Hawthorne, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Small home limit
- 6 children, or 8 with school-age/infant conditions
- Large home limit
- 12 children, or 14 with conditions
- Spacing rule
- No other large home within 300 feet
- Permit timeline
- 30 days to complete, 30 days to decide
- Notice radius
- Mailed notice to owners within 100 feet
Summary
Hawthorne treats small family day care homes as an outright permitted residential use in every zone allowing single-family homes, while large family day care homes (up to 14 children) require a permit from the planning department. Hawthorne Municipal Code Chapter 17.73 sets the child-count thresholds, notice requirements, and a spacing rule barring two large homes within 300 feet of each other.
"Small family day care home" means a home licensed by the state of California that provides family day care to six or fewer children, or up to eight children, including children under the age of ten years who reside at the home, when all of the following conditions are met: at least one child is enrolled in and attending kindergarten or elementary school and a second child is at least six years of age; no more than two infants are cared for during any time when more than six children are being cared for... Small family day care homes shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be a permitted use in all zones in which single-family residential uses are a permitted use... "Large family day care home" means a home that provides care, protection and supervision for no more than twelve children or up to and including fourteen children... Large family day care homes shall be permitted in single-family residential zones subject to first obtaining a large family day care home permit... There is not another large family day care home within three hundred linear feet of an existing permitted large family day care home.
Full Breakdown
73 splits home-based child care into two tiers. 020). Small homes are automatically a permitted residential use in any zone that allows single-family homes; a tenant-operator only needs the property owner's written consent. 030). Large homes need a large family day care home permit from the planning department before opening. The applicant must show there is no other permitted large home within 300 linear feet, that operation will meet the city's adopted noise standards, and that the driveway or street parking can handle one nonresident employee plus loading and unloading of children without blocking the sidewalk or street.
The planning director has 30 days to deem an application complete and another 30 days to decide it, and must mail notice to property owners within 100 feet before granting a permit. 040). 050).
Violations & Fines
A large family day care permit holder who violates a permit condition gets written notice by first-class mail and 30 days to cure before the city initiates revocation proceedings before the planning commission. If the violation is not cured, the provider must prove at a hearing that it was not in violation or has fixed it; the commission's revocation decision is appealable to the city council within 15 days (§ 17.73.050).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to run a small home daycare in Hawthorne?
How many children can a large family day care home in Hawthorne serve?
Can the city deny a large family day care home permit because of a nearby daycare?
What happens if a large family day care home violates its permit conditions?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hawthorne
California rules heatmap·Compare Hawthorne to another location·View the California home business overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle home daycare.