Apply for child care

The Ottawa Child Care Registry and Waitlist is an online application for parents looking for licensed child care. Parents can:

• Choose from home-based care, centre-based care, school care and or nursery/pre-school care.
• Apply for full fee (Registry), subsidy (Waitlist) or both by completing just one application.

How to apply for licensed child care referred to as the Registry?

1. Go to the online Child Care Registry and Waitlist.
2. If you are a new applicant, create a new account and choose a passphrase (password).
   • Returning users should log into their existing account.
3. Complete the parent and child details information screens.
4. Apply to the child care programs that best meet your needs:
   1. Select "Full Fee".
   2. Select the appropriate start date of care. For example, if you need before and after school care for the upcoming school year, enter September 1.
   3. Select the appropriate provider type (centre-based, home-based, school or nursery) that meets your needs.
   4. Select the program type (full days, part days, before and/or after school, PD days etc.).
   5. Based on the care requirements selected, the Registry will provide you with a list of child care programs offered in the City of Ottawa. From the list, apply to the child care programs that best meet your needs.
5. Prioritize your program choices; your number one choice should be your preferred child care service provider and program.
6. Once you are finished your application, you will get a confirmation email telling you that your application is either complete or incomplete. If your application is incomplete, you will need to log back into the online application and give the missing information.
7. A child care agency will contact you directly once a space is available.
8. For technical support with your application, email Support@OneHSN.com or call 1-888-722-1540.

Important – All parents on the Registry and Waitlist must log into their account every 60 days to update their information. This will ensure that child care service providers have the most current information to contact parents quickly when they have a child care space to fill. Parents who fail to log into their account after 60 days will get a reminder email at 90 days and a final notice at 120 days. At this point, parents will have 72 hours to log into their account. Failure to do so will result in a final notification advising them that their application(s) for child care will no longer be active in the Child Care Registry and Waitlist.

Start your online application for licensed child care (this will take you to an external website outside of ottawa.ca).

As per the April 12 announcement, effective Monday, April 19, the Ontario Government is moving elementary and secondary schools to remote learning. During the remote learning period, licensed centre-based school-age and before and after school programs will be prohibited from offering care and charging fees.

The Ministry of Education is implementing a targeted emergency child care program for school-age children, at no cost to eligible parents, based on the provincial list of eligible health care and essential frontline workers.

Parents on list the of eligible workers who require emergency child care, are encouraged to contact their existing service provider / school / active emergency child care site or one of the approved emergency child care service providers listed below. This list will be updated regularly as additional child care service providers are confirmed.

The City of Ottawa is committed to supporting families in urgent need of child care, particularly the most vulnerable in our community. Families that do not meet the eligibility criteria for emergency child care whom are facing undue hardship are encouraged to contact Children's Services at childrensservices@ottawa.ca.

Emergency child care service providers are working collaboratively with families to determine need and assess eligibility.

Home child care service providers

Francophone child care service providers

English child care service providers