Apple Valley, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

California preempts most local control over family daycare homes, and that preemption governs in Apple Valley. Health and Safety Code 1597.45 provides that the use of a home as a small or large family daycare home shall be considered a residential use of property and a use by right for the purposes of all local ordinances. The same statute prohibits a local jurisdiction from imposing a business license, fee, or tax for the privilege of operating a small or large family daycare home, and provides that operating such a home does not constitute a change of occupancy for building-code purposes. Health and Safety Code 1597.40 separately bars local laws, regulations, or rules from directly or indirectly prohibiting or restricting use of a facility as a family daycare home. Because of this, Apple Valley cannot require its standard Home Occupation Permit, conditional use permit, or zoning clearance as a precondition to running a licensed family daycare home in a residence - this is a key area where the Town defers entirely to state law rather than its own Chapter 9.19 home-occupation rules. Operators must still be licensed by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing, which sets capacity (small vs. large) and health-and-safety standards.