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Florida Childcare Business Brokerage

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

Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens with 37+ years of exclusive early-education transaction experience, SIP helps Florida owners maximize exit value while protecting staff, enrolled families, and legacy.

Request a Confidential Florida 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 Florida Requires a Specialist Broker

Selling a licensed childcare center in Florida requires coordinating Department of Children and Families (DCF) ownership transfers, county health inspections, Early Learning Coalition (ELC) School Readiness contracts, and VPK funding continuity. General business brokers often overlook these regulatory triggers, risking closing delays or enrollment loss.

Strictly speaking, a Florida childcare license does not move with the business. Under section 402.308 of the Florida Statutes, a new owner must apply for and receive a license before taking over the center. 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 DCF in 62 counties, or by the county's own licensing agency in Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Sarasota.
  • Background screening. Level 2 fingerprint screening for the new owners and staff through Florida's Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.
  • New VPK and School Readiness contracts. Neither contract transfers; the new owner contracts directly with the local Early Learning Coalition.
  • Facility sign-offs. Inspections and approvals such as fire, zoning, and health, as the licensing authority requires.

SIP has represented Florida childcare owners from our Palm Beach Gardens headquarters since 1989, when E.T. and Pam Strickland founded the firm. 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 Florida 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 Florida centers with similar revenue can be valued very differently once enrollment, staff tenure, licensing history, VPK and School Readiness participation, and the lease are taken into account. How our confidential valuation works

Navigating Florida DCF Licensing, VPK & ELC Contract Transitions

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

Who licenses the new owner

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) licenses childcare in 62 of the state's 67 counties. Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties license childcare through their own local licensing agencies, which set their own applications and forms. Either way, the buyer applies as a new licensee.

Background screening and personnel files

Owners, employees, substitutes, and volunteers who work more than 10 hours a week must clear Level 2 (fingerprint-based) background screening through Florida's Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. Personnel files must meet DCF's Background Screening and Personnel File Requirements, form CF-FSP 5131. Buyers who start screening early keep it off the critical path.

VPK and School Readiness (ELC) contracts

Neither contract can be assigned to a buyer: a change of ownership requires new contracts between the new owner and the local Early Learning Coalition. For VPK, Florida's rule (Rule 6M-8.301, F.A.C.) requires notifying the coalition at least 30 days before the transfer, and the coalition then has up to 30 days to sign or decline the new contract. Planning those dates into the closing protects funded seats, and the families in them.

County-specific steps

In the five local-licensing counties, the county's own packet governs. Palm Beach County's change-of-ownership packet, for example, asks for building, zoning, and fire department sign-offs alongside Clearinghouse screening results. We check current requirements with your county's licensing office early, so the closing date reflects them.

Read our county-by-county guide to Florida license transfers

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

Statewide Representation Across Every Major Florida Market

SIP's Florida-licensed brokers and associates represent sellers across the state. Who licenses the new owner depends on the county, so each region notes it.

  • South Florida

    • Palm Beach County (headquarters)
    • Broward County
    • Miami-Dade County

    Licensing: Palm Beach and Broward: county licensing agency. Miami-Dade: DCF.

  • Central Florida

    • Orlando metro
    • Space Coast / Viera
    • Lakeland

    Licensing: DCF.

  • Tampa Bay & Gulf Coast

    • Hillsborough County
    • Pinellas County
    • Lee County / Cape Coral

    Licensing: Hillsborough and Pinellas: county licensing agency. Lee: DCF.

  • North Florida

    • Jacksonville
    • Gainesville
    • Tallahassee

    Licensing: DCF.

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

Florida Childcare Sellers: Common Questions

Private. Confidential. No Obligation.

Request a Confidential Florida Valuation

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

Alan T. Strickland, Florida Broker at School Investment Properties, childcare business brokerage

Florida Broker

Alan T. Strickland

Alan works directly with Florida buyers and sellers and coordinates SIP's Florida associates through closing. Former owner-operator, 5 centers.

Meet our team

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(888) 881-0118

Hablamos Español

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

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