Find new childcare centers before they're built.

KinderSignal watches California childcare license applications and city permits, and sends playground and surfacing companies a weekly list of centers that haven't opened yet. You reach the owner while the outdoor play area is still being planned.

66future childcare centers in the Bay Area right now
18still at the permit stage, months before licensing
208across California

Updated daily from public records. Last update: 2026-10-05.

Three public records, one list you can act on

Earliest

City permits

A shop, office or church converting to a childcare center shows up in permit filings, often many months before a license.

About 3 months out

License applications

Every new center files with California's Community Care Licensing Division. We drop existing centers that are only re-licensing.

Every Monday

Your weekly digest

New projects, stage changes and openings for your region, with operator, size, phone number and the source record behind each one.

Every new center needs a playground to get licensed

  • California requires at least 75 sq ft of outdoor play space per child, shade, a fence, and fall-absorbing surfacing under climbing equipment (Title 22).
  • A typical new center is licensed for about 45 children: roughly 3,400 sq ft of play area.
  • 71% of new-site license applications we tracked from 2025 went on to open. Each project in your digest shows its own odds.
  • Corporate chains that buy centrally are flagged and ranked last, so you spend your time on owners who choose their own vendors.
Founding member pricing, first 10 subscribers $990 / year per region 4 weekly digests free first. No card needed to start. At most 3 subscribers per region, so the list never goes to every vendor in your area. Start free

Questions vendors ask

We already use ConstructConnect or Dodge.

Those track construction projects, mostly larger builds. Many new childcare centers are small change-of-use remodels or license applications that never appear as a listed project. Run both for 4 weeks and count what only KinderSignal found.

Our manufacturer already sends us leads.

Those arrive once the owner is shopping and collecting quotes. KinderSignal shows you the project before the owner starts looking.

Isn't licensing data public?

Yes. Most pending applications statewide are existing centers re-licensing. We remove those, match them to city permits, and send only what changed this week.

Isn't a pending license too late?

Sometimes, which is why permit-stage projects come first in every digest. The outdoor area must pass the licensing visit, so many pending sites are still buying.

How accurate is it?

Every item cites the public record it came from, with a link where the agency publishes one. Odds of opening are measured from what actually happened to past applications.

Which regions do you cover?

All of California from state licensing data: Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, Inland Empire, Central Valley. City permit coverage starts with San Francisco and San Jose.

Get the next 4 digests free

Your first digest arrives the next Monday. After 4 weeks we'll offer founding member pricing. If it's not useful, do nothing and it stops.

Questions: hello@kindersignal.com

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