Daycare Licensing in West Virginia: Violations, Inspections & License Lookup
How child care licensing works in West Virginia: 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 Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance.
Last verified 2026-08-03
How do I look up daycare violations in West Virginia?
- West Virginia does not offer a public online lookup of a specific provider's violations or inspection reports.
- Start at the Bureau for Family Assistance child care page at https://bfa.wv.gov/child-care-centers to confirm the agency and contacts.
- Use the state's provider directory (linked from bfa.wv.gov/page/find-childcare-provider) to find the center and confirm it is licensed.
- To obtain a center's inspection or violation records, submit a public records request to the Bureau for Family Assistance at 350 Capitol Street, Room 730, Charleston, WV 25301.
- For help interpreting a provider's record, contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency through ccrcwv.org.
State portal: West Virginia child care search
How do I verify a West Virginiadaycare's license?
- Open the Bureau for Family Assistance Find a Child Care Provider page at https://bfa.wv.gov/page/find-childcare-provider.
- Use the linked provider directory to search by provider name, type, county, city, or ZIP code.
- Confirm the center appears as a licensed provider of the expected type.
- Contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency (ccrcwv.org) or the Bureau at 350 Capitol Street, Room 730, Charleston, WV 25301 to confirm current license status and capacity.
State portal: West Virginia license search
Who regulates daycares in West Virginia?
Child care licensing in West Virginia is administered by the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance, under W. Va. C.S.R. Title 78, Series 1. It licenses providers, inspects them, and records the violations found.
How often are West Virginia daycares inspected?
West Virginia licenses child care centers under W. Va. C.S.R. Title 78, Series 1, now administered by the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance (the former DHHR Bureau for Children and Families before the 2024 reorganization). Licensing staff may enter for announced and unannounced inspections of all parts of a center's operation, and the state uses differential monitoring, so visit frequency varies with a provider's compliance history. Complaints reported to the Bureau trigger investigation visits. The state does not publish a fixed statewide inspection count on its public pages.
West Virginia does not publish a public severity scale for its violations.
What our West Virginiadata covers, and what it doesn't
We track West Virginia'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.
| West Virginia child care data | On record |
|---|---|
| Licensed providers tracked | 1,195 |
| Independently scorable (Confidence Index) | Not yet scorable |
| Inspection history on this site | Roster only, use state source |
West Virginia daycare licensing: common questions
- How do I look up daycare violations in West Virginia?
- West Virginia does not publish per-provider violations or inspection reports through a public online portal. You can find and confirm licensed providers through the Bureau for Family Assistance at bfa.wv.gov/child-care-centers. To get a center's inspection records, submit a public records request to the Bureau in Charleston.
- How often does West Virginia inspect licensed child care centers?
- Under Title 78, Series 1, Bureau for Family Assistance staff may inspect a center announced or unannounced and review all parts of its operation. The state uses differential monitoring, so how often a center is visited depends on its compliance history. Complaints prompt additional investigation visits.
- How do I verify a West Virginia child care provider's license?
- Use the Bureau for Family Assistance Find a Child Care Provider directory at bfa.wv.gov/page/find-childcare-provider to confirm a center is licensed and see its type. For current status and capacity, contact the Bureau at 350 Capitol Street, Room 730, Charleston, WV 25301, or your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency at ccrcwv.org.
- Who regulates child care in West Virginia?
- Child care center licensing is handled by the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance, under W. Va. C.S.R. Title 78, Series 1. This moved from the former Department of Health and Human Resources when it split in January 2024. Local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies help families find and evaluate care.
This page republishes the public licensing record and labels every absent field plainly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.