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Iredell County, NC Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Light Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Family day care home limit
8 or fewer persons
Family care home limit
6 or fewer persons
Legal basis
G.S. 160D-907 (state law)
Governing section
Performance Requirement R13

Summary

Iredell County allows a family day care home serving eight or fewer children as an accessory use to a residential dwelling under state law, with Table 2.21.1 permitting the use by right or with performance requirements depending on the zoning district.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Iredell County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

R13 - Family Care Home and Family Day Care Home A family care home with six (6) or fewer persons or a family day care home with eight (8) or fewer persons may be operated as an accessory use to a principal dwelling per GS 160-D-907.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32).

Full Breakdown

S. 160D-907, the state statute that requires local governments to treat these homes as a permitted residential use. 1 marks "Family day-care home (8 or less)" with an "R" designation, cross-referenced to Performance Requirement 13, in the AC, RA, RUR, RR and R-20 districts, meaning the use is allowed subject to this performance requirement rather than through a discretionary special use permit process. The parallel entry, "Family care home (6 or less)," carries the same R13 cross-reference across all fourteen listed districts including OI, NB, HB, GB, M1 and M2, giving it broader by-right reach than the day care home entry.

Because R13 folds directly back to the state statute rather than layering additional county-specific numeric standards such as a distance separation or parking count, the operative limits are the six-person and eight-person headcounts printed in the performance requirement itself. 1 lists separately under a different performance requirement, R29, with a narrower set of eligible districts.

Violations & Fines

A family day care home operating with more than eight children on-site exceeds the accessory-use classification under R13 and is not covered by this performance requirement; operating outside the R13 headcount without qualifying under a different use classification, such as a licensed day care center, is a zoning violation subject to the county's standard enforcement process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many children can I care for in a home day care in unincorporated Iredell County?
Performance Requirement R13 allows a family day care home with eight or fewer persons to operate as an accessory use to a principal dwelling, tracking the threshold set by state law at G.S. 160D-907.
Do I need a special use permit for a home day care in Iredell County?
No. Table 2.21.1 marks the family day-care home use with an "R" designation tied to Performance Requirement 13 in the AC, RA, RUR, RR and R-20 districts, meaning it is permitted subject to that performance requirement rather than a special use permit.
What is the difference between a family care home and a family day care home in Iredell County's code?
R13 sets a six-person limit for a family care home and an eight-person limit for a family day care home; both are treated as accessory residential uses, but the family care home entry in Table 2.21.1 is permitted in more zoning districts than the day care home entry.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Iredell County

All Iredell County rules

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