U.S. · Illinois · Child care licensing
Illinois daycare license lookup.
Where the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services lists licensed day care providers, what the search returns, and how to read the facility type and licence status codes. This page decodes what you saw; the search runs on the DCFS site.
Short answer: Illinois day care licences are checked on the DCFS DayCare Provider Lookup, part of the department’s Sunshine site. The page says you may search by provider name, city, county, or zip code, or a combination, and that results will be provided for all currently-licensed day care facilities based on your search parameters. Each result lists the business name, address, facility type (DCC for a day care center, DCH for a day care home), licence status, age range, capacity, languages and phone number. The page is explicit that only providers who are currently licensed will appear in the search results, and it gives a Day Care Information Line, 1-877-746-0829, for questions about a specific provider. Compliance history is a separate DCFS function, not part of the lookup result.
Decode a result
Result
Pick the codes you saw and press Decode.
What the DCFS lookup searches
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services licenses day care centers, day care homes and group day care homes, and its DayCare Provider Lookup is the public list. The form has four fields, Provider Name, City, County and Zip, and the instruction that you may search by any one of them or a combination. There is no licence-number field and no provider-type filter. The results table shows the business name, address, a Facility Type column with the codes DCC and DCH, a License Status column, the age range served, the licensed capacity, languages and a phone number. The page states the rule that matters most: results will be provided for all currently-licensed day care facilities, and only providers who are currently licensed will appear in the search results. A provider that is missing is either unlicensed, licence-exempt, or recorded under a different name.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Official lookup: DCFS DayCare Provider Lookup | sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/Content/Licensing/Daycare/ProviderLookup.aspx |
| Search fields | Provider Name, City, County, Zip (any combination) |
| Result columns | Business name, address, facility type, license status, age range, capacity, languages, phone |
| Facility type codes seen | DCC (day care center), DCH (day care home) |
| Licence status values seen | License issued (IL); Pending renewal application (RN) |
| Compliance history | Separate DCFS licensed day care compliance function, linked from the lookup page |
| Questions about a provider | Day Care Information Line 1-877-746-0829 |
Reading the codes
Two facility codes appeared in the results read for this page. DCC marks a day care center, the commercial or institutional setting with a licensed capacity that can run to dozens of children. DCH marks a day care home, a licence held by a person caring for children in a residence. The page’s links also name group day care homes, a larger home category, but the results table does not define its codes, so this page lists only the two it saw. The License Status column showed two values: License issued, with the code IL, is a current licence; Pending renewal application, code RN, means the provider’s renewal is being processed and the provider still appears because it is still currently licensed. Any other value is worth a call to the information line rather than a guess.
How to check a daycare, step by step
Open the lookup and enter the provider name as it appears on the sign or the contract; if nothing returns, search the city or ZIP alone and read down the list, because a center may be licensed under a corporate name that is not the one on the door. On the result, match the address to the one you visited, read the facility type and the licence status, and compare the licensed capacity and age range with what you were told. Then use the separate compliance function the page points to for licence status and compliance history. Finally, ask the provider to show the licence itself. If the provider is not in the results at all, the Day Care Information Line at 1-877-746-0829 is the DCFS number for questions about a specific provider.
Worked example
A parent in Naperville is choosing between a center and an in-home provider. She searches the center’s name and finds it with facility type DCC, status License issued (IL), an age range from six weeks and a capacity that matches the director’s number. She then searches the ZIP code for the home provider, finds a DCH entry at the right address with status Pending renewal application (RN), and asks the provider when the renewal was filed. Both appear, which the DCFS page says means both are currently licensed; the compliance function is where she looks next for inspection history.
Method
The search fields, the results columns, the facility and status codes and the currently-licensed rule were read from the DCFS DayCare Provider Lookup page on November 11, 2026. The decoder matches the code you pick to the meaning shown on that page and nothing more; it does not search DCFS and keeps nothing. Licence status changes, and only the DCFS lookup is current.
What this does not cover
- Which providers are exempt from licensing in Illinois, which the lookup page does not list.
- Inspection and complaint history, which the department keeps in a separate compliance function.
- Quality ratings, which are not licences.
- Whether a provider is right for your child.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedThe Illinois DCFS daycare lookup shows inspection results.
What the source saysThe lookup page says licence status and compliance history for specific licensees are in a separate licensed day care compliance function. [1]
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Often assumedA daycare missing from the DCFS results has lost its licence.
What the source saysThe page says only currently licensed providers appear; a missing provider may be licence-exempt or listed under another name, and the information line is 1-877-746-0829. [1]
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Often assumedPending renewal application means the Illinois licence has lapsed.
What the source saysProviders with the RN status still appear in a list the page describes as currently licensed facilities. [1]
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Often assumedYou can search the Illinois lookup by licence number.
What the source saysThe form offers Provider Name, City, County and Zip only. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a daycare is licensed in Illinois?
Search the DCFS DayCare Provider Lookup by provider name, city, county or ZIP code. The page says results cover all currently licensed day care facilities matching your search.
What do DCC and DCH mean?
DCC is a day care center and DCH a day care home, the two facility type codes seen in the lookup results.
What does Pending renewal application mean?
Status code RN: the licence renewal is being processed. The provider still appears because the lookup lists only currently licensed providers.
Does the lookup show inspections or violations?
No. The page points to a separate DCFS compliance function for licence status and compliance history.
Why can I not find a daycare on the lookup?
Only currently licensed providers appear. The provider may be exempt from licensing or listed under a different business name; call 1-877-746-0829 to ask about a specific provider.
Can I search by licence number?
No. The form has Provider Name, City, County and Zip fields.
Does this page search DCFS for me?
No. It decodes the codes you saw and links to the official lookup; nothing is sent from this page.
Is this site the Illinois DCFS?
No. This is an unofficial guide that is not affiliated with the department.
Not legal advice
This page is general information from an unofficial guide, not legal advice, and it is not affiliated with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The DCFS lookup is the only current source. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.