Whatcom County, WA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- County permit needed?
- No, exempt under WCC 20.80.970(3)(a)
- State track instead
- Chapter 110-300 WAC licensing
- Licensed provider cap
- Up to 12 children, in provider's home
- Informal care exemption
- Neighbor/friend care under 24 hrs, non-business
- Enforcing agency
- WA Dept. of Children, Youth, and Families
- Enforcement tools
- License denial, suspension, revocation, civil penalties
Summary
Washington law, not the county's home-business chapter, controls in-home daycare in unincorporated Whatcom County: WCC 20.80.970(3)(a) expressly exempts day care homes from the county's home occupation permit, sending them instead to state licensing under RCW 43.216.010, which defines a licensed family day care provider as caring for up to 12 children in the provider's own home.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. (1) "Agency" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or facility that provides child care and early learning services outside a child's own home ... (c) "Family day care provider" and "family home provider" mean a child care provider who regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider's home in the family living quarters except as provided in RCW 43.216.692 and subsection (2)(n) of this section; ... (2) "Agency" does not include the following: ... (c) Persons who care for a neighbor's or friend's child or children, with or without compensation, where the person providing care for periods of less than 24 hours does not conduct such activity on an ongoing, regularly scheduled basis for the purpose of engaging in business ... (12) "Enforcement action" means denial, suspension, revocation, modification, or nonrenewal of a license pursuant to RCW 43.216.325(1) or assessment of civil monetary penalties pursuant to RCW 43.216.325(3).
Full Breakdown
970 applies to them. 010. Subsection (1)(c) defines a 'family day care provider' (also 'family home provider') as a child care provider who regularly provides early childhood education and early learning services for not more than 12 children at any given time in the provider's home, in the family living quarters. Not every arrangement needs that state license: subsection (2)(c) exempts a person who cares for a neighbor's or friend's child, with or without compensation, for periods under 24 hours, so long as the care is not conducted on an ongoing, regularly scheduled basis for the purpose of engaging in business, including advertising the care; subsection (2)(d) similarly exempts parents who cooperatively swap child care on a mutual basis. 010(1)(c) licensing applies, administered by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (subsection (6)). 970(3)(a) already removed them from its home-business enforcement scope.
Violations & Fines
Because day care homes are exempt from Whatcom County's home-based business permit under WCC 20.80.970(3)(a), the county does not issue its own daycare citations. Operating an unlicensed family day care beyond the informal-care exemptions in RCW 43.216.010(2)(c) and (2)(d), meaning regular, compensated, advertised care for children outside the family, exposes a provider to a state enforcement action under RCW 43.216.325: license denial, suspension, revocation, modification or nonrenewal, plus civil monetary penalties, all administered by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families rather than county planning staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Whatcom County permit to run a home daycare?
How many children can a licensed family day care provider serve?
Can I watch a neighbor's kids without a state license?
What happens if a home daycare operates without a required license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Whatcom County
Compare Whatcom County to another location·View the Washington home business overview
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