If you are checking a daycare license in NYC, start by finding the program in the official NYC Health Department Child Care Connect search tool. For many center-based daycare programs in Brooklyn, this record gives parents access to the program type, permit status, age range, capacity, and inspection history.
In this guide, we’ll show Brooklyn parents how to search for a center step by step, understand its DOHMH permit, and read any violations in context. This can help you determine whether the permit category matches your child’s age and decide what questions to ask before enrollment.
What Does “Daycare License NYC” Actually Mean?
Parents commonly call it a daycare license, but New York City uses different regulatory terms depending on the different types of child care programs.
For a group child care center covered by NYC Health Code Article 47, the key document is a permit issued by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). Article 47 sets child care licensing requirements and other regulations for staffing, supervision, health, safety, facilities, and program operations. Covered programs must have a permit to operate.
That is different from family day care, group family day care, and certain other child care programs regulated through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Here is the practical distinction for parents:
| Type of Child Care | Where to Start Your Search |
| NYC center-based infant/toddler or preschool program covered by Article 47 | NYC DOHMH Child Care Connect |
| Family day care or group family day care, including home-based programs | NYS OCFS Regulated Child Care Search |
| School-age child care | NYS OCFS |
| Day care centers outside New York City | NYS OCFS |
The distinction matters because searching the wrong database can make a legitimate program look as though it has no record.
The OCFS search page itself directs people searching for NYC center-based programs to the NYC Health website. Article 47 also specifically excludes State-regulated family day care homes, group family day care homes, and school-age child care from its definition of an Article 47 child care program.
How Do I Check a Brooklyn Daycare’s DOHMH Permit?
You can check a center in a few minutes using the free NYC Child Care Connect database. We recommend doing this before enrollment and checking it again if significant time has passed before your child’s start date.
Step 1: Open the NYC Child Care Program Search
Go to the official NYC DOHMH Child Care search tool. The main search screen lets you search by Program Name, Program Type, or Permit Number. You can also open Advanced Search for additional information, such as borough, neighborhood, building number, street name, and ZIP code.
If you know the center’s name, start there. You do not need to fill in every field.
Step 2: Search the Program Name
Enter the daycare’s public name into the Program Name field. If you cannot find the expected record, try searching by address, ZIP code, or other identifying information.
For a Brooklyn search, you can also choose Brooklyn under Borough to narrow the results. If the name produces no result, try:
- Part of the program name.
- The street address.
- The ZIP code.
- A second search using the center’s address rather than only its name.
That last step is especially useful when a location operates more than one permitted child care program.
Step 3: Look Closely at the Program Type
A result may say:
- Child Care – Pre School
Child Care – Infants/Toddlers
Do not skip this field. It helps you determine which age category that specific permit covers. Understanding the different program types is especially important if you are looking for infant care.
Step 4: Open the Program Record
Select the relevant record and review the details. A DOHMH program page can show information including:
- Permit status
- Permit number
- Expiration date
- Age range
- Maximum capacity
- Site type
- Whether the program is certified to administer medication
- Inspection and performance history
According to the DOHMH Child Care Connect glossary, “Permitted” means the permit is current and valid. You may also see Expired-in Renewal. For group child care programs, DOHMH says this means the prior permit expired while the renewal is being processed and the group child care program is authorized to continue operating during that renewal process.
By contrast, an Expired status means the program has not submitted a renewal application and is not authorized to operate in that status. That is why reading the exact status matters more than simply seeing an expiration date.
Step 5: Review the Inspection History
Scroll to Performance History and review the latest inspection first. You can also select Previous Inspection Results to look for patterns over time.
DOHMH says permitted child care programs receive annual inspections. A compliance inspection may follow when certain violations need to be checked for correction. Article 47 separately requires Department inspections at least once each year. Do not stop at a total violation count. Read what was cited and what happened afterward.
Why Are There Separate Infant/Toddler and Preschool Permits?
A preschool permit alone does not authorize an Article 47 center to provide infant care. The DOHMH search tool defines the two parent-facing categories this way:
- Child Care – Infants/Toddlers: care for children younger than 24 months.
- Child Care – Preschool: care for children older than 24 months and younger than six.
More importantly, NYC Health Code §47.03 expressly requires separate permits for infant/toddler child care and care for children ages two through five. So, if you are looking for infant care, do not assume that finding the center’s preschool permit answers the question.
For example, suppose a center advertises programs for babies through preschool. When you search its name, you should look for the record covering Infants/Toddlers as well as the preschool-age record.
This matters because infant care comes with age-specific requirements. Article 47 includes separate provisions for infant/toddler staffing and other areas of care.
What if the same daycare appears more than once?
That is not automatically a problem. Because Article 47 requires separate permits for different program types, a center serving both infants and preschool-age children may have separate records. A permit is also tied to a particular facility and location rather than being transferable to any location the business chooses.
Compare the:
- Program name
- Address
- Phone number
- Program type
- Permit number
- Age range
Make sure you are reading the record that applies to the child care your family actually needs.
What Does a Daycare Violation Mean?
A violation means an inspector found a condition that did not comply with an applicable requirement at the time of the inspection. It does not, by itself, tell you the whole story about a center.
NYC DOHMH divides violations into categories based on seriousness.
| DOHMH Category | What It Means | Correction Timeframe Described by DOHMH |
| Public Health Hazard | Most serious category; may present an imminent threat to children’s health or safety | Must be addressed immediately and, in most instances, corrected within one business day |
| Critical Violation | Serious, but does not pose an imminent health or safety risk | Must be corrected within two weeks |
| General Violation | Does not pose a direct threat to children | Must be corrected within one month |
DOHMH conducts compliance visits after public health hazards and critical violations. A reinspection is also required when an annual inspection results in a public health hazard, a critical violation, or six or more general violations.
How Should You Interpret a Daycare Violation?
A single line in an inspection history needs context. We recommend looking at four things:
- What was the violation?
A minor paperwork or recordkeeping issue may be very different from a supervision or immediate safety problem. Check the DOHMH violation category and details rather than assuming a documentation-related violation is minor.
- How serious was it?
Pay attention to whether DOHMH classified it as general, critical, or a public health hazard.
- Is the status OPEN or CORRECTED?
A corrected violation tells a different story from an unresolved violation.
- Is there a pattern?
Repeated serious violations may deserve more questions than an isolated issue that was corrected.
There is another important limitation. DOHMH warns that some citations shown in the system may not be final. A child care program may challenge certain citations at an OATH hearing, and adjudication can result in a violation being dismissed. For that reason, we would not label a daycare “good” or “bad” from a violation count alone.
What Inspection Issues Deserve More Questions?
The more closely an issue relates to direct child safety, supervision, staffing, or repeated noncompliance, the more carefully we would investigate it.
Article 47 identifies certain conditions as potential public health hazards. Examples include failures involving competent supervision, required screening for people who may have unsupervised contact with children, blocked required exits, and certain serious health or safety conditions.
If you see a serious or repeated violation, ask the provider:
- What happened?
- When was it corrected?
- What changed afterward?
- Did DOHMH complete a follow-up inspection?
- Has the same issue appeared again?
You can then compare the answer with the public inspection record. An inspection history is useful evidence, but it should be one part of your decision. We also recommend touring the center and asking about supervision, daily routines, staff, health procedures, emergency planning, and how families are notified when issues arise.
Who Regulates Home-Based Daycare in Brooklyn?
Do not assume that every Brooklyn child care provider will appear in the DOHMH center-based search.
Family day care and group family day care are different regulatory categories. Article 47 excludes State-regulated family and group family day care homes, while the NYS OCFS Regulated Child Care Search includes program types such as:
- Family Child Care
- Group Family Day Care
- Day Care Center
- School Age Child Care
- Small Day Care Center
OCFS also explicitly directs people searching for NYC center-based programs to NYC Health. So the accurate distinction is not simply “DOHMH handles New York City, and OCFS handles everywhere else.”
For parents, a better rule is:
NYC Article 47 center-based care → check DOHMH.
State-regulated family/group family and school-age care → check OCFS.
Day care centers outside NYC → generally check OCFS.
How Can You Check Little Me Daycare Center?
We encourage families considering Little Me Daycare Center to verify our public record using the same process we recommend for any daycare.
Our website lists our public address as 1539 Dean Street, Brooklyn, NY 11213. When we searched Little Me Daycare Center directly in the NYC DOHMH Child Care database, our program records appeared under 1537 Dean Street and 1541 Dean Street.
When we checked NYC Child Care Connect on September 16, 2026, the database showed separate Child Care – Infants/Toddlers and Child Care – Pre School records at both 1537 Dean Street and 1541 Dean Street. All four records were listed as Permitted.
For example, one of our Infant/Toddler records at 1537 Dean Street lists permit number 106535, an expiration date of January 6, 2027, an age range of 0–2 years, and a maximum capacity of 30.
Because permit information and inspection records can change, we encourage families to confirm the current details directly through NYC Child Care Connect.
What Should You Do After Checking the Permit?
Use the public record to support your daycare decision, not replace an in-person visit.
Before visiting, make a short list of anything you want clarified. If an inspection record shows a corrected issue, ask what the center changed. If your baby will attend, confirm that the infant/toddler permit applies to the location you are touring.
You can also ask how the center handles:
- Staff-to-child ratios and supervision
- Drop-off and authorized pickup
- Illness and health procedures
- Emergency drills
- Infant sleep practices
- Staff background checks and required training
- First aid certification and emergency-response training
- Meals and snack time
- Parent communication
- Daily routines
Article 47 permit requirements include building and fire-safety approvals as well as documentation relating to criminal justice and Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment screening before a permit is issued. Public records tell you about regulatory oversight. A visit lets you see what daily child care actually feels like.
Check the Record, Then See the Center for Yourself
A daycare permit is not something parents have to take on faith. New York City gives families public access to program types, permit information, and inspection history so you can ask better questions before enrollment. Start with the official record. Confirm the right program and age category. Read any violations in context. Then visit the daycare and see how its policies and routines work in practice.
If you are considering Little Me Daycare Center, you can review our daycare in Crown Heights, Brooklyn before your visit. When you’re ready to see the classrooms and ask your own questions, schedule a tour of Little Me Daycare Center. We welcome families to ask about our programs, ratios, daily routines, safety procedures, and the public records they reviewed before visiting.