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Alabama Childcare Business Brokerage

Sell Your Alabama Childcare Center, Preschool, or Private School With Complete Confidentiality

With 37+ years of exclusive early-education transaction experience, SIP and its Alabama-licensed broker help owners maximize exit value while protecting staff, enrolled families, and legacy.

Request a Confidential Alabama ValuationCall (888) 881-0118 (Hablamos Español)
  • 37+ YearsEst. 1989
  • 1,000+Centers sold
  • $1B+In closed sales
  • ConfidentialBlind-profile process

Why Selling a Childcare Business in Alabama Requires a Specialist Broker

Selling a childcare center in Alabama requires coordinating a new Department of Human Resources (DHR) license for the buyer, fingerprint background checks, First Class Pre-K classroom grants, and child care subsidy participation. General business brokers often overlook these regulatory triggers, risking closing delays or enrollment loss.

Strictly speaking, an Alabama childcare license does not move with the business. DHR's day care center rules call for a change in ownership to be reported in writing before it happens, and the center can't continue operating until the new owner applies for and is issued its own license, permit, or approval. That one rule sets off a chain of steps the buyer, the lender, and you all have to plan around:

  • A new license. Issued by DHR's Office of Child Care Licensing to the new owner before the center continues operating.
  • Fingerprint background checks. Fingerprint-based criminal history checks for the people who work in a DHR-licensed center.
  • First Class Pre-K and subsidy. Classroom grants from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and DHR subsidy participation both need answers under the new owner.
  • Church-exempt status. Some church-operated programs are exempt from licensing, and that status depends on who operates the center after the sale.

SIP has focused on childcare and private-school transactions since E.T. and Pam Strickland founded the firm in 1989, and our Alabama broker, Jason Strickland, has owned and operated five preschools and a K–12 private school. We build these steps into the purchase agreement and closing schedule from the start, so licensing and funding deadlines are planned for, not discovered late.

How We Value Alabama Daycares, Preschools & Educational Real Estate

A defensible price starts with the right earnings measure and a clear view of the real estate. We work through both with you before your business goes to market.

SDE or EBITDA

Owner-operated centers are usually valued on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE): profit with the owner's salary, benefits, and one-time or personal expenses added back, because the buyer will usually step into the owner's role. Larger centers and multi-site groups with a director and management team in place are usually valued on EBITDA, the measure multi-unit operators and investors use to compare acquisitions.

Leased Facility or Fee-Simple Property

In a leased center, much of the value rides on the lease: the term remaining, renewal options, rent, and whether the landlord will consent to an assignment or a new lease for the buyer. When you own the building outright (fee simple), the real estate is valued separately from the business, and the two can be sold together or separately.

Keep the Building, Become the Landlord

Owners who want ongoing income can sell the business, keep the real estate, and sign the buyer to a new triple-net (NNN) lease, under which the tenant pays property taxes, insurance, and maintenance on top of rent. The rent you set works on both sides: it is an expense in the business's earnings and the income that sets the building's value as an investment.

Multiples vary widely: two Alabama centers with similar revenue can be valued very differently once enrollment, staff tenure, licensing history, First Class Pre-K classrooms, subsidy participation, and the lease are taken into account. How our confidential valuation works

Navigating Alabama DHR Licensing, First Class Pre-K & Subsidy Transitions

What changes hands in a Alabama childcare sale, what doesn't, and who signs off.

Who licenses the new owner

The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) licenses child care centers through its Office of Child Care Licensing, and licenses are renewed every two years. DHR's rules call for a change in ownership to be reported in writing in advance, and the center can't continue operating until the new owner applies for and is issued a license, permit, or approval.

Fingerprint background checks

Alabama law (Ala. Code § 38-13) requires fingerprint-based criminal history checks for people who work in DHR-licensed child care, and DHR determines employment eligibility from the results. Starting checks for the buyer's team early keeps them off the critical path.

First Class Pre-K and child care subsidy

First Class Pre-K classrooms in private centers are funded through competitive grants from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE), and many families pay through DHR's child care subsidy program, whose rules also call for a change in ownership to be reported in advance. We ask ADECE and DHR early how your sale affects each one, so the closing schedule reflects the answers.

Church-exempt programs

Since the Child Care Safety Act of 2018, church-operated programs that receive federal funds must be licensed, while those that don't can remain exempt if they meet the exemption's conditions, including notifying DHR. Exemption depends on who operates the program, so if your center is exempt today, we confirm with DHR what the buyer will need.

Read DHR's child care licensing overview

General information, not legal advice. Agencies update their forms and rules, so confirm current requirements with your licensing office.

Statewide Representation Across Every Major Alabama Market

SIP's Alabama-licensed broker represents sellers across the state. DHR licenses child care centers statewide, so the same rules apply in every market.

  • Birmingham & Central Alabama

    • Birmingham
    • Hoover & Shelby County
    • Tuscaloosa

  • North Alabama

    • Huntsville
    • Madison
    • Decatur & Florence

  • Montgomery & Southeast

    • Montgomery
    • Auburn–Opelika
    • Dothan

  • Mobile & Gulf Coast

    • Mobile
    • Daphne & Fairhope
    • Foley & Gulf Shores

Don't see your area? Our Alabama broker works statewide; call (888) 881-0118.

Alabama Childcare Sellers: Common Questions

Private. Confidential. No Obligation.

Request a Confidential Alabama Valuation

Tell us about your Alabama center and what you are considering. Your inquiry is confidential and puts you under no obligation.

Jason Strickland, Broker at School Investment Properties, childcare business brokerage

Broker | Multi-State

Jason Strickland

Jason has owned and operated five preschool facilities and a K–12 private school, and evaluates a school from both the financial and the educational side, so every fact that affects the sale is found and weighed.

Meet our team

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Headquarters: 3309 Northlake Blvd, Suite 107, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33403

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