Killeen, TX Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Home based child care sits inside Killeen's zoning code, not just state licensing rules, and Sec. 31-703 layers city-specific land-use conditions on top of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services registration or license every provider must already hold. Under subsection (a)(1), a single-family structure, including garden, modular and manufactured homes, may care for up to 6 children in addition to the children who already live at the address, while a duplex or two-unit townhouse is capped at 3. That number can never exceed the state's own staff-to-child ratio standards, whichever is more restrictive.

Subsection (a)(3) bars the city from issuing a certificate of occupancy for a new home based child care facility on any lot within 200 feet of an existing one, spacing providers apart within the same neighborhood. Subsection (b) adds operating conditions: hours are limited to 20 consecutive hours in any 24-hour period, though military orders or a family medical emergency can justify holding a child longer; any outdoor play area must be fenced to at least 4 feet, with no play equipment in the front yard; loading and unloading of children must happen in an off-street paved area, never in the street; only residents of the home may staff the facility, aside from an occasional substitute; and the operation cannot use advertising signs, window displays or local media that flag the home as a business, though a phone number may appear in a directory listing.

The home's outside appearance must stay residential, and no more than two additional vehicles beyond normal household use may park on the property. A certificate of occupancy from the building official, tied to a copy of the state registration or license, must be secured before a provider accepts any children, and the applicant must live on the premises as a principal residence.