• About child care in Ontario
• What are your child care choices?
  • Choosing unlicensed child care
  • Choosing licensed child care
    • Home-based
    • Centre-based
    • School-aged
• How to find the right child care
  • Some questions to ask
  • What to look for
• Introducing your child to child care
• What to do if you have concerns about your child's care
• Getting help paying for child care
• LICENSED CHILD CARE - Search for a child care location
• Child care in Ontario - brochure

About child care in Ontario

There are two basic kinds of child care in Ontario: licensed and unlicensed.

Whether or not a child care program needs a licence depends on how many children a caregiver is looking after. In Ontario, caregivers can look after up to five unrelated children under the age of 10 without needing a licence.

Licensed child care programs have to meet and maintain specific provincial standards. These standards are set out in the Day Nurseries Act . The standards help to make sure that the health, safety, and developmental needs of the children are being met.

Licences have to be renewed at least every year.

Role of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services

Licensed child care

Staff of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services make unannounced inspections of all licensed child care programs to:

• make sure that provincial standards are being met
• investigate complaints
• issue licences and renew licences
• monitor operators who are having difficulty meeting licensing standards.

Unlicensed child care

The ministry does not regulate unlicensed child care arrangements. However, ministry staff will look into complaints from the public about a caregiver who may be taking care of more than five unrelated children.

Learn more

See a new website about the Day Nurseries Act
Day Nurseries Act for Child Care Supervisors of Ontario is a tool for anyone who is interested in learning more about licensed child care. This website combines text with photos, videos and interactive graphics to show the purpose and importance of the Day Nurseries Act and its regulations.

College of Early Childhood Educators
This new College is the first regulatory college for early childhood educators (ECEs) in Canada. Its board of directors is now in place.