Evanston, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Evanston's zoning code gives child daycare homes its most open land-use status. Section 6-4-2-1 makes a child daycare home a permitted use in all residential districts, and Section 6-4-2-2 makes it an accessory use to dwelling structures, churches, and schools. The definition in Section 8-15-1 sets the scope: a family home that provides daycare for less than 24 hours per day, holds a license from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and cares for more than three and no more than twelve children, counting the family's own natural, foster, or adopted children under age 12. Facilities that receive children from a single household fall outside the definition.

The second layer is the City registration permit. Section 8-15-2 bars any person from conducting, operating, or maintaining a child daycare home, or taking part in doing so, unless the City has issued a registration permit that is in full force and effect. The application goes to the City Manager or a designee, is made under oath, and lists the home's location, the number of children, the applicant, the people who will manage or supervise the home, and a copy of the DCFS license or written DCFS approval. Applicants, employees, caregivers, and anyone over age 13 living in the home or having direct contact with the children must authorize a criminal conviction investigation and a check of the child abuse central register, and must give a written statement that they have never abused alcohol or drugs.

The Director of the Health Department can inspect the home on receipt of an application, on a complaint, or on reasonable cause to believe a violation exists. The City Manager or designee issues the permit once the home meets the minimum standards of the Fire, Housing and Health Codes. The permit is not transferable as to place or person and must be displayed in a conspicuous place near the main entrance inside the home. A provisional permit runs up to six months and can be renewed once for up to six more. Every permit holder also keeps a daycare log with each child's name, date of birth, and parent or guardian contact details, and files a copy with the Department before the home first opens. The premises must also meet the housing, zoning, fire, and health provisions of the City Code and the state licensing standards for day care homes.