Indianapolis, IN Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Sec. 743-306.H of the Zoning Ordinance treats a child care home the way it treats a garage or a shed: as an accessory use tied to the dwelling, not as a business operating out of the house. The section reads in full: 'A child care home is only permitted as an accessory use to a dwelling unit. It is not considered a home occupation. The child care provider shall reside on site as their permanent residence. Child care homes must be licensed and shall comply with all provisions of IC Title 12.' That third sentence matters because it pulls the operator out from under the separate Home Occupations standards of Sec. 743-306.L, so a licensed child care home is not limited by the 600-square-foot/30% space cap or the four-visitor rule that apply to other home businesses.

The chapter's definitions section, Sec. 740-202, spells out what a 'child care home' actually is under state law: a residence where at least six children receive care 'while unattended by a parent, legal guardian, or custodian,' 'for regular compensation,' and 'for more than four hours but less than 24 hours in each of 10 consecutive days per year.' A Class I Child Care Home tops out at 12 full- and part-time children, plus up to three additional school-age kids during the school year; a Class II home can serve up to 16 children combined. Both classes exclude the provider's own older children and relatives from the headcount.

Because this is a zoning-code accessory use rather than a licensed permit type, the city enforces noncompliance, such as an unlicensed operation or a provider who does not live on site, as a civil zoning violation under Sec. 740-1005, with each uncorrected day counting as a new violation under Sec. 740-1006. A property owner cited for a first offense in a 12-month span can admit the violation and pay the designated penalty through the Ordinance Violations Bureau; repeat offenses draw the fuller enforcement track under Sec. 103-3, capped at the fine ceiling set by IC 36-1-3-8.