How to start a daycare in Missouri.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) licenses child care centers in Missouri. These are the steps, each with the state's own page.
Steps checked on the state's own pages, November 4, 2026.
Opening a child care center in Missouri, step by step
Take the licensing orientation
Your first step is the free Child Care Licensing Orientation.
Source: Start a Group Child Care Home or Child Care CenterCheck local rules
Ask your city or local government about zoning, building and other local rules for child care.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersSend your application
Send the Application for License to Operate a Child Care Facility to your regional office.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersMeet your Compliance Inspector
You get a Departmental Vendor Number. A Compliance Inspector then works with you on licensing.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersComplete a site review
Your Compliance Inspector looks over your planned space and notes any changes it needs.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersWrite policies and gather documents
Write your program policies and gather the documents the rules require. Send them to your Compliance Inspector.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersGet background screening
Staff, caregivers and volunteers need fingerprints and a Family Care Safety Registry screening.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & CentersPass your inspections
Pass your fire, sanitation and licensing inspections. Then the Office of Childhood can issue your license.
Source: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & Centers
At a glance
- Who licenses centers
- Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Childhood. Issues the child care license a facility needs to operate in Missouri.Source: Start a Child Care Program
- License needed for
- More than 6 children, or more than 3 under age 2Source: Child Care Licensing
- Center size
- Any number of children, away from the provider's living quartersSource: Start a Group Child Care Home or Child Care Center
- Inspections
- Fire and sanitation once a year, licensing rules twice a yearSource: Start a Child Care Program
- Application deadline
- Void if the rules are not met within 6 monthsSource: Steps to Becoming Licensed: Group Child Care Homes & Centers
Good to know
- The Office of Childhood is rewriting Missouri's child care licensing rules under Executive Order 25-15.Source: Child Care Licensing Rule Revision (Executive Order 25-15)
- License-exempt programs are not licensed, but they are still inspected each year.Source: Start a Child Care Program
Run a program in Missouri? Bloomily handles enrollment, billing, check-in and family messages. See how it works
Plan your program
- How to start a home daycare in Missouri
The kinds of home daycare the state allows, and the steps.
- Missouri licensing guide
Ratios, trainings and the checklist the state asks for.
- Daycare startup costs in Missouri
Revenue, staff pay and rent from your own numbers.
- Daycare business plan
How to write a plan for funding and licensing.
- Tuition calculator
Typical rates by state and age group.
- Ratio calculator
Staff needed for each age group, by state.
Questions, answered
How do I start a daycare in Missouri?
The first step: Take the licensing orientation. All 8 steps are on this page, each with the state's own link.
Who licenses child care centers in Missouri?
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Office of Childhood. Issues the child care license a facility needs to operate in Missouri.
About this page
Steps checked on the state's own pages, November 4, 2026.
This page is a summary of the state's own pages. It is not legal advice, and rules change.
Questions about childcare in Missouri?
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