents a share to 1,000, five cents to 10,000, two cents to 50,000, one cent to 100,000, half a cent to 500,001 and a quarter of a cent beyond — so a large authorisation costs materially more. A nonprofit never calculates on shares and pays $99 flat. As with an LLC, there is no annual report to follow.

$50 once, and the licence then runs indefinitely — Ohio issues a continuous licence rather than one that expires, so there is no renewal fee. Oversight comes from inspection instead: at least one every state fiscal year. The $50 is charged again if the centre moves, which must be applied for thirty days ahead, or if the owner changes; it is never refunded or transferred. Note the agency changed: child care licensing moved from Job and Family Services to the Department of Children and Youth, and the rules were renumbered from OAC 5101:2-12 to 5180:2-12 on 2 January 2025, so older guidance names the wrong department. A family child care provider — types A and B alike, both now state-licensed rather than county-certified — pays $25 on the same continuous basis.