Is Montessori a protected trademark?

No. A 1967 USPTO ruling put "Montessori" in the public domain in the US and Canada, so any school can use the name regardless of how closely it follows the method. Accreditation from a real body like AMI or AMS is the closest thing to a verified signal.

What does "Montessori-inspired" mean?

It usually means the school borrows some Montessori materials or philosophy without following the complete method — worth asking the school directly what that means in their classroom day-to-day.

Is an operating licence the same as Montessori accreditation?

No. A provincial/state child care licence or private school registration only confirms a school is legally allowed to operate. It says nothing about whether the teaching method is Montessori — that is a separate, voluntary accreditation from a body like AMI or AMS.

Guide

Is this a real Montessori school?

Montessori has no trademark protection, so any school can use the name. Here's how to tell what a school's claims actually mean.

Three different things, often confused

① Montessori accreditation — AMI, AMS, Montessori Canada, etc. Says the teaching method has been reviewed against a real standard.

② Operating licence — a provincial/state child care licence or private school registration. Says the school is legally allowed to operate. Has nothing to do with Montessori.

③ Teacher credentials — how many lead teachers hold AMI, AMS, or MACTE-accredited teacher training. A strong signal independent of the school's own accreditation status, but rarely published — ask directly.

Accredited, member, candidate, self-declared — what each one means

Status	What it means	Example
Accredited	Passed a formal, multi-year review of curriculum, teacher training, and facilities against the body's full standards.	AMS Accredited, AMI Recognized
Candidate	Actively going through that review process, further along than plain membership but not yet holding full accredited status.	AMS Accreditation Candidate
Member / Affiliated	Joined the association and declared alignment with Montessori principles — a real but much lighter bar than accreditation, with no on-site audit required.	AMS Member, AMI/USA Affiliated, Montessori Canada Member
Self-declared	The school calls itself "Montessori" with no third-party body involved at all — legal, since Montessori isn't a protected trademark, but unverified by anyone but the school itself.	No accreditation codes on file
"Montessori-inspired"	The school's own wording already hedges — usually means they borrow some materials or philosophy without following the full method.	"Montessori-inspired curriculum," "Montessori-based approach"

Accrediting bodies

CCMA / Montessori Canada

National association of Canadian Montessori schools (Montessori Canada is CCMA's current name). Membership indicates a declared commitment to Montessori standards; it is not itself a classroom-level accreditation audit.

montessoricanada.org →

AMI Canada

The Canadian arm of Association Montessori Internationale — AMI Recognized schools have passed AMI's formal recognition review for fidelity to the original Montessori curriculum and materials.

montessori-ami.org →

MQA (Montessori Quality Assurance)

A Canadian quality-assurance body for Montessori programs; not yet cross-referenced into this directory's accreditation data (see REGIONAL-TUITION-ACCREDITATION.md for current coverage).

How to verify a school yourself

Check the accrediting body's own directory (linked above) by school name and city — don't take a badge on a website at face value.
Ask directly what fraction of lead teachers hold AMI, AMS, or MACTE-accredited teacher training.
Ask to observe an uninterrupted classroom work cycle — a real Montessori classroom looks different from a typical daycare or preschool day.
If the school says "Montessori-inspired" or similar, ask specifically what that means in practice.

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