Lakewood, OH Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Lakewood does not impose its own family-daycare capacity limits; in-home child care is licensed by the State of Ohio under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5104 (Child Day-Care), administered by the Department of Children and Youth. ORC 5104.01 defines a 'type B family child care home' as a permanent residence in which child care is provided for one to seven children at one time (no more than three under two years of age at one time), and a 'type A family child care home' as a permanent residence in which child care is provided for a larger group (generally eight to fourteen children, or four or more if four or more are under two). Both Type A and licensed Type B homes must hold a valid license issued by the director of children and youth under ORC 5104.03; operating without the required license is prohibited. Separately, an in-home daycare is a home occupation under Lakewood Codified Ordinances Chapter 1145, so it must remain clearly incidental to the residence and, where it rises to a Type B home occupation generating customer traffic, obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the Lakewood Planning Commission under Section 1161.03(f). Note that the Chapter 1145 'Type A / Type B' home-occupation labels are separate from the ORC 5104 'Type A / Type B' child-care-home licensing categories.