7 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) or a fictitious name, employer identification number (ein), florida business tax registration (sales and use tax, reemployment tax), local business tax receipt (county and city), zoning approval and certificate of use or occupancy and child care facility license, and 1 more.
How to open, Florida
How to open a daycare in Florida
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of daycares in Florida say.
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 17, 2026.
Set up the business
Articles of organization (LLC) or a fictitious name
An LLC keeps your personal assets apart from the business and is what landlords and lenders expect on a lease. Anyone trading under a name other than their own legal name or the entity’s registered name files the fictitious name, and the local business tax office asks for it.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the state tax and local business tax registrations. Issued at once online.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Internal Revenue Service
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Register for tax
Florida business tax registration (sales and use tax, reemployment tax)
One application covers the sales and use tax certificate and the reemployment (unemployment) tax account; have the EIN first. The state rate is 6% plus the county’s discretionary surtax. Register before the first sale or hire.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Florida Department of Revenue
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Local business tax receipt (county and city)
The receipt needs the EIN and either the fictitious name registration or a statement that none is needed, plus the zoning or use approval. It is Florida’s general business license; the state has none.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- The county tax collector, and the city where the address is inside one
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Approve the space
Zoning approval and certificate of use or occupancy
Confirm the zoning allows your use at the address before signing, then plan for the occupancy inspection: a change of use (a store becoming a restaurant, a warehouse becoming a studio) means plans, build-out to code and inspections.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Your city or county building and zoning department
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Get the permits for your kind of business
Child care facility license
Applied for in DCF’s CARES portal with the fee due once the application is complete. Background screening, a credentialed director, the facility handbook standards and a fire and health inspection come before the license.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Florida Department of Children and Families (Broward, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Sarasota counties license their own)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Before the first hire
Reemployment tax account and new hire reporting
Opened with the same DR-1 application as sales tax once you expect to pay wages. Report each new hire to the state directory within 20 days.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Florida Department of Revenue
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Daycares already in Florida
- Establishments, County Business Patterns 2023
- 799
- Per 10,000 residents
- 0.3
- Change since 2018
- +784 (+5226.7%)
Metro areas with the most
| Metro area | Daycares | Per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | 1,484 | 2.3 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 699 | 2.0 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | 595 | 2.0 |
| Jacksonville | 402 | 2.3 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota | 157 | 1.7 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven | 141 | 1.6 |
How they fare in Florida
- Closed in 2023, health care and social assistance
- 8.5%
- Opened in 2023
- 11.9%
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the daycares already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a daycare at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The daycare check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Division of Corporations fee schedule and fictitious name FAQ; IRS EIN page; Florida Department of Revenue account management and registration page; Form DR-1; Florida Statutes chapter 205, local business taxes; Florida Statutes chapter 205; Miami-Dade County local business tax guidance; DCF child care licensure page; Florida Statutes 402.315; Florida Department of Revenue registration page; Form DR-1; U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.