Ada County, ID Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Ada County's amendments to the 2018 International Building Code, adopted at Code section 7-2-4, rewrite the IBC's occupancy rules for care facilities operating out of a house. 3, retitled 'Twelve (12) or fewer children in a dwelling unit,' lets a day-care operation inside a dwelling unit serving 12 or fewer children be classified as Group R-3, the same residential category as an ordinary house, or comply with the International Residential Code instead of the commercial building code that would otherwise apply to a day-care use.

2 covers five or fewer persons receiving medical care, both classified as Group R-3. 4 folds both thresholds together for care delivered inside a dwelling unit: 12 or fewer children receiving day care, or five or fewer persons receiving custodial care, still qualifies as Group R-3. 4 lists these care facilities among the uses that define Group R-3, alongside buildings with no more than two dwelling units and small congregate living facilities. 1 confirms that care facilities meeting these headcounts inside a one- or two-family dwelling may simply comply with the International Residential Code rather than the full IBC.

Exceed 12 children or 5 persons receiving custodial or medical care in the home, and the operation loses the Group R-3 exemption and must meet the IBC's institutional or commercial occupancy standards, including fire separation, egress and sprinkler requirements that a house is not built to.