Leon County, FL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 10-6.811(a), Leon County Code of Laws
- Exemption
- Family day care homes excluded from day care center zoning
- State basis cited
- F.S. § 166.0445 makes it a valid residential use
- State definition cited
- F.S. § 402.302(7) defines family day care home
- Accessory day care cap
- Limited to 35% of principal use floor area
- Supplemental day care cap
- No more than one-third clientele outside employment center
Summary
Leon County's land development code, Sec. 10-6.811, regulates day care centers and employer-based day care services but says plainly it does not apply to family day care homes. The county code states Florida law, F.S. § 166.0445, makes a family day care home a valid use in any residential district, so home-based child care needs no special zoning approval in the unincorporated county.
For purposes of regulation, day care services shall be described and classified as either a freestanding or principal use, a supplemental use, or an accessory use. This section does not apply to family day care homes as defined in F.S. § 402.302(7). F.S. § 166.0445, states a family day care home constitutes a valid residential use.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 811 of the Leon County Code of Laws sets out three zoning categories for day care operations that are NOT family day care homes: principal day care services that function independently and must meet the locational and development standards in Division 5 of the zoning article; supplemental day care services tied to an office park or employment center, capped at no more than one-third of clientele unrelated to that center and located within the center or within one-quarter mile of it; and accessory day care services housed inside a principal business and capped at 35 percent of that business's gross floor area.
302(7). " Practically, that means a resident caring for children in a family day care home under the state's licensing threshold is not subject to Leon County's day care center zoning schedule, buffering, or the Division 5 locational standards that apply to standalone day care centers, and does not need a conditional use permit or rezoning to operate from a house in an unincorporated residential district. Licensing and staffing ratios for the home itself run through the state framework referenced in the code, not through the county zoning office.
Violations & Fines
Because Sec. 10-6.811 exempts family day care homes entirely, Leon County's zoning enforcement (Code Enforcement, County Code ch. 6) has no permit or setback violation to cite against a compliant home operation. A property that grows beyond the state's family day care home definition into an unlicensed "day care center" as defined in the county's own zoning code becomes subject to the Division 5 development standards and use-permit requirements, and can be pursued as a zoning violation under Chapter 6.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a zoning permit to run a home daycare in unincorporated Leon County?
What is the difference between a family day care home and a 'day care center' under county zoning?
Can I run a supplemental or accessory day care service from my home business?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Leon County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Leon County to another location·View the Florida home business overview
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