Lincoln County, SD Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Under Lincoln County Code § 155.072(D), part of the Lincoln County/City of Sioux Falls Joint Zoning Regulations (Chapter 155) that govern unincorporated land in the joint jurisdiction outside Sioux Falls' corporate limits, family day care in the RA-1 Residential District is a permitted special use subject to a fence requirement: a four-foot high fence between the play area and the street whenever that play area sits adjacent to an arterial or collector street, plus a safe pickup and drop-off area for the children. Section 155.146(E) separately lists family day care as an allowed accessory use in the A-1, RR, RS, RD and RA districts, so the same license to run a small in-home operation extends across the county's agricultural and residential zones, not just RA-1.

The Board of Commissioners defines the term at § 155.276: DAY CARE, FAMILY covers care given in a family home for up to six children under 14, counting the provider's own children age six and under toward that cap, and cross-references it as a HOME OCCUPATION. Anything larger moves into a different category: DAY CARE, GROUP (seven to 12 children) and DAY CARE, CENTER operations are conditional uses under § 155.073(D), requiring a conditional use permit under §§ 155.200 through 155.212 and a public hearing before opening.

Operators should confirm whether their parcel sits inside the joint zoning boundary (§ 155.010) versus a municipality's own limits, since Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Tea, Canton and Lennox each enforce separate city codes for day cares within their corporate boundaries.