Shasta County, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Shasta County Code § 17.88.215
- Large home cap
- 14 children/adults at once
- Small home cap
- 8 or fewer (permitted by right)
- Spacing rule
- 500 driving feet between large homes
- Signs
- none permitted for large day care homes
- Required
- State Fire Marshal fire safety clearance
Summary
Shasta County allows a large family day care home, one caring for up to fourteen children or adults, in any residential zone once an administrative permit is issued under Code Section 17.88.215. Small family day care homes serving eight or fewer are a permitted use with no such permit, but a large home cannot open within five hundred driving feet of another large family day care home and cannot post any sign.
A large family day care home may be established on a lot, in addition to a permitted residential use if an administrative permit is issued, and provided: A. The maximum number of children or adults at any time shall be fourteen (14). This includes the licensee's children and assistant's children under the age of ten and all other children under the age of eighteen; B. It may be located in a one-family residence; C. It shall not be located within five hundred feet driving distance of another large family day care home; D. No signs are permitted; E. All fire safety requirements shall be met, including a fire safety clearance by the State Fire Marshal;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
78, as caring for eight or fewer children including the provider's own kids under ten, and it is listed as a use permitted by right in most of the county's residential and agricultural zone districts. 215 spells out. 86 standards, though the loading area can sit in a front or side yard that doubles as the driveway to a garage, as long as it is surfaced with at least four inches of gravel or cinders. 215(G) requires the property to have frontage on, and access from, a road that meets county road standards; if an existing road, including a public one, falls short on safety or capacity, the county can require road improvements before the permit is issued.
215(E) also requires a fire safety clearance from the State Fire Marshal before the home can operate. The administrative permit is layered on top of the underlying zoning: in many agricultural and residential districts, large family day care home appears alongside home occupations with customer trips, family care residences, and bed and breakfast facilities on the list of uses that require this administrative-permit review.
Violations & Fines
Operating a large family day care home for more than fourteen children or adults, posting a sign, or opening within five hundred driving feet of another large family day care home puts the use out of compliance with Section 17.88.215 and outside the scope of the administrative permit, exposing the operator to the same zoning enforcement and nuisance-abatement remedies that apply to any unpermitted land use countywide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can a large family day care home have in Shasta County?
Do I need a permit for a small in-home day care?
Can two large family day care homes operate next door to each other?
What else does a large family day care home need besides the permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Shasta County
California rules heatmap·Compare Shasta County to another location·View the California home business overview
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