Starting and operating a licensed child care program

The 2021–2026 Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (CACWELCC) includes funding to reduce parent fees for an additional 42,500 non-profit spaces (28,000 facility-based and 14,500 family day home) and 26,200 for-profit spaces, for a total of 68,700 net new funded spaces.

• In December 2025, the governments of Alberta and Canada signed a one-year, $1.17-billion extension of the CACWELCC Agreement. The extension removes the family day home space creation cap and allows up to 5,000 more for-profit spaces to receive affordability funding to improve access in areas where childcare remains limited.
• Alberta hit its existing for-profit space cap of 26,200 spaces in fall 2025. This means affordability funding for for-profit spaces remains limited and the eligibility criteria implemented in May 2025 remains in place.

Affordability funding is only available to for-profit programs in the following cases:

• An existing program has already signed a 2025–26 Affordability Grant agreement.
• An existing program applies to increase their number of spaces through a licence variance (with demonstrated need and a good compliance history).
• A program has a signed Space Creation Grant agreement and opens within the designated timeframe set out in their grant agreement.

For-profit programs can still apply to become licensed even if they are ineligible for affordability funding. Once licensed, for-profit programs can still apply for the provincially funded Alberta Child Care Grant Funding Program, which includes wage top-up, professional development, release time and mandatory employer contribution funding for certified early childhood educators.

• Existing licensed non-profit daycares, preschools, family day home agencies and out-of-school care programs (that care for kindergarten-age children during school hours) remain eligible for affordability funding.
• New non-profit daycares, preschools, family day home agencies and out-of-school care programs (that care for kindergarten-age children during school hours) are eligible for affordability funding on a first-licensed first-served basis until the space creation cap has been met.
• New family day home agency licensing applications are not being accepted at this time.

The Child Care Licensing Handbook: Facility-based Programs provides guidance and information about:

• how you can apply for or renew a child care licence
• what is involved in inspecting and monitoring a licensed child care program
• terms used in the act and regulation
• how to appeal or dispute a licensing decision
• how to report incidents
• other important information to assist you with being licensed

This handbook does not supersede the Early Learning and Child Care Act or regulation. Find the necessary forms, checklists and templates related to child care licensing below.

• Application for an Early Learning and Child Care Licence - Facility-based Program or Family Day Home Agency – Main application form that you will fill out as part of your application for a new licence or to renew your existing licence. In this form you will include information about the applicant, what type of child care you are planning to provide, as well as a checklist of all the pieces you will need to compile and include in your application.
  • Note: Both partial and complete applications will be accepted. A partial application must include an application form, the $200 non-refundable fee, a program plan and the location identified. A licence will not be issued until a complete application is received, assessed and approved by licensing staff in the proposed program’s licensing zone.
• Program plan (facility-based programs) – Outlines required submissions, including those for your staffing plan and administrative policies and procedures.
• Child Care Subsidy Grant Application form – This is a funding agreement between your program and Education and Childcare if you will be receiving subsidy benefits on behalf of parents or guardians who qualify for subsidy.
  • Note: The Child Care Subsidy Program is no longer available for children up to kindergarten age attending child care during regular school hours. Subsidy for children in out-of-school care programs has not changed.
• Application for EFT Direct Deposit (CAD) – Provides your financial information to allow payment of eligible claimed funding (for example, wage top-ups, and subsidy).
• The Certification Guide for Staff – Provides guidance regarding the staff certification process and procedures.
• Collateral information – see Step 5: Obtain the required health, municipal and safety approvals on page 17 of the Child Care Licensing Handbook for facility-based programs
• The Early Learning and Child Care Act and Early Learning and Child Care Regulation – Sets out the minimum standards that must be met in a licensed child care program to ensure the safety, well-being and developmental needs of children are met.

If you are a first-time applicant for a facility-based licence under the act, you must complete an information session offered by Education and Childcare before you can be issued a facility-based licence. If the applicant is a corporation, one or more corporate directors, as determined by the ministry, should complete the session. You will be required to produce proof that you completed an information session.

Through the information session, you will receive information to help you understand the licensing process, as well as an outline of the act and regulation.

Applications for a family day home agency licence are considered when the Alberta government determines there is a need for additional agencies. We are not accepting any licensing applications for new family day home agencies at this time. 

The Child Care Licensing Handbook: Family Day Home Agencies provides guidance and information about:

• how you can apply for or renew a child care licence
• what is involved in inspecting and monitoring licensed agencies and family day home programs
• terms used in the act and regulation
• how to appeal or dispute a licensing decision
• how to report incidents

This handbook does not supersede the Early Learning and Child Care Act, Regulation, or Family Day Home Standards Manual for Alberta. Find the necessary forms, checklists and templates related to child care licensing below.

• Application for an Early Learning and Child Care Licence or Family Day Home Agency – This is the main application form that you will fill out as part of your application for a new licence or to renew your existing licence. In this form you will include information about the applicant, what type of child care you are planning to provide, as well as a checklist of all the pieces you will need to compile and include in your application.
  • Note: Education and Childcare is not currently accepting any licensing applications from new family day home agencies.
• The Early Learning and Child Care Act, Early Learning and Child Care Regulation and Family Day Home Standards Manual for Alberta set out the minimum standards that must be met in a licensed child care program to ensure the safety, well-being and developmental needs of children are met.
• Family Day Home Agency Program Plan Template – Outlines required submissions, including those for your staffing plan and administrative policies and procedures.
• Child Care Subsidy Grant Application form – This is a funding agreement between your program and Education and Childcare if you will be receiving subsidy benefits on behalf of parents or guardians who qualify for subsidy.
  • Note: The Child Care Subsidy Program is no longer available for children up to kindergarten age attending child care during regular school hours. Subsidy for children in out-of-school care programs has not changed.  
• Application for EFT Direct Deposit (CAD) – Provides your financial information to allow payment of eligible claimed funding (for example, wage-top ups, and subsidy).
• Collateral information – see Step 5: Obtain documentation of approvals in the Child Care Licensing Handbook for Family Day Home Agencies
• Family Day Home Standards Manual – Contains the standards for operating a licensed family day home agency and for the individual family day home programs working under contract with licensed agencies to provide child care.

Family day home contracts

The Alberta government introduced new contracts for licensed family day home agencies, which took effect on January 1, 2025. For more information, read the FDH Agency Contract fact sheet.

• New Incident Report Form for Programs – Licence holders are required to report serious illness, injury to a child, or any other incident that occurs while the child is attending a program that may seriously affect the health or safety of the child. An Incident Report form must be completed and submitted in accordance with the standards set out in the Family Day Home Standards Manual.
• Licence Holder Request for Variation of a Licence – Use this to request a change to a licence’s provisions (program location, maximum number of children in care, or term of the initial licence).
• Early Learning and Child Care Regulation Exemption Request – Use this form for facility-based program and family day home agency exemption requests.
• Notice of Appeal Form – Use if you have applied for a new licence or licence renewal and were refused, or you are a licence holder wanting to appeal an enforcement decision by a licensing staff member.

• Family Day Home Program Complaint Record – Use for documenting a complaint and its outcome regarding a family day home program.
• Family Day Home Program Initial Screening Checklist – Checklist used during the initial screening process for family day home educators.
• Family Day Home Program Profile – Licensed agencies use the family day home program profile to assist families in finding a family day home program that suits their needs.
• Family Day Home Program Profile Sharing of Information Acknowledgement – Use to allow family day home program educators to consent to agencies sharing information with families on the program profile document.
• Licensed Family Day Home Agency Home Visitor/Consultant Checklist – Licensed agencies use this form when they visit family day home programs to check how well they are following the Family Day Home Standards.