Santa Clara County, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family day-care homes in unincorporated Santa Clara County are governed by the interaction of California state law and the County Zoning Ordinance. Under the Community Care use classification (Zoning Ordinance Section 2.10.030), facilities providing care to children or adults are defined by reference to California Health and Safety Code Section 1502, and facilities serving six or fewer persons are classified as Residences - meaning a small family day-care home is treated as an ordinary residential use allowed by right, consistent with the state Child Day Care Facilities Act (Health and Safety Code Section 1597 and following), which requires cities and counties to treat small family day-care homes as residential uses. A large-family day-care home serving between seven and 14 children, licensed under the requirements of Division B24 of the County Ordinance Code, is also included within the Community Care: Limited subcategory but is subject to an administrative permit (zoning clearance) per Division B24, as noted in the County's district use tables. Facilities serving more than six persons that are not licensed and operated as large-family day-care homes fall into the Expanded Community Care subcategory, which carries discretionary review under Section 4.10.090. State licensing through the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, is separately required for all family day-care homes.