There is no specific legislation or certification for setting up a play school in India. However, laws like the Private School Education Acts enacted by the State Government needs to be thoroughly considered as they may require registration and licensing of playschool. Moreover to set up a playschool in an independent premise, the formalities related the Municipal Corporation and education department of the city where the play school is being set up need to be completed and the respective application and registration fee is to be paid. For instance in Maharashtra, The Maharashtra Preschool Centres (Regulation of Admission) Act. 1996 provides for compulsory registration of preschools.

Similarly, In Tamil Nadu the District Elementary Educational Officer is the Competent Authority for the approval as per Draft Code Regulations for Play Schools 2015. It is proposed that The ‘Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy’ along with regularizing the curriculum and learning tools for children, shall also make registration and accreditation of playschools mandatory. The Policies may differ from state to state. Better you should consult your Local district education authority or Municipal Authority.

Other Regulations:

The Shops and Establishments Act, in general, is silent in case of a playschool, that is a play school need not be registered under the said act, however as the regulations are different for every state, the act of the state where the preschool is proposed to be set up needs to be carefully studied and verified in order to reach to any conclusion.

Running it in Residential Areas:

If that is the case with you, please make sure that your rental agreement permits it. Also make sure that if you live in an apartment, the bye-laws of the apartment association permit you to run a playschool. This is only to avoid problems in the future. Legally, there seems to be no problem with running a playschool in residential premises. It has been decided by Courts in different states that a chartered accountant, yoga teacher and lawyer can carry on their work in residential premises so there is no reason why a playschool cannot be carried on as well, as long as the disturbance to neighbors is minimized.