Daycare Licensing in Florida: Violations, Inspections & License Lookup
How child care licensing works in Florida: 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 Children and Families, Office of Child Care Regulation.
Last verified 2026-08-03
How do I look up daycare violations in Florida?
- Open the CARES Public Search at caressearch.myflfamilies.com/PublicSearch. No login is required.
- Search by provider name, city, county, or license number.
- Open the provider to view its three-year inspection history.
- Look for inspections marked with a red dot, which signal that violations were cited.
- Open an inspection report to read the specific violations and their class (Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3).
State portal: Florida child care search
How do I verify a Floridadaycare's license?
- Open the CARES Public Search at caressearch.myflfamilies.com/PublicSearch.
- Search for the provider by name or address.
- Open the provider profile to confirm the license number, license type, capacity, and operating days and hours.
- Only state-regulated licensed providers appear, so a listing confirms current regulation.
State portal: Florida license search
Who regulates daycares in Florida?
Child care licensing in Florida is administered by the Department of Children and Families, Office of Child Care Regulation, under Florida Administrative Code 65C-22. It licenses providers, inspects them, and records the violations found.
How often are Florida daycares inspected?
The Department of Children and Families inspects licensed child care facilities at least three times a year. Licensed family day care homes and large family child care homes are inspected at least twice a year. Additional inspections are triggered by complaints. These requirements come from Florida Administrative Code 65C-22.
Florida rates violations by severity. Worst first:
- Class 1
- Class 2
- Class 3
What our Floridadata covers, and what it doesn't
We ingest Florida's inspection records directly, so each provider profile carries its full inspection history by date and violation class, not just a link out.
| Florida child care data | On record |
|---|---|
| Licensed providers tracked | 11,347 |
| Independently scorable (Confidence Index) | Not yet scorable |
| Inspection history on this site | Full record ingested |
Florida daycare licensing: common questions
- How do I look up daycare violations in Florida?
- Use the DCF CARES Public Search at caressearch.myflfamilies.com. Search for the provider, then open its three-year inspection history. Inspections with cited violations are marked with a red dot, and each report lists the violations and their class.
- How often does Florida inspect licensed daycares?
- DCF inspects licensed child care facilities at least three times a year. Licensed family day care homes and large family child care homes are inspected at least twice a year. Complaints can trigger extra inspections. These frequencies are set by Florida Administrative Code 65C-22.
- What do Florida's child care violation classes mean?
- Florida groups violations into three classes. Class 1 is the most serious and poses an imminent threat to a child, including harm that could cause death or serious injury. Class 2 and Class 3 are progressively less severe. A provider cited with a Class 1 violation cannot earn Gold Seal Quality Care status for two years.
- How do I verify a Florida daycare's license?
- Search the provider in the DCF CARES Public Search. The profile shows the license number, license type, capacity, and hours. Only state-regulated licensed providers are listed, so an entry confirms current licensing.
This page republishes the public licensing record and labels every absent field plainly. Primary source: https://caresapi.myflfamilies.com. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.