7 items, in order: certificate of formation (llc) or an assumed name certificate, employer identification number (ein), sales and use tax permit, certificate of occupancy, licensed child care center permit and unemployment tax account, and 1 more.
How to open, Texas
How to open a daycare in Texas
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 Texas say.
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 15, 2026.
Set up the business
Certificate of formation (LLC) or an assumed name certificate
Forming an entity is a choice, not a license. Most owners form an LLC for the liability shield; a sole proprietor only needs the county filing when trading under a name other than their own.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Texas Secretary of State; county clerk for sole proprietors
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account under an entity, and for most state applications below.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Internal Revenue Service
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Register for tax
Sales and use tax permit
Required for anyone selling goods or taxable services in Texas. Prepared food, drinks, retail goods, gym memberships and most salon products are taxable; apply online, allow two to three weeks.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Approve the space
Certificate of occupancy
The certificate confirms the space is approved for your use under zoning and building code, after inspections. Get it before you open and before build-out money is committed; a space with a prior use like yours is faster.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Your city building or development services department
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Get the permits for your kind of business
Licensed child care center permit
A pre-application orientation, a licensed director, fire and health inspections and minimum standards come before the license. Budget months, not weeks.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Before the first hire
Unemployment tax account
Register within ten days of paying your first wages. Report each new hire within 20 days of their start date.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Texas Workforce Commission
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Background checks for every employee and regular visitor
Checks must clear before a person is present at the operation.
Checked Oct 15, 2026
- Agency
- Texas HHS Child Care Regulation; fingerprints through IdentoGO
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Daycares already in Texas
- Establishments, County Business Patterns 2023
- 8
- Per 10,000 residents
- 0.0
- Change since 2018
- -23 (-74.2%)
Metro areas with the most
| Metro area | Daycares | Per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | 1,580 | 2.0 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 1,577 | 1.9 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos | 542 | 2.1 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels | 422 | 1.5 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission | 303 | 3.3 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen | 157 | 3.6 |
How they fare in Texas
- Closed in 2023, health care and social assistance
- 7.8%
- Opened in 2023
- 12.4%
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
Texas Secretary of State Form 205 and Form 503 instructions; Dallas County Clerk assumed names page; IRS EIN page; Texas Comptroller sales tax permit FAQ; City of Dallas certificate of occupancy page and DSD fee schedule; Texas HHS Child Care Regulation handbook section 5200; Texas Workforce Commission new employer page; Texas HHS background check fees page; 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.