Newark, NJ Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing authority
- NJ Dept. of Children and Families
- Registration term
- 3 years, site-specific, non-transferable
- Local inspection right
- any time, Dept. of Health
- Age covered by ordinance
- up to 16 years old
- School-age exemption
- ages 2-5 with NJ DOE approval
- Foster care & schools
- excluded from chapter
Summary
Newark doesn't license day care itself: the state Department of Children and Families (formerly DYFS) issues the license under N.J.S. 30:5B-17, but Newark Code § 16:6-2.3 lets the Department of Health and Community Wellness inspect any licensed day care site and its records at any time. The city's own definition covers custodial care of children up to age 16.
Places where children are given day care shall mean any institution or place, whether known as a day nursery, nursery school, day-care center, child-play or progressive school, or under any other name, which, for compensation or otherwise, receives for temporary custody, with or without stated educational purposes, during part or all of the day, apart from their parent or legal guardian, any child or children up to the age of 16 years... Any place licensed under this Article and its records, shall be open to inspection at all times by duly authorized representatives of the Department of Health and Community Wellness.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 5019615; v61 updated 2026-06-17; through 06-17-2026).
Full Breakdown
1 as any day nursery, nursery school, day-care center, child-play or progressive school, or similarly named place that takes children up to age 16 into temporary custody apart from a parent or guardian, for compensation or not, with or without a stated educational purpose. S. C. 1 et seq. C. 4. 3 opens any licensed place and its records to inspection at any time by the Department of Health and Community Wellness. 1(b) exempts places serving children ages two to five that are approved by the state Department of Education; they are maintained under Newark's article but without a separate license. 1(c).
Violations & Fines
Newark's ordinance sets no separate day care fine schedule of its own; enforcement runs through the city's inspection power in § 16:6-2.3 and the state licensing scheme. An operator who blocks a Department of Health and Community Wellness inspection, or who runs an unregistered day care without the required DCF registration under N.J.S. 30:5B-17, risks losing the state registration and faces state enforcement rather than a separate Newark penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Newark license day care centers?
Can Newark still inspect a day care site?
What ages does Newark's ordinance cover?
Are foster homes covered by this chapter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Newark
Compare Newark to another location·View the New Jersey building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.