11 permits · verified 2026-09-04
What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Philadelphia?
In short
A childcare centre in Philadelphia, PA has 5 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections charges $63 a year, for a family child care facility; a $20 application fee counts toward the total for the child care facility license. 3 of the 11 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-04 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a childcare centre in Philadelphia
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Care Facility License | City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections | $63 a year, for a family child care facility; a $20 application fee counts toward the total | annual | 2026-09-04 |
| Child Care Certificate of Compliance | Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning | No fee | not to exceed 12 months from the date of issue | 2026-09-03 |
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 Philadelphia
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Activity License | City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections | No fee | does not expire — no renewal required | 2026-09-04 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections | Varies — formula on the Philadelphia page | not time-limited — a new certificate is required whenever the use or occupancy classification changes | 2026-09-04 |
| Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections | Varies — formula on the Philadelphia page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-04 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections | Varies — formula on the Philadelphia page | the permits are one-time per installation; the Outdoor Advertising License renews every 5 years | 2026-09-04 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
PA registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations | $125 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each year | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations | $125 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each year | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations | $7 per year for a for-profit entity | annual | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Pennsylvania position | Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations | No fee | set by the issuing municipality | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax Licenseonly if it applies to you | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue | No fee — no registration fee | 5 years, renewed automatically subject to compliance | 2026-09-03 |
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 Philadelphia?
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 Philadelphia, PA, 5 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.
Of the 5 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $63.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 11 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all.
The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Philadelphia permits page and the PA state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Philadelphia?
Permits for a childcare centre in Philadelphia, PA come from 4 separate offices: City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections, Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and InspectionsIssues 5 permits on this page, including Commercial Activity License, Certificate of Occupancy, Commercial Building Permit1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd., MSB, Public Service Concourse, Philadelphia, PA 19102 · (215) 686-8686www.phila.gov/departments/department-of-licenses-and-inspections
- Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable OrganizationsIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization (LLC), Annual Report, General Business License — Pennsylvania positionfile.dos.pa.gov
- Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early LearningIssues 1 permit on this page: Child Care Certificate of Compliancewww.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/for-providers/child-care-for-providers/child-care-regulations
- Pennsylvania Department of RevenueIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax Licensemypath.pa.gov
What does a childcare centre need in Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia: Child Care Facility License and Child Care Certificate of Compliance.
Child Care Facility License
A valid lead-free or lead-safe certification from the Department of Public Health must be on file before this license can be issued or renewed, a requirement effective since January 2020. Larger, center-based child care is certified at the state level by Pennsylvania DHS, but the property still must be zoned commercial and pass this L&I safety inspection on top of that state certification — a genuine local layer, not a substitute for it.
Child Care Certificate of Compliance
No fee — Pennsylvania charges nothing to certify a child care centre, and that is read from the regulation rather than inferred from a blank page: section 20.42 lists the facility types that do pay, child care is not among them, and subsection (b) says no fee is required for anything not listed. Watch one trap in the same section. It contains a capacity-banded fee table of $15 to $50, and that table applies to PERSONAL CARE HOMES, not to child care. Attaching those bands here would be wrong. The certificate runs for no more than twelve months, so it is renewed annually. A centre is seven or more unrelated children, a group home seven to twelve, and a family home four to six — all three are free and all three carry the same twelve-month term.
The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Philadelphia, PA; what each one involves is set out on the Philadelphia permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across PA and are covered on the PA state page.
How does a childcare centre compare with other businesses in Philadelphia?
The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Child Care Facility License and Child Care Certificate of Compliance. A auto repair shop needs Motor Vehicle Repair / Fuel Dispensing License, which a childcare centre does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a childcare centre | Only a childcare centre needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto repair shops | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Coffee shops | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Contractors and trades | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Fitness studios | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Retail stores | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Salons and barbers | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
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 Philadelphia permits page and the PA state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- City of Philadelphia — Child Care Facility LicenseCity of Philadelphia · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- City of Philadelphia L&I permit and license fee schedule, effective January 1, 2025City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- 55 Pa. Code section 20.42 — certificate of compliance fees; no fee is required for a facility not listedPennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- 55 Pa. Code section 3270.11 — child care certificate of compliance, not to exceed 12 monthsPennsylvania Code and Bulletin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.