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 $151 per review and inspection for the certificate of occupancy. 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.
The permits at a glance
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Amarillo Building Safety Department | $151 per review and inspection | not stated in the codified schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Amarillo Building Safety Department | $114 per permit | not stated in the codified schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Child Care Facility Environmental Inspection | Amarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department | $350 per property, per year | 1 year | 2026-08-25 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Amarillo Building Safety Department | project valuation × 0.0038, minimum $139 plus $70 for each of the electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits required | not stated in the codified schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Commercial Plan Review | City of Amarillo Building Safety Department | project valuation × 0.0015, minimum $83 | plan review expires 180 days after the last correction notice | 2026-08-25 |
| Re-inspection Feeonly if it applies to you | City of Amarillo Building Safety Department | $70 per re-inspection | per inspection | 2026-08-25 |
| Child Care Licence | Texas Health and Human Services | $35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacity | annual | 2026-08-20 |
| Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to you | Texas Secretary of State | $300 one-time filing | no expiry | 2026-08-20 |
| Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to you | Texas Secretary of State | $25 one-time filing | up to ten years, renewable | 2026-08-21 |
| Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts | No fee — there is no fee for this permit | no expiry while actively engaged in business | 2026-08-21 |
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 that vary:
Commercial Building Permit: project valuation × 0.0038, minimum $139 plus $70 for each of the electrical, plumbing and HVAC permits required
Commercial Plan Review: project valuation × 0.0015, minimum $83
Child Care Licence: $35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacity
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 Health and Human Services, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
Is anything about these requirements changing?
$151 for review and inspection where the certificate is not associated with a building permit — which is the usual case for a tenant moving into existing premises with no construction work. Where a building permit is being issued anyway, the certificate comes with it. Recreating a copy of an existing certificate is $52, worth knowing when a landlord or lender asks for one you have mislaid. Section 4-1-3(h) escalates every fee in this chapter annually by 3 per cent or CPI, whichever is greater, rounded up to a whole dollar, so treat this figure as a floor rather than a fixed price.
$114 flat, whatever the sign. A flat sign fee is friendlier to a large fascia than the area-based schedules several Texas cities use, and it is the same $114 Amarillo charges for a wrecking or moving permit. Section 4-1-3(h) escalates every fee in this chapter annually by 3 per cent or CPI, whichever is greater, rounded up to a whole dollar, so treat this figure as a floor rather than a fixed price.
$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 licence 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.
Nonresidential permits are valuation × 0.0038, rounded to whole dollars. The minimum is $139 plus $70 times the number of other permits required for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work, and that applies to remodels and additions as well as new construction. The important line is that the building permit fee already includes the electrical, HVAC and plumbing permits for that project — so the $70 multiplier sets a floor for small jobs rather than adding a charge to large ones. If the Building Official considers your stated valuation significantly understated, they may substitute International Code Council valuation data as modified by the City, so a low declared value is not a saving. A late fee of $298 applies if work starts before the permit issues, rising to $593 plus triple the permit fee for a second occasion within twenty-four months. Section 4-1-3(h) escalates every fee in this chapter annually by 3 per cent or CPI, whichever is greater, rounded up to a whole dollar, so treat this figure as a floor rather than a fixed price.
Valuation × 0.0015 with an $83 minimum, payable on submittal and non-refundable. Three things cost extra and are avoidable: a revision fee of 0.00057 of value, minimum $224 and capped at $6,145, when a change in scope needs more than an hour of further review; a fresh plan review fee if a third notice of corrections is required, and again for every iteration after that; and expedited review at $623. The deadline that catches people is section 4-1-20(b)(3) — if no permit issues within 180 days of the last correction notice, the plan review expires and the next submission is treated as a first application at full price. A commercial pool, spa or interactive water feature has its own flat plan review fee of $81. Section 4-1-3(h) escalates every fee in this chapter annually by 3 per cent or CPI, whichever is greater, rounded up to a whole dollar, so treat this figure as a floor rather than a fixed price.
$70 — among the cheapest re-inspection fees in this dataset, against $200 in Arlington and Garland and $50 in San Antonio. The more expensive line is the one next to it: an inspection not otherwise listed, or any inspection requested after hours, is $111 an hour with a two-hour minimum, so calling an inspector out of hours starts at $222. A $13 technology fee is added to permits. Section 4-1-3(h) escalates every fee in this chapter annually by 3 per cent or CPI, whichever is greater, rounded up to a whole dollar, so treat this figure as a floor rather than a fixed price.
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 licence was issued, not on a calendar date.
Required to form an LLC or corporation, not to trade as a sole proprietor. Texas has no statewide general business licence, so for many businesses this filing plus a sales and use tax permit is the entire state-level obligation.
Only needed if you trade under a name different from the one on your formation filing. The certificate is effective for a term not exceeding ten years from the date of filing and does not roll over by itself — it must be actively renewed, and a new certificate can be filed within six months of the original expiring. The $25 is the Secretary of State fee; sole proprietors and general partnerships file with the county clerk instead, at county rates.
There is no fee for this permit — the Comptroller says so directly, which is worth stating because a blank fee reads as though nobody knows. It does not expire on a date, but it is not permanent either: it is valid only while you are actively engaged in business as a seller, and the Comptroller's office may cancel it on finding that you are not. Filing obligations keep it alive, so a return must be filed for every period even when there were no taxable sales or purchases to report. Apply through Comptroller eSystems and allow two to three weeks.
Sources
Every figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Amarillo Municipal Code Chapter 4-1, Fees, Permits and Contractor Registrations, as amended by Ordinance No. 8218, 16 September 2025City of Amarillo · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
- Amarillo Municipal Code Chapter 8-5, Public and Environmental Health, including section 8-5-15 FeesCity of Amarillo · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
- 5200, Fees — Child Care Regulation HandbookTexas Health and Human Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-20
- Formation of Texas Entities FAQs - Texas Secretary of StateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
- Form 503 - Instructions for Assumed Name CertificateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
- Sales and Use Tax Permit — Texas ComptrollerTexas Comptroller of Public Accounts · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-20
Related
- All permits in Amarillo
- Childcare centres — national overview
- Childcare centres in Fort Worth, TX
- Childcare centres in Grand Prairie, TX
- Childcare centres in Arlington, TX
- Childcare centres in San Antonio, TX
- Childcare centres in Pasadena, TX
- Auto repair shops in Amarillo
- Coffee shops in Amarillo
- Contractors and trades in Amarillo
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.
