5 Things to Check Before You Pay a Preschool Deposit

1. Match the exact campus and licensing record

Confirm the full street address and the facility or license identifier, when available, against the campus where your child would attend. A provider name or brand alone may not distinguish locations. Look up that location in Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) AZ Care Check and note the date and facility details; if the campus or record does not match, ask the provider and ADHS to clarify before proceeding.

• Write down the campus name, full address, and license/facility identifier.
• Save the AZ Care Check page or record details you reviewed and the date checked.
• Ask who can resolve any name, address, or facility-type mismatch.

2. Confirm the space and schedule in writing

A tour, verbal estimate, or waitlist discussion is not the same as written confirmation of a place. Ask the provider to state whether a space is available for your child's age group, the intended start date, exact days and hours, and any schedule conditions. Confirm how long the offer remains open and what happens if the start date or schedule changes.

• Request written confirmation of age group, start date, days, hours, and campus.
• Ask whether the offer is a confirmed opening or a waitlist/estimate, and its response deadline.
• Get any schedule-change or availability conditions in writing.

3. Get the full itemized cost and deposit terms

Ask for a current written fee schedule or contract showing recurring tuition and every one-time, annual, conditional, or optional charge for your schedule. For the deposit, get the amount and due date, what it secures, whether it is applied as a credit, and the written circumstances and timing for a refund or forfeiture. Do not infer that a deposit is refundable or nonrefundable without the terms.

• List tuition, application/enrollment, annual, materials/supply, meal, activity, transportation, and extended-hours charges that apply.
• Mark each charge required or optional, and identify any late-pickup, schedule-change, closure, absence, or withdrawal charges.
• Save written deposit amount, due date, credit/refund conditions, cancellation deadline, and payment receipt.

4. Review daily policies and ask tour questions

Read the current family handbook and the policies that affect your family's routine before paying. Ask the provider to explain any policy that is missing, unclear, or different from what you heard on a tour; note the answer and who gave it. Check the procedures that matter for your child rather than relying on a general assurance.

• Review arrival, authorized pickup, late pickup, illness, incident communication, closures, and family absence policies.
• Ask who supervises children during transitions and staff substitutions, and how families can raise a concern.
• Ask how meals, allergies, medication, accessibility, language, and individual needs are discussed and documented.

5. Read the latest available dated inspection and follow-up

Use ADHS AZ Care Check to find the exact campus record, then open the most recent survey or inspection report available there and note its date and document type. Read any listed finding alongside the provider's dated Written Document of Correction and any later ADHS follow-up or disposition shown. A provider response is not automatically the same as agency verification; if a later record is not shown or the outcome is unclear, ask ADHS what additional information is available. This guide shows how to check the record; it does not know or claim what any specific preschool's findings are.

• Mini-checklist before paying: campus/address matched; space and schedule confirmed in writing; itemized charges and deposit/refund/credit terms saved; daily policies reviewed and questions answered; latest available report and dated follow-up checked or questions sent to ADHS.
• Record the date you checked the report, the latest report date shown, and any later correction or agency follow-up dates.
• If the history or outcome is not clear, pause on assumptions and ask the provider or ADHS for clarification.

Official sources

• Arizona Department of Health Services — AZ Care Check licensing-history search
• Arizona Department of Health Services — Child Care Facilities Licensing and parent information
• Arizona Department of Health Services — Child Care Facilities Survey Process
• First Things First — Quality Child Care Checklist

Try these checks on public school profiles

These are alphabetical examples from Phoenix, Mesa, and Scottsdale, not recommendations or claims about prices or safety. Check each profile's evidence dates and confirm details with the school and official sources.

• 1st Step To Greatness, L.L.C. — Phoenix profile
• 1st Academy Preschool & Childcare — Mesa profile
• Amore Preschool — Scottsdale profile

Find another school in the Arizona directory.