Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
An application for certification shall be submitted (online or paper form) for initial certification, recertification and relocation. The preferred method for a new/initial applicant to submit an application is by using the online application in the Child Care Provider Portal, available February 2025. Once the Expression of Interest is submitted and orientation complete date entered, the Initial application will become available for the applicant to complete in the CCPP. The online renewal application will be launched June 20, 2025. The relocation online application or opening a second location will be launched in separate phases.
For more information about the CCPP online application see the CCPP User Guide: Online Licensing/Certification Applications and the Online Application Guide web page.
Once the initial online application is submitted, the application status may be modified by the WISCCRS user.
New (effective February 2025) definitions for each application status are explained below:
Application In Progress: This is the status of the online application prior to submission. This status replaces the old status “application pending” in WISCCRS. When the application is in progress it means the applicant is working on entering the application in the CCPP but has not yet submitted it.
Application Submitted: This is a new status effective with the online application and it means the applicant has submitted the online application, however, the certification worker has not yet begun the review of the application.
Application Under Review: The certification worker has started review of the application information and any documents submitted/uploaded. The certification worker manually changes the status to “application under review.”
Application Review Complete: The application review is complete, including background checks and the initial site visit. This status replaces the old status “Application Approved.” This status means the application or certification category has been approved but the certifier may not have been granted or issued the certificate yet.
Regulation Approved: This status means the certificate has been issued/granted.
Incomplete-Did Not Submit: The applicant has not submitted the online application within the agency’s specified time frame. This is a manual change in status and the timeline is discretionary.
Incomplete Submission: The applicant has not responded to the certifier’s inquiries to provide correct or missing/incomplete information within the specified time frame. This is a manual change in status and the timeline is discretionary.
Application Withdrawn: The certification agency will receive a Dashboard task when the applicant submits a “request to withdraw” using the CCPP. The agency worker reaches out to the applicant to offer additional support/assistance if needed, but if the applicant wishes to withdraw their application, the certification worker modifies the status to “Application Withdrawn” and add a comment to capture the reason for the request, if known.
Not Eligible: This status is used by licensing, as licensing rules prohibit someone from applying for a license within a specified time frame after a previous denial or revocation. The rule is discretionary in certification and therefore would be entered as a “denial” with appeal rights. Under DCF 202.06(5), the certification agency may refuse to accept a new application for 2 years after the date of a denial, revocation, or refusal to renew the certification. The agency’s discretionary authority or administrative determination is appealable under Stats. 68.01 (Milwaukee certification ch. 227).
Denial: There are multiple denial statuses. These have not changed with the online application. See Module 9 – Section 2 Denial.
The definition of a “complete application" for certification remains the same and means that the following has been submitted online or submitted to the certification agency as part of the initial application: (See Section 3.12 regarding relocation applications.)
Application for Family and In-home Child Care Certification
Background Check Requests for the operator and all individuals age 10+ subject to the Background Check Law
Certification fees (if applicable)
Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) / Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Prevention training verification (if the operator is or will care for children under age 5). See Certification Policy Module 5 – Training for more information. If verification of AHT/SBS training cannot be made, the application may be accepted as “complete,” however, the certification cannot be backdated with ages served younger than 5.
Note: Do not conduct an initial / recertification / relocation site visit prior to the information listed above being submitted. The WISCCRS system will require the “complete application date” be prior to the site visit date.
It is important to know that the Date Complete Application Received cannot be more than 12 months from the Application Materials Received Date.
The online application must be uploaded as a PDF for certification agencies to preserve/retain as a historical public record. Uploading the PDF is important should there be an administrative appeal hearing, litigation of audit of the provider record. See the CCPP User Guide: Online Licensing/Certification Applications for instructions on how to upload the online application. The application can be saved as a PDF on the application review page (click on Printable View).
The following documents / information are not required for a “complete application” but it is advised they be submitted before the initial site visit:
TB screening (applicant and any other caregivers)
Regulatory Agency Approval/Acknowledgement to Operate Child Care Business (if the applicant also holds a license / certificate to care for other adults / children).
Water test, if the home does not have public water (not required for in-home care).
Department-Approved Entry Level Training verification, if Regular (Level 1) certified, but not required to conduct a site visit. See Module 5-Training for more information.
References (agency discretion).
SIDS training verification (if the provider will be approved to care for children under age 1). See Module 5-Training for more information regarding qualified SIDS training.
This page last updated 06/2025.