• Find an early years and childcare inspection report
• Understanding an early years and childcare inspection report
• Types of early years and childcare Ofsted inspects
• Inspecting early years and childcare
• Types of early years and childcare Ofsted regulates
• Caring for children in their own home
• Regulating early years and childcare; applying to be a provider
  • About the two early years and childcare registers
  • Registration not required for early years and childcare
  • Before registration as an early years and childcare provider
  • Registering as an early years and childcare provider
    • Completing your application to be an early years and childcare provider
    • The visit - part of registration for early years and childcare provision
    • Your certificate for early years and childcare provision
  • After registration as an early years and childcare provider
• Safeguarding children
• Children's centres
• About our survey reports
• How to complain

Your certificate for early years and childcare provision

If we register you, then we will send you a registration certificate.

The certificate will have the registers that you are on and may have your conditions of registration; these control how you work. We can change them, remove them and add new ones at any time while you are registered.

You must make sure that you meet all your conditions at all times.

If you want to change something on your certificate, go to the Framework for the regulation of those on the Early Years and Childcare Registers.

Your certificate and beginning childcare

It is important to note that you cannot begin caring for children until you have your certificate – you cannot start just because you know that we have registered you.

Displaying your certificate

You must display the certificate where parents and carers can see it; if you are a home childcarer then you have to show it to parents and carers on request.

If something happens to your certificate

If your certificate gets damaged or lost then you will need  to contact us to get a replacement on 0300 123 1231. The fee for a replacement certificate is £7.