Daycare Licensing in New York: Violations, Inspections & License Lookup
How child care licensing works in New York: 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 Office of Children and Family Services (excludes NYC — DOHMH regulates separately).
Last verified 2026-08-03
How do I look up daycare violations in New York?
- Open the OCFS child care search at https://hs.ocfs.ny.gov/dcfs/ (also reachable from ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/looking/).
- Search by program name, address, or License/Registration ID, or filter by county.
- Open the program's profile.
- Review its inspection history and any regulatory violations, along with the current compliance status of each violation.
- For a New York City center, use the separate NYC Health Department child care search instead.
State portal: New York child care search
How do I verify a New Yorkdaycare's license?
- Open the same OCFS search and look up the program by name or License/Registration ID.
- Open the profile to confirm the current license or registration status, the ID number, the program type, and approved capacity.
- You can also call OCFS at 1-800-732-5207 to confirm a program's status.
State portal: New York license search
Who regulates daycares in New York?
Child care licensing in New York is administered by the Office of Children and Family Services (excludes NYC — DOHMH regulates separately), under 18 NYCRR Part 418. It licenses providers, inspects them, and records the violations found.
How often are New York daycares inspected?
The Office of Children and Family Services conducts unannounced monitoring inspections of licensed and registered child day care programs at least once a year, as required under 18 NYCRR Part 418 and federal law. Initial and renewal inspections also occur each license or registration period, and inspections may be announced or unannounced. Complaints can trigger additional visits. New York City center-based programs are overseen separately by the NYC Health Department, not OCFS.
New York does not publish a public severity scale for its violations.
What our New Yorkdata covers, and what it doesn't
We track New York'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.
| New York child care data | On record |
|---|---|
| Licensed providers tracked | 16,777 |
| Independently scorable (Confidence Index) | Not yet scorable |
| Inspection history on this site | Roster only, use state source |
New York daycare licensing: common questions
- How do I look up daycare violations in New York?
- Use the OCFS child care search at hs.ocfs.ny.gov/dcfs/. Search by program name or License/Registration ID, open the profile, and review its inspection history and cited violations. The profile also shows whether each violation has been corrected. New York City center programs are listed on the NYC Health Department site instead.
- How often does New York inspect licensed daycares?
- OCFS performs unannounced monitoring inspections at least once a year for licensed and registered programs. Additional inspections happen at initial licensing, at renewal, and in response to complaints. Inspections may be announced or unannounced.
- How do I verify a New York daycare's license or registration?
- Search the same OCFS portal by name or ID. Open the profile to confirm the current license or registration status, the ID number, the program type, and approved capacity. You can also call OCFS at 1-800-732-5207.
- Does the OCFS search cover New York City daycares?
- OCFS regulates child care outside New York City and lists those programs. New York City center-based programs are regulated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and appear on its separate child care search. Family and group family day care in New York City is still overseen by OCFS.
This page republishes the public licensing record and labels every absent field plainly. Primary source: https://data.ny.gov/resource/cb42-qumz.json. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.