How to Open a Child Care Center in Washington: DCYF License $125 Plus $12 Per Child, Director Rules and the 2030 ECE Deadline

Learning how to start a child care center business in Washington is mostly a sequencing problem. The state licenses child care centers through the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) under chapter 110-300 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). DCYF will not issue a license until your business entity exists, your director and staff meet the rules, your insurance is in place, and your local approvals are moving. Do the steps out of order and you will likely re-file forms and pay some fees twice.

This guide walks through the full sequence, from forming your entity to your first renewal, with the fees and deadlines confirmed for this topic.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees, rules, and processing times change. Confirm current requirements with DCYF, the Washington Secretary of State, and the Department of Revenue, and consult a qualified attorney and CPA before you sign a lease, buy equipment, or hire staff.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Many delays come from missing documents rather than from agency processing.

• A business name you have checked in the Secretary of State business search
• A registered agent with a physical Washington street address and an email address
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
• A budget that covers the state fees in the table below, plus insurance, rent, equipment, and payroll
• A candidate building or lease and a site plan, since zoning and health reviews depend on the location
• Proof of day care insurance
• A staff and director file with credentials, transcripts, work history, and training records
• A business bank account in the entity name

Item	Cost	When it applies
LLC Certificate of Formation with Initial Report, or corporation Articles of Incorporation with Initial Report	$180	Entity formation, before the Business License Application
Name reservation	$30 for 180 days	Optional, before formation
Expedited entity service	$100 per entity	Optional, generally processed within three business days
Business License Application processing fee	$50	To open a business, plus separate endorsement fees
Trade name registration	$5 per trade name, plus the BLS fee	If you operate under a name other than your legal name
DCYF center license	$125 for the first 12 children, plus $12 for each additional child	Due with the application
Annual report	$70	Every year by the last day of the formation month
Late annual report	$95 total	If filed late

Step 1: Choose Your Business Structure

Your first decision is whether to operate as an LLC or a corporation. Both are formed with the Secretary of State through the Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS). A sole proprietorship or general partnership does not file with the Secretary of State, but it still needs the state business license and DCYF licensing.

An LLC can help keep business obligations separate from your personal assets. It does not replace day care insurance, and DCYF rules apply regardless of structure. Ask an attorney and a CPA which structure fits your ownership, lending, and tax situation before you file.

Step 2: Form Your Entity in CCFS

File a Certificate of Formation with Initial Report for an LLC, or Articles of Incorporation with Initial Report for a corporation, at ccfs.sos.wa.gov. The filing fee is $180.

Check your name first. An LLC name must include Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Co., L.L.C., or LLC, and must be distinguishable from every other business name on record. Under RCW 23.95.305, the name also cannot contain bank, banking, banker, trust, cooperative, or any combination of industrial and loan, or two or more of building, savings, loan, home, association, and society. If you need time to finish your paperwork, you can reserve the name for 180 days for $30.

Every business must designate a registered agent in Washington under RCW 23.95.415. The agent can be commercial or noncommercial, must consent to serve, must supply an email address, and must have a physical Washington street address. PO Boxes and private mailbox addresses are not accepted. There is no fee to change the registered agent or registered office later.

Expedited service costs $100 per entity and is generally processed within three business days. The Secretary of State does not publish a standard turnaround for online filings, so plan for ordinary filings to take longer.

Step 3: Get Your UBI Through the Business License Application

Once the entity exists, apply through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service (BLS) at dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-license. The Business License Application issues your nine-digit Unified Business Identifier (UBI) and handles state and city endorsements in one filing. Corporations and LLCs must file with the Secretary of State before they submit this application, so keep the order straight.

A child care center will almost certainly need this license. It is required if you plan to hire employees within 90 days, expect gross income of $12,000 per year or more, or operate under a name other than your full legal name. The processing fee is $50 to open a business, plus separate endorsement fees. Online applications take about 10 business days, and 2 to 3 weeks longer when city or state endorsements need approval. Mailed applications can take up to six weeks.

If you operate under a trade name, such as a name like Riverside Early Learning, register it with BLS. Do not register it with the Secretary of State or your county. The trade name fee is $5 for each name, plus the BLS processing fee.

Step 4: Clear Local Zoning, Permits and Endorsements

For a child care center, land use is often the bottleneck. Contact your city or county planning office to confirm that your address allows a child care center, what zoning or conditional use approval applies, and whether a city business endorsement is required. Washington has 39 counties and 281 incorporated cities and towns, so local processes vary widely.

Check with your local health district about which health permits apply to your facility and any food service you plan to offer. Ask the city whether it levies its own business and occupation (B&O) tax, since about 54 cities do. Local fees are set by each jurisdiction, so confirm them with each office rather than budgeting from a single number.

Step 5: Secure Day Care Insurance

Centers must show proof of day care insurance at initial licensing and at every renewal (RCW 43.216.700; WAC 110-300-0425). If coverage ends, you must notify DCYF within 30 days. Ask your insurance broker to quote a policy that meets DCYF's requirement, and confirm the coverage in writing with DCYF before you rely on it. Do not assume a general business policy satisfies the rule by default.

Step 6: Apply for the DCYF Center License

Child care centers are licensed under WAC 110-300. The DCYF license fee is $125 a year for the first 12 children, plus $12 for each additional child. The fee is due with your application, and renewal payments are due 30 days before each anniversary of the license (WAC 110-300-0401(5)).

Here is how the math works. A center planning for 40 children pays $125 for the first 12, plus $12 for each of the 28 additional children, which comes to $336. The total is $461 per year. Build your enrollment projections into your budget, since the per-child charge grows with capacity.

Make sure you file under the correct chapter. School-age programs are licensed under WAC 110-301, and outdoor nature-based child care falls under WAC 110-302. If your program combines these models, confirm with DCYF which chapter applies before you file.

Prepare the application package with your entity documents, UBI, insurance proof, floor plan, staffing plan, and director qualification file. DCYF licensors conduct inspections, and processing times vary, so confirm the current timeline and sequence with DCYF licensing staff through dcyf.wa.gov.

Step 7: Meet the Director Requirements

The center director must meet all of the following under WAC 110-300-0100(3):

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Hold an ECE state certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2030 (2030-08-01). A director hired or promoted after chapter 110-300 WAC took effect must have the credential within 5 years of hire.
• Have 2 years of teaching experience and 6 months of administration or management experience, or have a DCYF-approved plan that addresses the requirement.

The 2030 deadline matters most to directors who are already in the field and plan to take over a center or move into the role. Credential paperwork takes time, so start now rather than in 2029. If you are acting as director yourself, the same requirements apply to you. Keep transcripts, certificates, and employment verification in a file ready for licensors to review, since the experience requirements are checked on documentation, not on your word.

Step 8: Register Staff and Schedule Training

Every staff member must be registered in the DCYF workforce registry before you apply for an initial license or allow anyone to work unsupervised (WAC 110-300-0106). Each staff member must also complete required training within 3 months of hire.

Build your training calendar before you hire, because a new employee cannot work unsupervised until registration is complete. Keep copies of registry confirmations and training certificates in every staff file, since licensors check them during inspections.

Step 9: Set Up Your B&O Tax Reporting

Washington has no corporate income tax and no personal income tax on wages. Instead, most businesses pay the state B&O tax, a gross receipts tax with more than 50 activity classifications and no deduction for labor, materials, or other costs. The B&O rate for child care is 0.484%, according to the Department of Revenue classification page at dor.wa.gov.

Your BLS registration sets up your state tax reporting. Confirm with the Department of Revenue whether any of your revenue streams fall into a different classification. Also check whether your city levies its own B&O tax, since local B&O is administered separately from the state tax.

Step 10: Calendar Your Recurring Obligations

Compliance is continuous. Put these dates on a shared calendar as soon as your entity is formed:

• Annual report: $70 every year, due by the last day of the month in which the entity was formed. You can file up to 180 days early. A late filing carries a delinquency fee, for a total of $95.
• DCYF license fee: $125 for the first 12 children plus $12 for each additional child, due 30 days before each anniversary.
• Day care insurance: proof at every renewal, and notice to DCYF within 30 days if coverage ends.
• Staff training: required training completed within 3 months of each hire.
• Director credential: ECE state certificate or equivalent by August 1, 2030.
• B&O returns: filed on the reporting schedule the Department of Revenue assigns to your account.

Expected Results

A well-prepared applicant may move from entity formation to a licensed center in a few months, but the total depends heavily on local approvals, inspections, and how quickly your director and staff files clear review. An expedited entity filing is generally processed within about three business days. An online BLS application typically takes about 10 business days before any endorsement delays. These are estimates, not guarantees.

In practice, zoning decisions, building readiness, and credential review often take longer than the paperwork itself. Plan for buffer time, and avoid signing a long-term lease or hiring a full staff until you have written confirmation of your local approvals and a clear licensing timeline from DCYF.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying for the Business License Application before filing your entity with the Secretary of State.
• Using a PO Box or private mailbox as the registered agent address, which is not accepted.
• Assuming the license fee is a flat $125. Each child beyond 12 adds $12.
• Hiring staff before they are registered in the DCYF workforce registry.
• Missing the 3-month training window for new hires.
• Letting insurance lapse without notifying DCYF within 30 days.
• Forgetting city B&O obligations in the roughly 54 cities that levy them.
• Filing under the wrong WAC chapter for school-age or outdoor programs.
• Assuming the director's experience counts without documentation.
• Missing the annual report due date and paying the $95 total.

Practical Tips

• Start the director credential now. The August 1, 2030 deadline is firm, and certificate paperwork can take longer than expected.
• Keep one compliance binder with copies of every filing, confirmation, and certificate, organized by agency.
• Ask your insurance broker to confirm the DCYF requirement in writing before you sign the policy.
• Consider business advising from the Washington Small Business Development Center at wsbdc.org, which may help you test your budget and enrollment plan before you commit to a lease.
• Check the SBA district office resources for Washington at sba.gov/district/seattle when you are comparing financing options.

Confirm every figure in this guide with the agency that administers it before you commit money, and use a qualified attorney and CPA to review your structure, lease, and tax setup.