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10 permits · verified 2026-08-25

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

In short

A childcare centre in Amarillo, TX has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 4 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Amarillo Building Safety Department charges $114 per permit for the sign permit. 3 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-08-25 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a childcare centre in Amarillo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Child Care Facility Environmental InspectionAmarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department$350 per property, per year1 year2026-08-25
Child Care LicenseTexas Health and Human Services$35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacityannual2026-08-20

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 Amarillo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Plan ReviewCity of Amarillo Building Safety DepartmentVaries — formula on the Amarillo pageplan review expires 180 days after the last correction notice2026-08-25
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$114 per permitnot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25
Commercial Building PermitCity of Amarillo Building Safety DepartmentVaries — formula on the Amarillo pagenot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25
Re-inspection Feeonly if it applies to youCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$70 per re-inspectionper inspection2026-08-25
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$151 per review and inspectionnot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25

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

TX 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
Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$300 one-time filingno expiry2026-08-20
Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$25 one-time filingup to ten years, renewable2026-08-21
Texas Sales and Use Tax PermitTexas Comptroller of Public AccountsNo fee — there is no fee for this permitno expiry while actively engaged in business2026-08-21

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 Amarillo?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a childcare centre in Amarillo, TX, 6 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 6 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $501.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 0 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Child Care License: $35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacity

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Amarillo permits page and the TX state page.

Is Amarillo expensive for a childcare centre?

Comparing like with like — only the permits charged as a single flat fee, since a valuation formula has no figure to rank — Amarillo sits where the table below puts it against every other TX jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.

Certificate of Occupancy: Amarillo charges $151. Across 22 jurisdictions it runs from $50 in Waco to $425 in Universal City, with a median of $105. 17 charge less and 4 charge more.

Sign Permit: Amarillo charges $114. Across 5 jurisdictions it runs from $75 in Lubbock to $114 here, with a median of $88. Nowhere else covered here charges more.

Read the spread rather than the rank. Certificate of Occupancy varies by $375 between the cheapest and dearest jurisdiction here, which is the sort of gap worth knowing before you sign a lease on one side of a city line rather than the other.

Which offices issue these permits in Amarillo?

Permits for a childcare centre in Amarillo, TX come from 5 separate offices: City of Amarillo Building Safety Department, Amarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas Health and Human Services. 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 Amarillo 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 Amarillo: Child Care Facility Environmental Inspection and Child Care License.

Child Care Facility Environmental Inspection

$350 per property, required annually — by a wide margin the most expensive municipal child care inspection covered here, against $200 a year in Garland, $170 in El Paso and $150 per inspection in Brazos County. It is charged per property rather than per child or per room, so a large nursery pays the same as a small one. Separate from the state license held from Texas Health and Human Services. A foster or adoption home is $150 for the first structure and $75 for each additional structure on the property, also annually.

Child Care License

Worked example: a centre licensed for 100 children pays $135 a year ($35 + $1 x 100). The annual fee falls on the anniversary of the date the initial license was issued, not on a calendar date.

The other 5 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Amarillo, TX; what each one involves is set out on the Amarillo permits page. The 3 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TX and are covered on the TX state page.

How does a childcare centre compare with other businesses in Amarillo?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Child Care Facility Environmental Inspection and Child Care License. A auto repair shop needs Flammable Liquids Tank and Pump Installation Permit, which a childcare centre does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Amarillo, TX, compared with a childcare centre
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a childcare centreOnly a childcare centre needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops1021
Coffee shops2022
Contractors and trades4024
Fitness studios2022
Restaurants5025
Retail stores6026
Salons and barbers1021
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 Amarillo permits page and the TX state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Amarillo Municipal Code Chapter 8-5, Public and Environmental Health, including section 8-5-15 FeesCity of Amarillo · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
  2. 5200, Fees — Child Care Regulation HandbookTexas Health and Human Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-20

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.