The different types of licences, information that must be displayed, and fit and proper requirements for the licence holder
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Parent Support and Information.
What a licence is
To operate and receive funding an early childhood service must be approved and licensed by the Ministry of Education. The classes of licence are:
- Probationary licence – may be held for up to 12 months while a full licence application is processed. To get a probationary licence the service must meet the qualifications, ratios, service-size, and premises and facilities standards. Once the service is open, the Ministry considers it will be likely to comply with the curriculum, health and safety, and governance, management, and administration standards.
- Full licence – a full licence is issued to a service when it is assessed as meeting all regulatory standards. A full licence once issued has no expiry date.
- Provisional licence (see below)
- Suspended licence (see below)
Licences may be downgraded to provisional, suspended, or withdrawn and cancelled by the Ministry of Education. Read more about what happens when a licence is downgraded or changed because it was caught breaching regulations.
What is shown on an ECE service licence
The licence certificate will show:
- Full name of the person issued the licence.
- The service’s name and address.
- Full name of the service provider or the service provider’s nominated contact person.
- Date of issue.
- Licence classification, e.g., full, provisional, etc.
- Expiry date (if not a full licence).
- Any conditions to comply with and by when to meet the regulations and criteria.
- Maximum numbers of children.
- If mixed ages of children can attend, that no under-2s can attend, or that no over-2s can attend.
- Hours and days.
- All day, sessional or mixed.
- Type of service, e.g., teacher led, parent led or both teacher and parent led during the week but must be only one kind on any one day.
- Any additional special conditions imposed by the Ministry of Education:
- To comply with any other enactment.
- To limit numbers or ages of children during all or specified times.
- Additional requirements of supervision of children.
- Limiting numbers of children using a defined activity space.
Services are required to display their licence
Every licensed service must prominently display the following for all parents and visitors to see:
- It’s current licence to operate certificate.
- A copy of the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
- A copy of the Licensing Criteria 2008 and updates.
Note that “prominently displayed” suggests high visibility and display where all parents regularly will see these. There is no requirement that services must inform parents about the availability of a copy of the licensing regulations and criteria.
When the Ministry of Education reclassifies a service’s licence, any previous licence certificate held must be immediately returned to the Ministry of Education and the new ‘class’ of licence prominently displayed for parents and visitors to see.
A service that portrays itself as holding a full licence when it does not, or knowingly makes a false statement regarding what licence it holds, commits an offence that carries a maximum fine of $500.
Declaration of being ‘fit and proper’ persons to hold an ECE service licence
A current licence means that the body, agency, or person who operates the early childhood service are deemed ‘fit and proper’ persons because they have declared they have no:
- previous conviction for any offence involving harm to children, violence, or fraud
- history of health problems that may affect ability to comply with any conditions of a licence that is issued; or
any obligations under these regulations - money (other than a student loan, as defined in section 4(1) of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011) owed, or previously owed, to the Crown by each of those persons, in connection with the provision or receipt of educational services; or
body corporate in which any of those persons were involved in the management, in connection with the provision or receipt of educational services. - adjudication of bankruptcy under the Insolvency Act 2006
- prohibition issued under any enactment on acting as a company director
- no previous involvement in the provision of education and care services in respect of which an application for a licence under these regulations or any of the regulations referred to in section 319N of the Education Act 1989 (as it read immediately before its repeal) has been refused; or a licence that has been suspended or cancelled
Note that a person’s declaration of not having relevant health problems, previous convictions, or poor performance in operating another ECE service, etc., is not legally required to be checked or verified by the Ministry of Education. Regulation 38 states any person who knowingly makes a false statement may be fined a maximum fine of $500. Under the Crimes Act 1961 (s 111) a person may face imprisonment of up to 3 years for false declarations and this is not mentioned in the early childhood regulations. The regulations do not say that a licence to operate an ECE service will be suspended or withdrawn should an ECE provider be found to have lied or subsequently experienced any of these problems.
Failing to meet minimum standards
The Ministry of Education needs to know:
- If you are concerned children’s needs are not being met.
- If you are concerned a service is not meeting a minimum legal requirement.
READ MORE: How to make a complaint and your options.
CAUTION: This page and the information here is provided as part of the My ECE Guide to Early Childhood Service Regulations and Licensing Criteria for Parents (The Guide). The Guide does not purport to be a full and accurate interpretation of all statutory provisions relating to early childhood education services. While best efforts have been used in preparing this guide, no representations or warranties of any kind are made and My ECE assumes no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the content. Please note that the Government and Ministry of Education may change, update, or alter any of the requirements at any time. Please help to keep the information on this page up to date by letting us know of changes that need to be made.
Thank you! Kia pai te rā
Reference:
My ECE Guide to Early Childhood Service Regulations and Licensing Criteria for Parents. Prepared by Dr Sarah Alexander and Warwick Marshall.
Last reviewed: 1 May 2025
