Daycare / Child Care Center Permit Requirements in Anchorage, AK

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Alaska — No State Sales Tax

   Alaska has no statewide sales tax. However, local municipalities (including Juneau and other cities) may levy local sales taxes. Check with your local municipality for applicable sales tax requirements.

   Official government source

   Free (no state sales tax registration required)·N/A

   Free (no state sales tax registration required)

   N/A

2. Alaska Background Check Requirement (child care)

   All staff, volunteers, and household members at Alaska child care facilities must clear fingerprint-based criminal and civil history background checks through the Alaska Department of Health’s Background Check Program, which screens for the barrier crimes and conditions listed in AS 47.05.300–47.05.390 and 7 AAC 10.900–10.990. Facilities submit requests on behalf of individuals through the New Alaska Background Check System (NABCS) — individuals cannot apply directly. Outside Anchorage, licensing is handled by the state Child Care Program Office; facilities inside the Municipality of Anchorage are licensed by the Anchorage Health Department instead.

   Official government source

   $87.00 per person — $47.00 for the DPS fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check plus a $40.00 Background Check Program application fee (7 AAC 10.910(b)(5), waived for unpaid volunteers at nonprofit or state-operated providers), plus any fingerprint-rolling vendor charge. Fees are nonrefundable and a clearance is valid five years·1–4 weeks

   $87.00 per person — $47.00 for the DPS fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check plus a $40.00 Background Check Program application fee (7 AAC 10.910(b)(5), waived for unpaid volunteers at nonprofit or state-operated providers), plus any fingerprint-rolling vendor charge. Fees are nonrefundable and a clearance is valid five years

   1–4 weeks

1. Municipality of Anchorage Child Care Licensing — Child Care Facility License

   Child care facilities inside the Municipality of Anchorage are licensed by the Anchorage Health Department's Child Care Licensing office under Anchorage Municipal Code 16.55, not by the state Child Care Program Office — the state CCPO licenses everywhere in Alaska except Anchorage. Applications are filed online through the Alaska Child Care Information System (AKCCIS); paper applications for a Provisional Child Care License have not been accepted since May 2025. Licensing requires fingerprint-based background checks for all staff, volunteers, and household members, facility/fire/sanitation inspections, and compliance with 7 AAC 57 staff-to-child ratios and AMC 16.55.

   Official government source

   No license application fee is published — applications are submitted free through AKCCIS. Budget instead for the mandatory background check of $87 per person ($47 DPS fingerprint-based check plus a $40 Background Check Program fee) and any fire, sanitation, or facility upgrade costs.·6–12 weeks

   No license application fee is published — applications are submitted free through AKCCIS. Budget instead for the mandatory background check of $87 per person ($47 DPS fingerprint-based check plus a $40 Background Check Program fee) and any fire, sanitation, or facility upgrade costs.

   6–12 weeks

2. No Anchorage General Business License (state license only)

   The Municipality of Anchorage does not issue a general business license or business tax certificate. Nearly all businesses need only the Alaska state business license from DCCED/CBPL. The Municipal Clerk's Office separately licenses a short list of regulated activities — adult-oriented establishments, pawnbrokers, private detective agencies, roving vendors and ice cream trucks, tow operators, used-automobile display lots, teen nightclubs and cultural performance venues, circuses/carnivals/fairs, short-term rentals, and marijuana establishments — so check with the Clerk only if your business is on that list. Other Anchorage departments issue activity-specific permits (health permits, special land use permits).

   Official government source

   $0 — no general municipal license fee; the Alaska state business license is $50 per year·N/A locally

   $0 — no general municipal license fee; the Alaska state business license is $50 per year

   N/A locally

3. Anchorage Building and Fire Safety Inspections

   A child care facility in Anchorage must pass building-code review and inspection by the Development Services Department (Permits & Inspections, part of Planning, Development and Public Works) and a separate fire and life-safety inspection by the Anchorage Fire Department's Fire Prevention Division before it can be licensed. These are prerequisites to the child care license issued by the Anchorage Health Department's Child Care Licensing office, which handles licensing inside the Municipality instead of the state Child Care Program Office.

   Official government source

   No separate inspection fee is published for these reviews; building-permit fees are valuation-based when construction or alteration is involved, and no fee applies where only an inspection is required.·2–6 weeks

   No separate inspection fee is published for these reviews; building-permit fees are valuation-based when construction or alteration is involved, and no fee applies where only an inspection is required.

   2–6 weeks

Official Sources

• Alaska Division of Child Care Programs — Child Care Facility License
• Municipality of Anchorage Development Services

Related Guides