Albuquerque, NM Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

The IDO regulates Family Home Day Care as an accessory use under Section 14-16-4-3(F)(8). The operator must obtain and keep in effect any City or State permit or license required to run the day care, meaning the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department registration or license requirement is folded directly into the zoning standard, not left to a separate track. Only members of the household that resides in the dwelling may provide care; the ordinance does not allow the operator to bring in outside staff, which distinguishes a home day care from a licensed day care center use.

Any outdoor play area used by the children must be enclosed by an opaque wall, fence, or vegetative screen at least 6 feet in height, a screening standard identical to the one the IDO applies to outdoor animal runs and family care facilities in the same subsection. Signage is tightly capped: the only sign allowed is one that meets the IDO's home-occupation sign standard, which for Residential zone districts is sized under Table 5-12-2 and for Mixed-use districts is capped at 2 square feet. Because Family Home Day Care sits in Part 14-16-4-3(F) with the other accessory-use standards, the Planning Department's Zoning Enforcement staff, not Code Enforcement, is the body that checks compliance when a complaint comes in about an unscreened yard, an unlicensed operator, or a prohibited sign.