Columbus, OH Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Type B home cap
- 6 children at a time
- Under-2 sublimit
- no more than 3 children
- Above the cap
- reclassified as a day care center
- Center requirement
- must tie to school or church
- State layer
- ORC 5104.01(E) amplifications apply
Summary
Columbus's zoning code caps a Type B home day care at six children at a time, no more than three under age two, before the operation is reclassified as a regulated child day care center.
"Child day care type B home" means the permanent residence of the owner-operator in which child day care is provided for no more than six children at one time and in which no more than three children may be under two years of age at one time. Amplifications of Revised Code 5104.01 (E) shall apply.
"Circulation area" means all of the area within a parking lot exclusive of driveways or off-street parking or loading spaces, which is provided for vehicular maneuvering, pedestrian movement or other accessory or incidental purposes.
"Civic, social, religious, or other institutional organizations, non-assembly areas" means uses which are secondary to the purpose of the organization and are considered as providing services to members and other individuals. These areas include, but are not limited to, spaces for bookstores, cafeteria, child day care, educational classes, social services, and limited retail sales of organization-related materials.
"Clearance" in the context of the Graphics Code means the smallest vertical distance between the grade of the adjacent street; curb or land and the lowest point of any sign, including framework and embellishments, extending over that grade.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 | Form Based Code: ?).
Full Breakdown
Columbus City Codes § 3303.03 defines a "Child day care type B home" as the owner-operator's own permanent residence where child day care is provided for no more than six children at one time, with no more than three of those children under age two, applying the amplifications of Revised Code 5104.01(E). That headcount is the dividing line in the Zoning Code: once a residence serves seven or more children it becomes a "child day care center," which under C.C. 3332.36 must be associated with a school or church and obtain a zoning clearance backed by a city-reviewed transportation plan for loading, unloading and traffic circulation.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home day care past the six-child, three-under-two cap without meeting the school/church-affiliated center standards of C.C. 3332.36 is a Zoning Code violation enforced by the Department of Building and Zoning Services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can I watch in my Columbus home without extra zoning steps?
What happens if I care for more than six children at home?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbus
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