Cupertino, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Small-family day care
- Up to 8 children, permitted in all residential/ag zones
- Large-family day care
- 7-14 children, permitted by right with conditions
- Distance rule
- 300 feet from another large-family day care home
- Parking rule
- Must meet Chapter 19.124 standards
- Approval path
- Administrative, no hearing if standards met
- Governing table
- Table 19.20.020, items 15-16
Summary
California law lets Cupertino homeowners run a small-family day care for up to eight children in any residential or agricultural zone as a permitted use, and Table 19.20.020 extends that by-right status to large-family day care homes of up to fourteen children if they meet parking rules and stay three hundred feet from the next one. Closer or non-conforming homes need an administrative conditional use permit.
15. Small-family day care home per dwelling unit; ... 16. Large-family day care home per dwelling unit; a. Which meets the parking criteria contained in Chapter 19.124, and which is at least three hundred feet from any other large-family day care home. The Director of Community Development or his or her designee shall administratively approve large day care homes to ensure compliance with the parking and proximity requirements; ... b. Which otherwise does not meet the criteria for a permitted use. The conditional use permit shall be processed as provided by CA. Health and Safety Code Section 1597.46(3);
Full Breakdown
465: a small-family day care home serves up to eight children, including the provider's own children under ten, while a large-family day care home serves seven to fourteen children. 020, which governs the A, A-1, R-1, RHS, RC1, R-2, R-3 and R-4 districts, lists small-family day care as a permitted use in every one of those zones with no separate permit. 124 and sits at least three hundred feet from any other large-family day care home; the Director of Community Development or a designee administratively confirms compliance with those two conditions rather than holding a discretionary hearing.
46(3), which limits the findings a city may use to deny or condition it. The same table extends identical treatment across every residential and agricultural zone in the city, so a family day care operator does not face different rules by neighborhood the way some commercial uses do.
Violations & Fines
A large-family day care home operating beyond fourteen children, without the required parking, or closer than three hundred feet to another large-family home without a conditional use permit is a zoning violation. The Community Development Department or a Code Enforcement Officer under Chapter 2.30 can issue an administrative citation under Chapter 1.10, and a continuing violation is punishable under Section 1.12.010 as an infraction starting at $100 and rising to $500, or as a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail for each separate day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many children can I care for at home in Cupertino without a permit?
Do I need a permit for a large-family day care home?
What if two large-family day cares want to open near each other?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cupertino
California rules heatmap·Compare Cupertino to another location·View the California home business overview
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Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Santa Clara County handle home daycare.