The insurance checklist for opening a daycare in New York City

Walk into a ground-floor space in Lower Manhattan or Harlem that wants to be a daycare and you will see a renovation, not a permit. An NYC daycare insurance checklist is part of the permit file, not a brochure you print after the first parent tour.

A group child care program, as New York City defines it, cares for three or more children under six, for five or more hours a week, and for more than 30 days in a year, in a place that is not a home. That work needs a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) permit under Article 47 of the Health Code. The permit lasts two years and lists capacity, floors, classrooms, and ages.

What the Health Department actually asks to see

The City's Group Child Care Center-Based Permit page is the practical map. You create an online account, sit a pre-permit orientation, and request a site viability inspection before you spend money on a room that cannot meet the Code.

Article 47 is the rulebook. Section 47.09 tells applicants to file proof of workers' compensation and disability benefits insurance covering employees. At renewal, DOHMH asks for those proofs again, plus any changed safety plan or certificate of occupancy. Those are permit documents, not a substitute for the liability conversation you still owe a landlord.

You also name an Educational Director and document qualifications under Health Code Sections 47.13, 47.15, and 47.17. Staff need clearance, fingerprinting, and medicals. A center that only emailed a landlord a general-liability certificate can still stall at the permit portal.

How OCFS-style rules still belong in the folder

If you have opened a center outside the five boroughs, you will hear Office of Children and Family Services language. OCFS licenses day care centers in the rest of the state under 18 NYCRR Part 418-1. Section 418-1.2 asks applicants for a certificate of insurance showing intent to provide general liability coverage upon licensure.

NYC group child care for children under six is a DOHMH Article 47 permit, not an OCFS center license. School-age programs in the City can sit closer to the OCFS file. The lesson is the same: regulators treat insurance as a licensing document. General liability is usually the policy for a visitor injury. Professional liability is alleged failure in care or supervision. Abuse and molestation coverage is a separate discussion. If you transport children, vehicle coverage belongs with the transportation plan Article 47 expects.

Get a free insurance review in Lower Manhattan

Bring the site plan, the ages you intend to serve, and any landlord insurance page. E.G. Bowman will walk through the permit proofs and the operating risks. It is not a price quote and it is not a binder.

Call 212-425-8150, email info@egbowman.com, or visit 5 Hanover Square, Suite 2103, New York, NY 10004. Start at https://www.egbowman.com.

This article is for education only. It is not a substitute for advice from a licensed insurance agent, and it is not legal, medical, or binding coverage advice.