For centres and agencies · 6 min

CWELCC: the records an enrolled licensee keeps

A licensee enrolled in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System must comply with its agreement with the local service system manager, including the terms on use of funding and wages, and keep a copy of the agreement at the centre or agency (s. 77.1). It may not charge an eligible child a base fee higher than the cap in s. 77.2, which is the lowest of $22 a day, the fee charged on December 31, 2024, or the amount in the regulation’s table; any overpayment is credited or refunded within 60 days. The regulation prevails over the agreement where they conflict.

Checked against e-Laws on Oct 1, 2026. Section numbers are O. Reg. 137/15 unless another instrument is named.

Enrolment (ss. 13.1, 77.1)

An applicant for a licence files, with the application, the service system manager’s advice on whether it would be enrolled, or evidence that it told the manager it will not apply (s. 13.1). A licensee that wants to enrol applies to the local service system manager, which enrols it unless it has reason to doubt financial viability or the proper use of funding, or the operation is inconsistent with its directed growth plan (s. 77.1(1), (2)).

The agreement, on the premises (s. 77.1(3) to (5))

An enrolled licensee complies with the terms of its agreement with the service system manager, including terms about the use of the funding and wage requirements, and keeps a copy of the agreement at the centre or agency. If the regulation and the agreement conflict, the regulation prevails. A transfer of a corporation’s shares does not end enrolment or the agreement (s. 77.1(6)).

The base fee (s. 77.2)

The base fee for an eligible child may not exceed the lowest of three amounts: $22 per day; the base fee the licensee charged on December 31, 2024, if it was enrolled on that day; or, for a licensee that was not enrolled on that day, the amount in the table to s. 77.2 for its service area and age group. A different fee is possible only through an agreement the Minister has authorized the service system manager to make. If a higher fee was prepaid, the difference is credited or refunded within 60 days; if a child leaves with a credit outstanding, the remaining amount is refunded within 60 days of the last day of care.

What the records have to show

The regulation itself asks for little paperwork beyond the agreement. The agreement, and the service system manager’s reconciliation, ask for a great deal: enrolment by age group and day, the fee charged to each family against the cap, credits and refunds with their dates, staff wages against the wage requirements, and the use of each funding stream. These are accounting records, kept for the agreement’s own retention period and the Income Tax Act’s six years, not three.

Keep the signed agreement and every amendment where an inspector and your bookkeeper can both find them.
Record the fee actually charged per child per day, not only the schedule, so a reconciliation can tie to receipts.
Date every credit and refund; the 60-day clock in s. 77.2 is checkable.
Keep the enrolment records of s. 72 in step with the attendance records of s. 72(3) and (4); the reconciliation uses both.

Sources

O. Reg. 137/15 as consolidated on e-Laws (current to September 28, 2026; last amendment O. Reg. 197/26). This guide explains the regulation in plain words; it is not legal advice, and the Ministry’s program advisors decide compliance.