Pennsylvania daycare license lookup: how to check inspections and violations
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services certifies every child care center, inspects it at least once a year, and investigates complaints. Here is how to look up a center’s certificate, read its citations and complaint findings, and spot the records that deserve a closer look.
Checking a daycare in another state? See the official license lookup for all 50 states and D.C.
Eight steps to check a Pennsylvania daycare
Find the center
Daycare Record has a page for each certified child care center in Pennsylvania’s COMPASS search. Start from Pennsylvania and pick a city, county or ZIP code, or search by name. Each page lists every inspection, complaint investigation and citation since August 2021.
Check the certificate
Pennsylvania calls a center’s license a certificate of compliance. A regular certificate is the standard one-year certificate; a center can hold one and still have been cited, and it must correct each violation. A provisional certificate means it was in substantial but not complete compliance; it lasts up to six months and can be issued at most four times in a row (55 Pa. Code §20.54). 197 centers hold one now.
Read each citation
Each citation is one rule the state found broken, with the inspector’s description of what they saw and the center’s plan to fix it. Rule numbers refer to 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3270, the rules for child care centers.
Look at complaints
Pennsylvania’s search lists complaint investigations in which the state found at least one violation (“verified complaints”), with the violations it found. It does not publish what a complaint alleged, or whether every violation relates to it.
Look for patterns
One citation rarely tells you much. Watch for the same rule cited again and again, recent citations about supervision, discipline, background checks or safe sleep, violations found in a complaint investigation, and enforcement actions such as a refusal to renew the certificate.
Check the quality rating
Keystone STARS rates participating programs from STAR 1 to STAR 4 (PA Keys). It measures quality practices, not inspection results, so read both. 1,678 certified centers hold STAR 4.
Confirm with the state
The official record is the COMPASS child care provider search, run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Search the center by name or address and open its inspection history.
Ask the director
Ask what changed after any citation that worries you, how many staff will be in your child’s room, how staff are cleared and trained, and whether you can visit unannounced.
The rules Pennsylvania daycares break most often
The ten rules cited most at certified Pennsylvania centers since August 2021.
| # | Rule | Topic (the state’s wording) | Citations | Centers cited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | §3270.32(a)/3270.192(4) | Comply with CPSL/CPSL information | 7,507 | 3,244 |
| 2 | §3270.76 | Building Surfaces | 4,546 | 2,344 |
| 3 | §3270.14/3270.21 | Pertinent Laws & Regulations/General Health and Safety | 4,427 | 2,481 |
| 4 | §3270.31(f) | Health and Safety Training | 3,335 | 1,855 |
| 5 | §3270.192(5) | Two written references | 3,240 | 1,937 |
| 6 | §3270.66(a) | Locked or inaccessible | 3,088 | 1,872 |
| 7 | §3270.32(a) | Comply with CPSL | 3,069 | 1,704 |
| 8 | §3270.124(b)(7) | Name/address/phone release person | 3,037 | 1,938 |
| 9 | §3270.95(a)/3270.95(b) | Devices must be compliant/Director or designated staff person ensure compliance | 3,009 | 1,669 |
| 10 | §3270.102(a) | Clean and good repair | 2,998 | 1,573 |
Rule numbers refer to 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3270. Counts from Pennsylvania Department of Human Services inspection records as of Oct 16, 2026.
Core-safety citations
Pennsylvania’s records don’t grade violations by severity. Daycare Record marks citations on six topics as “core safety” and weights them most in each center’s score. In the last 12 months, 46% of certified centers had at least one.
| Topic | Citations since August 2021 | Centers cited |
|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 5,695 | 2,254 |
| Staff ratios | 2,421 | 1,330 |
| Caregiver conduct | 2,073 | 1,066 |
| Child protection | 198 | 166 |
| Background checks | 9,570 | 3,600 |
| Sleep safety | 591 | 469 |
Since August 2021, Pennsylvania has listed 4,002 complaint investigations that found violations at 1,788 certified centers (its search shows complaint investigations only when the state found at least one violation). See how scores work.
Where to report a Pennsylvania daycare
If a child is in danger, call 911. Suspected child abuse goes to ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313, 24 hours a day. Complaints about a child care center go to the Department of Human Services, by its online complaint form or the regional office for the center’s county:
| Regional office | Phone (toll free) | Counties |
|---|---|---|
| Western (Pittsburgh) | (800) 222-2149 | Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland |
| Central (Harrisburg) | (800) 222-2117 | Adams, Centre, Clinton, Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, Tioga, Union, York |
| Northeast (Scranton) | (800) 222-2108 | Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming |
| Southeast (Philadelphia) | (800) 346-2929 | Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia |
Philadelphia is split between the Southeast office’s north and south teams by ZIP code; the phone number is the same. Source: DHS regional offices.
Common questions
How do I look up a daycare license in Pennsylvania?
Search the center’s name, city or ZIP on Daycare Record, or use the state’s COMPASS child care provider search. COMPASS shows certification information, verified complaints and inspection results for each provider.
Are daycare violations public in Pennsylvania?
Yes. The Department of Human Services posts inspection results and verified complaints in its online provider search (pa.gov). Each violation includes the inspector’s finding and the center’s plan of correction.
How often are daycares inspected in Pennsylvania?
Certified centers get a renewal inspection at least once every 12 months (PA Keys), and can also get announced and unannounced inspections and complaint inspections (55 Pa. Code §20.33). The typical certified center on Daycare Record has had 6 routine inspections since August 2021.
What is a provisional certificate?
A temporary certificate for a center in substantial, but not complete, compliance with the rules. It lasts up to six months, and a center can get at most four in a row (55 Pa. Code §20.54).
What are the staff-to-child ratios in Pennsylvania daycares?
One staff person for every 4 infants, 5 young toddlers, 6 older toddlers, 10 preschoolers, 12 young school-age children or 15 older school-age children, with maximum group sizes of 8, 10, 12, 20, 24 and 30 (55 Pa. Code §3270.51).
How do I report a daycare in Pennsylvania?
If a child is in danger, call 911. To report suspected child abuse, call ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313, 24 hours a day (DHS). To file a complaint about a child care center, use the Department of Human Services online complaint form or call the regional office for your county, listed in the table above (DHS regional offices).
How far back do Pennsylvania daycare records go?
Daycare Record shows the inspections Pennsylvania currently publishes, back to August 2021.
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services inspection records (COMPASS); DHS early learning and child care; 55 Pa. Code §20.33 and §20.54; §3270.51; PA Keys on renewal inspections; DHS: file a child care facility complaint; DHS: report child abuse.