What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Montgomery County Oh?

Home Daycare License Inspection (PHDMC)

A home-based child care provider in Montgomery County pays Public Health $25.00 for the licensing inspection, which is the county's own line item on its 2026 Fee Schedule. The license itself is a state matter: ORC 5104.03 has the application made 'to the director of children and youth on such form as the director prescribes,' and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth issues it under ORC Chapter 5104. The county's second touchpoint is a precondition that catches centre operators by surprise, and Building Regulations sets it out in its FAQ: 'As part of their licensing requirements, they require proof of a Certificate of Occupancy from the building department before they will issue their license. In order for us to issue a C.O., you must obtain a building permit from our division,' and 'After we pass the final building inspection, we will issue a Certificate of Occupancy, which you will submit to your daycare licensing representative so he or she can complete the licensing approval process.' The practical sequence in a county-served jurisdiction is therefore building permit, final inspection, certificate of occupancy, then state license. A centre that prepares or serves food on-site also needs a food service operation or retail food establishment license from Public Health, priced by risk level in the records listed separately for this county. A provider inside the city of Oakwood should confirm the inspecting authority with the Oakwood Health District, which runs that city's own health programme.

Child Care Centre License

$50 once, and the license then runs indefinitely — Ohio issues a continuous license 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.

Shared with other businesses in Montgomery County Oh

• Food License Late Renewal Penalty — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Twenty-five per cent of the local portion of the license fee, added to the total. The PHDMC 2026 Fee Schedule prints the resulting amounts: for a commercial operation under 25,000 sq ft, $61.17, $69.12, $133.70 and $169.97 at risk levels 1 to 4; at 25,000 sq ft and over, $89.16, $93.94, $337.30 and $357.66. A mobile operation carries $61.75 (high risk) or $30.88 (low risk), a pool $143.75 for the first unit and $93.75 for each additional unit, and a body art establishment $75.00., charged once for each licensing period in which the renewal is filed late, alongside the license fee itself. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, fitness studios and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — commercial, under 25,000 sq ft — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Per the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule, headed 'As of 12/1/2025': Risk Level 1 $272.66, Level 2 $304.48, Level 3 $562.80, Level 4 $707.86. Each total is the local fee ($244.66, $276.48, $534.80, $679.86) plus the $28.00 state fee the licensor collects and transmits to the Treasurer of State. The same schedule prices a vending machine food service operation at $31.86 ($25.86 local plus $6.00 state)., one licensing period, which ORC 3717.01(P) defines as 'the first day of March to the last day of February of the next succeeding year'; a license issued to a new food service operation after the first day of December does not expire until the end of the next licensing period. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Service Plan Review (new construction and remodel) — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Per the plan review block of the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule, local fees with no state component printed: Micro Market $150.00; under 1,000 square feet $500.00; 1,000-2,499 square feet $600.00; over 2,500 square feet $750.00; consultation or remodelling $100.00 per hour., one review per project; PHDMC requires plans to be submitted 30 days prior to construction. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Person In Charge (PIC) Certification in Food Protection — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, $35 per person, for the three-hour course, as printed on the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule; the line carries no state fee and no penalty, a certification rather than a license; the course is three hours and satisfies OAC 3701-21-25. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.