Daycare / Child Care Center Permit Requirements in Manchester, NH

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. New Hampshire — No Sales Tax

   New Hampshire has no state sales tax and no local sales taxes, so businesses need no sales tax permit or resale registration for sales tax purposes. Businesses may instead owe the Business Enterprise Tax and the Business Profits Tax, both administered by the NH Department of Revenue Administration; BET paid can be credited against BPT. Restaurants, caterers and lodging operators separately collect the Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax and must hold a DRA license for it. Filing and payment are handled through DRA's Granite Tax Connect portal.

   Official government source

   No fee to register for business taxes with DRA. For taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, a BET return is due from any enterprise with more than $298,000 in gross receipts or an enterprise value tax base above $298,000; the BET rate is 0.55%·Immediate — registration and filing are done online through Granite Tax Connect

   No fee to register for business taxes with DRA. For taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, a BET return is due from any enterprise with more than $298,000 in gross receipts or an enterprise value tax base above $298,000; the BET rate is 0.55%

   Immediate — registration and filing are done online through Granite Tax Connect

2. New Hampshire Child Care Background Record Check

   The DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit requires a comprehensive Background Record Check for all child care staff, substitutes, other employees, volunteers who may be alone with children or counted in ratios, and household members aged 18 or older, submitted through the NH Connections (NHCIS) portal. The check covers a NH criminal record check, the state Abuse and Neglect Registry, the NH Sex Offender Registry, a national FBI criminal history check requiring LiveScan fingerprints, the National Sex Offender Registry, and out-of-state checks for every state lived in during the past five years.

   Official government source

   $27.00 per person for the NH Criminal History Record Information check, payable to "State of NH - Criminal Records," plus the LiveScan vendor's fingerprinting fee·The Child Care Licensing Unit makes its determination when all results are back or 45 days after a complete submission, whichever comes first

   $27.00 per person for the NH Criminal History Record Information check, payable to "State of NH - Criminal Records," plus the LiveScan vendor's fingerprinting fee

   The Child Care Licensing Unit makes its determination when all results are back or 45 days after a complete submission, whichever comes first

1. New Hampshire DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit — Child Care License

   Child care programs in New Hampshire must be licensed by the DHHS Child Care Licensing Unit, which licenses seven categories: family child care homes, family group child care homes, group child care centers, child care nurseries, school age programs, night care programs and residential child care programs. Licensure requires a complete application package, background record checks through the NH Connections Portal, on-site evaluation, and compliance with health, fire safety and staff-to-child ratio rules.

   Official government source

   License fees are set by DHHS rule and vary by program category; confirm the current amount with the Child Care Licensing Unit (603-271-9025)·Confirm current processing time with the Child Care Licensing Unit

   License fees are set by DHHS rule and vary by program category; confirm the current amount with the Child Care Licensing Unit (603-271-9025)

   Confirm current processing time with the Child Care Licensing Unit

2. Manchester City Clerk — Business License (activity-specific, not general)

   Manchester does NOT require a general business license for all businesses. The City Clerk's Business Licensing and Enforcement Division licenses only specific activities: food-service establishments, high-impact retail selling tobacco/vape/lottery products, peddlers, hawkers, dealers of junk/secondhand goods, pawnbrokers, hotels/motels/B&Bs, tattoo and body-piercing establishments, farmers markets, taxicab companies/drivers, non-consensual towing companies, employment offices, and circuses/carnivals/fairs/festivals/entertainment venues. Businesses outside these categories are not required to hold this license; call (603) 624-6348 to confirm applicability to your specific business.

   Official government source

   Varies by license type; call (603) 624-6348·1-3 weeks (if applicable)

   Varies by license type; call (603) 624-6348

   1-3 weeks (if applicable)

3. City of Manchester Building and Fire Safety Inspection

   A child care center must pass building inspections by the City of Manchester Planning and Community Development Department's Building Division and a fire inspection by the Manchester Fire Prevention Bureau (100 Merrimack Street, 603-669-2256), which also issues the Place of Assembly permit. Hillsborough County has no building or fire inspection role. The Manchester Health Department separately inspects licensed child care facilities.

   Official government source

   Building permits carry a $25 application fee plus 1% of the estimated cost of the work for commercial alterations and renovations, with a $0.02 per square foot plan review fee; the Fire Prevention Bureau's permit applications do not publish a set inspection fee·Not published by either department

   Building permits carry a $25 application fee plus 1% of the estimated cost of the work for commercial alterations and renovations, with a $0.02 per square foot plan review fee; the Fire Prevention Bureau's permit applications do not publish a set inspection fee

   Not published by either department

Official Sources

• New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families — Child Care License
• City of Manchester City Clerk

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