Daycare / Child Care Center Permit Requirements in Cranston, RI

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. Rhode Island Division of Taxation — Sales Tax Permit

   Required for all businesses selling tangible personal property or taxable services in Rhode Island. Rhode Island charges a 7% state sales tax with no local sales taxes. Register with the RI Division of Taxation online via the RI Tax Portal.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

2. Rhode Island Child Care Background Check Requirement

   All staff, volunteers and household members at Rhode Island child care facilities must pass a comprehensive criminal background check - a national FBI fingerprint check, plus a separate state BCI check where the fingerprints were taken outside Rhode Island. The requirement sits under the RI Department of Human Services Office of Child Care licensing framework, not DCYF, whose licensing authority under RIGL 42-72.1 covers foster homes, residential facilities and child-placing agencies. Staff must present a signed fingerprint affidavit from their DHS-licensed employer before the Attorney General's office will process the comprehensive check. The BCI handed over on the spot at the Attorney General's office is not the comprehensive check and does not clear anyone to work with children.

   Official government source

   No fee at the RI Attorney General's office in Cranston: from 5 May 2021 through 30 September 2027 RIAG waives all fees for the comprehensive child care background check and bills DHS instead. Local police departments may still charge their own fingerprinting fee.·Not published by DHS; the state BCI is issued immediately at the Attorney General's office, while the comprehensive check is returned afterwards.

   No fee at the RI Attorney General's office in Cranston: from 5 May 2021 through 30 September 2027 RIAG waives all fees for the comprehensive child care background check and bills DHS instead. Local police departments may still charge their own fingerprinting fee.

   Not published by DHS; the state BCI is issued immediately at the Attorney General's office, while the comprehensive check is returned afterwards.

1. Rhode Island Department of Human Services - Child Care License

   Child care centers and family child care homes in Rhode Island are licensed by the RI Department of Human Services, Office of Child Care Licensing - not by DCYF, whose licensing authority under R.I. Gen. Laws 42-72.1 covers foster homes, residential facilities and child-placing agencies. Applicants complete a mandatory licensing orientation, create a RISES Workforce Registry profile, complete the 'First Steps' Child Care Licensing 101 training, and file the application in RISES. Comprehensive background checks, state fire and health safety compliance, and staff-to-child ratios all apply.

   Official government source

   Nonrefundable application fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 42-12.5-5: $500 for a child daycare center license, $250 for a group family daycare home, $100 for a family daycare home.·Opening a child care program takes roughly 3-6 months; DHS takes up to 14 days to review each application or document submitted. A center license runs one year; a family daycare home certificate runs two years.

   Nonrefundable application fee under R.I. Gen. Laws 42-12.5-5: $500 for a child daycare center license, $250 for a group family daycare home, $100 for a family daycare home.

   Opening a child care program takes roughly 3-6 months; DHS takes up to 14 days to review each application or document submitted. A center license runs one year; a family daycare home certificate runs two years.

2. No General Business License in Cranston

   Cranston issues no general business license, so a yoga studio needs none. The City Clerk Services Area licenses only specific regulated categories - amusement machine/game room, auto repair/auto body/used auto dealer, billiards, body works, bowling alley, carnival, door-to-door solicitation, employment agency, entertainment, firearm dealer, hawker/peddler, liquor, massage therapy, mobile food establishment, parade, private detective, secondhand dealer, short-term lender and temporary mass gathering. Fitness and yoga instruction is not a licensed category.

   Official government source

   No fee, because no general business license exists. Fees apply only to the specific regulated categories on the City Clerk's licensing portal.·Not applicable - Cranston issues no general business license.

   No fee, because no general business license exists. Fees apply only to the specific regulated categories on the City Clerk's licensing portal.

   Not applicable - Cranston issues no general business license.

3. Cranston Building Inspection - Day Care Facility Inspection

   Child care centers in Cranston must pass a building inspection by the City's Building Inspection Department (Department of Building and Public Works) covering safety, ADA accessibility, fire suppression and child-proofing, alongside the state fire safety inspection required for DHS child care licensing. 'Providence County' has no government and inspects nothing.

   Official government source

   $75.00 flat Day care Inspections fee under Cranston's permit fee schedule. A Certificate of Occupancy for a building other than one- or two-family is a further $150.00.·Not published by the city; inspections are requested through Cranston's online permitting portal.

   $75.00 flat Day care Inspections fee under Cranston's permit fee schedule. A Certificate of Occupancy for a building other than one- or two-family is a further $150.00.

   Not published by the city; inspections are requested through Cranston's online permitting portal.

Official Sources

• Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families — Child Care License
• City of Cranston City Clerk

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