Fairfield, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family daycare homes are governed by California's Child Day Care Facilities Act, not by a county-specific zoning permit. Since SB 234 took effect January 1, 2020, Health & Safety Code Section 1597.45 provides that the use of a home as a small OR large family daycare home is a residential use of property and a use by right for all local ordinances, including zoning. A local jurisdiction, such as Solano County, may not require a family daycare provider to obtain a zoning permit, a business license, or pay a fee or tax for the privilege of operating one. Licensing is handled by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, which sets the health and safety standards a provider must meet. Under Health & Safety Code Section 1597.46, a large family daycare home must obtain a fire-safety clearance from the local fire authority (city/county fire department, the fire-protection district, or the State Fire Marshal), but the fire department may only require compliance with the fire standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal in Title 24. Solano County therefore defers to state law: the county does not issue a discretionary land-use permit for these homes.