How to Check a Daycare's License in Minnesota
Before you trust a center with your child, you can see its official licensing history — for free. Here's how.
1. Search the center by name, city, or ZIP
Start with Childcare Alerts. Type the center's name, your city, or your ZIP code. We cover every licensed child care center in Minnesota, and we've reviewed each one's official record so you see its status at a glance.
2. Read the record in plain English
Each center's page shows any public licensing actions — correction orders, fines, conditional licenses, and maltreatment investigations — translated out of bureaucratic language, with a severity label and a link to the official state document. A green “reviewed, no actions” note means we checked the official record and found nothing public. (Remember: the absence of a record is not a guarantee of safety.)
3. Understand what you're seeing
Not every action is a red flag. A single paperwork correction order is very different from a substantiated maltreatment finding. See our guide to what each violation type means to gauge how serious a record is.
4. Follow the center for free alerts
A clean record today can change tomorrow. Follow the centers your family relies on and Childcare Alerts will email you the moment a new public licensing record is posted — so you're never the last to know.
Frequently asked questions
Are Minnesota daycare licensing records public?
Yes. Correction orders, fines, conditional licenses, and maltreatment determinations for licensed Minnesota child care centers are public records released by the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF).
Does a center have to tell me about past violations?
Not for most actions. Only an order of conditional license (and any maltreatment finding attached to it) must be posted on-site, for two to four years. Everyday correction orders and fines don't have to be posted where you'd see them.
Is checking a license free?
Yes. Searching any Minnesota center on Childcare Alerts is free. Email alerts when a new record is posted are a low-cost subscription.
Childcare Alerts surfaces public records from Minnesota state sources and is an independent service, not affiliated with the State of Minnesota or DCYF. The official government record always controls.