Cherokee County, GA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Max children
- 6 in a residential home
- Permitted districts
- AG, R-80, R-60, R-40, R-30, R-20, R-15, PUD
- License required
- Current Georgia state day care approval
- County role
- Not responsible for state licensing enforcement
- Commercial centers
- Only allowed in OI, NC, GC, CP, LI
Summary
A family day care home caring for up to six children is a permitted home occupation in Cherokee County's AG, R-80, R-60, R-40, R-30, R-20, R-15 and PUD districts under Zoning Ordinance § 9.4-1, but only once the operator proves current compliance with Georgia's state day care licensing requirements to the zoning administrator.
9.4-1A family day care home is a day care facility, as that term is defined in article 4, which provides care for no more than six children in a residential home. Upon proof presented to the zoning administrator of Cherokee County that the owner of any parcel of land located in Cherokee County, desiring to maintain a family day care home has complied with and met all State Regulations as required by the appropriate department of the State of Georgia having authority over the same, further showing that said compliance and approval is current, then maintenance of family day care home shall be an allowed home occupation in the following declared zoning districts of Cherokee County, subject to the conditions and limitations hereinafter stated, to-wit:(a)A family day care home up to and including a total of six children, for which the possessor of the home receives compensation, shall be allowed as a permitted use in zoning classifications AG, R-80, R-60, R-40, R-30, R-20, R-15, and PUD provided that the parcel has a total acreage for said zoning classification.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39 | Zoning: Supplement 35).
Full Breakdown
4-1 defines a family day care home as a facility caring for no more than six children in a residential home, and it becomes an allowed home occupation only after the property owner shows the zoning administrator proof that the state licensing requirements administered by the appropriate Georgia department have been met and remain current. That district list covers every standard single-family zone in the unincorporated county, AG, R-80, R-60, R-40, R-30, R-20, R-15, and PUD, so a licensed family day care home can operate as of right in any of them once state approval is on file.
The ordinance is explicit that this permission never substitutes for state law: county approval cannot be used to circumvent any Georgia licensing regulation, and Cherokee County has no obligation to enforce state licensing conditions or answer for a facility that runs without first getting state sign-off. 5-3, plus a 50-foot setback for exterior play equipment, reducible to 25 feet behind an 85 percent opaque year-round screen, and a ban on outdoor loudspeakers.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home day care without current state licensing on file strips it of its status as a permitted home occupation, meaning the county can treat it as an unpermitted use subject to the same enforcement tools that apply to any zoning violation. Zoning Ordinance § 19.1 makes a violation punishable by up to a $1,000.00 fine and 60 days in jail, with each day the violation continues counted separately, and § 19.2 lets the administrator issue a stop-work or cease-and-desist order or deny future permits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a home day care in a Cherokee County residential zone?
Does Cherokee County issue the day care license itself?
Can I care for more than six kids under this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cherokee County
Compare Cherokee County to another location·View the Georgia home business overview
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