Daycare Licensing in Colorado: Violations, Inspections & License Lookup
How child care licensing works in Colorado: who regulates it, the rules providers answer to, how often they are inspected, and the exact steps to look up a daycare's violations and verify its license. Sourced from Department of Early Childhood, Division of Early Learning Licensing.
Last verified 2026-08-03
How do I look up daycare violations in Colorado?
- Open the Colorado Shines search page at coloradoshines.com/search.
- Search by provider name, address, city, or zip code.
- Open the provider's listing and click the blue View Details button at the bottom.
- Review the licensing history, routine inspection reports, and any complaints, investigations, or penalties from the last three years.
- For a fuller file or an in-person review of up to five providers, call the Colorado Department of Early Childhood at 303-866-6029 or email cdec_pbfr@state.co.us.
State portal: Colorado child care search
How do I verify a Coloradodaycare's license?
- Go to coloradoshines.com/search.
- Enter the provider's name or address to find the listing.
- Open the listing and click View Details.
- Confirm the current license status, license number, license type, and capacity shown on the detail page.
State portal: Colorado license search
Who regulates daycares in Colorado?
Child care licensing in Colorado is administered by the Department of Early Childhood, Division of Early Learning Licensing, under 8 CCR 1402-1. It licenses providers, inspects them, and records the violations found.
How often are Colorado daycares inspected?
Colorado licensing authorities inspect licensed child care programs at least once a year. Extra inspections are triggered by a complaint, a report of child injury, or a report of child abuse or neglect. Both routine and complaint inspection reports appear in each program's Colorado Shines listing.
Colorado does not publish a public severity scale for its violations.
What our Coloradodata covers, and what it doesn't
We track Colorado's licensed providers from the state's public records: license number, status, and capacity. For a provider's full inspection and violation history, follow the steps above at the state's own source.
| Colorado child care data | On record |
|---|---|
| Licensed providers tracked | 4,508 |
| Independently scorable (Confidence Index) | Not yet scorable |
| Inspection history on this site | Roster only, use state source |
Colorado daycare licensing: common questions
- How do I look up daycare violations in Colorado?
- Use the Colorado Shines search tool at coloradoshines.com/search. Find the provider, open its listing, and click View Details to see licensing history plus any complaints, state investigations, or penalties from the last three years. Actual inspection reports are posted there. You can also request a file review by calling 303-866-6029.
- How often does Colorado inspect licensed daycares?
- Colorado licensing authorities inspect each licensed child care program at least once a year. The state also conducts additional inspections in response to a complaint, a reported child injury, or a report of child abuse or neglect. Both routine and complaint-driven reports are published in the provider's Colorado Shines listing.
- How do I verify a Colorado daycare's license?
- Search for the provider on Colorado Shines at coloradoshines.com/search and open its detail page. The listing shows the current license status, license number, license type, and capacity. Colorado Shines is run by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
- Who do I call to report a child care concern in Colorado?
- Call the state child care complaint line at 1-800-799-5876 to report a concern or a suspected licensing violation. For records or a file review of a specific provider, contact the Colorado Department of Early Childhood at 303-866-6029 or cdec_pbfr@state.co.us.
This page republishes the public licensing record and labels every absent field plainly. Primary source: https://www.coloradoshines.com. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.