How to check a Nebraska daycare's license and inspections
Nebraska DHHS licenses every child care center, preschool, school-age program and family child care home in the state. DHHS publishes each program's inspections, complaints and disciplinary actions on its public License Lookup. Here is how to find them.
1. Get the license number
Every center, preschool and school-age program listing on this site shows its license number, with a button that copies it for you. For a family child care home, ask the provider for its license number. Licensed providers have one and can share it.
2. Search the License Lookup
- Open the DHHS License Lookup.
- Select Business/Service Search.
- Enter the license number exactly as it appears on the roster (for example, CCC1234) and follow the instructions on screen.
3. Read the record
- License details: license type, status and issue date. A provisional license is the license Nebraska issues to new providers before a full license.
- Inspections: visits by DHHS licensing staff and what they found.
- Complaints: complaints DHHS received and investigated.
- Disciplinary actions: formal actions DHHS has taken against the license.
Read findings in context: check the dates, whether an issue was corrected, and whether it happened once or repeatedly. Ask the provider about anything you see.
Quality ratings are separate
Step Up to Quality is Nebraska's voluntary quality rating system for child care and early childhood programs, run by the Nebraska Department of Education with DHHS. Rated programs hold Step 1 to Step 5. Step 1 is the entry level, and Steps 3 to 5 require an independent evaluation. Participation is voluntary, so a provider without a rating has not been rated low.
Where a provider has a published Step, this site shows "Step Up to Quality: Step N of 5" on its listing.
Before you enroll
- Visit in person and ask about staff-to-child ratios, staff training, daily routine, meals, and sick-child and emergency policies.
- Confirm current hours, openings and tuition directly with the provider. This site lists licensed capacity, not open spots.