Nurseries and other daycare (childcare on non-domestic premises): registration

The application process for nurseries, playgroups, before- and after-school clubs and other daycare. This includes fees, who should apply and making changes once you're registered.

Before you apply

There are some situations when you cannot or may not need to register with Ofsted.

What to register as

You can register either as an individual or as an organisation. In either case, once you have registered you are ‘the registered person’.

The registered person includes all partners, directors, company secretaries, trustees, the board of governors and all committee members.

Organisations can be formal or informal partnerships, a body corporate such as a limited company or an unincorporated association, such as a registered charity or a school governing body.

Registering more than one setting

If you provide childcare from multiple premises, you need to include all the settings under a single registration. However, you need to pay separate fees for each setting. You can apply for approval to add more settings at any time.

Outdoor childcare

You can register outdoor settings like woodlands in the same way as any other premises. If you offer childcare from a play bus, you only need to register this once, not at each location where the bus goes. However, if you also use other premises as well as the bus, you need to include this as a separate setting.

Who should apply to Ofsted

Type Who needs to apply
Individual owner As the only owner of the provision, you are solely responsible and you must apply.
Organisations set up solely or mainly to provide childcare The organisation is accountable for the registration. A member of the organisation’s governing body must apply.
Organisations set up for a different purpose than providing childcare The organisation is accountable for the registration. The most senior person in the organisation with direct responsibility for childcare in the organisation must apply.

The nominated individual

If you register as an organisation, you must appoint a ‘nominated individual’. The nominated individual will be responsible for everything about the registration and will liaise with Ofsted.

The person applying to register can also be the nominated individual if they are either:

  • a member of the governing body

  • the most senior person in the organisation with direct responsibility for childcare

They cannot be the appointed manager, unless the manager is also a member of the governing body.

A member of an organisation’s governing body is responsible and accountable for the governance of that organisation. This does not apply to members who only have voting or attendance rights (such as shareholders).

What you need to do

You need to make sure that the place where you’ll be looking after children is suitable. If you’re joining the Early Years Register this must follow all requirements in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework. You must also follow all legal requirements (for example, from your local authority environmental health department and local fire authority).

You will need to:

  • appoint an appropriate and suitable manager who will manage the daycare – they should have a minimum level 3 childcare qualification

  • get an enhanced check with barred lists from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

  • show that at least one person looking after children has an appropriate first aid qualification

  • know which register(s) you need to join

We may need extra documentation if you have lived abroad in the last 5 years.

Other people in your organisation may need to get an enhanced check with barred lists from DBS and complete an EY2. For more information see People connected with an Ofsted registration. When you start looking after children you’ll need to have public liability insurance.

How to apply

You will need to have a Government Gateway account. You will be prompted to sign in or create an account when you start to apply.

Use the ‘Apply to register your nursery or other daycare organisation (EYO)’ or ‘Apply to join the Childcare Register (CR1)’.

Make sure that everyone who needs to has filled in an EY2 form and got an enhanced check with barred lists from DBS.

You will receive a reference number, or URN, by post.

We will carry out checks on you based on the information you give us. If you are joining the Early Years register, we will arrange a registration visit.

When you apply, we will carry out an application review.

We aim to complete your application within the following timescales, but it may take longer in some situations:

  • 12 weeks for early years applications

  • 10 weeks for childcare register applications

You may be able to put your application on hold in some circumstances.

If we grant your registration we will send you a certificate, together with information about the next steps.

Fees

It costs £220 to join the Early Years Register. It’s free to join the Childcare Register at the same time. Read more about the different registers.

If you’re only joining the Childcare Register, it costs £114.

You pay a reduced fee of £35 to join the Early Years Register if you work for less than any of the following:

  • 3 hours a day

  • 5 days a week

  • 45 weeks a year

About Ofsted’s fees

Once you’re registered, you must pay the same fee annually. This is due on the anniversary of your registration and covers the following year. See more information about Ofsted registration fees.

Telling Ofsted about changes

You must tell Ofsted about any changes to any of the following within 14 days of the change happening:

  • your registered address and any contact details

  • the address of any premises where you’re providing childcare

  • the legal structure of your business changes

  • the type of childcare you provide (for example, if you change the days or hours when you look after children)

  • any event that might affect the suitability of anyone who looks after children, for example any offences or orders that might disqualify them

  • the manager or nominated individual

  • all new committee members for committee-run childcare

  • any new people who make up an organisation that has been set up solely or mainly to provide childcare – this includes partners, directors, company secretaries and any other members of the governing body

You also need to tell us about any serious incidents.

Changes to people in your organisation

Only nominated individuals can report changes to registered people. If you are your organisation’s nominated individual, email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk to tell us about changes.  

Use the email address associated with your Ofsted registration (this is the address that you receive emails from us on)

In your email, include the following:

  • the words ‘report association changes’ in the subject line
  • your organisation’s unique reference number (URN)
  • the change to the registered person(s) including:
    • their name and date of birth
    • if they are joining or leaving your organisation
    • their role in your organisation 
    • any other changes involving them
    • the date the change(s) take effect 

What happens next

You will receive an email confirmation that we have received your request for changes.

We will let you know if we need any further information.

New committee members or people making up the organisation must complete an EY2 form online and have an enhanced check with barred lists from DBS.

If you register as a new business with Companies House or The Charities Commission, your legal structure changes and you will receive a new company or charity registration number. You will need to make a new application and pay an application fee for each setting affected by the change. This is because your business becomes a new legal entity and your existing registrations are attached to the previous individual or organisation.

Your new business must be approved by Ofsted before it can legally begin operating. To do so without approval will result in you providing unregistered childcare, which is an offence.

If you intend to change your charity structure, for example, convert an unincorporated charity into a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), you should contact Ofsted for additional guidance before submitting an application to re-register.

Changing the name or registered office address of your business

When you change your business name or your registered head office address (not the childcare premises) the registered provider remains the same and we do not need a new application. The nominated individual should contact us from their registered phone number or email address to notify us of the change.

Committee-run childcare

If a whole committee resigns, for example at its annual general meeting (AGM), and a new committee is elected, the registration can continue while we check the new members.

If all committee members resign and no new members come forward at the AGM, we will make decisions about registration continuing on a case-by-case basis. We cannot allow childcare to continue if there is no registered person. However, we need to understand what, if any, the future arrangements are for childcare to continue before we make any decision about the registration.

Mergers and acquisitions

If your organisation takes over an existing childcare provider through a merger or acquisition, you need to make sure that the childcare is registered correctly with Ofsted. You cannot provide childcare on the existing premises until you have either:

If the individuals making up the registered person change, the nominated individual must tell Ofsted about any changes. Any new individuals must complete an EY2 form and get an enhanced check with barred lists from DBS.

When you do not have to make a new application

You do not have to make a new registration application if either of the following apply:

  • you acquire a company that retains the registered person’s company number, and continue to trade under the existing company name

  • the sole trader or organisation changes its name or the registered address (the address where Ofsted sends legal documents) but the registered person remains the same

If you are acquiring a setting as part of your existing organisation, you can apply for approval to add this to your registration.

If you want to keep the existing provider as a separate legal entity from your other organisation, you should register this through a new application.

Continuity of care

The seller remains responsible for childcare until they contact Ofsted to resign the registration. If continuity of care for children is an issue, they may want to consider delaying their resignation until Ofsted has issued a new registration certificate.

If the seller wants to resign before the new applicant is registered, the provision must stop operating.

If you acquire an existing provision, we will include the setting’s history on the Ofsted reports site for 5 years.

If Ofsted has completed checks on the applicant before, we will not redo these unless there are any concerns or new people connected with the provision. The registration visit will normally concentrate on checking that the new premises are safe and how the provision may or may not be different.

Resigning your registration

If you want to resign your registration, contact us or tell the inspector during a visit.

We will keep the published history of a childcare setting on our reports website for 5 years after the setting is listed as closed. This includes:

  • the name of the registered person and the address where childcare was provided

  • your previous inspection reports (if you were only registered on the Childcare Register, previous inspection outcome letters will remain online for 12 months after publication)

  • details of any previous conditions of registration

  • any information we have previously published about complaints or compliance action taken against you (this will remain online for 5 years after publication)

We do this so that people can view this information in case:

  • you decide to register to provide childcare again after a short period

  • you decide to start providing childcare at a different address

  • you decide to register to provide childcare through a new organisation, for example, you want to set up a new company to provide childcare

  • someone else decides to register to provide childcare from the same address

Moving and adding additional premises

If you intend to move or operate from additional premises, you must apply to register your new premises. This is because each daycare setting must be approved by Ofsted.

Approval for additional settings does not require a full registration, therefore, seeking additional setting approval is not expected to take as long to complete as a full registration. If your application is approved, you will get a new registration certificate.

Your new premises must be approved by Ofsted before you begin operating from them. To do so without approval will result in you providing unregistered childcare, which is an offence.

You will need to pay an approval and annual fee for each setting where childcare is provided.

You can apply for approval to add new premises to your registration at any time. There’s no limit to the number of premises you can add.

At the point when you apply, you must have at least one premises that is suitable for childcare.

Ofsted may make an approval visit to the new premises to check that the provider is suitable to expand and add the new setting. This will not re-run the full registration visit.

We will always inspect providers who apply to expand before their first inspection. We are likely to refuse approval if you have a ‘requires improvement’ or worse judgement after your first inspection, unless there is strong evidence of sustainable improvement.

If we have concerns about any of your settings we may intervene and take enforcement action where necessary. We may suspend an individual setting where there are grounds for suspension. If we have significant concerns and decide to cancel your registration, including for the non-payment of fees, this cancellation will apply to all your settings under that registration.

If your organisation operates separate legal entities that provide childcare, you must register each one separately. See more information about acquisitions and mergers.

If we refuse your application to expand, this does not necessarily mean that we will cancel your other provisions. However, we will consider this, depending on our reason for refusal.

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