Alpharetta, GA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Under the City of Alpharetta Unified Development Code, a Family Day Care Home is defined and regulated as an accessory use within a private residence, not as a standalone commercial day care. Section 1.4.2 defines the use narrowly: the operator must be the occupant of the dwelling, must hold a Georgia license or registration as a family day care home, and may enroll for pay 'three but not more than six children or adults' at a time, with no overnight accommodations. Because it is licensed and registered through the State of Georgia rather than the City, an Alpharetta code enforcement review of a home day care checks first for that state credential before treating the home as compliant with the accessory-use definition.

Because the operation must stay within the six-person enrollment ceiling and provide no overnight stays, anything larger, such as a group day care center serving more children, falls outside this definition and would instead be reviewed as a Day Care Center, a listed principal or conditional use in the City's commercial and office districts rather than a home-based accessory use. Operators who exceed the enrollment cap or who are not licensed or registered by the State are outside the protection of the accessory-use definition and can be cited by the City's Community Development Department for operating an unauthorized use.