DuPage County, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- By-right cap
- 8 children, no outside employees
- Conditional use trigger
- 9-12 children or 1+ employee
- Group daycare home
- up to 16 children, conditional use
- Governing section
- §37-701.1 / §37-701.2, R-1 district
Summary
Unincorporated DuPage County allows a home daycare for up to 8 kids by right; 9 to 12 kids or a group daycare home needs a conditional use permit.
Daycare homes which receive no more than eight (8) children under the age of twelve (12) (including the provider's own children) and which do not have any outside employees. ... Daycare homes which receive from nine (9) to twelve (12) children under the age of twelve (12) (including the provider's own children) or which have one (1) or more outside employees. Group daycare homes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 14 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
In the R-1 Single-Family Residence District, a daycare home caring for no more than 8 children under 12 (counting the provider's own) with no outside employees is a permitted accessory use requiring no special zoning approval. Once a daycare home takes in 9 to 12 children, hires any outside employee, or operates as a state-licensed group daycare home (up to 16 children), it shifts to the conditional-use category under Section 37-701.2 and needs County Board approval through the special use process before it can operate. Daycare centers (commercial, non-family-home operations) are conditional uses in every residential district.
Violations & Fines
Operating a daycare home above the by-right headcount, with outside employees, or as a group daycare home without first securing conditional use approval is a zoning violation enforceable by the DuPage County Building and Zoning Department, which can order the use stopped until approval is obtained.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a home daycare in unincorporated DuPage County without a permit?
What triggers a conditional use permit for a home daycare?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in DuPage County
Compare DuPage County to another location·View the Illinois home business overview
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