A New York City school-based child-care inspection covers the child-care program; a separately permitted food operation has its own inspection record. For a program regulated under Health Code Article 43, onsite food preparation calls for a food-service-establishment permit, also called a satellite-kitchen permit. First verify the program type and child-care history, then determine whether food was prepared onsite before seeking a separate food record.
How NYC inspects Article 43 school-based child care
NYC’s school-based child-care requirements describe an Article 43 program for children ages 3 to 5 in or part of a state-recognized school. The Health Department inspects it at least annually. Its Notice and Certificate of Filing concern the child-care program; a violation report can set a correction date and lead to a follow-up. The kitchen’s permit is a separate document.
Use NYC Child Care Connect, linked by the Health Department, to locate the program’s performance history. Match its program name, location and type before reading a dated result. Schools may have multiple services at one address, and a school cafeteria can be a different regulated operation from a preschool child-care program. Record the date and program identity of each result; keep each finding with its own program even when the address is shared.
The site’s NYC school-cafeteria guide explains how to read school cafeteria records. Keep the cafeteria and child-care histories in separate columns until the Health Department confirms their relationship.
When an Article 43 program needs a satellite-kitchen permit
Whether the program prepares food onsite is the hinge. A name alone leaves open whether food arrives ready to serve, is prepared by the program or comes from a separate school cafeteria. Ask the operator or Health Department which activity occurs at that location and which food operation, if any, holds the permit.
| Record or question | What to match | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Article 43 child-care program | Program name, address, type and dated inspection | A separate kitchen permit or food-inspection outcome |
| Notice or Certificate of Filing | The school-based program and its filing status | Approval of every food activity at the site |
| Satellite-kitchen/FSE permit, if onsite preparation applies | Permit holder, site and food operation | The child-care program’s complete inspection history |
| Dated food-inspection report, if one exists | The inspected food operation, visit date and any follow-up | Current conditions in every room or affiliated school program |
Imagine a hypothetical school address with a preschool program and a cafeteria. A child-care finding for classroom sanitation belongs to the preschool record. A kitchen report, if there is one, belongs to the food operation named on that report. The reader needs the permit holder and visit date to connect an observation to the right operation; each operation keeps its own inspection history even in a shared building.
Article 43 school-based and Article 47 group child care: the permit difference
NYC’s types-of-child-care page distinguishes school-based programs from center-based group child care. That distinction changes the permit question. Under Health Code Article 47 §47.61(a), the group child-care food provision says an additional food-service-establishment permit is not required. So Article 43’s satellite-kitchen rule belongs to school-based programs with onsite preparation, while center-based programs follow Article 47. Confirm the program category from the Health Department record rather than from “day care” in a name or the children’s ages.
If you need a specific food permit or historical report, describe the program, address, possible food operator and date range to the Health Department. NYC’s DOHMH FOIL instructions provide a route for requesting reasonably described existing records when the public child-care history leaves the food-record question open. Ask the custodian to identify the food operation before assuming a restaurant search result is the right one.
Satellite kitchens may or may not appear in ABCEats, carry restaurant letter grades or link to Child Care Connect, so a missing restaurant-style result says little about an Article 43 program. Read a child-care report as a dated program record and any separately obtained food report as a dated food-operation record. For general report terms such as observation, correction and reinspection, see the site’s inspection-report guide.
NYC Health Department pages and Health Code Article 47 checked October 5, 2026.