Denver eliminates local childcare license in push for cheaper services

Elliott Wenzler, The Denver Post on Jul 14, 2026

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DENVER — Denver will no longer issue local childcare business licenses after the City Council eliminated the requirement — which officials say didn’t provide any additional safeguards — in an attempt to begin making the service cheaper in the city.

While the ordinance eliminated the local license, the state has a separate process that childcare facilities still must meet, including certain health and safety standards, passing inspections, meeting staff training qualifications and ensuring certain ratios of children to adults.

City officials don’t expect the change to drastically open the floodgates to new providers. Instead, they hope it will begin to chip away at the barriers that make it difficult for new childcare businesses to open.

“This isn’t the silver bullet to solve our childcare supply crisis. This is our first attempt and our first move that I hope signals a continued commitment to improve this process,” said Rhett Gutierrez, the head of policy in the city’s Office of Children Affairs, in a June committee meeting.

The efforts come as officials seek to reduce barriers to opening and operating a childcare business in Denver. The average cost of infant care for a family is $20,000 per year, Gutierrez said.

The change also removes small licensing fees, ranging from $25 to $200. While that may not make or break the ability for someone to open a facility, it removes one more burden, Gutierrez said.

During a committee meeting on the proposal, council members supported the initiative and some pointed to their own experiences with limitations in the city’s childcare system. Councilwoman Sarah Parady said she often runs into the problem as a parent of young children.

“Even with two young kids in public school… just the aftercare alone being a council member takes more than half my council salary. So I don’t really know how other parents are surviving,” she said.

“I am working from home today for this exact reason,” said Councilwoman Amanada Sawyer. “We’re talking about early childhood education here, but there is a whole spectrum of kids who are running around feral… I hope this is step one of a multistep fix.”

The council unanimously approved the ordinance in its consent agenda on Monday.

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