Search licensed and unlicensed child care violations

Look up an individual's name, business name or address to find out if a child care provider has a confirmed violation under the Child Care and Early Years Act or the Day Nurseries Act.

Violations include:

• Providing unlicensed care to more than five children under 13 years old (including their own children under the age of 4*)
• Providing unlicensed care to more than three children under the age of 2 (including their own children)*
• Providing home child care at more than one premise without a license
• Providing licensed home child care for more than six children under the age of 13 (including their own children under the age of 4)
• Obstruction of an inspector conducting an inspection of an unlicensed or licensed child care provider
• Has a confirmed violation under any other subsection of the Child Care and Early Years Act or Day Nurseries Act

For more information please see:

• The New Child Care and Early Years Act: What Providers and Parents Need to Know
• Professional learning resources
• Information for child care providers

To report a complaint about unlicensed child care or ask about a violation, please contact us Monday–Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM:

Telephone: 1-844-516-6263
Email: information.met@ontario.ca

To report a complaint about a licensed child care centre or home child care agency, please contact us:

Telephone: 1-877-510-5333
Email: information.met@ontario.ca

When making a complaint, please give as much as information as you can. This will make it easier for the Ministry of Education to look into your complaint.

Please include:

• name of the child care centre or home child care agency
• address of the child care centre, or location where licensed home child care is being provided
• a description of your concern

In addition, if we have your personal information (e.g., name, address, telephone number and/or email), ministry staff can contact you for more information if needed and follow up with you after the complaint has been investigated.

Personal information provided in connection with a complaint is collected under the authority of Section 70 of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, c. 11, Sched. 1.

You are not required to provide personal information when you make a complaint. If you do, the Ministry will not disclose it to the child care provider during the follow-up process. However, the provider may be able to identify you based on the nature of the complaint.

There are some situations where the Ministry may disclose your information. For example, the Ministry may decide to disclose your personal information to other organizations, such as police or public health, to allow them to investigate the complaint. In addition, the Ministry is required to disclose information to children's aid societies to allow them to investigate if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is in need of protection. The Ministry may also be required to disclose your information if the investigation of your complaint results in a hearing or prosecution involving the child care program.

If you do not consent to the collection of your personal information, please do not include any personal information when making a complaint.

If you have any questions about the collection of your personal information, you can contact the Manager, Program, Policy and Operations Unit at 416-325-5832 or by mail at 77 Wellesley Street West, Box 980, Toronto ON M7A 1N3.

Unlicensed child care arrangements are made between the parents and the caregiver.

Parents should be aware that in Ontario unlicensed child care providers are not required to meet most provincial standards because they are not licensed.

It is up to parents to research, choose and monitor their child care.

For more information, please see: Find and pay for child care