Evanston, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 6-4-2-1 of the Zoning Ordinance makes a child daycare home a permitted use in all residential districts, so a family does not need a special use permit or a variance to run one in a residential zone. Section 6-4-2-2 classifies the daycare as an accessory use to the dwelling, meaning it has to stay secondary to the home's residential use rather than become the primary use of the property, and the same accessory-use status covers daycare homes run out of a church or a school.

Zoning approval is only half of the requirement. Section 6-4-2-3 sends every applicant to the City department of health and human services for the operating license itself, and Title 8, Chapter 15 spells out what that license demands: Section 8-15-1 defines a covered child daycare home as a family home that provides care for more than three and no more than twelve children under a license issued by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and Section 8-15-2 makes it unlawful to operate one without a City registration permit in full force and effect.

The application required by Section 8-15-3 covers the home's location, the number of children to be cared for, and a background-check authorization for the applicant and anyone over thirteen living in or working in the home. Section 8-15-5 lists disqualifying convictions, including sex offenses, aggravated battery of a child, and controlled-substance offenses, as grounds to deny a permit. Section 8-15-7 ties permit issuance to compliance with the City's Fire, Housing, and Health Codes, and Section 8-15-8 sets the permit's expiration to match the DCFS license term.

If the Health Department suspends, revokes, or refuses to issue a permit, Section 6-4-2-4 sends the appeal to the City Manager or a designee, whose decision is final.