Daycare / Child Care Center Permit Requirements in Bellevue, NE

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. Nebraska Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Permit

   Any business selling taxable goods or taxable services in Nebraska must hold a sales tax permit from the Nebraska Department of Revenue and collect tax at the combined state and local rate for the delivery location. Register online through the Department's business registration service or by filing paper Form 20; NebFile is the separate system used to file returns once you are registered, not the registration tool. Local city sales and use taxes are layered on top of the state rate and change by quarter, so use the Department's Sales Tax Rate Finder for the exact rate at each address rather than assuming a flat figure.

   Official government source

   $0 — the Nebraska Department of Revenue charges no fee to register for a sales and use tax permit, online or by paper Form 20.·Registering online, you are either assigned a Nebraska ID number at the time of registration or contacted by the Department within five business days for additional information. Allow about two weeks for a paper Form 20.

   $0 — the Nebraska Department of Revenue charges no fee to register for a sales and use tax permit, online or by paper Form 20.

   Registering online, you are either assigned a Nebraska ID number at the time of registration or contacted by the Department within five business days for additional information. Allow about two weeks for a paper Form 20.

2. Nebraska Background Check Requirement (Child Care)

   All staff, volunteers, and household members of family child care homes in Nebraska child care facilities must clear a criminal background and fingerprint check (National Criminal History Record Information check) through the Nebraska State Patrol and the FBI, plus child abuse/neglect and sex offender registry checks. DHHS announced in May 2024 that it is covering fingerprinting costs for child care providers, staff, and volunteers through 2029.

   Official government source

   $0 during the DHHS coverage period — DHHS is covering fingerprinting costs for child care providers, staff, and volunteers through 2029; confirm current status with DHHS.·Checks must clear before an individual has unsupervised access to children; DHHS does not publish a standard turnaround time.

   $0 during the DHHS coverage period — DHHS is covering fingerprinting costs for child care providers, staff, and volunteers through 2029; confirm current status with DHHS.

   Checks must clear before an individual has unsupervised access to children; DHHS does not publish a standard turnaround time.

1. Nebraska DHHS — Child Care Facility License

   Child care centers in Nebraska are licensed by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services through its Public Health Licensure Unit, which administers child care licensing statewide (the licensing function does not sit with the Division of Children and Family Services). Licensure requires background and fingerprint checks for all staff, volunteers and, for family child care homes, household members, plus health and safety inspections and compliance with staff-to-child ratio requirements. A provisional license is issued first, followed by a yearly license. The fee must be received before a license will be issued. This is separate from the local building and fire code approvals your facility also needs.

   Official government source

   $25 if the facility's capacity is under 30, or $50 if capacity is 30 or more. The same amount applies to both the provisional license and the yearly license.·DHHS does not publish a guaranteed processing time; the license cannot be issued until the fee is received, background checks clear, and inspections are complete.

   $25 if the facility's capacity is under 30, or $50 if capacity is 30 or more. The same amount applies to both the provisional license and the yearly license.

   DHHS does not publish a guaranteed processing time; the license cannot be issued until the fee is received, background checks clear, and inspections are complete.

2. Bellevue Business Licensing — no general business license required

   Bellevue does not require a general business license for businesses operating within city limits, and there is no annual license that must be renewed and displayed at your place of business. The City Clerk's page enumerates every license and permit that office issues — fireworks permits, handicapped parking permits, liquor licenses, tobacco licenses, trash hauler licenses, pawnbroker licenses, vendor/solicitor licenses, event/event-participation licenses, hunting waiver permits, and annual occupation tax stickers for vending machines and distributors — and a general or all-purpose business license is not among them. Check whether your specific business type falls into one of those regulated categories; if it does not, no city license is required. State-level obligations still apply: register your entity or trade name with the Nebraska Secretary of State, register with the Nebraska Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or services, and obtain any state professional license your trade requires.

   Official government source

   $0 — Bellevue charges no general business license fee because no such license exists. The specific regulated licenses the City Clerk does issue are priced individually; contact the Clerk's office for those.·Not applicable — there is no general business license application to file.

   $0 — Bellevue charges no general business license fee because no such license exists. The specific regulated licenses the City Clerk does issue are priced individually; contact the Clerk's office for those.

   Not applicable — there is no general business license application to file.

3. City of Bellevue Building and Fire Safety Inspection (child care)

   A child care center in Bellevue must be approved by the City of Bellevue Building Division (Permits & Inspections, 1510 Wall Street, 402-293-3014), not by Sarpy County — the county's permitting covers unincorporated areas. The division staffs six inspectors and holds a top Insurance Services Office Building Code Effectiveness rating. Any build-out, occupancy change or life-safety work triggers building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, each with its own inspection, and the fire code requirements for exits, alarms and suppression are reviewed through that process. Permits are filed at app.govwell.com/bellevue-ne. This is separate from, and in addition to, the DHHS child care facility license and its own health and safety inspection.

   Official government source

   Bellevue publishes no standalone 'building and fire safety inspection' fee. Its adopted fee tables (1997 Uniform Administrative Code) charge building permits on total valuation — $23.50 for work valued up to $500, rising with valuation — plus itemized electrical, plumbing and mechanical unit fees, each with a $23.50 issuance fee. Reinspections and inspections outside normal business hours are $47.00 per hour (building) or $49.50 per hour (trades). Confirm your project's cost with the Building Division at 402-293-3014.·Bellevue publishes no guaranteed turnaround. Timing depends on the scope of build-out, whether plan review is required, and inspection scheduling through the GovWell portal.

   Bellevue publishes no standalone 'building and fire safety inspection' fee. Its adopted fee tables (1997 Uniform Administrative Code) charge building permits on total valuation — $23.50 for work valued up to $500, rising with valuation — plus itemized electrical, plumbing and mechanical unit fees, each with a $23.50 issuance fee. Reinspections and inspections outside normal business hours are $47.00 per hour (building) or $49.50 per hour (trades). Confirm your project's cost with the Building Division at 402-293-3014.

   Bellevue publishes no guaranteed turnaround. Timing depends on the scope of build-out, whether plan review is required, and inspection scheduling through the GovWell portal.

Official Sources

• Nebraska Health and Human Services — Child Care Facility License
• City of Bellevue City Clerk

Related Guides