Childcare Record Keeping Requirements in Canada

There is no single national list. Requirements vary by province and territory, and can also vary by licence type and programme. Common categories include child information, enrolment, attendance, health information, consents and incident records, but exactly which records are legally required depends on the jurisdiction. See the jurisdiction-specific guidance above and consult the current official source for your province or territory.

Child care centres are typically required to keep records for each child, daily attendance, health and medication information, consents and incident records, but the specific requirements are set by provincial and territorial regulation. For example, Ontario’s O. Reg. 137/15 and British Columbia’s Child Care Licensing Regulation each set out their own lists. See the directory above for the framework that applies in your jurisdiction.

There is no single Canadian retention period. Retention is set by each province and territory and can vary by record type. Verified examples include Ontario (at least three years for records under O. Reg. 137/15 unless otherwise specified), British Columbia (at least two years from discharge for each child’s record), Nova Scotia (at least two years after withdrawal) and Prince Edward Island (one year for attendance records). For other jurisdictions, consult the current regulation. See the retention table above.

No. Retention rules vary by province and territory, by record type and by programme or licence type. They may also be affected by organisational policy and other applicable privacy or legal obligations. Always check the current requirements for your jurisdiction and licence or programme type.

Digital record keeping is increasingly recognised, but the rules vary. Ontario’s regulation expressly allows required records to be kept in hard copy or electronic format unless otherwise specified, and requires electronic-only records to be accessible to staff and ministry officials. Other jurisdictions should be verified individually against their current official rules. Do not assume electronic records are legally sufficient everywhere without checking.

Most provincial and territorial regulations require daily attendance records, often showing arrival and departure times. For example, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island all require daily attendance records. The exact content and retention are set by each jurisdiction. See the directory above.

Most jurisdictions require some form of incident or serious-occurrence recording and reporting. For example, Nova Scotia’s regulations require summary reports for notable situations and serious incidents, with a copy placed in each affected child’s file. The specific obligations vary by province and territory. Consult the current official source for your jurisdiction.

A child record is the wider record relating to the child. An incident report is a record of a specific accident, incident, illness or event. A child protection or safeguarding record relates to concerns, actions and decisions. A chronology is a structured time-ordered history. These categories can overlap, and provincial regulations do not necessarily use identical terminology.

A safeguarding (or child protection) record is information relating to concerns about a child’s safety or welfare, the actions taken, the decisions made and the relevant context. It is particularly sensitive and may require stronger controls around access, sharing and retention. See our guidance on child protection and how to report a child protection concern.

Records may be transferred when a child moves between settings, but only where sharing is lawful and appropriate. What may be shared, who is authorised to receive it, and how the transfer is documented all depend on the applicable requirements. Records should not always be transferred in full; information sharing must be appropriate and lawful.

Sensitive information (such as child protection concerns, medical information and family information) should be subject to need-to-know, role-based access, audit trails, secure storage and secure transfer. Organisations should ensure sensitive information is only accessible and shared appropriately. Specific legal access rules are set by each jurisdiction and by applicable privacy law.

No. SAEL supports record management; it helps providers structure, document, protect and transfer relevant child records. It does not replace provincial childcare regulations, privacy obligations or statutory reporting duties, and using SAEL does not automatically make a provider legally compliant. Compliance depends on meeting the requirements that apply in your jurisdiction.

No. SAEL is a specialist child-record, safeguarding and continuity platform. Many providers use childcare management software for attendance, enrolment, billing, family communication or learning documentation, and SAEL is designed to complement those systems rather than replace them. See how SAEL compares with other childcare software in Canada.