Daycare / Child Care Center Permit Requirements in New Haven, CT

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. Connecticut Department of Revenue Services — Sales Tax Permit

   Required for all businesses selling tangible personal property or taxable services in Connecticut. Connecticut charges a 6.35% state sales tax and taxes certain services (broader base than many states). Register with the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services via myconneCT; a $100 registration fee applies.

   Official government source

   $100 (registration fee)·Immediate (online via myconneCT)

   $100 (registration fee)

   Immediate (online via myconneCT)

2. Connecticut comprehensive background check for child care staff and household members

   Connecticut child care licensing is administered by the Office of Early Childhood, not the Department of Public Health. CGS Sec. 19a-80(c) requires every prospective employee of a licensed child care centre or group child care home who cares for children or has unsupervised access to them to submit to comprehensive background checks, and CGS Sec. 19a-87b imposes the same on family child care home licensees, their assistants and substitutes, and household members. The checks comprise a fingerprint-based state criminal history records check through the State Police Bureau of Identification and a national FBI check under CGS Sec. 29-17a, plus a search of the state child abuse and neglect registry maintained under CGS Sec. 17a-101k. No prospective employee may begin work until the federal requirements at 45 CFR 98.43(d)(4) are satisfied.

   Official government source

   Under CGS Sec. 29-17a the applicant pays whatever DESPP charges for the state records check plus the FBI's own fee for the national check; an optional expedited service costs an additional $50. No single flat statutory amount applies.·Fingerprints must be submitted and the checks completed before the person may begin working with children; OEC also requires the child abuse registry check as part of the same clearance

   Under CGS Sec. 29-17a the applicant pays whatever DESPP charges for the state records check plus the FBI's own fee for the national check; an optional expedited service costs an additional $50. No single flat statutory amount applies.

   Fingerprints must be submitted and the checks completed before the person may begin working with children; OEC also requires the child abuse registry check as part of the same clearance

1. Connecticut Office of Early Childhood - Child Care Center License

   Child care centers in Connecticut must be licensed by the Office of Early Childhood's Division of Licensing. Requirements include comprehensive background checks, health and fire inspections, staff-to-child ratio compliance and extensive documentation. Under CGS Sec. 19a-80 the license is issued for a four-year term and is not transferable - a change of operator, ownership or location requires a new application.

   Official government source

   $500 per four-year license for a child care center; $250 for a group child care home·The license runs four years and is issued once inspections and background checks are complete

   $500 per four-year license for a child care center; $250 for a group child care home

   The license runs four years and is issued once inspections and background checks are complete

2. New Haven zoning compliance and category-specific licenses (no general business license)

   New Haven issues no blanket general business license renewed annually and displayed at the place of business, and Connecticut has no statewide one. The city's Licenses & Permits index routes 'Business License' to the Permit & License Center, whose licences are strictly category-specific - Amusement, Auction and Auctioneer, Broker, Rooming House, Sales and Street Vendor/Peddler - with applications presented in person. What does apply to a business generally is zoning: the premises need a zoning permit or zoning compliance confirmation and a Certificate of Occupancy from the Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement under CGS Sec. 29-265. Note also that the department issuing building and licence approvals is the Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement, not Economic Development.

   Official government source

   No general business license fee exists; zoning, building and category-specific licence fees are set per category by New Haven's adopted fee schedules·A building permit must be issued or refused within 30 days of application (CGS Sec. 29-263(a)); Permit & License Center applications must be presented in person and are not issued same day

   No general business license fee exists; zoning, building and category-specific licence fees are set per category by New Haven's adopted fee schedules

   A building permit must be issued or refused within 30 days of application (CGS Sec. 29-263(a)); Permit & License Center applications must be presented in person and are not issued same day

3. City of New Haven Building and Fire Safety Inspection (child care center)

   Connecticut abolished county government in 1960, so there is no New Haven County inspection authority - building and fire inspections are performed by the City of New Haven's Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement and the city fire marshal. A child care centre must pass building inspection for State Building Code compliance including accessibility, and fire marshal inspection for Fire Safety Code compliance including fire suppression, alarms and egress; the building official issues the Certificate of Occupancy under CGS Sec. 29-265 once the work substantially conforms. These local approvals are prerequisites to, not substitutes for, licensure of the centre by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, which requires its own health and fire clearances.

   Official government source

   Building permit and inspection fees are set by New Haven's adopted fee schedule and scale with the declared value of construction; every Connecticut building permit also carries a state code-education fee per $1,000 of declared construction value (CGS Sec. 29-263(b))·The building official must issue or refuse a building permit within 30 days of application (CGS Sec. 29-263(a)); fire marshal plan review runs in parallel and the Certificate of Occupancy follows the final inspections

   Building permit and inspection fees are set by New Haven's adopted fee schedule and scale with the declared value of construction; every Connecticut building permit also carries a state code-education fee per $1,000 of declared construction value (CGS Sec. 29-263(b))

   The building official must issue or refuse a building permit within 30 days of application (CGS Sec. 29-263(a)); fire marshal plan review runs in parallel and the Certificate of Occupancy follows the final inspections

Official Sources

• Connecticut Office of Early Childhood — Child Care Center License
• City of New Haven Department of Licenses and Inspections

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