United States · Texas · Child care licensing
Texas daycare licence lookup.
Where Texas keeps its public child care search, the two ways it lets you search, and a planner that turns what you know about a provider into the fields to use.
Short answer: Texas child care operations are searched on Search Texas Child Care, the Health and Human Services Commission’s Child Care Regulation portal at childcare.hhs.texas.gov. You pick Child Day Care (care for children 13 years old or younger for less than 24 hours a day) or 24-hr Residential Child Care, then search By Location or By Provider using the Provider Name, Provider Number or Provider Location. The portal also has an Advanced Search, a Make a Report screen and a Find Involuntarily Closed Operations list.
Plan your search
Result
Enter what you know and press Build the plan.
What the portal offers
The portal’s first question is what type of child care you are looking for. Child Day Care is defined on screen as care for children 13 years old or younger for less than 24 hours a day; 24-hr Residential Child Care is care for children 17 years old or younger for 24 hours a day. Daycare centres, after-school programs and licensed or registered homes fall under the first. The second screen offers two routes: the By Location search, which the portal describes as the way to find child care operations near a specific location such as your home or office, with an optional children’s ages filter, and the By Provider search, which matches the criteria you enter: Provider Name, Provider Number or Provider Location. An Advanced Search link adds more criteria.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Official page: Search Texas Child Care | childcare.hhs.texas.gov/Public/ |
| Run by | Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Child Care Regulation (CCR) |
| Searches | By Location (location, optional ages) or By Provider (Provider Name, Provider Number, Provider Location); Advanced Search |
| Also on the portal | Make a Report; Find Involuntarily Closed Operations; Provider Center; Texas ChildCare Availability Portal; Texas ChildCare Search Website Guide |
How to check a provider, step by step
Start with the provider number if the operation gave you one; a number points to a single record. Otherwise search the name exactly as it appears on the contract or the sign, and if that returns nothing, shorten it, because the record may carry the operator’s legal name rather than the trading name, and words such as “Learning Center” or “LLC” may be absent. If the name still fails, switch to By Location, enter the ZIP code and read every result near the address. Open the record you find and compare the name, address and type of operation with what you were told. The portal is a JavaScript application, so the fields above are the ones shown on its screens on November 11, 2026; it does not expose a link that pre-fills a search, which is why this planner gives you the fields rather than a filled-in link.
Closed operations and reports
Two links on the portal matter when something feels wrong. Find Involuntarily Closed Operations is described as the way to locate an operation that has been suspended, revoked, or refused to renew, which is where a provider that no longer appears in the main search may turn up. Make a Report is the route for an incident involving a Child Day Care provider; the screen states that in-person reports are not accepted at Child Care Regulation offices, so the report goes through the portal. The portal also points to the Texas ChildCare Availability Portal for openings and to a search website guide for help with the screens.
Worked example
You are considering Little Stars Learning Center, LLC near ZIP 77002 and have no provider number. The planner tells you to search By Provider with the exact name, then with “little stars” if the full name finds nothing, and then to switch to By Location with 77002 and scan the results. You open the matching record, confirm the address and the type of care, and only then look at the inspection history on the record. If the operation does not appear at all, you check Find Involuntarily Closed Operations before asking the provider for its number.
Method
This page does not search the portal and stores nothing you type. The planner reads the name, number and ZIP you enter, works out which portal fields to use and in what order, and links to the portal. Wording was read from the portal on November 11, 2026. Licence status, inspections and enforcement history belong to HHSC and change; only the portal is current.
What this does not cover
- What a specific record says: inspection results, deficiencies and status come from the portal.
- Licence-exempt care, which the portal’s own screens define.
- Subsidy eligibility or the cost of care.
- Whether a provider suits your child.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- Texas HHSC: Search Texas Child Care (Child Care Regulation public portal) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedThe Texas child care search lists only daycare centres.
What the source saysThe portal’s Child Day Care option covers care for children 13 years old or younger for less than 24 hours a day, and a separate 24-hr Residential Child Care option covers children 17 years old or younger for 24 hours a day. [1]
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Often assumedA Texas provider that was shut down simply disappears from the search.
What the source saysThe portal has a separate Find Involuntarily Closed Operations link to locate an operation that has been suspended, revoked, or refused to renew. [1]
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Often assumedYou can walk into a Child Care Regulation office to report a Texas daycare.
What the source saysThe Make a Report screen says in-person reports are not accepted at Child Care Regulation offices. [1]
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Often assumedYou need a provider number to search the Texas portal.
What the source saysThe By Location search needs only a location and optional children’s ages, and the By Provider search accepts Provider Name, Provider Number or Provider Location. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
Where do I look up a Texas daycare licence?
On Search Texas Child Care, the HHSC Child Care Regulation portal at childcare.hhs.texas.gov. Choose Child Day Care, then search By Location or By Provider.
What can I search by?
By Provider accepts Provider Name, Provider Number or Provider Location; By Location takes a location and, optionally, your children’s ages. An Advanced Search adds more criteria.
What counts as Child Day Care on the portal?
Care for children 13 years old or younger for less than 24 hours a day. 24-hr Residential Child Care is a separate option for children 17 or younger.
How do I find a daycare that was shut down?
Use the portal’s Find Involuntarily Closed Operations link, which lists operations that have been suspended, revoked, or refused to renew.
How do I report a problem with a Texas daycare?
Through the portal’s Make a Report link. The screen says in-person reports are not accepted at Child Care Regulation offices.
Does this page search the Texas portal?
No. It builds a search plan from what you type and links to the official portal.
Is this site part of Texas HHS?
No. This is an unofficial guide that is not affiliated with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Not legal advice
This page is general information from an unofficial guide, not legal advice, and it is not affiliated with the agency or regulator. Use the official search for the actual result. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.