How to open a nursery in England
Short answer: a nursery registers with Ofsted as childcare on non-domestic premises on the Early Years Register. The fee is £220, then £220 a year. Before Ofsted visits you need ready premises with enough space (3.5m² per baby, 2.5m² per 2-year-old, 2.3m² per 3 to 5-year-old), a level 3 manager, DBS checks, a GP-signed health declaration, a trained safeguarding lead, a paediatric first aider and written policies.
Updated 4 November 2026, checked against Ofsted’s registration policy and fees (22 October 2026) and the EYFS framework in force from 1 September 2026. For England. A guide, not legal or financial advice.
The 10 steps
- Check demand and talk to your council. Your local authority’s early years team knows where places are short, can explain how to offer funded hours, and often runs free briefings for new providers. With funded hours from 9 months, many areas are short of baby places.
- Choose your legal structure. Sole trader, partnership, limited company or charity. An organisation registers with Ofsted through a nominated individual, who deals with the registration and oversees the management of the setting. Changing structure later means a new registration, so decide early.
- Find premises and get them ready. Work out how many children the space allows (see the space rules below), check planning and building control with your council, and make sure any significant building work is finished: Ofsted won’t approve premises that aren’t ready to use.
- Recruit your manager and team. The manager needs an approved level 3 qualification and should have two years’ experience, you need a named deputy, and at least half of other staff need an approved level 2 qualification.
- Complete checks and training. Enhanced DBS checks with barred lists, a health declaration signed by your GP, a trained designated safeguarding lead, and at least one paediatric first aider on site at all times.
- Write your policies. The EYFS names 10 policies and procedures group settings must have in writing, from safeguarding to complaints. See our EYFS policies list.
- Apply to Ofsted and pay the fee. Apply online as childcare on non-domestic premises and join the Early Years Register. The fee is £220, and it isn’t refundable, even if you withdraw.
- Premises visit and registration visit. Ofsted aims to visit your premises within 8 weeks of its first review of your application. Once all checks are complete an inspector carries out a registration visit.
- Register for funded hours, food and data. Sign your local authority’s provider agreement to offer funded places, register as a food business with your council at least 28 days before you start serving food, and pay the ICO’s data protection fee if it applies to you.
- Open, and tell parents. Launch your website before you open so parents can find your fees, funded hours and a way to visit. Your first Ofsted inspection will be within 18 months of registering.
Ofsted fees
| Register | Childcare on non-domestic premises |
|---|---|
| Early Years Register (children up to 31 August after their 5th birthday) | £220 to apply, then £220 a year |
| Childcare Register only (for example an after-school club for older children) | £114 |
| Both registers | £220 |
| Early Years Register, operating less than 3 hours a day, 5 days a week or 45 weeks a year | £35 |
Fees aren’t refunded if you withdraw or registration is refused. DBS checks, training, insurance and fit-out are on top.
Space and outdoor play
Paragraph 3.83 of the EYFS sets the minimum indoor space per child, measured as the space children use:
| Age | Space per child | Children per 50m² room |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 | 3.5m² | 14 |
| 2-year-olds | 2.5m² | 20 |
| 3 to 5-year-olds | 2.3m² | 21 |
- Using an outdoor area doesn’t let you take more children (3.84).
- Every child must get outdoor play every day, on site or planned outings, unless it’s unsafe, for example in bad weather (3.85).
- Forest and other fully outdoor provision doesn’t have to meet the indoor space rules, as long as children’s needs are met.
- You need an area for confidential talks with parents and a staff break area away from the children (3.89).
- Space is one limit. Staff ratios are the other: see EYFS ratios.
Staff, checks and training
- Manager: an approved level 3 qualification, ideally two years’ experience, and level 2 maths (or within two years of starting) if appointed since 4 January 2024 (3.45).
- Deputy: named, and capable of taking charge when the manager is away.
- Other staff: at least half hold an approved level 2 qualification. Baby rooms have extra rules.
- DBS: an enhanced check with barred lists for everyone in the registration, through Ofsted’s DBS service. Volunteers in regulated activity need one too. Who needs a DBS check.
- Health: a health declaration signed by you and signed or stamped by your GP.
- Safeguarding lead: a named DSL who has completed safeguarding training that meets the EYFS.
- First aid: at least one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate, renewed every 3 years, always on site and on outings.
- Insurance: public liability insurance for all your premises (3.90).
What to have ready for the registration visit
- Photo ID, two proofs of address, and proof of any name change
- Your employment history
- Paediatric first aid and childcare training certificates
- DBS certificates for everyone in the registration
- Your written policies and procedures
- Your plan for space, ratios, recruitment and staff checks
- Be ready to explain safeguarding, including concerns about staff, and the safer eating and safer sleep rules
The inspector tours the whole premises, inside and out, including areas children won’t use.
After you register
- Certificate: display it at the setting and show it to parents on request.
- First inspection within 18 months, then within each 4-year window. See preparing for inspection and how Ofsted grades work now.
- Changes: tell Ofsted about changes such as a new manager or nominated individual, new premises, or different hours.
- Funding: once you’ve signed your council’s provider agreement you can offer funded hours. See early years funding 2026 to 2027.
Your website before you open
Parents start looking months before a place begins, so a new nursery needs a website before its doors open. Put your fees, funded hours and chargeable extras on it, a way to book a visit, your opening date and your policies. See what a nursery website must include.
Questions
How much does it cost to register a nursery with Ofsted?
The Early Years Register fee for childcare on non-domestic premises is £220, paid when you apply and then every year on the anniversary of registration. It’s £35 if you’ll operate for less than 3 hours a day, 5 days a week or 45 weeks a year. Joining the Childcare Register at the same time costs nothing extra. Ofsted doesn’t refund fees.
How long does Ofsted registration take?
Ofsted doesn’t publish a fixed time. It aims to visit your premises within 8 weeks of its first review of your application, and the registration visit happens once all checks, such as DBS and health declarations, are complete. Ofsted will only defer that visit, for up to 16 weeks, in exceptional cases such as unexpected building delays.
What qualifications do I need to open a nursery?
The owner doesn’t need a childcare qualification, but the manager must hold an approved level 3 qualification and should have at least two years’ experience, and managers appointed since 4 January 2024 need a level 2 maths qualification or must get one within two years. At least half of other staff must hold an approved level 2 qualification.
How much space does a nursery need per child?
Under EYFS paragraph 3.83: 3.5 square metres per child under 2, 2.5 square metres per 2-year-old, and 2.3 square metres per child aged 3 to 5. You can’t add places because you also use an outside area, and every child must get outdoor play every day.
What does the Ofsted registration visit check?
Your suitability and identity, a tour of the whole premises inside and out, your understanding of the EYFS and of safeguarding, including how you’d respond to concerns about staff, and your understanding of the safer eating and safer sleep rules. For an organisation, the visit is with the nominated individual.
Can I open a nursery in my home?
If 5 or more people will look after children in a home, you register as childcare on domestic premises. With 4 or fewer people, including you, you’d register as a childminder instead. See our guide to becoming a childminder.
Sources
- Childcare on non-domestic premises: Ofsted registration policy, Ofsted, 22 October 2026
- Registration fees for childminders, nannies and other childcare providers, Ofsted, 22 October 2026
- Childminders and childcare providers: register with Ofsted, Ofsted
- Your childcare business: legal structure, Ofsted
- EYFS framework for group and school-based providers, dated 13 July 2026, paragraphs 3.45 and 3.83 to 3.90
- Register a food business, GOV.UK
More guides: all our guides for nurseries, childminders and schools.
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