14 permits · verified 2026-10-09
What permits do you need to open a childcare centre in Odessa?
In short
A childcare centre in Odessa, TX has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Ector County Health Department charges $150 per inspection for the child care centre inspection — ector county. 8 of the 14 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-09 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a childcare centre in Odessa
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed Facility Fire Inspection | Odessa Fire Marshal's Office | $50–$200 by facility type | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Child Care Centre Inspection — Ector Countyonly if it applies to you | Ector County Health Department | $150 per inspection | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Child Care License | Texas Health and Human Services | $35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacity | annual | 2026-08-20 |
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 Odessa
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Sprinkler Permitonly if it applies to you | Odessa Fire Marshal's Office | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Fire Alarm Permitonly if it applies to you | Odessa Fire Marshal's Office | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Annual Fire Inspectiononly if it applies to you | Odessa Fire Marshal's Office | $150 per annual inspection | annual | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Odessa Inspection Division | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Commercial Remodel and Finish-Out Permit | City of Odessa Inspection Division | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-10-09 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Odessa Inspection Division | $100 change of use, owner or name | the fee schedule charges for a new certificate on a change of use, owner or business name | 2026-10-09 |
| Re-inspection Feeonly if it applies to you | City of Odessa Inspection Division | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | per inspection | 2026-10-09 |
| False Alarm Feeonly if it applies to you | Odessa Fire Marshal's Office | Varies — formula on the Odessa page | counted 1 January to 31 December | 2026-10-09 |
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
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Odessa?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 14 records listed for a childcare centre in Odessa, TX, 6 apply to every business of this type and 8 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, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $100.00. That is a floor, not a total. 8 of the 14 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:
Licensed Facility Fire Inspection: $50–$200 by facility type
Child Care License: $35 application, then an annual fee of $35 plus $1 per child of licensed capacity
The other 6 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Odessa permits page and the TX state page.
Is Odessa 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 — Odessa sits where the table below puts it against every other TX jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.
Certificate of Occupancy: Odessa charges $100. Across 22 jurisdictions it runs from $50 in Waco to $425 in Universal City, with a median of $105. 5 charge less, 11 charge more and 5 charge exactly the same.
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 Odessa?
Permits for a childcare centre in Odessa, TX come from 6 separate offices: Odessa Fire Marshal's Office, Ector County Health Department, City of Odessa Inspection Division, 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.
- Odessa Fire Marshal's OfficeIssues 5 permits on this page, including Fire Sprinkler Permit, Licensed Facility Fire Inspection, Fire Alarm Permit307 N. Lee Street, 2nd floor, Odessa, TX · 432-257-0524www.odessa-tx.gov/1229/Fire-Marshals-Office
- Ector County Health DepartmentIssues 1 permit on this page: Child Care Centre Inspection — Ector County221 N. Texas Avenue, Odessa, TX 79761 · 432-498-4144www.ectorcountytx.gov/page/ector.HealthDepartment
- City of Odessa Inspection DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Commercial Building Permit, Commercial Remodel and Finish-Out Permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Re-inspection Feewww.odessa-tx.gov/1222/Building-Inspection-Permits
- Texas Secretary of StateIssues 2 permits on this page: Certificate of Formation, Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)www.sos.state.tx.us
- Texas Comptroller of Public AccountsIssues 1 permit on this page: Texas Sales and Use Tax Permitcomptroller.texas.gov/taxes/permit
- Texas Health and Human ServicesIssues 1 permit on this page: Child Care Licensewww.hhs.texas.gov
What does a childcare centre need in Odessa that other businesses do not?
2 of the 3 permits particular to a childcare centre here apply to no other business type we cover in Odessa: Child Care Centre Inspection — Ector County and Child Care License.
Child Care Centre Inspection — Ector County
$150 per inspection for a daycare or child care centre, and the same $150 for any other requested inspection, as published on the Ector County Health Department's 2025-2026 schedule; Odessa Code § 6-6-32 lists a day-care centre at the same $150 and a foster home at $100, matching the county's $100 foster home inspection application. School inspections are priced separately on the county schedule: $300 for the two required each year, or $258 where the school food establishment is run on a for-profit basis. This is a county environmental health inspection and does not replace the state license from Texas Health and Human Services.
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.
Shared with other businesses in Odessa
- Licensed Facility Fire Inspection — Odessa Fire Marshal's Office, $50–$200 by facility type, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for veterinary clinics and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
The other 8 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Odessa, TX; what each one involves is set out on the Odessa 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 Odessa?
The closest match is a veterinary clinic, which shares 1 of these permits. A childcare centre also needs Child Care Centre Inspection — Ector County and Child Care License. A veterinary clinic needs Commercial Plumbing Permit and Veterinary Facility Registration - not in force until September 2027, which a childcare centre does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a childcare centre | Only a childcare centre needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Retail stores | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Auto repair shops | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Coffee shops | 5 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Contractors and trades | 6 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Fitness studios | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Restaurants | 9 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the retail stores page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Odessa permits page and the TX state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Ector County Health Department 2025-2026 Fee Schedule, dated 6 October 2025 (filed with Texas DSHS)Ector County Health Department, filed with Texas Department of State Health Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- 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.