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California Child Care Licensing: A Parent's Guide
A plain-English guide to how child care licensing works in California — who regulates it, how to check any provider's license and public record, and where to find the official state information. Childcare Alerts indexes 28,109 licensed California providers, free.
Who licenses child care in California?
Child care in California is licensed and monitored by the California Department of Social Services (Community Care Licensing).
How to check a provider's license and record
- Search on Childcare Alerts. Look up any California provider by name, city, or ZIP — free. Each page shows what's on the public record in plain English and links to the official state file.
- Read the record. Check the license status and any licensing actions. Not sure what a term means? See violations explained.
- Confirm on the state's own site. the official California licensing authority's website is the system of record — always the final word.
What Childcare Alerts shows for California
For California, we surface the provider directory, the state quality rating where available, and a flag on any provider listed under a licensing probation.
See the California child care report and the California deserts map for the statewide picture.
Before you choose care
The record is one input, not the whole story. See 10 questions to ask on a tour and what accreditation means. A provider with no action on record has not necessarily had a clean history — always open the official record.
Worried a provider is operating without a license, or seen something unsafe? Here's how to report it in California.
Childcare Alerts is an independent service — not affiliated with the California Department of Social Services (Community Care Licensing). We surface public records from official state sources; the official government record always controls, and the absence of a record is not a guarantee of safety.